Mixing old and new memories

An old memory and a recent experience are the inspiration for today's recipe. Let's begin with the old memory.

Old Memory: Growing up, our family made an annual summer pilgrimage to Mt. Rainier National Park. We would always stay at site C-9 in the Ohanapecosh campground (see picture from this summer). The years that we would borrow Grandpa Van Dyke's motorhome, I would wake to the smell of blueberry muffins baking in the oven. We always used a box mix which, alas, contains gluten and is now off-limits.


Recent Experience: A classmate and labmate of mine, Kate, from MIT got married this past August. Having grown up on Cape Cod, she wanted the wedding to also be out there (how awesome is it to get to attend a wedding in sandals and a suit). We stayed with friends of Kate's family in Hyannis Port, Janni and Jeff, and over breakfast I discovered that Janni also cannot eat gluten. On the way out the door back to Boston, she gave me some gluten-free blueberry muffins that she purchased. She admitted the were a bit dry and after one bite I agreed.



There has to be a way to make a moist, tender, muffin that's gluten-free right? Yes, Victoria, there is...and you can find the recipe below.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Once these muffins have cooled, store in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave prior to consuming, about 20-30 seconds, otherwise they'll taste wicked dry.

10 tablespoons unsalted, soft butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sweet white sorghum flour
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups plain or vanilla yogurt
1 cup blueberries (frozen are fine)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons raw sugar (not granulated, look for Turbino)


Preheat the oven to 375.

Combine all the dry ingredients together (sorghum flour through salt). Set aside.

Cream the butter and white sugar together, until just creamed. If you leave the stand mixer running as they are creaming, these muffins will not rise. Simply cream them until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg.

Add one half of the dry ingredients, mixing well. Add one-third of the yogurt and combine until well mixed. Add one-half of the remaining dry ingredients to the mixture, and combine. Continue this, alternating the yogurt and dry ingredients, until you have mixed both of them in, completely.

By hand, stir in the blueberries, lemon zest, and crystallized ginger.

Line a muffin tin with paper or foil cups. Fill each cup two-thirds full. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the top and set them in the oven.

(This recipe will give you enough batter to make two tins of muffins, or close.)

Bake the muffins for about 35 minutes, or until the tops have browned and started to harden.

Sweet bread that's practically a vegetable!

I've always loved carrot cake. Not only does it taste fabulous but when you compare it with, say, Triple Chocolate Truffle Decadence Cake...well which one do you think sounds healthier? Of course, this is a silly rationalization, something that us Van Dyke's are quite good at, but I've always liked baked goods that incorporate a vegetable.

Enter Chocolate Zucchini Bread. I first had this at Sarah's apartment. I think it was when she and Justin were still living in married housing at Seattle Pacific University. Not only did this bread taste fabulous, but it filled the kitchen with the faint aroma of cinnamon and cloves while baking. Now, with the exception of people who don't like cinnamon or cloves, I ask you, who wouldn't love that!? The recipe presented here is a much lighter version (the initial one called for cup quantities of vegetable oil) and I'm happy to say that a simple swap of the AP flour for a GF substitute (and the addition of a thickener--xanthan gum), generated a flavorful and moist bread that got rave reviews from the starving graduate students in my lab (and I'm inclined to think other people will like it too).

So eat up, it's practically a vegetable serving on the food pyramid right?!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I used Bob's Red Mill AP Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Therefore, you need to add something to replace the job of the gluten (which is to hold everything together). Xanthan gum does this nicely. The batter will have a somewhat elastic consistency but it'll bake up just fine. You can use a single 9x5 inch loaf pan or 3 min loaf pans (which I like). Store in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave.

For really nice looking bread, sprinkle a few whole walnuts and chocolate chips on the top of the batter in the loaf pan just prior to baking.

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (about 1 medium--shred with a cheese grater).
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 6 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until moist. Stir in the zucchini, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray or three mini-loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 45-60 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack then refrigerate.

Cooking Light, July 2004

The Shrimp Cocktail

I don't like foods that require an insane amount of work to consume. I think back to when I was competing for the Sullivan Scholarship at Seattle U. The main course served at the conclusion of the day, I can only describe as chicken baked in a paper bag. Ok, so it was probably parchment paper but it was by far the most elaborate culinary construction I've ever seen. Not only do you have to gracefully figure out how to "peel" the parchment paper but you then have to navigate around a bone-in chicken thigh. Honestly, we all sat there thinking, "Is this part of the competition too?!"

The only exception, in my mind, of a food that's worth the effort is shrimp. Specifically, shrimp cocktail. That's because it's really not that much work to peel a shimp, dip it in sauce, and then pop it in your mouth. Besides, if you didn't have to slow down and peel the shrimp, you'd probably end up shoveling 10 in your mouth before the flavors even register.

This is an awesome appetizer to a meal or served at a...go figure...cocktail party.

Shrimp Cocktail

To save time, buy deveined shrimp WITH A SHELL (often called "Easy Peel" Shrimp). Having the shell on 1) imparts more flavor during the cooking process and 2) minimizes burning the actual shrimp flesh. If you can't find them with a shell, then its time to brush up on how to devein shrimp (see below).

The cocktail sauce is best made the night before so the flavors have time to meld.

Once you finish cooking the shrimp, remember to take them OUT of the freezer, otherwise you'll have shrimp-sicles.

32 shell-on (21 to 25 count) tiger shrimp
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning

For the brine:
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups ice

For the cocktail sauce:
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup prepared chili sauce
1 to 4 tablespoons prepared horseradish (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 teaspoon sugar
Few grinds fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Tools:
2 cookie sheets

Place one cookie sheet in the freezer (you'll need it later to cool the shrimp)

Place cleaned (deveined) shrimp into a bowl with brine (salt, sugar, water, ice) and refrigerate mixture for 20 to 25 minutes. While shrimp are brining, place tomatoes, chili sauce, horseradish, sugar, pepper, and salt in food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate cocktail sauce until ready to serve.

Place a baking sheet or broiler pan under oven broiler and preheat for 5 minutes (till it's wicked hot!). Remove shrimp from brine and drain thoroughly. Rinse the shrimp under cold water and dry on paper towels. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning, if desired.

Place shrimp onto a sizzling sheet pan and return to broiler immediately. After 2 minutes, turn the shrimp with a pair of tongs. Return the shrimp to broiler for 1 minute. Transfer to a cold cookie sheet (from the freezer). Cool in freezer for 5 minutes. Then transfer to refrigerator to finish chilling.

Once shrimp have chilled, arrange with cocktail sauce in a martini glass or as desired. For example, Sarah used tea cups.

Courtesy Alton Brown



Deveining Shrimp 101

You can see that a shrimp is deveined if it has a large cut down it's back. If not, then get ready...

1. Allow the shrimp to thaw (if frozen) in refrigerator.

2. Place in a bowl of cold tap water (this prevents air oxidation of the shrimp, they'll start to turn pink if you leave them out too long).

3. Remove a shrimp and place one blade of a sharp pair of scissors into the vein starting at the head. Gently cut down the back of the shrimp following the vein until you reach the tail.


4. Dig into the opening with your finger (or scissor) to remove the vein (usually dark colored). Sometimes, doing this under water is helpful.

5. Move shrimp to brine (see recipe above).