From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Makes about 24 ladyfingers

This is based on a regular flour recipe from my friend Cheryl Emerson, a pastry chef instructor at Milford High School’s Culinary Arts Department. I’ve adapted it to be gluten-free.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs, separated
• ¼ cup granulated sugar – superfine if you have it
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup gluten-free flour or cornstarch (I actually use ½ cup less 1 Tbsp)
• ½ tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick liner. Get out pastry piping bag with a ½ inch plain piping tube. You can also use a large Ziploc bag with the corner cut off to make ½ inch opening.

3. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until they are stiff. Add half of the granulated sugar and whisk until stiff again. Fold in remaining half of granulated sugar.

4. In separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt until thick and creamy and lighter colored. About 4 minutes.

5. Gently fold egg yolk mix into egg white mix, taking care not to deflate. Use a large stainless steel spoon and fold in figure 8 motion. Do not over mix since you will be adding flour mix.

6. Mix together flour and baking powder and sift onto egg mix and gently fold in. Scrape down sides gently with spatula and reach to bottom of bowl with spatula so everything is mixed in, but still keeping fluffiness. This is not a time to beat vigorously.

7. Gently spoon mix into piping bag and pipe roughly 3” long fingers onto lined sheet, leaving about 2” between each finger.

8. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes until ladyfingers are risen, rounded and light golden brown.

9. Remove from oven and let cool before you try to remove ladyfingers from baking sheet. These are soft ladyfingers. For crispy/dry ladyfingers, cook additional 5-10 minutes, taking care that they do not get too brown.

Tips & Alternatives:

To make a pie crust, cook the ladyfingers to crispy/dry point, then cool and crumble.

For a sponge cake: Grease and line a 9” cake pan. Gently spoon batter in and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Cake should be well risen, light golden brown and softly firm to the touch.

From Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Want more recipes from Chef Oonagh? Keep an eye out for her column in NFCA’s December 2014 newsletter, hitting inboxes on December 4.

I wanted a more indulgent corn bread. I remember the soft, buttery, cake-like corn breads often served in restaurants that my husband can eat. Sorry, New England-style is sweet. My everyday cornbread has fat-free milk or almond milk, olive oil and liquid egg substitute. Very tasty without the fat calories. This version is just from cornmeal. I find that I like the “grittiness” of Arrowhead Mills cornmeal, (labeled gluten-free). Other friends like coarser or smoother corn meals. Bob’s Red Mill make both. Their version is grittier since it is stone ground, but more nutritious. A coarser corn meal might also make a drier cornbread.

I should remember not to experiment with a recipe when I am busy, with my husband home and back aching. I ended up making these with 5 oz. 10 Tbsp. of butter instead of the 6 Tbsp. I tell you in the recipe. So beyond indulgent to evil! They were very good, but the butter quantity is crazy. So stick with the 6 Tbsp. recipe. It’s still a lot of butter.

Ingredients

Makes 6 mini loaves, a little bigger than 2×4”

• 3 oz. 6 Tbsp. (85g) soft butter or substitute, melted
• 1/3 cup (2+1/2 oz., 70g) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. (5ml) gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1 cup (5 oz., 145g) labeled gluten-free cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (They are crumbly without xanthan gum. My husband complained, I didn’t mind.)
• ½ cup (120 ml., 4 fl. oz.) buttermilk (Add 1 tsp. lemon juice to almond milk etc. for dairy-free. In New Hampshire, we can easily buy “real” buttermilk.)
• Pinch of salt
• Maple syrup to finish

Suggested Additions: You can add some chopped jalapeños, cheese, herbs, bits of bacon, red pepper.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease 6 cavity mini loaf pan.
2. Place all ingredients in bowl and beat with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes until creamy and fluffy. If the mixture looks too stiff, add 1-2 Tbsp. more buttermilk.
3. Scoop into greased mini loaf pans and smooth surface.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until risen and golden brown.
5. Brush tops of warm cornbread with maple syrup. Of course you can also whip some maple syrup into soft butter to serve with cornbread.

Watch me on New Hampshire’s ABC TV on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 for something deliciously gluten-free. On Friday, December 12, 2014, I’ll be making my gluten-free Kahlua tipsy cake at the producer’s request. She doesn’t mind it’s gluten-free, even though she’s a wheat eater.

