From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 batch of Gluten-Free Fudge Cake (just the cake; not the raspberry topping)
• 1 batch of Egg-Free Chocolate Pudding
• 1 pint of heavy or whipping cream whipped with 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum
• 3x recipe for Hazelnut Fudge Brownies
• Kahlua or coffee to sprinkle between layers (optional)

Topping

• ½ cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips and/or your favorite candies
• 1 pint whipping or heavy cream for piping on top whipped with 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum

Directions:

I used a 4.5 qt (4.5 liter) bowl.

1. Break up cake between your fingers into small pieces. Put cake pieces into bowl.

2. Sprinkle with ¼ cup Kahlua or plain coffee. The cake and brownie pieces are moist enough on their own, so feel free to skip this step unless you want the extra flavor.

3. Spread half of chocolate custard over cake layer.

4. Spread first pint of heavy cream whipped with sugar, vanilla and xanthan gum on top of custard.

5. Sprinkle lightly or heavily with candy/small chocolate pieces.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 using brownie instead of cake. Reserve some of the whipped cream if you want to pipe around the bowl.

7. Keep dessert in refrigerator and remove about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

Tips and Alternatives:

For a semi-homemade version, use boxed gluten-free cake and brownie mix, instant chocolate pudding mix (make sure it’s gluten-free) and frozen whipped topping.

Get creative with your toppings. A layer of strawberries, raspberries or mango would be great.

From Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup Oonagh’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• Salt
• 2 oz. (½ stick) soft butter
• 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 x 1 oz. square of Baker unsweetened chocolate
• 1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla extract
• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• Mini marshmallows – about 1/3 of 10 oz bag
• ¼ cup seedless raspberry jam or preserves
• 1 cup (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ stick (2 oz.) butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 *. Spray 8×8 pan with gluten-free non-stick spray.
2. Put square of unsweetened chocolate in microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute until melted. Stir down chocolate since it retains its shape even when melted. Prepare rest of dough while it cools.
3. Beat soft butter until creamy, add flour, sugar, salt and xanthan gum and beat until well mixed.
4. Beat in egg and vanilla extract and beat until creamy.
5. Beat in chopped nuts.
6. Beat in cooler melted chocolate – should be a lovely creamy mix.
7. Spread into 8×8 pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven.
8. Spread the mini marshmallows in a single layer over hot dough. Work as quickly as possible. Cover with foil, crimped around edges of pan and leave for 20 minutes outside the oven for marshmallows to soften.
9. After 20 minutes, lift foil and gently spread the marshallows. Melt the raspberry jam and drizzle over marshmallows and gently spread. (It will look messy!) Let stand for about 10 minutes to set up slightly.
10. Melt chocolate chips with butter and spread over marshmallows/raspberry mix.
11. Once the pan is totally cool, refrigerate for about 3 hours. Cut into bars by dipping a sharp knife into a very hot mug of water. Make one cut and then dip the knife again for next cut. Continue to dip and cut to make 4×4 =16 squares.
12. Immediately remove from pan to plate. If you cut but leave the bars to come to room temperature before removing from pan, the chocolate breaks and slides away from raspberry topping as chocolate is warm. They are best eaten at room temperature.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Makes 2 very generous portions.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup white rice
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil (or other oil of your choice)
• 3 slices gluten-free raw bacon, cut into thin strips
• Bunch of green onions (scallions, spring onions) trimmed and cut into small slices, using white and green of onion
• 1 13.5 oz. Asian-style coconut milk
• 1 tsp. gluten-free chicken stock concentrate or powdered bouillon
• ½ tsp. dried thyme
• 1 cup water
• ½ tsp. Penzeys Arizona Dreaming or smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• Zest of half a lemon
• ½ lb. fresh asparagus, stalks trimmed and cut into 1” slices; stalks and tips kept separate
• 8 oz. cooked lobster
• 4 oz. raw, small shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

1. In a 4-cup saucepan, heat oil, add chopped green onions and bacon and cook gently until softening.

2. Add rice, turn in oil and cook gently for about 2 minutes until rice is looking toasted, but not burnt.

3. Add coconut milk, water, stock concentrate, Arizona Dreaming/paprika and dried thyme. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.

4. At 10 minutes, add the asparagus stalks and continue to cook for 8 more minutes. Meanwhile, cook the asparagus tips separately in small pan until crisp and tender, then drain.

5. After the 8 minutes of extra cooking add lemon zest, dill, parsley and raw shrimp, stir well and cook for 2 more minutes. You might need to add some more water so the rice dish stays moister, not dry and sticking to the pan.

6. Check that the rice is fully cooked, then turn off the heat and stir in the cooked lobster. Cover and leave for a few minutes for the lobster to heat without toughening and the shrimp to finish cooking in the residual heat.

