A Gluten Free Holiday - Breakfast with Silvana Nardone

Photo used with permission of Silvana Nardone. 

Today's recipe is from Silvana Nardone, author of "Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten Free & Dairy Free Recipes for Easy, Delicious Meals." Silvana is a former magazine editor and bakery owner. She's a writer, a cook, a wife, and a mom. Silvana learned several years ago that her son was intolerant to gluten. She made it her mission to create & provide healthy and delicious foods for her family that her son could enjoy.

Silvana graciously offered to share one of her breakfast recipes for our series this week "A Gluten Free Holiday." Silvana's cookbook is one our many giveaways this week, you can learn more about the giveaway and enter to win here: A Gluten Free Holiday - Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

Hash Brown Waffles with Sausage-Apple Patties and Fried Eggs
This recipe has diner food written all over it—exactly my intention. Instead of classic waffles, I serve up my sausage and eggs with crispy hash brown waffles, which I promise you, taste better than a side of fries. The dried apples in the sausage patties add just the right amount of sweet, caramelized flavor.


Recipe by Silvana Nardone, author of Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy, Delicious Meals and founder of DishTowelDiaries.com.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 25 min

1 pound (500 g) sweet Italian sausages, casings removed

1/3 cup dried apples (about 1 ounce), finely chopped
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
¾ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1½ pounds/750 g)—peeled, grated and wrung dry
½ medium onion, grated
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Ketchup, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the sausage, apples, brown sugar, mustard, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and 1/8 pepper; shape into four 4-inch patties, about 1/3 inch thick.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the potatoes, onion, 1 tablespoon oil and ¾ teaspoon salt.
4. Preheat a Belgian waffle iron to medium-high heat. Grease the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray. Mound ½ cup of the potato mixture in each waffle quarter; close and cook until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and season with salt and pepper; cook, turning once, until whites are set and yolks are slightly runny, about 3 minutes.
6. To serve, place a waffle on each of four plates; top with a sausage patty and a fried egg. Serve with ketchup.

*If you'd like to enter to win a copy of Silvana's gluten free cookbook, "Cooking for Isaiah" please visit: "A Gluten Free Holiday - Breakfast & Brunch recipes. 

Homemade Gluten Free Cake Mix Recipe

I've always been one of those "Martha Stewart" types who wants to make everything from scratch. (And I REALLY hope you can read the sarcasm in that statement! lol)

Not really. I mean I love making things from scratch, but I work full time. I attempt to keep a house clean (not one of my strong points if you know me and hopefully you love me anyway! lol). I commute to work and therefore I'm on the road a lot. With work, home life, blogging, hobbies, and even our local gluten free support group thrown into the mix... I can't imagine if & when we have kids how life could possibly be any more busy!

So needless to say we all need shortcuts. Especially when it comes to cake. I like cake. A whole lot. I probably shouldn't eat cake. But it's Christmas, which means it's Jesus' birthday and I say that calls for cake!

I've enjoyed using the gluten free Betty Crocker cake mixes, but not only are they expensive (usually close to $5 a box for a batch that makes 12 cupcakes or a one layer cake), they are also hard to find where I live.  One of  my favorite stores used to carry them, but now all they carry is the brownie mix. As much as I like baking from scratch, it is nice to just pull out a box from the pantry and make a cake.

So here's my homemade version of the gluten free Betty Crocker mix. While I will say that the homemade mix is more healthy than the boxed version... it's still not "health food" by any stretch of the imagination. This mix has much less sugar, uses whole grain brown rice flour, and calls for much less oil than the Betty Crocker version. This homemade mix is also super easy to make! Line up about 5 glass jars on your counter and measure out all the ingredients "assembly-line" style for 5 cake mixes and fill your glass jars. Voila... instant homemade gluten free yellow cake mixes!

*To make a chocolate cake mix just add the dry ingredients of my favorite gluten free chocolate cake recipe to a jar and you'll be ready to go! 

