Thursday, February 25, 2010

Gluten Goddess

So, we're still in week one of being gluten free and I'm taming the beast nicely. I really like to tackle a problem and bring it into full submission. Therefore, I will not be giving up baking and I will not be giving up easy to grab snacks. I've spent a lot of the day today educating myself on all things gluten-free. I found the most delicious looking website, elana's pantry. She has a cookbook out and in the world of gluten free, she is a virtual goddess. If you are interested in going gluten free or also in recipes that cut down on the sugar content and offer lower glycemix index scores, you should definitely check it out. I like her recipes, because she gets very specific on what brands of ingredients she uses and why. Baking is a science and a lot of these products vary from one manufacturer to the next. I'm dying to bake up some chocolate chip cookies! On my shopping list:
  • Almond Flour
  • Agave Nectar
  • Arrowroot (which I have actually used before)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Ribs mmmmmmmmm...

I haven't posted since early December and even then it was about the freshness of your spices. Good stuff! I'm not ready to completely abandon this food blog yet. I've spent so much time plugged into my life - not to mention my paid writing job and my other two blogs - that I've neglected this one. Well, someone that does a much better job with this subject and who seems really devoted to food is Meathead. And, no, I'm not talking about that character Rob Reiner used to play before he became a millionaire director/producer. Meathead is a nickname for who may possibly be the smartest guy with a grill out there. One look at his website and I declared him to be the Alton Brown of BBQ. Later, I found out he himself loves Alton Brown so there must be something to it.

So, the website is great but what about the actual recipes and advice? Well, we all love someone who agrees with us and I loved the fact that he thinks Weber kettle grills are great. I bought one for Baxter for Father's Day after all. We love its simplicity and so does he. I have tried one recipe and will continue to turn to him for more in the future. His Tennessee Hollerin' BBQ Sauce was unbelievable. He reduces a whole cup of bourbon down to 2 tablespoons of what he calls a "magical elixir" and boy is it. My sauce only had a handful of ingredients but it tasted like something all its own. It was perfectly sticky (the way I like my ribs - not the Memphis dry kind) and perfectly smoky, spicy and sweet. They were great with Pommes Anna, a wedge salad and a bottle of bubbly for Valentine's Day.

Spring and summer are just around the corner so it's almost time to fire up those grills again. If you love BBQ, you have to check it out!

amazingribs.com