7. Serve in bowls, topped with asparagus tips and more fresh chopped parsley.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of



Royal Temptations Catering

About 6 dinner party portions

Ingredients:

• ½ stick (2oz) butter or olive oil, but butter is richer flavored
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 ribs or stalks of celery, washed and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 c water
• 1 x 8oz can no salt tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free chicken stock concentrate
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free tomato ketchup
• coffee filter filled with ½ teaspoon dry thyme, 1 bay leaf, some fresh parsley stalks and tied shut
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• grated rind of ¼ lemon
• 2 tbsp sherry
• 1/3 lb cooked, peeled salad shrimp.
• 2 x 6 oz cans of crab meat, well drained, or 8 oz fresh or frozen crab, thawed
• dash of fresh nutmeg
• dash of cayenne pepper (if you like a bite to your soup)
• Fresh, chopped parsley to garnish.
• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a 3 quart non-stick pan. Add onions, garlic, carrot and celery and cook, covered over a low heat, for about 10 minutes until they soften. This is known as “sweating” the vegetables and allows more flavor to develop rather than just cooking them immediately in stock.

2. Add the water, tomato sauce, stock, ketchup, coffee filter of herbs and freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook covered for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

3. Remove herb packet and then use an immersion blender and puree the vegetable and stock mix directly in the pan. (You can also pour into a blender or food processor and puree.)

4. Add the lemon rind, nutmeg, cayenne (if desired), cream and cornstarch mix.

5. Add sherry and bring back to just under a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add thawed shrimp, drained crab and simmer for 1 minute.

6. Turn off heat, add parsley and let sit for a few minutes. You don’t want to boil any soup with a milk mix added as it can break up. Too much heat will also toughen the shrimp and also will prevent you from appreciating the flavor of the soup.

Note:Always check the label to ensure ingredients are gluten-free.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs of Freirich eye round cut of corned beef (or any other cut if you can’t find round)
• 12 oz bottle of gluten-free beer (note that gluten-removed beer is not safe for those with celiac disease. Learn more.)
• 2 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick slices
• ½ lb peeled pearl onions (I buy them frozen and allow to thaw)
• 1–2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chunks
• Cornstarch mixed with cold water (optional, used to thicken juices at the end)

Directions:

1. Place beef in slow cooker or oven-safe casserole dish.
2. Pour the beer and water around the beef. Mix mustard and brown sugar together and smear over the beef.
3. Add the chopped onion, garlic and bay leaves.
4. Cook the meat until tender. For slow cookers, it’s about 6 hours on low for a 6-quart slow cooker. In the oven, cook at 325°F for about 3 hours.
5. About 1 hour before the meat is tender, add sliced carrots, pearl onions and potato chunks. If using a slow cooker, turn it up to high so the vegetables cook through.
6. Remove the tender meat from the casserole and let rest for at least 15 minutes. This also gives you enough time to cook the vegetables longer if they are not tender enough.
7. Add cornstarch/water mixture if the juices need some thickening.
8. Serve slices of corned beef with the potatoes, carrots and onions.

Tips/Alternatives:

• Ensure you cook the meat in a dish with a lid. Otherwise the juices evaporate, leaving the meat dry and salty.
• If you like to serve corned beef with cabbage: Quarter, remove core and finely slice a head of green cabbage. Cook in boiling, lightly salted water for about 8 minutes until only just tender. Drain and return to hot pan with butter and some freshly ground black pepper.
• I find most pre-seasoned meats to be too salty, so the day before cooking I remove the beef from the packaging, rinse it off and then soak it overnight in water in the fridge. The next day, I remove it from the water and rinse it before placing in the slow cooker or casserole dish.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Makes one 7-inch round loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Oonagh’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix, or gluten-free flour mix
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum (leave out if your flour blend already has it)
• 1 tbsp gluten-free baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup buttermilk or mix of sour cream and milk (equal parts, whisked together)
• 1 large egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Add egg to buttermilk or sour cream/milk blend. Stir in baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, combine gluten-free flour, salt, xanthan gum, baking powder and sugar. Stir together.
4. Rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
5. Add buttermilk or sour cream/milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until soft, moist dough forms. Add more liquid if needed. This dough should not be dry and hard, and it may be necessary to add some more milk or water to get a soft, sticky dough to form. If you think mix is too wet, wait a moment or two. I find that baking powder and xanthan gum almost immediately thicken dough.
6. Place dough on a baking sheet dusted with gluten-free flour or stone and gently pat out to a 7” circle, 3/4” thick, (any thinner and the bread will be tough). Cut halfway through the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, one way and then the other so that when bread is cooked it will form into four crusty quarters but still joined together.
7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until bread is well risen, hard on top to the touch and sounds hollow if you tap the bottom of the bread. When you think bread is cooked, cook for about 5 minutes more. Undercooked bread will leave a floury, grainy taste in mouth.
8. Remove from oven and serve with fresh butter.