They also make really cute Christmas presents! :-)

Homemade Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix Recipe
Makes 1 (8" or 9") round cake or 12 cupcakes
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, (and can be corn free using guar gum and corn free baking powder)
Created by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe

DRY Yellow Cake Mix Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon fine brown rice flour (or white rice flour)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch (or potato starch)
1/2 cup sugar
1  teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum -or- guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add all of the above dry ingredients into a 1 pint glass jar or a resealable plastic bag. Close tightly and store in a cool pantry or cupboard. Should keep for up to 6 months.

TO make a one layer cake or 12 cupcakes simply mix in:
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I like almond)
2 eggs (or equivalent of Ener-G egg replacer or egg replacers in Notes below!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions to make a cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you're making a round 8 or 9" cake, place parchment paper (cut to size) in the bottom of your baking pan and then spritz with non-stick spray or oil, or line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Pour dry cake mix in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together all wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared cake pan or fill cupcake liners 3/4  a little over 1/2 full as they rise like normal cupcakes. Bake 8-9" round cake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cupcakes will bake in 17-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Make sure to cool completely before frosting!

Frost & decorate with your favorite gluten free frosting!

These cupcakes are very moist, so make sure to store leftovers in the refrigerator.


Carrie's Notes:

• The dry mix works awesomely on a pumpkin dump cake or for just about any cake recipe using a store bought cake mix!
• Egg Replacer Options:  To make this cake egg free you have several options, each of these options makes the equivalent of 2 eggs in baking: 1/2 cup applesauce + an additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder OR 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds + 6 tablespoons hot water + an additional 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder OR 1 tablespoon of Ener-G Egg replacer + 4 tablespoons hot water. I also think it's a good idea to add an additional tablespoon of oil per egg to replace the fat/moisture content from the egg yolk! 
• If you can make a small label that includes the wet ingredients needed to complete the cake it looks super cute in your cabinet and also really makes a great Christmas gift!
• Rice Flour: If you cannot tolerate rice flour, I would use millet flour in it's place since it's such a mild tasting flour!

A Gluten Free Holiday: Breakfast & Brunch Recipes

Welcome to the 5th installment of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free's "A Gluten Free Holiday."  This week we are focusing on gluten free recipes for breakfast & brunch!

The previous posts in "A Gluten Free Holiday" include:

• Ricki of Diet, Dessert, and Dogs: A Healthier Gluten Free Holiday
• Shirley of gluten free - easily: Gluten Free Thanksgiving Favorites
• Alta of Tasty Eats at Home: Gifts of Good Taste
• Diane of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang: Christmas & Hanukkah Side Dish Favorites
• Next Thursday (12/16/2010), Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free will host the last week of the series which will focus on Gluten Free Holiday Desserts! 

For more information on today's post & gluten free cookbook giveaways and to see today's recipe for a Christmas Bacon quiche please visit my Reviews/Giveaways page!!

Christmas Morning Bacon Quiche

Gluten Free, Vegan Dark Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Late fall is the perfect time for hearty, dark chocolate, gluten free muffins. The taste of these muffins actually reminds me of an oreo cookie. Deeply chocolate, with just a touch of sweetness. I think our early snow this year prompted me to make muffins. During warmer weather I'm not a muffin fan. I'd rather have a smoothie... but when it's chilly and you need something to go with your mug of hot tea... this rich chocolately muffin fits the bill!

These muffins are also incredibly healthy. Rice free, corn free, soy free, egg free, xanthan gum free, dairy/casein free, gluten free, with very little refined sugar. If you like to make food for holiday gifts this muffin mix would be perfect! You can place the dry ingredients in a jar and then create a recipe card that includes the wet ingredients & instructions for baking.

The muffins themselves are a tad bit crumbly simply because I do not include xanthan gum or guar gum in this recipe (more for simplicity's sake than anything else) but feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon - 1 teaspoon for a more traditional muffin texture.  For less crumbly muffins, allow them to rest on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes and longer if possible.

