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Gluten Free Flour

 One of my daughters is gluten intolerant. I have spent a long time looking for a good tasting flour substitute. Searching the Internet brought up a lot of horrible tasting substitutions. Finally I found this one. All credit is given to Alton Brown. This is his recipes. So far it has worked with everything I have made. Excellent buttermilk biscuits, coating for pan fried pork chops, waffles, and pancakes. I will tell you upfront, there is a slight grittiness in the pancakes, but nothing else. Ingredients: 250 grams brown rice flour 150 grams corn starch  100 grams potato starch 150g tapioca flour  90 grams milk powder  10 grams xantham gum 250 grams white rice flour Combine all the ingredients. I like to slowly mix them in my stand mixer with the whisk attachment, to insure things are well mixed. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy.

Summertime Yellow Tomato Sauce

I love yellow tomatoes. Although they have roughly the same amount of acid as red tomatoes, they taste less acidic. This is a good recipe for a visually different looking sauce. It is a basic sauce, but full of rich tomato flavor. It's excellent on pizza and pasta. Ingredient  5 medium size yellow tomatoes  1 small onion diced fine 4 cloves garlic  1/4 teaspoon diced basil  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil  salt and pepper to taste. Start by scoring a cross on the bottom of the tomato. Place them in pot of boiling water. I do one at a time for better control. Allow them to boil  for about 1 minute, then carefully remove them and place them in an ice bath. When they are cool, the skins should peel right off. Cut the tomatoes in quarters ,and remove the seeds. Try to save as much of the juice and flesh as possible. In a medium skillet, add the olive oil, and heat it over medium low heat. Add the onion and garlic....

Orange Honey Glazed Pork Chops

I have been helping with my granddaughters while my daughter is working out of the country. We were watching a cooking show (I know, hard to believe) and were looking for pork chop ideas. This came up and my granddaughter said "that looks good." Watching the show the recipe that was being shown looked good, but I thought it could be improved. This is my version. Ingredients: 4 thick cut pork chops 2 tablespoons unsalted butter  2 tablespoons olive oil  2 shallots thinly diced  2 cloves garlic thinly diced  10 to 12 sprigs fresh thyme  1 teaspoon smoked paprika  1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar  1/2 cup orange juice  3 tablespoons honey To begin, season the chops with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Allow the chops to rest for an hour uncovered in the refrigerator. Add the olive oil and butter to your skillet and heat over medium heat. When it just starts to smoke, add the chops. Cut until an...

Hanger Steak

This is a steak that most people have never heard of. A while back I was in the local meat market, looking for some different cuts of meat. I came across the hanger steak. It is sometimes called a butcher steak, since the butcher usually keeps it for himself. There is one steak per cow, and it is from the diaphragm muscle. Very beefy and tender when cut against the grain. There is a tough piece of sinew running through the middle that is inedible. The grain of the steak runs in different directions on each side of the sinew fiber. They are small weighing between 1 1/2 to a little over 2 pounds. Since there are 6 of us eating, I usually cook two. Remove the meat from its wrapper and locate the sinew. Carefully slice one side free from it. Trim the other side free by running your knife slowly between the meat and fiber, pulling up the sinew from the meat. As you can see below, it is a tough fiber. Next, check for the grain direction. Cut ...

Cherry Hatch Chili BBQ Sauce

I love camping. Although it's been awhile since I have had the RV out, I plan to put it to good use in the future. The biggest problem I have is storage. As you know, I love to prepare everything from scratch, but the space taken up by ingredients can be overwhelming. Recently, I discovered the Raw Ingredients Company. They have powder versions of a lot of spices and ingredients. I am not associated with them in any way, just a happy customer. This sauce is amazing, using their powders, only ketchup, brown sugar, and cherry extract are not in powder form. Ingredients: 1 cup ketchup  1/2 teaspoon onion powder  1/2 classic seasoning salt  1/2 to 1 teaspoon Hatch Chili powder  1/2 Worcester powder  1/2 apple cider vinegar powder 1/4 teaspoon hickory smoke powder  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder  1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon molasses powder  2 teaspoon cherry extract  1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika Add everything to a s...

Saffron Rice

Sometimes you want to upgrade your dinner time rice. This is a good recipe do do just that. Please note I cook very low salt. You will need to adjust the salt level to your taste. Ingredients: 3 cups unsalted chicken stock 1 1/2 cups of long grain rice 2 pinches of saffron  1/4 teaspoon tumeric (optional) 1/2 teaspoon onion powder  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder  3 tablespoons butter Salt to taste  Place 3 cups of chicken stock in medium size pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a low boil, and add the saffron. Turn down to a low simmer and allow the saffron to bloom and release its color. Take your time. In a medium skillet, melt the butter and add the rice. Toast the rice for a couple of minutes until it is a very light brown. Add the rice and other spices to the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Stir and cover. Check at the 15 minute mark and see if all the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff rice and enjoy! ...

