From the archives – but still so true!

My mom is not a foodie, but during my call to wish her a happy Mother’s day, for once she started talking about food:

“I’m throwing away a green lemon, not because it’s not ripe, because it’s moldy. We’ve got to get the science experiments out of the fridge. One shelf at a time…the yogurt said December 21st, I figure it is time to get rid of it.”

I asked her permission to share that on my blog and she said “Of course, you can use it as an example of how far you’ve come and that liking to cook is not genetic.”

The fact that food is of so little importance to my Mom means we find other topics of conversation. But what’s really remarkable is the effort she puts forth to make sure I am comfortable and can eat completely gluten-free whenever I go home. They even stop eating gluten for the most part when I am there. I told them as long as flour isn’t flying in the air, we could keep the gluten from contaminating me, but she and Victor don’t want me to feel deprived when I am visiting. I am able to cook as easily in their kitchen as I do in my own.

I am lucky to have such an incredible Mom and wish I could be there with her today. All of my love and thoughts are with her on this special day. I hope you are able to celebrate Mother’s Day with your loved ones.

Congratulations to Jaime – winner of the $50 Carrabbas gift certificate – Jamie has a blog called Red Hat Man and her husband is gluten-free.

Thanks to everyone for their comments – I promise more giveaways to come.

PS – the photo of my nephew has nothing to do with the giveaway but I didn’t have a ‘winner’ photo so I am being totally self-indulgent here – I think it is ridiculously cute that he now does “yoga” ever since my trip to Texas for our gluten-free Thanksgiving.

(Winner selected with a random number generator on Feb 15th at 8:44pm EST)

Congratulations to Johanna B, winner of the gluten-free granola from JK Gourmet.

Johanna loves her gluten-free granola with vanilla yogurt and frozen blueberries.

As always, announcing a winner gives me an excuse to post a picture of my nephew. This is a picture of Cam during Halloween this year. I will be getting a whole new batch of photos soon when I visit him in California.

Winner selected by random.org – don’t worry if you didn’t win this time, another great prize is on it’s way.

I’m greatly saddened to share the news that one of the forerunners in the online gluten-free community passed away this summer. After battling an aggressive form of cancer, David Marc Fischer was taken from us abruptly in August.

I have struggled to write about it as sadness begins to overwhelm me. David was a dear friend and support. The loss hit me in a profound way, and I know I must be experiencing only a glimmer of the pain his family is feeling.

I first met David at the Gluten-Free Cooking Spree in 2007, though we knew each other ‘virtually’ before that. We became fast friends once we crossed over from digital to real life. David and I both went to college at the University of Virginia. We shared tales of Charlottesville in years past and were constantly exchanging tips on restaurants and gluten-free products. David came to my apartment for gluten-free tastings – he introduced me to a variety of gluten-free beers and always knew the best sources for gluten-free breads and pastas.  Who else could understand the funny stories that come about when dating gluten-free?  He was such a positive person, I felt truly lucky to count him among my friends.

In addition to authoring Gluten-Free NYC, he also wrote Blog About Town and was remembered at Emdashes for his dedication to the New Yorker cartoon contest. While his memorial was in August, the Celiac Meetup Group in NYC is having a dinner in his honor Monday, September 14th . The dinner will begin at 7pm at Lilli and Loo’s, one of David’s favorite restaurants. After spending time in China after college, David LOVED Asian cuisine. Since he only ate at restaurants that were part of the Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program, the arrival of Lilli and Loo’s was truly a gift for him. I realize many of you are too far away to make it to dinner, but we are lucky to be able to use the Internet to connect and share.

It feels like yesterday that David and I were making risotto together at a gluten-free cooking class he invited me to. I am so grateful for his friendship, thoughtfulness, conversation, intelligence and cheer. My life is richer and the world is a better place because he was a part of it.

And the Betty Crocker Gluten-Free prize pack goes to Andrea – who would like to see a gluten-free version of the Warm Delights mixes.  Thanks to everyone for your suggestions, hopefully Betty Crocker will listen and add more!

As always, announcing the winner gives me an excuse to post a picture of my nephew – this is from his second birthday party. He will have a little brother later this year so I may have to start rotating between nephews next year….

(number selected by random.org)

Hopefully many of you are grilling on this 4th of July holiday, but before the summer is over a picnic should be on your ‘to-do’ list. While for most people, sandwiches may be the first thing that comes to mind for ‘picnic food,’ I put together a perfectly palatable offering without ever considering great gluten-free bread.

A few of the items in our ‘basket’:

Assorted cured and smoked meats – Speck, Salsiccia and Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast

Antipasti – Marinated Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts (try wrapping a sun-dried tomato in a piece of turkey – yum!)

Cheese and Gluten-Free Crackers – Cypress Grove’s Truffle Tremor and Midnight Moon cheeses were perfect with a Roman Cacio cheese and Blue Diamond Almond Thins

Fresh Fruit – Apples and Strawberries

Yogurt – plain greek yogurt was great as a dessert with the strawberries

Beverages – Water and White Wine were our choices for this gluten-free dining adventure

Mix and match – it’s not difficult once you get past the idea that you have to have a sandwich.

And just because you may not like camping, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a great meal outdoors. Happy Independence Day!

Since completing my gluten-free soft-serve round up last summer, Pinkberry has added coffee to their flavor offerings and Grom gelato, that I first tasted in Florence, has added a West Village outpost – all gluten-free flavors are marked right on their menu.

