It’s not often that I can find a gluten-free, sugar-free, corn-free snack that gives me the crunch I crave. As I try to curb sugar and grains from my diet I find that this becomes what I want – and the hardest to find.

A 1.75 oz bag of Parm Crisps made by Kitchen Table Bakers arrived with my Cuisine Cube delivery this month. It says that there are 3.3 servings in this bag. I’m always searching for a low carb snack in the afternoon that is something other than apples and carrot sticks. These crisps really filled a void for me and did it without carbs.

Parm Crisps are made entirely of aged Parmesan cheese and that’s it. They are 80 calories per serving, with 7 g protein. Click to continue reading »

It’s a cold gray day. I have one kid home sick resting and the other due home from school shortly. I’m taking a quiet moment for myself with a hot chai tea and a few Almond Shortbread cookies by Five Points Baking Company.

These shortbread cookies are addictive. I made sure to put a few on a plate and leave the others in their package so I wouldn’t eat too many. Their small flower shape makes them all the more decadent. They are buttery and crumbly and melt in your mouth. I can taste the almond meal and the cookies have a smooth, not gritty texture and are not overly sweet. They pair well with a hot beverage on a cold day.

Five Points Baking Company is a new North Carolina venture with a purposeful vintage vibe. Their products are made with the best ingredients and prepared in small batches. All products are all natural and gluten-free. Four of the almond shortbread cookies, made by substituting almond meal for flour, contain 3g protein, 2g fiber and 8g carbohydrates.

I’m partial to the shortbread cookies but they also make gluten-free cheese straws. The shape and texture of the “cookie” is similar but these are cheesy and have a note of heat with each bite. This snack is gluten-free, sugar-free and low in carbs.  Instead of a hot beverage these would pair well with your favorite gluten free beer.

This review is based on the pre-made shortbread cookies and cheese straws but you can also buy the mix to make yourself. I’ve not tried that yet so stay tuned.

Five Point Baking Company products are sold in select retailers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. If you are outside of those areas visit their online store.

General Mills, Inc. has filed three international patents for ready-to-bake gluten-free dough: one for pie, one for pizza and one for
cookies. This is good news for gluten-free diners as it validates the importance of these products.

Minneapolis-based General Mills said in its filing, “Consumers enjoy the modern convenience of ready-to-bake products, which can go directly from the pantry, refrigerator or freezer to the oven or other associated baking appliance without the need for additional preparation steps and/or the addition of ingredients. Particularly, there is demand for ready-to-bake gluten-free products that can go directly from the refrigerator to the oven or other associated baking appliance.”

In the pie dough patent filing, a gluten-free flour mixture constitutes 31% to 50% by weight of the composition. The flour mixture may include rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch and corn starch. Besides the flour mixture, other ingredients include at least one oil, shortening, fructose, water and sucrose.

In the cookie dough patent filing, a gluten-free flour mixture constitutes 25% to 30% by weight of the composition. The gluten-
free flour mixture includes less than 30% rice flour by weight of the composition and less than 2.5% potato starch by weight of the composition along with tapioca starch, corn starch or combinations of tapioca starch and corn starch. Besides the flour mixture, other ingredients include shortening, sucrose and water.

In the pizza dough patent filing, a gluten-free flour mixture constitutes 45% to 55% by weight of the composition. The gluten-
free flour mixture includes less than 12% rice flour by weight of the composition and at least one of the following ingredients: tapioca starch, sorghum flour and millet flour. Besides the flour mixture, other ingredients include dried egg whites, oil, shortening, water, ethanol and sucrose.

Is it strange to say that back before I went gluten free the best part of the pie for me was the crust? The filling can be great too but it was those bites with a little filling plus the crust that were always my favorite. That had to change when I went gluten free. Often times the crust is ether not good or non-existent. Crust free quiche anyone?!

When I tried a Pecan Dandy made by Ethel’s Edibles I was blown away. Not only were they fun pecan squares but the shortbread crust on the bottom was just as good as I remember. The pecans are crunchy and sweet, and there is a thin layer of pecan pie goodness then a perfect layer of shortbread crust on the bottom. I bought a box of three squares to take to a party and had to make sure and share so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat all of them myself. Click to continue reading »

At home I like to have a gluten-free baked good stashed in my freezer. Do other people do this? I like to know that if we have a dinner to host or one to go to I might be able to bring myself something so as not to get left out of the dessert part of the meal. That and then there are just those days when you need a little chocolate, right?

