Rice Pudding in the Zojirushi Rice Cooker

This nice rice pudding from Gf-Zing! has large grains of rice and tart cherries to offset the sugar. The recipe is not cloyingly sweet, and is quite attractive because of the large grains of rice.

In the rice cooker, put 3/4 cup of Arborio rice, 4 cups of non-fat milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of dried cherries and 2 Tablespoons of slivered almonds. Set the menu to Porridge, close the top and turn on the cooker.

When the cooker switches to "keep warm," beat 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of almond extract and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract in a large bowl. Add the hot, cooked rice mixture to the egg mixture, about a soup spoon at a time, and beat well with a large spoon after each addition. The reason for adding a little of the hot rice at a time is so that the egg will not cook suddenly - if it did, it would make a sort of rice pudding with hard-boiled egg bits in it - Yuck! If you add the rice a bit at a time and stir vigorously after each addition, then you will get a nice creamy rice pudding.

After this mixture cools, serve it in small bowls with heavy cream to pour over each serving. You may have to do a little counter-top clean up, if the milk comes out through the vent holes in the top of the cooker during the cooking process. We had to clean up this milky mess, but we didn't mind because the rice pudding was so tasty!

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

© Gf-Zing! | Alice DeLuca

Gluten Free Turkey Dressing (stuffing)

A few thoughts on gluten free Thanksgiving dining...the first year, we felt obligated to pursue some type of exact replica of glutenated turkey dressing - and were disappointed by many expensive and wasteful batches of dressing with the consistency of wet kitty litter. We eventually made something good - but - the second GF year, a relative made an excellent wild rice and mushroom dressing - better than good. A new pathway for gluten free Thanksgiving dining! And, with the wild rice being native to North America it seemed very fitting somehow.
To find the recipe for Wild Rice Stuffing with Wild Mushrooms, buy some dried pears and seek the recipe here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105886

That dressing turned our minds around, and this year we will consider using a butternut squash risotto, along the lines of the one in the Bistro Cooking at Home by Hamersley. Hamersley's butternut squash ristotto is made with maple syrup, rosemary, sherry and sherry wine vinegar, along with cubes of butternut squash. We sometimes use shallots, and sometimes onions and garlic. The flavors are nicely balanced, with plenty of "umami" or fifth taste flavor as well, even if you cut the amount of butter in half.

We heartily recommend using a rice dressing (or stuffing) for the gluten free turkey dinner, and making it in a separate dish rather than stuffing it in to the bird.

© Gf-Zing! | Alice DeLuca

Chicken Meatballs with Raisins (gluten free)

Meatballs:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, minced fine

1 medium onion, minced fine

1/2 cup raisins

2 Tablespoons beaten egg

4 Tablespoons coarsely grated fresh parmesan cheese

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 teaspoon Vietnamese hot sauce

salt, pepper

2 Tablespoons or more of cornstarch

Mix all ingredients for meatballs, adding more cornstarch if necessary to make a soft mixture that will just barely hold together to form meatballs. Make walnut sized balls, roll each ball in garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour. Fry the meatballs in a few tablespoons of peanut oil in a hot skillet a few at a time. When they are browned on all sides, remove them to a plate and set them aside. Fry additional meatballs in this manner until they are all browned. Then leave them to sit for a few minutes while you make the sauce. They are not yet completely cooked and are not safe to eat until they have cooked in the sauce that you will make next.
Sauce:

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, minced

1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley

1 Tablespoon brandy

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper

Fry the garlic and onion in 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the brandy (add the brandy and stir around to loosen anything that is stuck to the pan). Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Taste the sauce for sweetness, salt etc.
Now place the meatballs in the sauce carefully. There should be enough meatballs to make one layer on the top of the sauce. Stir very gently with a wooden spoon or bamboo spatula to settle the meatballs in to the sauce - do not break up the meatballs. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so. Because of the garbanzo bean flour that was used to coat the meatballs prior to frying, the sauce will become quite thick - watch that it does not stick. Taste the sauce and adjust as necessary.

Serve over Tinkyada brown rice penne. (Cook the penne according to package directions, but check if it is cooked before the time is up - this pasta can cook quicker than the package states. Rinse the penne in cold water, then return to the pan and stir in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to keep it from sticking together. )

This recipe was adapted for the gluten-free community by Gf-Zing!, and was based on a Turkey Meatball recipe called Polpette alla Mollie which was found on the internet.

© Gf-Zing! | Alice DeLuca