Tips and Alternatives: For special occasions, add raisins or gluten-free chocolate chips. You can also serve the bread with imported Irish smoked salmon for a real St. Patrick’s Day treat.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 slices of gluten-free bread or soft rolls made into soft breadcrumbs in food processor. I use half of a gluten-free bagel.
• 2 slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. chopped freshly parsley
• ½ tsp. dried thyme or 1 tsp. fresh thyme
• 1 Tbsp. celery leaves, if you have them
• ¼ cup of potato flour mixed with salt and pepper (You can make this by grinding gluten-free potato flakes in the food processor)
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 12 oz. packet of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 2 cups of gluten-free chicken stock
• 1 cup of heavy or whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp. sherry or more to taste
• Freshly ground nutmeg
• Fresh parsley (to garnish)
• 1-2 Tbsp gluten-free cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp water
• Baby carrots (optional)

Directions:

1. Pound chicken breasts thin between two sheets of plastic wrap.

2. Place bacon and onion in a microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave for about 3 minutes until bacon is giving up its fat and onion is softening. The bacon and onion can also be cooked on the stove in a small pan without browning.

3. Add fresh chopped parsley, thyme, celery leaves, breadcrumbs and pepper. Mix well. I normally don’t add salt because of the bacon.

4. Lay out each chicken breast on the plastic wrap, pretty side down, and divide stuffing between breasts. Spread stuffing out down the middle of each breast, but try not to let it reach to the very edges, as the filling will fall out.

5. Roll up each breast like a jelly roll and secure with a skewer. Use 3-4” stainless steel skewers. Wooden toothpicks will swell in chicken and be difficult to remove.

6. Turn each roll in seasoned potato flour. Heat 10” non-stick skillet over medium heat, add butter and oil. Once butter/oil mix has melted, add each chicken roll and cook, turning until nicely golden brown on each side – about 3 minutes. This frying is done to add color to the chicken and additional flavor to the sauce.

7. Add mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes. You can add baby carrots to the pan with the mushrooms. Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Large chicken breasts will need longer to cook.

8. Remove chicken from pan to a warm plate or very low oven.

9. Add cream and cornstarch mix to pan. Bring to a boil and cook over a gentle heat until sauce thickens. Depending on how much liquid evaporates, you might need to add more stock or cream or use more cornstarch to thicken.

10. Add sherry and nutmeg, stir well, taste and adjust seasoning. Cook sauce for about 2 minutes after you add sherry to allow alcohol to cook out and sherry flavor to mellow.

10. Remove skewer from each breast, cut in half on a diagonal or into 4 slices. Serve on individual plates with sauce to garnish. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Tips and Alternatives:

Serve this dish with plain red potatoes, cooked and swirled with melted butter and either chopped fresh chives or thinly sliced green onions.

To reduce the calorie content, use ham instead of bacon and olive oil instead of butter.

To make dairy-free, use Asian-style coconut milk instead of cream.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of



Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• 4 large onions, about 1 1/2 lbs. total weight, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. butter or oil – I tend to use olive oil.
• 4 carrots, peeled (I shred them in food processor; you can also just cut them into small dice)
• 5 cup gluten-free chicken stock or beef stock for deeper flavor
• 1/3 cup quinoa, rinsed well and drained
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp of dried thyme and some parsley stalks placed in a small conical coffee filter bag that is folded closed and tied into a packet. Known as a bouquet garni.
• Pinch of finely grated fresh nutmeg
• 2-4 tbsp sherry
• 12 oz. can of evaporated skim/fat free milk or milk substitute (I have tried this with fat free half and half, but it breaks up and looks curdled. This doesn’t affect the flavor just the visual appearance. Fresh cream is the best for flavor but contains more calories)
• 1 tbsp gluten-free cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
• 2-4 oz strong cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat the butter/oil gently in large saucepan, add onions and turn in butter/oil. Lower heat and leave to cook covered for 5-10 minutes without browning (known as ‘sweating’). As you cut up each onion, add it to saucepan so they start cooking.

2. Add the carrots, stock, quinoa, salt & pepper, and the bouquet garni of parsley and thyme.

3. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until quinoa is tender. Turning the heat off briefly at this stage will allow the quinoa more time to swell and cook.

4. Add sherry and nutmeg and cook for about 5 minutes.

5. Add evaporated milk and cornstarch mixed with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes until soup thickens slightly.

