From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

As many of you know, I constantly shop in Costco. One summer on separate occasions they had two versions of this salad. The ‘bought in’ salad was made with canned chicken breast and then Costco made their own version using left over barbecued chicken. One was called Cape Cod Chicken Salad and the other had to be renamed to New England Chicken Salad or vice versa. I read the label (as I often do both for nutrition and recipe ideas) of the ‘bought in’ salad and it included Craisins, pecans and honey with mayonnaise. I went back to my Chicken Waldorf Salad and took that as the base for this salad. Using canned chicken, it can also be used as a sandwich filling or cracker spread. It is good as a meal time salad or for a picnic/party if you use fresh chicken cut in larger pieces. By making this yourself, you can add as many Craisins, pecans, etc. as you like. Keep the Craisins, pecans etc. in larger recognizable pieces, rather than almost “mush.” This way, you are not adding all the preservatives and chemicals present in store-bought versions of this salad.

Many of this style of salad uses 100% mayonnaise. We find we are quite happy with 100% yogurt (over measuring one day and we liked it) or 75% yogurt and 25% mayo. Far less fat, calories and it gives it a creamier, lighter flavor. 1 Tbsp. of light mayo has 35 calories and 1 Tbsp. of low-fat vanilla Greek Yogurt.

This is the proportion of ingredients we like, but play with them to your taste.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. can chicken, drained or 12 oz. cooked chicken shredded as finely as you want or need it. (This is roughly 2 breasts from a Supermarket ready roasted chicken. Remember to check store-bought chicken to ensure it is gluten-free, as injected solutions can contain gluten).
• 1 cup low fat Greek vanilla yogurt or whole, plain organic yogurt.
• 1-2 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate (Start with one Tbsp., make salad, then taste and add more if you want. Or use zest of orange instead. I decant a good frozen orange juice concentrate into a sandwich bag and freeze it flat (it is spoon-able when frozen.)
• 1/3 cup plain Craisins
• 1/3 chopped, toasted pecans. (Toast at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.) You can cheat and chop peanuts, smoked almonds, cashews, etc. instead.
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, cut into 4 lengthwise and cut into ¼ to ½ inch dices.
• 1 Gala/Fuji/Braeburn apple, washed, not peeled and cut into small dices. Apples don’t discolor and stay crisp in yogurt mix.
• 2-3 tsp. maple syrup (or honey) or to taste
• 1 tsp. gluten-free honey mustard
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff)
• 2 Tbsp. green of green onions or chives (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff)
• 1 Tbsp. leaves from the fresh celery (optional if kids won’t eat green stuff, or you didn’t use celery)
• Some freshly ground pepper. I don’t find I need to add salt – your decision.

Directions:

1. Mix everything together, refrigerate for about an hour for flavors to mingle, taste and adjust seasoning, maple syrup, more herbs etc. to your taste.

Other ideas:

• Serve as an appetizer on top of an avocado half
• Hollow out orange or grapefruit half and use as serving container for individual portions on top of mixed salad. Cut edges with v-shaped cutter or knife
• Serve in hollowed out melon for large party
• Spread a canned version into cucumber or celery boats
• Spread on wraps and top with lettuce, roll up
• Spread on crackers or crostini and serve for shower or tea party
• Add some curry powder/paste and pineapple instead of Craisins
• Gluten-free soy sauce, honey, water chestnuts, drizzle of sesame oil, Thai basil
• Mexican with cilantro, hot spice, bell peppers.
• Italian with basil, artichokes, olives, bell peppers.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Quinoa and Fruit Salad

With fresh fruits coming into season, now is the time to enjoy a savory salad with some fruit. This is great as a side dish with any grilled meat or fish. You can even prepare the quinoa with dressing the day before, but be sure to only add the fruit a short while before serving.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup raw quinoa
• 1 cup water or gluten-free chicken or vegetable stock
• 6 large strawberries, rinsed and sliced
• 2 slices of fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces
• 1 Gala, Fuji or Braeburn apple, rinsed and cut into small pieces. No need to peel.
• Substitute other fruit, nectarines, grapes, celery instead of apple for crunch
• 1 batch of Poppy Seed Dressing (see recipe below)

Directions:

1. Put raw quinoa and cold water/stock in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes, turn heat off but leave pan sitting on hot burner for 5 minutes. After these 5 minutes, remove lid and allow quinoa to cool.

