I graduated!

Well, I haven't blogged in over a month! I've been busy trying to graduate, and I finally have! Here are some photos from my portfolio show and graduation.

Also, check out my new website: www.katiedierkes.com

Lemon Chicken

This was really tasty! I used skinless chicken breast even though the recipe calls for chicken parts with skin. It was good this way too!

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs chicken parts (thighs and legs recommended), skin-on, bone-in, trimmed of excess fat.
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (or teaspoons dried)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 Tbsp melted butter
Lemon slices for garnish

Directions:

1. Place lemon juice, lemon peel, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl, whisk to combine. With the tip of a sharp knife, cut into each chicken piece one or two times by about 1/2 an inch. Place the chicken pieces and the marinade in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Rotate the bag so that all the chicken pieces are coated with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator. Let marinate for at least 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 425. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a single layer in a large baking dish, skin side up. Reserve the marinade. Use a pastry brush to brush a little melted butter on to each piece of chicken.

3. Bake for a total of 50-55 minutes, until the skins are crispy brown and the chicken is cooked through, juices running clear. (Because I used skinless chicken breast mine was done in about 30 minutes) Halfway through the baking, baste the chicken pieces generously with reserved marinade. Let rest, covered in foil, for 10 minutes before serving.

4. Pour the juices from the pan into a serving bowl. Serve the chicken with the juices on the side or a little poured over the top of the chicken.

Home Fries

These were yummy!! I found the recipe at allrecipes.com, you can either click [HERE] or see below!

Ingredients:

4 large Yukon Gold Potatoes
6 tablespoons butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, green bell pepper and garlic, and cook until tender, 5-10 minutes.

3. Mix potatoes and remaining butter into the saucepan. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until well mixed and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Cover while cooking if moist potatoes are preferred.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes

I got an email from my cousin with a photo of her with three gluten free Betty Crocker mixes! I can not wait to try these! Looks like I'll be able to really soon! yay!

Check out more info [HERE]

Go Picnic

I got this Go Picnic at the Gluten Free Cooking Spree the other night. It's pretty neat! Not only is it gluten free, it is also casein free, vegetarian and halal. Go Picnic comes in all different varieties but this one in particular was the Safari Munch and came with chips, salsa, strawberry applesauce, cookies, some other little snackies and even a hand wipe and a temporary tattoo!

You can check out other varieties [HERE]

I really liked the convenience of it! The chips and salsa were my fav! Although, the cookies and temporary tattoo were a close second :-)

The G-Free Diet

Elizabeth Hasselbeck, one of the hosts of The View who also has celiac disease has been out promoting her new book The G-Free Diet. I have so many books on celiac and the gluten free diet, but I might have to get this one too! Click [HERE] to see her promoting the book on ABC's Good Morning America.

Starbucks Valencia Orange Cake

Starting tomorrow Starbucks will offer a gluten free pastry and I got a chance to try the Valencia Orange Cake at the Gluten Free Cooking Spree I went to in Bethesda this past Friday. It was yummy, not dry at all! Check out your local Starbucks tomorrow for a taste!

Gluten Free Cooking Spree

This Friday I went to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness Gluten Free Cooking Spree in Bethesda, Maryland. I've never been to this event before but it was pretty awesome!

The event is held to raise awareness of celiac disease and gives us gluties a chance to eat some yummy gluten free food! Top chefs, doctors and reporters were put on teams of three which included one chef, one doctor and one reporter and each team worked to create the best gluten-free dish.

There were 9 teams with chefs from different restaurants in the DC area which included, Wildfire Restaurant, Jaleo, Zengo, Pete's New HAven Style Apizza, Peacock Grand Cafe, Lilit Cafe, Hyatt Regency Bethesda, Sweet Sin and Legal Sea Foods.

Each of these teams came up with yummy dishes like...bacon wrapped scallops, pizza, crab cakes, lamb chops and paella!