Chef Oonagh’s son was diagnosed over 5 years ago with no previous symptoms. She has non-celiac gluten sensitivity, but with celiac disease markers, and has cousins with celiac disease. Chef Oonagh is British, has a culinary arts degree, trained in London and Switzerland and lives in New Hampshire. Chef Oonagh will be speaking at the GFAF Expos in Springfield, Massachusetts in October and Dallas, Texas in November. Chef Oonagh has just returned from speaking and teaching gluten-free cooking classes to a support group in Dallas and Fort Worth. ‘Like’ Chef Oonagh at Gluten Free Cooking with Oonagh on FB where she posts links to her recipes, her Delicious Gluten Free cooking cookbook (over 200 pages), appearances on the local ABC station, products, her classes, and where you can meet her when she speaks at conferences nationwide. E-mail at [email protected].

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

This bread freezes well, so you can make this in advance. The recipe can also be halved easily.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bread

• 1 can (15oz) solid pack pumpkin, not pie filling (ingredient list should only be pumpkin) You can also use 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or 1 cup applesauce or ½ cup oil and ½ cup plain yogurt)
• 4 extra large eggs or 5 large eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• grated fresh nutmeg
• ½ tsp ground cardamom (or 2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice to replace individual spices)
• 2 1/2 cup Oonagh’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup craisins – dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup golden or ordinary raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or other nuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 stick of butter, softened, unsalted if you have it
• 4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 of block) at room temperature (lite is fine, but it gives a softer texture)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 tbsp cream

Brown Sugar Frosting

• 1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Put pumpkin, oil, sugar, eggs, water and vanilla in large (8 cup) mixing bowl and beat well for 2 minutes until air bubbles are visible.
2. Stir all dry ingredients together, then beat in dry ingredients. Stir in fruit and nuts.
3. Pour into 2 well greased 9 x 5” loaf pans, or 2 six-hole mini bundt tins (bundt tins will be well filled). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes for loaf or 20-30 minutes for muffins/bundts. Cake should be well risen, dark brown (because of spices), firm at edges and pulling away from sides.
4. Remove from oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes, turn out onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Cake keeps fresh for quite a few days, freezes and microwaves well. If cake still feels sticky on side nearest to bottom of pan, then put it back in oven for about 10 more minutes.
5. Serve with cream cheese for breakfast or top with cream cheese frosting and brown sugar frosting on bundt cakes for a party.

Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions

Beat all frosting ingredients together until desired consistency. Add more or less sugar and cream to your preferred taste. If you used softened butter, then it will spread easily, but will need to be refrigerated in order to use a piping bag and decorative pipe. The cream makes it taste like melted vanilla ice cream, but you can get away with using milk.

Brown Sugar Frosting Instructions

1. In microwave or small non-stick pan, bring brown sugar, butter and milk to a gentle boil. Stir until butter melts, sugar dissolves, and mixture is smooth.
2. Gradually beat icing sugar and vanilla into hot mix.
3. You can add red and yellow food color to make pumpkin orange.

Ingredients:

Loaf

• 4 T. butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ginger

Topping (Optional)

• 2 T. butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat together butter, sugar, egg and pumpkin.

3. Add remaining loaf ingredients and mix completely. Pour into greased 8″ x 4″ loaf pan.

4. Mix nut topping and smooth evenly over batter. Pat lightly into the top of the batter.

5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

Salad

• ½ cup raw quinoa grain cooked as directed and cooled
• ½ cup raw cauliflower, divided into tiny florets
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• Greens of 2 green onions (scallions, spring onions)
• ¼ cup chopped, toasted nuts (walnuts are traditional; I prefer cashews)
• 2 ribs of celery, washed and cut into small slices
• 1/3 cup of dried cranberries

Dressing

• ¼ cup regular olive oil
• 1 tsp. gluten-free Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. white Balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (You can also replace the 1 Tbsp. of Balsamic vinegar with an additional tablespoon of lemon juice)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over cooked quinoa.

2. Add remaining ingredients and stir until the dressing and ingredients are well incorporated. Let sit for an hour or more to let the flavors meld.

Tips & Alternatives:

Add more nuts and feta cheese on top as a finishing touch.

Don’t add spinach – it will wilt and turn brown.

Try adding chopped apple for a fresh bite. Toss it in with some orange slices – the acidity will keep the apple from browning, and it’s better than adding lemon juice mixed with water.

Other quinoa salad options:

• Make a guacamole version with avocado, fresh mango instead of dried fruit, cilantro and jalapeno.
• Go Greek with oregano, artichokes and olives.
• For Italian flavors, try basil, bell peppers and sun-dried tomatoes.

Remember to rinse the quinoa before cooking to get rid of the saponin (natural insect repellent on the quinoa grains) smell and taste. Put quinoa in the sieve and run cold water through it for a few minutes. I frequently rub the grains at the same time.