3. Stir about half of the dressing into quinoa.

4. Add fruit to quinoa and dressing once quinoa is cold. Add more dressing to taste.

Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (If you’d prefer to skip the sesame seeds, double the amount of poppy seeds.)
• ½ Tbsp. poppy seeds
• ¾ tsp. minced onion
• 1/8 tsp. gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients together. This also goes well over mixed greens with strawberries, goat cheese or feta cheese and some nuts.

From Anne Lee, MSEd, RD, LD, Director of Nutritional Services, Dr. Schar USA

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice, or more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions
• 1-½ cups cooked black beans (15 oz can, drained)
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 cup diced bell peppers (red, green, yellow, or a mixture)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh green chilies
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• Lemon or lime wedges

Directions:

1. Rinse the quinoa well in a sieve under cool running water.

2. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil; add the quinoa, cover, and simmer on low heat, until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

3. In a large bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro, and scallions. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and chilies.

4. Add the cooled quinoa, and salt and pepper to taste, and combine thoroughly.

5. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with lemon or lime wedges.

From Oonagh Williams of



Royal Temptations Catering

My friend Allyson gave me the original recipe, which used fresh jalapeño peppers and raw bell peppers. I don’t like the bite of raw hot peppers, so I prefer to use my own Mexican salad dressing based on hot pepper jelly, as it has a richer, more rounded flavor. I’ve also added celery or crisp apple for more crunch. Carrots, chunks of avocado, diced cucumber and halved grape tomatoes are also fine additions. The more you add, the more dressing you will also need to add. I have also made this with leftover barbecued chicken or grilled steak. Black beans are used for a wonderful contrast of color with the pink shrimp, mango and green herbs, as well as being an additional protein. Feel free to use cannellini beans or chickpeas if you prefer the taste.

For a video clip of this recipe: http://www.wmur.com/video/23844740/detail.html

Ingredients:

Salad

• 1 15 oz. can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed and drained
• 1 ripe but firm mango, peeled and diced. You can also use fresh pineapple, nectarines or peaches. Seedless watermelon works well since it both produces juice and soaks up flavor of dressing.
• The green part of 4 green onions, finely scissored
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• ¾ -1 lb. cooked shrimp, rinsed and drained
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, quartered lengthwise and cut into fine dice (optional)
• Cashews or peanuts to garnish – optional

Dressing

• 2 tbsp hot pepper jelly, warmed in the microwave (To boost the heat factor, add gluten-free hot sauce, ground chipotles or chopped hot peppers)
• Grated zest/rind of half a lime
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
• ½ tsp salt (or more or less to taste – shrimp can retain salt, and so can beans, so tread carefully)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil or other oil
• Pinch of garlic powder, or add crushed raw garlic if you like the taste

Directions:

1. Mix all salad ingredients together.

2. Add dressing ingredients to melted pepper jelly and stir well until dressing looks thicker and is well-mixed. It takes some stirring to get oil and other ingredients to blend together. You will see it happen, rather than oil just sitting there.

3. Stir dressing onto salad and leave in fridge for a few hours for flavors to mingle. The salad will keep in a fridge for 2 days. Serve over romaine or other green leaves, with gluten-free bread or warm gluten-free tortillas.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

I had this for lunch at Cape Town Fish Market in May 2015, sitting in the sunshine on the pier outside the Victoria and Alfred Mall in Cape Town, South Africa. We had just come off the ferry from visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

My lunch actually was two pieces of grilled hake sandwiching spinach, sundried tomato and feta cheese, with a prawn (shrimp) and olive tapenade. They used fresh spinach, but I like to keep a bag of frozen chopped spinach in the freezer. I added some cream and left out the olive tapenade – far too salty for me. This sauce would go well with probably any fish or chicken breast or pork. Add different herbs, some chili spice.