There were also several doctors present that gave some really interesting presentations. Did you know that celiac disease is diagnosed in 1 in 4 people in Australia? We are way behind in the US and the amount of time between onset of symptoms and diagnosis is 9+ years in the US! Hopefully with more events like this, that will change.

I had a great time! I also got to take home a bunch of gluten free products! and I brought my boyfriend so I got two of everything :-) Lucky me!

Grilled Tuscan Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

This was super delicious. I recommend marinating the chicken overnight, but it's great either way!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 Tbsp. dried rosemary
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves coarse salt and ground pepper
chicken breasts
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Heat the grill to medium.
2. In a small saucepan, bring 1/3 c. water and the rosemary to a boil; remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 5 minutes.
3. Transfer to a blender. Add the oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth; let cool.
4. Combine the chicken and the rosemary oil in a shallow dish or resealable plastic bag, and turn to coat. Cover, and let marinate for at least 15 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator, turning the chicken occasionally.
5. Remove the chicken from the marinade; place on the grill. Discard the marinade. Cook, basting frequently with the lemon juice and turning as needed to prevent burning, until cooked throughout, 20-30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found the recipe for these cookies on Madison Paper's Blog. They are soooo yummy! I snapped a picture from my phone so they don't look nearly as good as they taste!

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
9 oz. GF chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream together all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Add chocolate chips.
3. Roll the cookies into medium sized balls on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten with fork.
4. Bake 9-10 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.
5. Enjoy!

Coastal Flats

Last night I had dinner and a movie with my two girlfriends. We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Coastal Flats, located in Tysons Corner Mall in Mclean, VA. We had super great service and they even offered a gluten-free menu! I had a grilled chicken breast and some very yummy mashed potatoes (not pictured).

After dinner we headed to Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, it was awesome!

Check out Coastal Flats [HERE] They also have a location in the Fairfax area.

The Bluegrass Grill and Bakery/OkayYellow Party!

I was in Charlottesville this Friday for my older brother's companies 3 year anniversary party. Okayyellow is an advertising firm my brother started with two of his good friends. They are pretty awesome, you should check out their site by clicking [HERE]

My parents came down for the occasion and this is the whole fam all yellowed out :-) The men got yellow ties and the woman yellow scarves. You can't tell here, but I even painted my nails yellow!

Anyway, Charlottesville is a pretty cool town and we headed out for breakfast at this cute little place the next morning, The Bluegrass Grill and Bakery. While they did not offer anything specifically gluten free, they were very aware of the gluten free diet and able to accommodate it no problem. (they were aware of cross-contamination issues and even brought out our food separately from everyone elses)

I ordered some delicious scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries with a side of fruit and my sister ordered an omlette and fries. We also had some tea that came in an adorable pot :-)

Amy's Kids Meals

I've been told by my sister that I should blog about how yummy Amy's gluten-free kids meals are! I'll take her word for it. Also...she mentioned they come with a fake tattoo!! ha :-)

UPDATE: Turns out only the Baked Ziti version is gluten free!

Shepherds Pie

This recipe is delicious...I left out all the vegetables because I'm super picky but feel free to add all sorts of vegetable goodness!

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 lb. sirloin tips
1 Tbsp of shortening or butter
3 cups of GF beef broth (I use Pacific Natural Foods beef broth)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp GF flour or corn starch
1 small onion

Topping:

4 large potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
milk or heavy cream

Directions:

Filling:

1. Coat the sirloin tips in GF flour, salt and pepper.
2. Brown sirloin tips on medium heat in a 12 inch skillet. Chop onion and add.
3. Add 3 cups GF beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until beef is tender.

Topping:

1. Peel, cube and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes.
2. Drain water and add butter.
3. Mash and add milk until desired consistency.

