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

Instructions

1. Cook and cool quinoa.
2. Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over cooked quinoa.
3. Add remaining salad 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Don’t add spinach—it will wilt and turn brown.

Other quinoa salad options:

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

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 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

Makes about 24 ladyfingers

• 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

Instructions

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.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 lb. whole cranberries
• 2 Tbsp. grated orange rind

Instructions:

1. In a 3- or 4-quart saucepan, stir the water, orange juice, and sugar together until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved.
2. Add the cranberries, bring to a boil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the skins of the berries begin to pop and the berries are tender but not mushy. Do not overcook them.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the orange rind. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, let cool, and then chill for at least an hour or two before serving.

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.

This recipe came by way of my gluten-free physical therapist, Linda, from her aunt Mary Waliszak from a newspaper 50 years ago. I just added orange to the batter. Linda says she makes it one for one with Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix. I found I liked to add a bit more baking powder. Remember, Pamela’s already contains raising agents. The recipe says 1-2 cups of whole fresh cranberries. Linda doesn’t have a sweet tooth so she uses 2 cups cranberries. Another friend with young children uses only 1 cup of cranberries. I went the happy medium and used 1+1/2 cups and my husband thought it had too much of ‘sour’ cranberry tang – I didn’t. Also, with 1+1/2 or 2 cups of cranberries, it is much moister than with 1 cup. You could always add a bit more sugar or dates if you want to use 2 cups cranberries.

Makes 1 Bundt pan, muffins, or two 8×4 loaf pans

Ingredients:

• 2+1/4 cup (9 oz., 255g) Pamela’s Gluten-Free Baking and Pancake Mix.
• 1 cup (7 oz.) sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. gluten-free baking powder
• 1 cup (4 oz., 100g) chopped nuts
• 1 cup (4+1/2 oz., 130g) chopped dates
• 1-2 cups whole fresh cranberries (4-8 oz., 110-220g)
• 2 eggs beaten
• Grated zest of a large orange or 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) orange extract – my choice
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) gluten-free vanilla extract – my choice
• 3/4 cup (180 ml., 6 fl. oz.) oil (I use regular olive oil)
• 1 cup (240 ml., 8 fl. oz.) buttermilk

Glaze:

1. Mix ½ cup (120ml) thawed orange juice concentrate and ½ cup sugar. (I also used orange marmalade and orange juice.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in an 8 cup (2 liter) bowl
3. Add eggs, oil, extracts and buttermilk and mix well.
4. Pour into greased and gluten-free floured tube pan or two 8×4 loaf pans. I used a regular 10 cup bundt pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour – check time at 50 minutes as each oven varies. Cake is lovely golden brown, softly firm, pulling away from the sides, didn’t dome.
6. Remove from oven, and let stand until lukewarm. It has a tendency to crumble while warm and cuts best when totally cold.
7. Remove from pan and brush or drizzle with orange glaze.

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

Makes about 24 – 1” balls

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (gluten-free)
• 1 ½ Tbsp. corn syrup or honey
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice. For a tangier taste, use orange juice concentrate.
• 3 Tbsp. orange liqueur
• Grated rind of half an orange
• 1 ¼ cups very finely crushed dry gluten-free Lady Fingers (one batch of my recipe, roughly 5 oz. in weight)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans, walnuts, macadamias or almonds
• Additional white sugar for rolling, or finely shredded white or dark chocolate
• Decorative mini muffin cups

Directions:

1. In a 6-cup microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate, honey, orange juice and orange liqueur together in increments until melted. Stir in zest.

2. Use a spatula to stir in cookies and nuts until the mix is very moist and sticking together like a paste.

3. Put sugar or shredded chocolate in wide cereal bowl. Using a #60, 1 tablespoon scoop, take scoops of the mix and drop into sugar or chocolate. Gently roll around to cover the ball. Carefully pick up and drop into decorative mini muffin cups. Place them all in a covered container and store at room temperature for at least a day for flavors to develop.

Tips & Alternatives:

Dip the completed truffle balls in melted chocolate and finish with colored chocolate melt.

From Tina and Miranda Jade Turbin of GlutenFreeHelp.info

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (1 cup) pomegranate juice
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 bag cranberries, washed
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot, combine pomegranate juice and sugar. Over medium-high heat, bring juice to a boil.
2. Add cranberries. Return juice to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice.
5. Transfer to a bowl.
6. Chill and serve.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients

Fills an 8×8 deep serving pan

Pudding

• 2 plain gluten-free bagels (about 8 oz. weight) cut into ½ inch squares (like tic-tac-toe)
• 2 cups half and half or mix of half and half and milk
• 1 x 15 or 16 oz can solid pack pumpkin – not pie filling
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. gluten-free pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
• ½ cup golden raisins
• ½ cup chopped nuts

Sauce

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• ½ cup heavy or whipping cream

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix half and half, pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, spices and vanilla together in a 10-12 cup bowl until blended.
3. Stir in raisins and nuts. Fold in bread cubes. I like to mix this together in a bowl, refrigerate overnight, stir and then turn into greased 8×8 pan.
4. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for about 40-60 minutes until bread is puffy and golden, does not ‘slosh’ around with excess milk mixture and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with caramel sauce.

Sauce

1. Melt butter and brown sugar together in a non-stick pan over a medium heat. Watch so that neither butter nor sugar burn.
2. Add cream and stir well until sugar has completely dissolved. Serve in an oven-proof jug with the pudding. The sauce will stiffen on cooling but can be reheated gently. Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about one week.

Note: There are lots of good caramel sauces in the shops, so you can save some time by purchasing a ready-made sauce.

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.

This recipe is courtesy of NFCA Blogger Ambassador, Cindy Gordon, of Vegetarian Mamma

For more delicious recipes, visit NFCA’s Gluten-Free Holiday Recipe Box.

Ingredients:

• 10 slices of gluten-free bread, cubed
• 8 oz. tub of cream cheese
• 2 cups of fresh raspberries
• 7 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup

Directions:

1. Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with oil.
2. Place half of the bread on the bottom of the pan.
3. Dollop the cream cheese evenly on bread cubes.
4. Place half the raspberries on top of the cream cheese.
5. Top with remaining bread and then remaining raspberries
6. Beat eggs, milk and maple syrup.
7. Pour directly over mixture in pan.
8. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.
9. Enjoy!