Simple Roasted Chicken Thighs

Sometimes you want something quick and easy for dinner. This is a great recipe that takes less than an hour, with most of the time waiting on a dry brine to do it's thing. I did a double batch so we would have leftovers. Ingredients: 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs  Salt to taste  Pepper to taste 1/4 teaspoon baking powder Start by removing the thighs from their package and pat dry. Place them on a baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using a high pinching method, lightly coat the chicken with baking powder. This will give you an extra crispy skin. Rest in the refrigerator for an hour.After resting in the refrigerator, lightly coat the thighs with olive oil. When close to the end of resting time, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 185 degrees. This will produce a more tender and juicy meat.

American Wagyu Strip Steak

My daughter and son-in-law live in a condo. No open fire grilling is permitted. Trying to make great steaks is a challenge. This is my way to cook when visiting. GE makes an incredible product called the Profile Indoor Smoker. It makes a great substitute for a outside unit. Some reviews claim it doesn't replicate an outdoor one, but I find it produces great smoke flavor. This technique also works with other beef products. The smoke level is turned down from where I do ribs or pork, but I am looking for a hint of smoke flavor duplicating being cook on a grill. Ingredients: 2 one pound American wagyu strips, salt, and pepper to taste. That's it! Begin by bring the steaks to room temperature. Salt and pepper them while they are warming. Preheat the smoker to 200 degrees with the smoke level set to 3. Once preheated, place the steaks on the middle rack. I set the desired internal temperature at 120 degrees. We like our beef on the rare side. Don...

Gluten Free Pork Chops

I was at the local meat market buying some different cuts of beef. Got out to the car and got a text from my son-in-law, his mother wanted pork chops. Went back into the market and return with some beautiful chops. My daughter is gluten free so I did these with a gluten free coating. Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds of boneless pork chops 1 cup gluten free flour  1 teaspoon sweet paprika  1 teaspoon smoked paprika  1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder  1 teaspoon onion powder  1/2 teaspoon oregano  1/4 teaspoon rosemary Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Next mix all the dry ingredients in a gallon sized zip top bag. Toss the chops in the flour mixture. Place the coated chops on a sheet pan lightly drizzled with olive oil. Place the pan in the oven for 10 minutes. Check the pork and carefully turn the over. Bake another 10 minutes until lightly brown and a temperature of at least 145 degrees. All...

Old Guy's No Salt Added Spaghetti Sauce

I grew up outside of Pittsburgh, in a multi-ethnic area. My first real job was driving the delivery car for a local pharmacy. Two of our regular customers were an elderly Italian couple. If I was lucky, I would get to their house at dinner time. Mrs F. always had a pot of spaghetti at every meal. I loved hearing her say, "come in and have a taste". Her idea of a taste was a huge bowl of the best spaghetti and sauce I have ever eaten. I have tried to duplicate that delicious sauce for years. This is my version, minus added salt. There is some salt from the tomatoes naturally, and the bacon, but the sodium is minimal. Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1/2 pound ground pork 3 pieces precooked low sodium bacon 4 cloves of garlic 2 ribs of celery, on from the center with leaves 1 small sweet onion 1 carrot 1/2 cup of bell pepper 1 teaspoon dry basil 1 teaspoon dry oregano 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon white pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground red...

Sheet Pan Steak and Veggies

This is a quick recipe when you want a meal with minimal clean up. I made this version with New York strip steak as it was on sale cheaper than sirloin. Ingredients: 8 to 12 ounces of steak  Marinade: 2 tablespoons olive oil  2 teaspoons Worcester sauce 1/4 teaspoon onion powder  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder  1/8 teaspoon salt Butter: 3 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon beef tallow (optional) 1/4 teaspoon thyme  1/2 teaspoon parsley  1/4 teaspoon onion powder  1/4 teaspoon garlic powder  1/8 teaspoon tomato powder (optional) New potatoes and fresh green beans based on your appetite  Begin by slicing your steak into bite size pieces. Add the steak and marinade ingredients to a zip top bag. Massage to get the steak well coated. Allow to rest at least an hour. In the meantime, half the potatoes and trim the beans. Lightly coat the veggies with a drizzle of olive oil. Preheat you oven to 400 degrees. When the oven is ready, ba...