Gluten Free, Vegan Dark Chocolate Muffins
free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, corn, eggs, gums, rice, yeast
created by Carrie @ www.gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Makes 12 regular muffins, or 24 mini-muffins

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon chia seeds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce or pumpkin puree
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil -or- canola oil
1/3 cup agave nectar, maple syrup, or honey
1/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add In's 
1/3 cup Enjoy Life Allergen Free Chocolate Chips (these are minis - which work great for muffins!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners. (I HIGHLY recommend using paper liners for this recipe.) In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl mix together all wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix together until you have a wet batter. Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes to thicken. (The chia seeds & ground flax seeds will thicken the batter and give it the texture of a "regular" muffin batter.) Stir in the chocolate chips. Fill the paper liners about 3/4 full of muffin batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out with very few crumbs, or until you can gently touch the top of a muffin and it does not leave an impression.


Carrie's Notes:

• As stated above, these muffins have a very tender crumb (which is often the case with vegan muffins). If you want more of a cake like texture, feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum for a thicker muffin batter. 
• Oil: I added more oil to this recipe than I generally use for muffins. This really helps the muffins stay moist and overall it means that there is about 2 teaspoons of oil per muffin (for 12). If you don't want to use 1/2 cup of oil, decrease the amount to 1/4 cup and add an additional 1/4 cup of applesauce or pumpkin puree. The only difference may be that the muffins will not stay quite as moist by day 2 or day 3. 
• Chia Seeds & Ground Flax Seeds: These are both magical ingredients in egg free baking! Chia seeds have seriously ridiculous gelling power and help thicken up the muffin batter. Ground flax seeds have a wonderful "gelling" property as well, though it's not as potent as the chia seeds. I do recommend keeping the chia seeds in this recipe, if you don't have them another tablespoon of ground flax seeds should work just fine though. 
• Paper Liners: Because these muffins are delicate, I think it's definitely a good idea to use paper liners. If these muffins stick to the pan without a liner, they may be very hard to remove all in one piece. 
• Millet flour & Sorghum Flour: If you don't want to use these flours, feel free to exchange them for another whole grain gluten free flour such as brown rice flour, quinoa flour, or even buckwheat flour! 

This post is linked to Amy Green's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. 

A Gluten Free Holiday - Diane of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang

Welcome to the 4th installation of A Gluten Free Holiday, an event started by Amy Green of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. Here's a recap of the previous 2010 posts shared by Diane of The WHOLE Gang:

"A Gluten-Free Holiday is off to a wonderful start! Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs kicked us off with tips to stay healthy during the holidays and shared some delicious truffles. Then, Shirley at Gluten-Free Easily shared a no-fail pie crust recipe and we linked our Thanksgiving favorites.  Last week Alta from Tasty Eats at Home got us thinking about Gifts of Good Taste.  She shared her Macadamia Almond Brittle and Pistachio Coconut Macaroons.  Hopefully by now you are aware that each week there are tons of great cookbooks given away.  Check out below and see which really amazing cookbook authors want to give you their books. Next week visit Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl for Holiday Breakfasts and Brunch. "

Diane's theme today is Holiday Side Dishes for Christmas & Hanukkah. 

A few of my favorite naturally gluten free super easy sides dishes for the holiday (and really anytime) are:

Aunt Linda's Amazing Broccoli Puff

My favorite Sauteed Kale & Mushrooms

Super Easy Quick Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Here are the fabulous books that Diane is giving away this week for A Gluten Free Holiday. Visit her post to find out how to enter for one of these amazing gluten free books:

• 1 copy of Gluten-Free Girl: How I Found the Food That Loves Me Back…And How You Can Too by Shauna James Ahern

• 1 copy of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef by Shauna James Ahern & Daniel Ahern

• 1 copy of Sweet Freedom: Desserts You’ll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar by Ricki Heller

• 3 copies of these e-book trios: 1 copy of Sweet Freedom, 1 copy of Desserts without Compromise, 1 copy of Anti-Candida Feast Book.

Again, please make sure to stop by Diane of The WHOLE Gang, this week to add your favorite gluten free holiday side dish and to enter to win one of these wonderful gluten free books! 




I will be hosting next week's installment of A Gluten Free Holiday! The theme will be Gluten Free Holiday Breakfast & Brunch dishes! I can't wait to see the breakfast & brunch recipes you have to share!