Generous sauce portioned for 2 people

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) olive oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach – no need to thaw
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) sundried tomatoes in oil, sliced or chopped . You can buy sundried tomatoes cut into ‘julienne’ – meaning thin slices
• 2 Tbsp. (30ml) feta cheese crumbles
• 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz., 120ml) cream or coconut cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of sugar if spinach is too bitter for you.
• Your choice of salmon, chicken or pork cooked to your liking

Directions:

1. Gently heat olive oil in small pan. Add onions and cook until tender and starting to brown.
2. Add spinach and garlic, stir well, cover pan and leave to simmer for several minutes until spinach is tender.
3. Add sundried tomatoes and cream and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning remembering that feta cheese tends to be salty.
5. Cook salmon fillet, chicken or pork until done.
6. Stir feta cheese into sauce and immediately pour over salmon, chicken or pork so feta cheese doesn’t melt into sauce.

Oonagh’s Alternative Suggestions:I like to add fresh parsley or basil. Lemon thyme in season is wonderful, little bit of fresh mint. This would also be good over pasta or rice. Use coconut cream to reduce cholesterol and omit feta and it’s dairy-free. I also cook a similar mix as a base for a crustless quiche. I tried adding a vodka cream sauce I had bought that was good on its own, but didn’t work in place of cream in this recipe.

Watch Chef Oonagh make the Salmon dish on NH’s ABC WMUR Cooks Corner May 2015

About Chef Oonagh Williams

‘Like’ Chef Oonagh on Gluten Free Cooking with Oonagh on Facebook. Keep up with her television appearances, radio, talks to both celiac disease groups and non-gluten-free diet groups. Consult with her by Skype.

Come Meet Chef Oonagh when she speaks at the GFAF expo in Worcester MA on July 25 and at the GIG Conference in North Dakota on November 7. Chef Oonagh also does Corporate Lunch ‘n’ Learns and speaks at celiac disease conferences. Read her article on visiting Atlanta GA, tourism and gluten free options in the current issue of New England Celiac Organisation magazine.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Although I am not of Lithuanian descent, I have taught Lithuanian cooking classes for many years and spent a month in the capital city, studying Lithuanian food and culture. This is my favorite of various recipes I have seen or tasted. I like the clean, fresh taste. Sometimes I go overboard with the dill and it tastes a bit bitter, so beware!

Lobster transforms this salad into a celebration meal fit for a wedding, but feel free to leave out the fish. It works just as nicely as a vegetarian cucumber salad. If using shrimp, go for overall quality rather than fresh vs. frozen.

Ingredients:

• 1 European/English seedless cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and cut into ½-inch cubes. You can also thinly slice the cucumber.
• 3-4 tsp hot pepper jelly (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sour cream (full fat is most traditional, but you can use lite sour cream)
• 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill or more to taste, plus additional dill for garnish
• 2 tbsp chopped green of green onions
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• freshly ground pepper
• ½ lb cooked, shelled shrimp
• 1/4-1/2 lb lobster tail or claw meat

Directions:

1. Melt the hot pepper jelly in the microwave in a 2 c jug or bowl for about 15 seconds, then stir in the sour cream with the salt, dill, parsley, green onions, pepper and sugar. Add the cucumber and mix well. The pepper jelly gives a slight bite to the salad and the sugar in the jelly mellows the acidity.

2. Add shrimp and some of the lobster chopped. Keep the nicest whole pieces of lobster as a garnish. Taste for seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

3. Stir and sprinkle with additional dill to serve. Scoop portions of salad onto either complete Romaine lettuce leaves or cups of Bibb lettuce. Garnish with slices of lobster tail or complete piece of claw meat. Serve with tiny fingerling potatoes and a tomato bruschetta salad or carrot salad for more color.

Tips/Alternatives: Some recipes add chopped hard boiled egg, horseradish and mustard to this recipe. Also try smoked trout, fresh trout or smoked salmon instead of the shrimp. You can, of course, make this without the fish as an excellent cucumber salad.

Apart from the sour cream version above, I love making this with crème fraiche. You can also make it with half lemon yogurt and half lite mayo. I don’t recommend using non-fat sour cream. Calorie totals vary by brand, but as a rough guide:

• 1 cup lite sour cream is 280 calories,
• 1 cup mix of gluten-free lemon yogurt and lite mayo is 380 calories
• 1 cup of crème fraiche is 540 calories. (I make my own crème fraiche with a 50/50 mix of heavy cream and lite sour cream, warmed and left to thicken)

The traditional recipe adds 1-2 tbsp capers for an extra pickled flavor.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of



Royal Temptations Catering

This dish goes great on a bed of lettuce as its own meal or used as a side dish with grilled salmon, tilapia, etc. You can also keep it simple and serve in a bowl with gluten-free tortilla chips.