6. Adjust seasoning and add freshly chopped parsley to taste.

Tips/Alternatives:

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

CÉAD MILE FÁILTE
AKA Egg and Smoked Salmon Torte – lunch, dinner or appetizer

This recipe isn’t written in stone. Make as much egg salad as you like, to your own favorite recipe. I do like adding green of green onions or chives to the salad. I don’t add pickles or chopped celery since I like a smooth mix. Smash the hard boiled eggs to make them very creamy or just use the egg slicer in both directions and leave in little pieces. I like to use a mix of mayo and plain Greek yogurt for better calories and the tang of yogurt. Again, make the salad to your taste.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs, hard boiled, cooled and peeled.
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) Greek Yogurt or more mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 Tbsp. green of green onions or chives, finely chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Toppings:

• Crème Frâiche – you can also substitute sour cream or cream cheese.
• Sliced smoked salmon as much as you like or can afford. I buy imported Scottish or Irish smoked salmon, since that’s what I grew up on. You can use another smoked fish or even tiny salad shrimp or fresh salmon.
• Salmon Roe Caviar or other ‘caviars’. I like the color of salmon roe caviar. There are various brands available, some reasonably priced and shelf stable, others more expensive and in deli section. It is optional, fancy for a party, but my husband doesn’t like it. Many don’t like fish eggs!
• Lemon slices
• Thin slices of green of green onions.

Directions:

1. Mix egg salad ingredients together. Put all of egg salad in one plastic wrap lined wide shallow cereal or soup bowl or in lined individual ramekins or custard cups. Chill for several hours or overnight.
2. To serve. Turn egg salad onto one large plate or individual serving plates and remove plastic wrap.
3. Spread a layer of crème frâiche across the top of egg salad.
4. Either chop smoked salmon into small pieces and arrange on top or roll slices into small jelly rolls and arrange on top. Leave a space in the middle to pile the caviar.
5. Sprinkle with some green of green onions.
6. Garnish with lemon slices and slices of sweet pickled cucumber (or bread and butter pickle slices not spears) or bed of lettuce for a meal.

Additional Ideas:

This dish is excellent served with Irish soda bread.

Crème Frâiche basically tastes like a cross between heavy cream and sour cream, is thick like sour cream, but doesn’t break up as easily when you add it to hot sauces. You can even add sugar or honey to sweeten it for putting on top of desserts.

I take equal quantities of heavy cream and sour cream. Either half a cup or one cup of each, depending on what total quantity I need. Put the heavy cream in microwave safe container and warm in microwave until it is blood heat, comfortably warm, but not over 100 degrees. Then, stir in same quantity of sour cream (I tend to buy lite sour cream for less calories in normal cooking), mix well and leave covered on the counter for 12-36 hours until thickened. I find that within about 6 hours it has thickened to sour cream consistency and that’s in my cooler house. You can help process by immersing sealed container in a container of warm water and changing the water periodically.

About Chef Oonagh Williams

Chef Oonagh Williams has just been chosen as one of New Hampshire’s WZID’s Outstanding Women for 2015. See her at the WZID Women’s Expo Saturday, March 7 and watch her on WMUR’s Cooks Corner on Friday, March 13 with St. Patrick’s Day recipes. Like her at Gluten Free Cooking with Oonagh on Facebook. Chef Oonagh will be at Concord Co-Op on Thursday, March 12, Atkinson Library on Tuesday, March 24 and Westford MA on Thursday, March 26 – programs on the power of food – best medicine or worse poison. Chef Oonagh also does Corporate Lunch ‘n Learns and speaks at various celiac disease conferences. Check the newsletter archives for more of Chef Oonagh’s St. Patricks Day recipes, beef in gluten-free beer, Irish Chicken Rolls, Sticky Toffee puddings and more.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• 3 squares (3 oz.) unsweetened chocolate or 70% dark chocolate
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate and 2 ½ cups of the milk together in a 6-8 cup microwave safe bowl.

2. Mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a separate bowl and stir in remaining ½ cup of milk to make a smooth mix.

3. Whisk milk/sugar mix into milk/chocolate mix.

4. Microwave for three cycles of 2 minutes each, stirring with a whisk in between. Then microwave for three cycles of 1 minute a piece, whisking each time until the mixture is bubbling. Time will vary with power of microwave. The bowl will be hot and heavy, so be careful with lifting in and out to stir and taste test mixture.

5. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla. Pour into ramekins or martini glasses. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tips and Alternatives:

I have made this pudding with refrigerated almond milk and with a combination of almond and coconut milks – both with dairy-free and gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate. When using semi-sweet chocolate, I decreased the chocolate to 1/2 cup. I found the flavor to be thinner than with dairy milk and chocolate, but my students were happy.

I have also used the refrigerated gluten-free vanilla and hazelnut creamers. They gave an excellent flavor. I then poured cooked hazelnut chocolate custard into a hazelnut crust following the same recipe as the pecan crust I use for my Chocolate Pecan Indulgence.