If you are ambitious enough to make your own ice cream, the options are even more plentiful. Something simple like David’s Easy Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe looks sublime. But if you are going to the effort to make your own, perhaps try a more unusual flavor like Deb’s Fennel Ice Cream Recipe, David’s Candied Bacon Ice Cream (yes, that says Bacon) or this Honey Lavender Ricotta Ice Cream Recipe from Cooking Light. I first discovered ricotta gelato during a summer in Sicily and still dream of those cones full of sweet and creamy gelato topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Even with those dreams dancing in my head, my all time favorite ice cream has to be the Toasted Almond flavor from Fosselman’s in Alhambra, CA. Thank goodness I have a ticket to visit my family this summer in California; I won’t have to wait too long before indulging.

What are your favorite ice cream flavors?

Cupcakes make people happy. A simple mantra, but absolutely true. One of the items I really struggled to recreate after going gluten-free was the gluten-free cupcake. Luckily, after many attempts, I finally reached a solution – hence my call to celebrate love with a gluten-free cupcake. While it’s not always feasible to make your own cupcakes, fortunate people in Chicago can get many types of gluten-free cupcakes with a visit to Swirlz.  Swirlz is not an exclusively gluten-free bakery, but the owner has Celiac so extra care and attention is given to keeping the gluten-free cupcakes free of cross-contamination.

Swirlz is just one of the many gluten-free options I was able to sample during a trip to Chicago. After an unremarkable diner at the W hotel, I ate well the rest of my time there. Lou Malnati’s pizzeria boast a completely gluten-free pizza. Rather than use a crust of gluten-free flours, they use Sausage as the base. This unique approach gives an added benefit to those on a low-carb diet. The staff at Lou Malnati’s is trained on how to prevent cross-contamination, using separate pans and even using separate tongs when removing the gluten-free pizzas from their ovens.

My favorite meal of the trip, however, was a dinner with LeaAnn at Naha – a fusion restaurant with California influences. I discovered it when looking for chefs in Chicago who were James Beard Award recipients.

We started with a salad featuring Spanish ham, garroxta cheese and white anchovies.

The scallops scented with vanilla bean, citrus and spices were a surprising delight.

My favorite small plate was a coddled egg chorizo salad. Such an incredible combination of textures and flavors.

For a main we split a monkfish loin with Maryland crab and caramelized fennel. The sauce and spices were subtle and close to perfection for my palate.

LeaAnn and I struggled to decide between a cheese plate and a sorbet and ice cream sampler so we elected to get both. We always get the Robiola during our trips to Ecco, so that was just one of 8 cheeses we enjoyed at Naha (with some passionfruit curd I requested as an additional pairing.)

The Coconut sorbet and Macadamia Nut and Hazlenut ice creams were served atop balsamic cherries. We did not regret our decision to indulge in cheese and dessert.

So if the latest season of Top Chef has you itching for a trip to Chicago, rest assured that the city will welcome you with open arms and numerous gluten-free options.

For those of you already in Chicago, Bistro 110 launched an allergy-friendly dinner series this year. The Sans-Gluten Dinner is on May 12, 2008 and will include dough-less quiche lorraine and gluten-free tagliatelle pasta with a ragout of mussel, clam, shrimp and tarragon. The first in the series was a nut-free dinner and after the gluten-free dinner it will continue with dairy-free and shellfish-free options. The Chef’s children have allergies so you can appreciate the legitimate concern in the kitchen for your needs.

I’m sure there are other fantastic gluten-free finds I didn’t have a chance to visit. Where are the other hidden gluten-free gems in Chicago?

Bistro 110
110 E Pearson St
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-266-3110

Lou Malnati’s – multiple locations

Naha
500 North Clark street
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: 312-321-6242

Swirlz
705 W. Belden Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
Phone: 877-794-7594

Two recent dates led me to two new restaurants. While the food was great at both and everything was gluten-free, they exhibited opposite extremes of service and ambiance available in the NY dining scene.

Dinner at Back 40, the more casual East Village sister to Savoy Restaurant in Soho, was such a refreshing gluten-free dining experience. I presented my Triumph dining card, the server consulted with the chef and we were able to enjoy a perfect meal, including a shaved fennel salad, two types of grilled fish, one with a cilantro salsa verde and a second garnished with fresh grilled ramps. Sides included sauteed rapini with garlic, mushrooms with thyme and shallots, and a third side of cheesy potato goodness. Three different servers assisted us, all with grace and ease. At the end of the meal, one of the servers even thanked me for bringing in the dining card because it was so helpful to the chef in creating a ’safe’ and delicious meal.

The service at Back 40 was in stark contrast to a recent dinner I had a Michelin-starred restaurant. I had to work with multiple servers to explain what I needed and my Triumph dining card was lost, with no offer to make up for their error. When my date suggested The Café at Country, a fine dining establishment in the more sterile Midtown East neighborhood I was excited to experience another Michelin-starred dinner. The food was fantastic, but the service did not live up to their reputation or their prices ($18-20 for one glass of wine??) Sizzling shrimp scampi with lemon brulee, a subtle fresh seared fish preparation and rich potato puree were all gluten-free. I savored every last bite, clearing my plate (also ignoring the antiquated advice I was given as a girl about how to behave on a date). I wouldn’t go back on a busy weekend night but on a slower weekday, the food and numerous gluten-free options make it worth revisiting.

Back 40

190 Avenue B, At 12th St, NY, NY 10009

Phone: 212-388-1990

The Cafe at Country

90 Madison Ave, at 29th St, NY, NY 10016

Phone:  212-889-7100