Ingredients:

1-2 ripe, sweet mangoes

3/4–1 lb. fresh, sweet pineapple with skin attached, prepared

Green tops of 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. hot pepper jelly

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large ripe but firm avocado, prepared

½ lb. cooked salad shrimp

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Pinch of salt

Add oregano, lemon, thyme, basil for different flavors

Directions:

1. To prepare the mango: Stand the mango upright with the pointed end up, slice down either side of the flat inner stone to get two pieces like small shoulder pads. Using a sharp knife carefully cut through the flesh to the skin in a “tic tac toe” pattern. Press the middle of the skin one direction while pushing the edges in the opposite direction (turning it inside out). This makes the mango pieces stand individually upright so you can cut them off the skin with a sharp knife or scoop them with a spoon. Return to the semi-peeled mango and follow the curve of the stone to cut off the remaining skin/flesh in two pieces. Cut these pieces away from skin.

2. To prepare the pineapple: I buy the semicircular pieces of fresh golden pineapple. Cut off the skin, remove core and any bits of “eyes” still left in flesh. Normally the pineapple needs to be cut in half through the length of the slice, and then cut into small pieces.

3. Put pepper jelly into a 3-4 cup mixing bowl and microwave for 10-20 seconds to melt the jelly. Add lime juice, lime rind, cilantro (if using), olive oil, onions and salt. Mix well. Stir in shrimp.

4. Stir in mango and pineapple. Taste now if you want but in only one hour the salsa will blend and mellow to a very different flavor with no ‘raw’ taste.

5. Prepare and add avocado just prior to serving, as it will darken. Halve the avocado and remove the stone. Cut down through the flesh to the skin in slices. Then cut crosswise to make a “tic tac toe” pattern so the end result is small, diced pieces of avocado. Insert a serving spoon between skin and flesh and ease out the cubes of avocado. Add avocado to mango and shrimp.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

I’m not a fan of a strong tasting goat cheese. This is how I make this recipe, but your taste will be different from mine and your goat cheese could be stronger. Using different herbs and olive oils will all make a difference to the final taste.

It is so easy to grow fresh herbs in containers, even on an apartment balcony and bring them in for the winter in the north. Try it – the flavors added are wonderful. I grow parsley, chives, thyme, lemon thyme, rosemary, sage, basil, Thai basil, oregano and my own lettuce. My students love being able to crush the fresh herbs, smell them and then taste the difference they make to a recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. (roughly 1/2 cup) plain goat cheese. Far too many of the cheeses that contain herbs, are only dried herbs and they really don’t taste the same as fresh.
• At least 1/4 cup of milk or cream to thin down the goat cheese so it is pourable. I’m not a fan of a thick dressing.
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives or green of a thin green onion. Thick green onions are too strong.
• I like to add some fresh celery leaves when I have fresh celery – about 1 Tbsp.

Directions:

1. Mix all together, taste and then refrigerate for at least one hour. Then taste and decide to add more herbs, thin dressing a bit more, add a little fresh lemon juice or white balsamic vinegar. I also like to add fresh lemon thyme that goes well with fish, some chopped basil or spicy Thai basil or cilantro.
2. The basic parsley and chives dressing goes well with salad greens and strawberries. Add different herbs on just salad greens, leave thicker and use different herbs as a sauce for fish, chicken etc. Some markets sell mixed packs of fresh herbs so you can experiment. Farmers markets often have a selection of herbs you can buy.

About Chef Oonagh

Chef Oonagh’s son was diagnosed with celiac disease over 5 years ago with no previous symptoms. She has non-celiac gluten sensitivity (‘gluten sensitivity’) and also has cousins with celiac disease. ‘Like’ Chef Oonagh at Gluten Free Cooking with Oonagh on Facebook 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]. Chef Oonagh has a culinary arts degree, trained in London and Switzerland and lives in New Hampshire.