Smoked Salmon Canapés

Simple, easy to prepare appetizer.  This was adapted from a www.saveur.com recipe.

12 water or rice crackers
4 tbsp. softened cream cheese or goat cheese
4 tbsp. finely chopped smoked salmon or Kippers
2 tbsp. red pepper jelly
Finely chopped fresh chives for garnish

1. Spread a water cracker with 1 tsp. softened cream cheese, sprinkle with 1 tsp. ham, and top with 1⁄2 tsp. red pepper jelly. Garnish with a pinch of finely chopped fresh chives. Repeat to make remaining canapés.

Beet and Goat Cheese Napoleons

These elegant appetizers come from Wolfgang Puck's Los Angeles restaurant Spago. Laurie Ochoa wrote about the groundbreaking chef in "The King of LA," part of our special Los Angeles issue (March 2010).

from: www.saveur.com

5 large red beets, roasted, peeled,  and cut crosswise into 1⁄4"-thick slices

1 cup rice vinegar

1 cup sugar

9 oz. goat cheese, softened

4 tsp. minced fresh chives

4 tsp. minced fresh parsley

2 1⁄2 tsp. minced fresh thyme

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3⁄4 cup fresh orange juice

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1⁄4 tsp. orange zest

1 small shallot, minced

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp. hazelnut oil

Sea salt, to taste

3 tbsp. chopped walnuts or hazelnuts

1. Using a 2 5/8" round cookie cutter, cut out 20 of the beet slices; reserve scraps for another use (like borscht or a salad). In a 12" skillet, bring rice vinegar and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and, working in batches, cook beet slices, turning once, about 2 minutes. Transfer slices to a paper towel–lined baking sheet. Pat dry and let chill.

2. Stir goat cheese together with the chives, parsley, 2 tsp. thyme, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Bring orange juice to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 1⁄3 cup, 4–5 minutes. Let cool. Transfer juice to a bowl along with remaining thyme, balsamic vinegar, zest, and shallots. While whisking, drizzle in olive oil and hazelnut oil; whisk until smooth. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper; let chill. 

4. To serve: Put 1 beet slice on work surface; spread about 1 tbsp. cheese mixture over beet. Top cheese with another beet slice, pressing down so cheese oozes to edge. Repeat to create a stack with 4 layers of cheese between 5 beet slices. Make 4 stacks in all. Slice each stack into 4 wedges; transfer to 4 plates. Drizzle vinaigrette over each plate; garnish with nuts. Serve with mixed greens, if you like.

SERVES 4

Asian Cucumber Salad

4 kirby cucumbers
Kosher salt
1  1" piece fresh ginger, peeled
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1⁄2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1. Cut cucumbers into irregular chunks about 2" long and 1⁄4" thick. Transfer cucumber slices to a medium bowl, sprinkle with 2 tsp. of kosher salt, mix, and set aside at room temperature to extract excess liquid and let them soften, about 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, julienne ginger; transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Drain and gently squeeze cucumbers to extract more liquid, then pat dry with a towel. Add cucumbers to the bowl of ginger along with sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic. Toss to combine and season with kosher salt, to taste.
4. Let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to come together.
SERVES 4

Gluten-Free Cornbread

Adapted from a recipe on the PCC website

½ cup white rice flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
¾ cup cornmeal (like you would use to make polenta)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons rich, high-quality honey
2/3 cup plain, gluten-free yogurt
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons melted butter

Turn the oven on against the cold and let it preheat to 400°. Grease a square or round baking pan with your favorite oil or butter.

Mix the gluten-free flours, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set that bowl aside.

Measure out the sour cream, butter, honey, and melted butter. Mix them all together. Whisk in the eggs and beat them all together until the liquids have become a coherent mixture.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir it all together until just moistened.

Pour the cornbread batter into the pan and bake the cornbread for twenty minutes, or until the top has reached the golden color you desire. Let it cool for a few moments.

This cornbread is particularly good with soft butter and the same honey you used to make the batter.

Serves six.

Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

For pizza crust
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup white rice flour*
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup whole milk
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, from 1 (1/4-ounce) package
2 teaspoons sugar
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Make pizza crust
In bowl of electric mixer, whisk together tapioca flour, white rice flour, chickpea flour, sorghum flour, xanthum gum, and salt.
In small saucepan over moderate heat, stir together milk and 1/4 cup water and heat until warm but not hot to the touch, about 1 minute (the mixture should register between 105°F and 115° F on candy thermometer). Stir in yeast and sugar. Add milk–yeast mixture, egg whites, and 2 tablespoons oil to dry ingredients and, using paddle attachment, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until dough is very smooth and very thick, about 5 minutes.

Remove racks from oven, set pizza stone or heavy upturned baking sheet on bottom of oven, and preheat to 400°F. (Preheat at least 45 minutes if using pizza stone or 20 minutes if using baking sheet.)
Have ready two 12-inch squares parchment paper. Scrape half of dough onto each square and form each half into a ball. Coat each ball with 2 teaspoons oil, then use oiled fingertips to pat and stretch each ball into 9-inch-diameter round, 1/4 inch thick, with a 1/2-inch-thick border. Loosely cover rounds with plastic wrap and let rise in warm draft-free place until each pizza is about 10 inches in diameter, about 20 minutes.

Gluten-Free Gnocchi

This one came from The Sensitive Epicure, great blog with a lot of gluten-free recipes. 

• 1 kg (2 lb) cooked mashed/riced potatoes
  1 cup white rice flour
  ¾ cup potato starch¼ cup corn starch1 tablespoon margarine1 tablespoon grated parmesan (optional)2 eggssalt

For the gnocchi:

Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Cook over high heat until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain through colander and immediately run potatoes through food mill or ricer (in batches, as needed) onto a large jelly roll pan. Make sure that the potatoes are evenly distributed in order to cool off efficiently. (This prevents heavy gnocchi.) Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature.

Then place the potatoes onto a clean working surface. Make a small well and add the beaten egg with a small amount of the potato starch. Start worked with your clean hands and knead the dough until evenly distributed. Add more potato starch gradually, while kneading, until dough is still wet, but not sticky. Form the dough into a large, smooth ball. (At this time, dust the jelly roll pan for a place to store the cut and dusted gnocchi.) 

Using a bench scraper or a butter knife cut a ½-inch slice of the dough and roll into a rod about ¾ inch in diameter and dust with potato starch. Cut the rod of dough into small pieces, using the first joint of your index finger as a guide to ensure consistent sizing. Transfer to jelly roll pan, and make sure the entire surface of the gnocchi are lightly dusted. Repeat until all of the dough are in the form of gnocchi. Have a large pot of salted water boiling and add in the gnocchi. Once the gnocchi have risen to the surface, they are done, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer with a spider to your pot of tomato sauce, gently fold, garnish, and serve immediately.