Carol's Culinary Cues - June, 2005

(c) Carol Fenster, Ph.D. - President, Savory Palate, Inc.

8174 South Holly St., #404, Centennial, CO  80122

800.741.5418

ISSN 14244


IN THIS ISSUE:

-Gluten-Free Beer for Drinking and Cooking

-Parchment Paper vs. Waxed Paper

-Buffalo Hot Dogs

-Special Diet Solutions Soon Out of Print

-New Booklets Help Living without Gluten,

  Dairy, or Eggs

-Food for Thought

-Where is the World is Carol?


Gluten-Free Beer for Drinking and Cooking

Next to pizza and bread, another thing I miss on a gluten-free diet is a good, cold beer. Well, now I have that, too. Bard's Beer is now available. Go to www.bardsbeer.com and print out the product request form from the web site and give it to your local liquor store so they can order it for you. It is a light beer, both in color and flavor.

 

This beer is great with pizza, but you can  make Beer Bread or Beer-Cheese Soup with it. I'm working on those recipes, so they're not available yet). Or, cook your favorite hot dogs in it.

 

Beer is also great for marinating meats such as ribs or roasts. And, of course, you've heard of the famous Beer Can Chicken. Rinse a soda pop can very thoroughly to remove all traces of the soda. Fill 2/3 full with Bard's Beer. Position the beer can into the cavity of the washed and seasoned bird and roast it upright in the oven or on the barbecue grill until done. You can also buy special stands for this purpose at discount stores and some grocery stores. It's a fun, creative way to serve chicken.


Parchment Paper versus Waxed Paper

Although parchment paper and waxed paper can sometimes be used interchangeably, they are not the same thing.

Waxed paper is actually tissue paper which is coated on both sides with a paraffin wax. This wax helps the paper resist moisture and grease. Waxed paper will melt or burn if it comes in direct contact with heat.

Parchment paper is paper that is coated with silicone, making it moisture and grease resistant. It is commonly used to line cookie sheets. Unlike waxed paper, it can withstand exposure to temperatures up to 420°F in the oven, so it is used in cooking en papillotte, which means cooked in parchment paper. The paper will brown when exposed to direct heat, but won't burn. However, it should not be used above 420°F or under the broiler.

Both waxed paper and parchment paper may be used in the microwave and to line the bottom of cake pans to make it easier to remove gluten-free cakes which have a tendency to stick.


Buffalo Hot Dogs

With summer just around the corner, don't you just crave a juicy hot dog on the grill? The Buffalo Guys have a whole line of buffalo products, including gluten-free hot dogs. They're available at  www.thebuffaloguys.com.

 

You'll find recipes for gluten-free hamburger buns (which can be shaped instead into hot dog buns since both require the same type of dough) in my books Special Diet Solutions and Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus. With July 4th just around the corner, you'll want a big supply of dogs and buns.

 


Graduation and Wedding Time

It's time for weddings and graduations. Wondering what to serve? There are many menus in Gluten-Free Celebrations and Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus—both by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.—that tell you exactly what to serve for these special occasions  so everyone can join in the fun.

 


Special Diet Solutions and Gluten-Free Celebrations Soon Out of Print

On June 30, 2005 my two books---Special Diet Solutions and Gluten-Free Celebrations---will be out of print. They will be replaced by one book called Cooking Free: 220 Recipes for People with Food Allergies and Multiple Food Sensitivities by Carol Fenster, Ph.D., from Avery, a division of Penguin Putnam. The new book won't have ALL of the recipes from both books, so if you were thinking of getting a copy at my web site do so before June 30, 2005.

 


Everything You Ever Wanted to Know...... New Booklets Help Us Live without Gluten, Dairy, or Eggs

My new on-line, 20+ page booklets are available at www.savorypalate.com. They are jam-packed with information you won't find in my books and answer many questions you were afraid to ask or didn't know you should ask. The booklets are priced at $6.95 each and can be downloaded instantly, rather than waiting for them in the mail. They are continuously updated as I learn new information so they are always current.

 


Food for Thought

"Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You're a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that. Unconditional self acceptance is the core of a peaceful mind."--St. Francis de Sales 1567-1622, Patron Saint of Journalists.—Carol Fenster)

 


Where in the World Is Carol?
In May I demonstrated my famous "ready in one hour" French bread for attendees at the Celiac Disease Foundation in Los Angeles. You can get the recipe in the white cover version of Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus  or any edition of Gluten-Free 101. I made the bread in a food processor which I heartily recommend for efficiency.

 

I will be in Italy during most of June, and I'll tell you all about my gluten-free trip when I return.

 

What am I taking to Italy in the way of food? For snacking, I'm taking little individual plastic bags of nuts and dried fruits. Lara's bars in Chocolate and Cashew flavors. Mary's Gone Crackers in both Original and Caraway flavors and Blue Diamond nut crackers..

 

For breakfast, I'll take the Enjoy Life granola or my Homemade Granola which is in Gluten-Free Celebrations (and the new Cooking Free--due out this fall).

 

For dessert, I'll take Pamela's biscotti and possibly my own Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipes in all my books). In place of bread, I'll eat my own savory Cheese Biscotti (in my Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus). For pasta, I'll take Heartland Ingredients bean  pasta, which can soak in hot water and be ready in about 5 minutes, depending on how hot the water is. Of course, I'll be able to find lots of gluten-free choices, but I'll take these foods in small quantities as "back-ups."