Gluten free- and actually good!

  My mom asked me to put a few of my tried and true gluten free recipes on my blog.  She knows a young couple who are dealing with being newly diagnosed.  Yuck.  It's very difficult to see past what you cannot have and get on with experiencing what you can have and enjoy.

I became very disillusioned at the beginning (5 years ago!) and was quite unhappy.  I shed a tear or two over the donuts I will never experience again.  Don't laugh- if you haven't been denied like this, you have no idea!  

Below are a few recipes that I had in my gluten diet that I've tweaked and modified to become my own gluten free version.  And, if I do say so myself, they're pretty dang good.  Aaron and his work buddies love my fried chicken, a contractor helping us last year with a remodel thought I'd purchased the donuts at a bakery, and the pie crust is one my kids beg me to make!

Ok, here we go!

FRIED CHICKEN

12 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
whole milk
4 to 5 Tbsp salt
2 1/2 c Pamela's Baking Mix
1 to 3 tsp cayenne pepper- to taste (depends on your desired heat level)
3 tsp salt
3 eggs, beaten
Massive quantity of vegetable shortening

 Place chicken pieces into the largest stew pot (with a lid) you have and pour in enough milk to cover the chicken by about one inch.  Sprinkle with the salt.  Use your hands to mix in the salt.  Cover with the lid and leave in the fridge overnight.
  Place the pot on the stovetop and gently heat to a boil.  Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through.  Remember to stir the chicken occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  If you have a non-stick pot, it would be best to use b/c it's a pain to clean!  Nothing that an overnight soak won't fix, though.
  Place fully cooked chicken on a wire rack to cool (don't have to be cold, just not hot).  Put baking mix, cayenne and salt (3 tsp) into a gallon zip lock bag.  Place two or three cooled thighs into the bag and seal.  Shake to coat.  Dip the floured pieces into the beaten eggs and return to bag.  Shake again to coat then place onto wire rack to set for around 10 to 15 minutes.  Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
  Heat enough vegetable shortening in a large, deep skillet to almost cover the chicken thighs.  Must be very hot- almost smoking.  Gently lower the thighs into hot shortening and brown on both sides.  This should only take a few minutes per side.
  Remove chicken pieces to a paper towel lined serving dish.  YUM!

PIE CRUST

1 1/3 c Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour (order online at www.glutenfreeflour.com)
1 stick COLD butter, cut into minimum 8 pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 c ice water (approx)

(**can substitute 1/3 c of flour with 1/3 c almond meal for added protein.  Also, 1 tsp xanthan gum may be added if your dough tends to fall apart.  After practice, you shouldn't need the xanthan gum)

  Using the steel blade of your food processor, process (pulse) all ingredients except water until like a coarse meal.  With machine running, slowly add water in a small stream thru the feed tube.  Do this carefully.  You do not want the dough to be too wet!  I rarely use all of the 1/4 cup of water.  As soon as the crumbs seem to be sticking together, stop pouring water and let the machine run.  It should gather the whole mess into a ball.  At this point, turn the machine off.
  Coat work surface with more Tom Sawyer flour, as well as your hands and the rolling pin.  Pat the ball into a fat disc.  Keeping everything well floured, roll out the dough to about a 1" thickness.  Lift dough from work surface and re-flour underneath.  Flip dough and finish rolling until desired thickness.  Quickly and GENTLY lift the bottom half of the dough over the top half (be careful it doesn't fully fold, or it will crack).  Gently lift the whole thing into your pie pan, and unfold.  This takes lots of practice with thickness and temperatures to get it perfect without any tearing or cracking.  Once you have it down, it's easy...as pie.  ;-)  This pie crust performs better close to room temp than traditional pie crusts, which need to be refrigerated.
  For a baked pie crust, you will need parchment paper and pie weights in the bottom of the crust.  Also be certain the crust sits well on top and somewhat over the edge of the pie pan.  If it doesn't, it will melt into a mushy, frustrating mess, making your pie be about 1/2 inch tall and turning your 15 minute prep time into an afternoon's worth!  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until it is lightly browned.

CAKE DOUGHNUTS

3/4 c cornstarch
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1/3 c milk
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp gluten free vanilla

Vegetable Oil for frying (approx 2 c)

Glaze:
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp melted butter
Small amount water

Heat oil to about 375 in a medium sauce pan or fry daddy.  Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well to remove all lumps.  Pat out dough onto a surface that is well coated with cornstarch to about 1/2 inch thickness.  I use a metal spatula and cut out doughnuts into 1" x 2" rectangles.  You can use round cookie cutters to make circular doughnuts and holes, but it is much more time consuming and messy.  Place doughnuts gently into hot oil and fry until golden on all sides.  Remove to paper towel lined plate to cool slightly.
While still warm, glaze doughnuts.  Combine powdered sugar and melted butter.  Slowly add a tiny amount of water and stir.  Add more to reach desired thickness.  Dip doughnuts into glaze and let sit to harden slightly.
***Can omit spices for a plain doughnut.

If you want more tried and true recipes, post a comment.  I'll see what I can do!