Scandanavian Christmas Buns Made GF-GF Santa Lucia Buns

My girlfriend from Southern CA was recently sharing with me her desire to make the wonderful home made saffron Santa Lucia Buns her grandmother used to make for her when she was little, part of the holiday traditions she now shares with her children. One snag in her plans, she and the kids are celiac. So, she came up with the recipe that is listed here and was able to make her dream a reality for her little ones this Dec. 13th.

One thing she does mention, this is a day long process and should not be started at 5 p.m.

How to make Gluten Free St. Lucia Buns

The Recipe: Sunset Scandinavian Cook Book (1975)

This is the original recipe from the book.

• 2 packages active dry yeast

• ½ cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

• 1 ½ cups warm milk (about 110 degrees

• 1 cup sugar

• ¾ cup (3/8 lb) soft butter or margarine, cut into pieces

• 1 egg

• ¾ tsp. salt

• ¼ tsp ground saffron (or use 1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom and 1 tsp grated orange peep.)

• About 7 ½ cups all purpose flour, un-sifted

• About ½ cup dark raisins

• 2 egg yolks mixed with 1 ½ Tbsp. water.

Gluten Free Conversion:

The GF flour comes from Bette Hagman’s More From the Gluten Free Gourmet

6 cups white rice flour

2 cups potato starch flour (do not use potato flour)

1 cup tapioca flour

This will make about 9 cups of flour and you will be using most of it for the buns.

In a mixing bowl combine the yeast and water; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Blend in the milk, sugar, butter, egg, salt and saffron (or the cardamom and orange peep.) Stir in enough to the GF flour (about 6 ½ cups) to form a very stiff dough. I found that it became the consistency of play dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Use the GF flour from the conversion mixture to incorporate into dough and add the balance of lour as needed to prevent dough from sticking. Place dough in a greased bowl, turn over to grease top, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled. About 1 hour.

Now, I experimented. I used a bread hook from my Kitchen Aid mixture for half of the mixture and hand kneaded the other half. The hand kneaded mixture had more air where as the bread hook had less.

After 1 hour, punch down dough, turn out into a lightly floured board (use the remains of the GF conversion flour) and knead lightly toe expel air bubbles. Pinch off balls of dough 1 ½ inch diameter and roll each into a smooth rope about 12 inches long. Place the rope on a lightly greased baking sheet.

For single S buns (sometimes called Christmas pigs or boars), coil ends of each rope in opposite directions, and then stick a raisin in the center of each coil. Dough worked beautifully for various shapes and styles. I made a traditional St. Lucia crown and a “star.”

Cover buns lightly with plastic film and let rise in a warm place until almost double (about 25 minutes). Don’t forget to do this otherwise they come out more cookies like. Brush evenly with the yolk water mixture.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown (about 20 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, or cool completely, wrap and freeze. Thaw frozen buns unwrapped. To reheat, wrap in foil and place in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Makes about 5 dozen.

GF modification to Epicurious' Pumpkin Pecan cheesecake

This cheesecake is a favorite of mine, I modified it to be GF by adding a crust made out of Pamela's small bites ginger snap cookies and subbing Pamela's baking mix for the flour in the recipe. I like adding the Pamela's baking mix since it has the xanthum gum and everything else you need to make the cheesecake rise already in it so it makes it simple. Also, remember for our celiac friends, distillation does not allow the gluten molecule into bourbon so you can add it to the cheesecake for the Southern flavor, enjoy!

For praline

• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

For crust

• 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (Pamela's Small Bites Cookies are good, 1 bag will do it) (about 9 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For filling

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons Pamela's All Purpose Baking Mix
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• 2 teaspoons GF vanilla extract

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Preparation

Make praline:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheet with foil. Stir sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts and mixture comes to boil; boil 1 minute without stirring. Mix in pecans. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet. Bake until sugar syrup bubbles vigorously, about 8 minutes. Cool praline completely. Break into pieces. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight.)

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Stir cookie crumbs and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Add butter; stir until crumbs are moistened. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Bake crust until set, about 8 minutes. Cool. Double-wrap outside of pan with heavy-duty foil. Place in large roasting pan.

Make filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in baking mix and spices. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in pumpkin, bourbon and vanilla. Transfer to crust.

Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to reach 1 inch up sides of springform pan. Bake cake in water bath until center is just set, adding more water to roasting pan as needed, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove cheesecake from water. Cool in pan on rack. Remove foil. Run small sharp knife between cake and pan sides. Chill until cold; then cover and chill overnight.

Release pan sides. Place cake on platter. Sprinkle praline over, leaving 1-inch plain border at edge. Cut cake into wedges.

Inspired by Razia-thank you!

Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup

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Serve this scrumptious dish as a first course on Thanksgiving Day or as dinner's main event on a chilly evening. The curry gives it a subtly exotic flavor, while the apple and honey add a touch of sweetness.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
• 3 cups chicken broth

• 1 1/2 cups solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• Sour cream and chives, for garnish (optional)

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Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot. Stir in the onion, celery, and apple. Partially cover the pot and sauté the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and sauté the mixture for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.

2. Pour the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor, add the pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth.

3. Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in the remaining chicken broth, the salt, and the bay leaf. Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

4. After 5 minutes, stir in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of honey. Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey if necessary to get the desired balance of sweet and savory. Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot. For a pretty -- and tasty -- touch, garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives. Makes 6 servings.

Chicken Mole

So I thought I would start this out with a recipe that I have tried and loved. So here it is, Oaxacan Chicken Mole. I found this recipe online and loved it, though some monkeying with the ingredient amounts is called for if you like it spicier or more chocolaty.

I also used chicken thighs instead of the boneless, skinless chicken breasts since they dry out so much and I recommend Ancho chile powder since it has more flavor than heat. If you are partial to heat though you can experiment with other chile powders.

Also don't forget that mole sauce is supposed to be smooth so you will want to transfer the chicken to another plate and run the sauce through a food processor to smooth it out. You can also add blackberries or marion berries to the sauce, but this will require you to strain the smooth sauce through a cheesecloth to remove the berry seeds.

I would recommend an off dry style white wine with this dish, a personal favorite is the Pacific Rim Reisling by Bonny Doon Vineyards.

Ingredients: 2 chicken breast halves boneless, skinless 3 1/2 Teaspoon(s) chili powder 1 1/2 Tablespoon(s) olive oil 1/2 Teaspoon(s) ground cumin 1/4 Teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon 1 Can(s) (14-16 ounces) stewed tomatoes 1/4 unsweetened chocolate Season chicken with 1 teaspoon chili powder, salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add remaining 2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder, cumin and cinnamon to skillet; stir 15 seconds. Mix in tomatoes (undrained) and chocolate; simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Return chicken to sauce; simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Note: Sauce will cover 4 chicken breast halves.

Original recipe posted at http://recipes.bgkulinar.net/recipe-Oaxacan+Chicken+Mole-10246

Inspired by Julie and Julia

So I was inspired to start this blog by seeing the movie Julie and Julia. I love to cook and thought it would be awesome to do a project like the one Julie did. But since I and two of my very good friends are GF I thought it would be more fun to do something where we could share Gluten Free recipes that we have tried and either had success with or failed miserably at.

One of my girlfriends thought it was too bad we don't live closer so we could cook these recipes and share them, well this is the next best thing in the digital age. So, get out your chef's hat and our yourself a glass of wine. Join us on our cooking journey!