Combine:

1. Pour stew into a medium sized casserole dish and cover with mashed potatoes.
2. Broil until potatoes begin to brown.

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups gluten-free graham cracker crumbs (I used Josef's gluten-free cinnamon graham crackers)
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, GF graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the 4 tablespoons of peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cinnamon Toasties

I've blogged about these before. The recipe comes from Erin McKenna from Babycakes Vegan Bakery in NYC. I altered the recipe a little bit so I didn't have to buy new flour, and it still turned out pretty tasty. A bit spongy, but quite scrumptious!

• 1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for pan
• 1 1/4 cup GF flour mixture**
  
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1 1/4 cups unrefined sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce

Gluten Free Flour Mixture**

1.5 cups white rice flour
1.5 cups corn starch
1 cup tapioca flour

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush a 6 3/4-by-4 1/4-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together oil, applesauce, and 1 cup hot water. Add oil mixture to flour mixture; stir until well combined. Measure out 1/3 cup of batter and place in a small bowl. Pour remaining batter into prepared loaf pan. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon into reserved batter. Add to loaf pan, swirling to combine.
4. Transfer to oven and bake about 20 minutes. Brush top of loaf with oil and continue baking until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before unmolding.

ZPizza

Looks like gluten-free pizza is becoming more and more popular! Zpizza which has 16 locations in Virginia and many many more all over the US has now started serving gluten-free pizza. I think I'll try out their Arlington or Dulles location. I'll let you know how it goes! :-)

Oh and it looks like they deliver...now that's even more exciting.

For more of their locations click [HERE]

For their website click [HERE]

Uno's Gluten Free Pizza!

I just read this post over at Gluten Free Fun. Uno's Chicago Grill is now offering gluten free pizza! That is awesome! Of course my main concern is, can it really be gluten free? No cross contamination in a kitchen full of gluten?? I guess I'll have to go to my local Uno's and find out...either way, this is very exciting news! The awareness for Celiac and gluten intolerance is growing...and that makes me happy!

UPDATE:

I tried Uno's pizza tonight and it was AWESOME! It's so cool to know I can get pizza whenever I want and I don't have to make it myself!! I think I might make this a weekly thing :-)

Uno's also has a lot of other gluten free options and even icecream for dessert. I think they should think about having a gluten free brownie dessert next! ;-)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is ridiculously easy, and really tasty. I love the way the rice turns out. I'm a really picky eater so I left out the veggies but I'm sure they make it better :-)

Ingredients:

1 can GF Cream of Chicken Soup (I use Health Valley)
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 cups fresh or frozen vegetables
1/2 tsp. onion powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Stir soup, water, rice, vegetables and onion powder in 12"x18" shallow baking dish.

2. Top with chicken. Season chicken as desired. Cover.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 min. or until done. Top with cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Baby Shower Cake + Cupcakes

I had a chance to bake and decorate some cupcakes and a cake for a baby shower. (gluten-free of course!) The colors were pink, brown, beige and gold. I think I managed to cover them all! This was my first experience using fondant for the icing on the cake, it was fun!

Cookies!

I've been baking a lot for a school project, check out the pics..thanks to my photographer friend John!

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

I tried this macaroni and cheese for the first time tonight and it was to die for! (and super easy)

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked GF pasta (1 bag)
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons GF all-purpose flour (I use Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix)
1 1/2 cups half and half cream
3/4 pound processed cheese (Velveeta), cubed
pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth.
3. Gradually add cream; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat.
4. Stir in cheese until melted.
5. Drain macaroni; add cheese mixture. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Add pepper to taste.

Shrimp Pasta with Asiago Cheese

I'm not a fan of shrimp but my brother is! This is a meal he loves.

Ingredients:

GF Pasta
1 stick butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup minced onion
1 Tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon GF Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup white wine or GF chicken broth
1 lb shrimp (I buy cooked, peeled and devained)

Topping:

1/2 cup asiago cheese
1 large avocado (peeled, pitted and sliced)

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil and cook pasta.
2. In a separate pan simmer butter, minced garlic, minced onion, parsley, salt, pepper, GF Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and white wine or chicken broth.
3. Add cooked shrimp and simmer.
4. Serve on top of pasta topped with asiago cheese and avocado.