The North Brooklyn Eats brownie and blondie showed up just in time with my Cuisine Cube. My frozen stash of Molly’s chocolate chip cookies is just about gone so now it’s been replenished with a new treat. The dark chocolate brownie and the Heath Bar crunch blondie that came in this month’s box were large enough for me to cut each in half before freezing. I even took a small sample of each without having to skimp much on my future snacking.

These brownies are delicious. They have that slightly crunchy crust on the outside while still being soft on the inside without feeling under baked. There were plenty of chocolate chunks where they should have been and even the bar I froze before eating came out soft and moist like it was just baked. I will be sad when these are gone from my freezer. Order your own to eat now or stash away from the stock up section of CuisineCube.com.

I’ve completely given up covering this show sequentially since our focus is the gluten-free recipes, not who is going to win. Our man Gregory Gourdet is still in it and so the blog posts continue.

This week’s Quickfire Challenge kicks off with Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, tight end for the New England Patriots, joining our hosts. Gronk relies on Polish sausage for fuel.

Gourdet whips up a pork and boar sausage with kaffir lime, chiles, and lemongrass. Unfortunately the judges don’t like it so he doesn’t win. Click to continue reading »

Week 8’s guest judge was Jasper White, the chef / owner of Summer Shack Restaurants, the man who literally wrote the book on the main ingredient of this week’s Quickfire: Chowder. The contestants had 30 minutes to create a unique chowder with a range of available ingredients including littleneck clams, razor clams, shrimp, and lobster.

Here’s a list of the gluten-free chowders that emerged from this challenge: Click to continue reading »

Restaurant Wars is one of the fan favorite episodes. The chefs are asked to create an actual restaurant from scratch in less than 24 hours.

The contestants were broken up into two teams of four. Each team had 24 hours to create a pop-up restaurant. They had to come up with a name and a concept, construct a menu, purchase the furniture and decor (down to the tablecloths and silverware), and then cook for 100 guests. Click to continue reading »

Pewaukee, Wisconsin. You read that right – Pewaukee – not Milwaukee, Wisconsin is where Molly’s Gluten-free Bakery is located. I’ve actually been there so when I saw that town on info at the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo in Chicago it caught my attention.

There were a ton of great gluten-free and allergy-free products at the Expo but the only bread and cookies I bought were from Molly’s Gluten-free Bakery. The bread caught my eye because they had these great looking baguettes stacked in baskets. The loaves of bread smelled great and looked like something homemade – not something pressed out of a machine.

I bought one large baguette at the show. I ate some of it as a sandwich that day and cut the rest into pieces and stuck it in the freezer. The bread tasted great fresh and held up well. I also used it toasted out of the freezer for a sandwich and for garlic bread with success each time. The bread had the right texture, toasted up well and did not crumble.

While I was at the booth at the Expo they also had me try a mini chocolate chip cookie. I thought it was great, it reminded me of these little ones I used to love as a kid. Then she let me in on a secret, the ones they were using for samples had been previously frozen! That was it. I was sold. If they tasted that good at the show after being frozen I knew I could buy a fresh batch and do the same at home. I bought a dozen, wrapped each one and stuck them in the freezer for when I’m in need of something sweet. They taste homemade, even out of my freezer, and they are a wonderful small, indulgent treat for myself.

Molly’s products are sold in their bakery and at restaurants and grocery stores around the Milwaukee. You can also order online. Various products have the option of also being made egg- and dairy-free. Visit their bakery for the largest selection of breads, cakes, pies, pizza, bagels and cupcakes.

We’re still tracking Gregory Gourdet, the gluten-free cheftestant on Season 12 of Top Chef. Yes, we’re a little behind on covering this show but the DVR makes it possible and there’s been so much else going on with the craziness of the holiday season.

The theme for Week 3′s Quickfire was The Boston Tea Party and the challenge was to incorporate tea flavors into a savory dish. Ming Tsai was the guest judge.

Our man Gregory wins this one with a simple tuna crudo with strawberry white tea and young coconut. It’s simple and composed, and even though it’s not the best-looking plate, it’s enough to earn him immunity.

The second part of the episode takes the cheftestants to Fenway Park. There judge Richard Blaise praises Gregory for “moneyball,” a baseball strategy that emphasizes exploiting efficiencies to make the best of what you were given. In this case, the balance, brightness and precision of Gregory’s roasted duck, Thai chili jam, peanut brittle, crispy shallots, and fresh herb salad impress everyone.