1000 Gluten-Free Recipes

One thing I got for Christmas was the cookbook 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster. So far the only recipe I've tried is the yellow cake, twice! It didn't turn out either time. I was using an extra large cake pan so this could have contributed to the demise of both cakes but I still think they should have worked....

One great thing about the cookbook is that Carol uses a single gluten-free flour mixture for the entire book. This way you don't need to be mixing and buying different flours. She uses a combination of sorghum flour, potato starch and tapioca flour.

For the first cake I baked I didn't have the sorghum flour so I used white rice flour instead. The second time around I used the sorghum flour and I have to say, the first cake tasted much more moist and delicious while the second cake tasted and had the texture of sponge cake. I'll have to test these out again sometime, but I think I prefer using white rice flour in my flour mixtures :-)

Bravo

I wrote about Bravo last Christmas when I was in Michigan. They are an Italian Restaurant located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. They are also really great with gluten-free requests. I was able to bring my own pasta and they boiled all new water in a different pot and made me some delicious gluten-free pasta woozie. Bravo has locations all over (none in the DC area though) you can check out their locations [HERE]

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried these cookies out tonight and they are truly delicious! Nobody could tell they were gluten free :-)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups GF flour mix
1 teaspoon GF baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons GF vanilla
1 package or 2 cups GF semi sweet chocolate chips

*Gluten-Free Flour Mix:
2 cups white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
(sift well)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum in a medium bowl.

2. Combine butter, brown sugar and sugar in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating until well mixed.

3. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir chips in.

4. Spoon the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until light golden brown. Do not over bake!

Christmas Sweets

My friend Michelle and I made some really yummy Christmas cookies and mini cupcakes last night. We were up until 2:30 am! But it was lots of fun.

I used Namaste cake mix for the cupcakes and made the sugar cookies from scratch.

P.S. Check out Reston Mom's blog for a Holiday cookie recipe exchange!

Sugar Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons GF vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups GF flour mix

*Gluten-Free Flour Mix:
1 cup white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
(sift well)

Directions:

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy; add sugar and cream well.
2. Add egg, salt, vanilla, and almond extract; mix well.
3. Add flour and mix until incorporated.
4. Chill dough (It works great if you chill the dough over night, but I've also popped it into the freezer for an hour or so and it's good to go)
5. Roll batter out and make fun shapes or scoop small spoon sized balls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 375 degrees. These bake quickly, take them out right before they are starting to brown!

Wendy's

I often miss the convienence of fast food, especially because I'm always on the go but luckily Wendy's offers some great gluten-free options. Some of my favorite gluten-free options they offer are the chili, baked potato, grilled chicken (plain with no bun) and a frosty (with m&ms!)

For a complete list of Wendy's gluten-free items click [HERE] Follow the link and click on the "Menu items without gluten" pdf.

La Sandia

I met my sister at La Sandia located at Tysons Corner today. It's a modern Mexican restaurant and my sister had told me they had a gluten-free menu so I was excited to try it out. If you check out their menu online they place a (G) next to all gluten-free items.

Unfortunately the menu at the restaurant did not specify which items were gluten-free. We asked the waiter and he said they just re-printed new menu's and they must have forgotten to add G's...ha!

The waiter didn't seem to know what was gluten-free either. He told me the corn chips were not gluten free bc they were made of corn flour. I assured him corn flour was gluten-free so he told me they were not gluten-free because they were friend in soy oil...which is in fact gluten-free! I think he was a bit confused.

Oh well, I figured out that I could eat the chicken enchillada's and some queso and chips. It was ok. I probably won't go there again :-)

But if you're interested...the address is:

7852 Tysons Corner Center, Mclean, VA