Georgian Cheese-Stuffed Bread

We followed the recipes from Nigella Lawson's Georgian Feast in her book Feast for our Thanksgiving Day, and the cheese-stuffed bread was a huge hit. I thought I'd better write down the recipe adaptation before I forget what I did - but I haven't yet had a chance to convert the weights to cups. Sorry -- will do next time.

Serve with a simple salad of bitter greens, cucumbers, and green onions. I added lots of nasturtium blossoms, which are lovely and delicious. This recipe makes half the amount Nigella recommends for eight, but it is rich and will serve at least five or six people as a first course or brunch course. Four for a vegetarian main course.

2/3 cup milet flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour (next time, I'm planning to use amaranth instead)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup soy flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 rounded tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 egg
2 tbsp soft butter

100 g ricotta cheese
250 g feta cheese, crumbled
150 g mozzarella cheese, grated
1 small egg

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, xanthan gum, soda, and salt. Work in softened 2 tbsp butter. In a small bowl, beat the egg and yogurt. Beat egg mixture into flour mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate this until you are ready to assemble the bread.

Combine cheeses and small egg in a small bowl. Set aside until you are really, really ready to assemble the bread.

Sprinkle a 9" round cake pan with GF flour. Sprinkle a breadboard with a little bit more GF flour. Remove your dough from the fridge and cut the dough in half. Lightly knead half of the dough into a circle. Press it into the bottom and up the sides of the cake pan. Spread with the cheese mixture. Lightly knead the second half of the dough into a circle approximately 9" round. Set this on top of the cheese mixture with its edges overlapping the dough up the sides of the pan, and seal the edges of the dough all the way around the pan.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake the bread for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown but still very slightly doughy on the inside. Serve hot, in cheese-oozing wedges.

Quinoa Herb Muffins

Based on herbed rice muffins that are somewhere else on this blog, these quinoa-stuffed muffins are great with soup. I am not fond of quinoa flour, but I love quinoa itself, so when I wanted herbed rice muffins but had no brown rice cooked, the best idea seemed to be to cook up some quinoa and swap it into the recipe.

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked in 1 cup water until tender and water is absorbed, then cooled a bit

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 tsp xanthan gum
4 tso baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each dried basil, marjoram, and oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup (generous!) freshly, finely grated Parmesan cheese

Grease 12 muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, whisk flours and starches, flaxseed meal, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, herbs, and cheese.

In a large bowl, combine quinoa (making sure it's cool enough to not cook the eggs), oil, eggs, milk, and cheese. Whisk until well combined.

Stir into dry ingredients, just to mix.

Fill prepared muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake muffins at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Blackbottom Cups

These rich cupcakes have a chocolate base, a chocolate-chip cheesecakey filling, and a sprinkle of nuts on top! They are ba-a-a-ad for you and have almost no redeeming health benefits, unless you are so deprived of calcium that cream cheese counts as your daily intake. And almonds are reputedly good for us these days . . . Hmm. I've almost convinced myself . . .

For cheesecake filling:
6 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
6 oz chocolate chips

Cream together until well combined.

For topping:
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Mix in a small bowl. Set aside.

For black-bottomed cups:
3/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well, without overmixing.

Half-fill 18 muffin cups with blackbottom mixture. Spoon some cream cheese mixture into each. Sprinkle with nut and sugar topping. Bake at 350F for 20 to 30 minutes.

Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Muffins

In pumpkin season, pumpkin recipes are indispensable! We have any number of pumpkinny squash proliferating in our garden (read: taking over our entire yard and property). This is a tasty and not-too-sweet cheesecakey muffin.

3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup amaranth flour (or another 3/4 cup brown rice flour)
1/4 cup tapioca starch flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sour cream
1 4-oz pkg cream cheese, cut in 12 cubes

In a large bowl, mix flours and starches, sugar, spices, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin, butter, and sour cream. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Fill greased muffin cups 1/3 full. Place a cube of cream cheese in the centre of each. Add more batter to fill cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400F for approx. 15 to 20 minutes.

Savoury Ricotta Muffins

Another savoury muffin recipe. I must admit these required too much work for me to commit to making them very often. Hours after cooling, though, they were still moist (a wee bit sticky) and still nicely crunchy on the edges. Cottage cheese would probably work just fine rather than ricotta -- it would leave some nice wee lumps of curd in the mix.

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp dry mustard powder (check that it's gluten-free)

3/4 cup milk
3 tbsp melted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 small onion, minced finely
1/4 cup parsley, minced finely

1/2 cup grated very old Cheddar
1/2 tsp paprika

Prepare 12 muffin tins by greasing them well. Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours and starches, xanthan gum, flaxseed meal, salt, mustard, and baking powder. In a larger bowl, wuickly beat together milk, butter, and egg; fold in ricotta, onion, and parsley. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins, dividing evenly. Sprinkle evenly with Cheddar cheese and sprinkle with paprika. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Herbed Rice Muffins

Savoury quickbreads to serve on their own or with cheese or soup or other deliciousness. Much simpler to put together than yeast bread, and a great way to use leftover rice. If you wished to add to these muffins, some chopped sun-dried tomato in oil would be lovely, or, alternatively, some minced red and/or green sweet pepper.

1 cup cooked, cooled brown basmati rice
3 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 tsp xanthan gum
4 tso baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each dried basil, marjoram, and oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup (generous!) freshly, finely grated Parmesan cheese

Grease or line 12 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, combine rice, oil, and milk. Whisk until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk flours and starches, flaxseed meal, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, herbs, and cheese. Stir into wet ingredients, just to mix.

Fill prepared muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake muffins at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes. (The colder the leftover rice is, the longer the cooking time.)

Parmesan "Shortbread"

A whole new take on icebox cookies, these "shortbreads" are a decadent appetizer to serve with a savoury jam or jelly. Adapted from Canadian Living, December 2002.

1/4 cup amaranth flor
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp cracked peppercorns

Whisk flours and starches with xanthan gum and Parmesan. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press crumbs into a neat ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Divide dough in half. On a lightly rice-floured surface, form each into an 8" log, pressing crumbs together as tightly as possible to form a coherent log. Roll each log in cracked pepper, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm.

Cut into 1/4" slices using a serrated knife and place about 1" apart on a pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Bake in the centre of 250F oven until lightly browned and fragrant, about 1 hour.

Gluten-Free Cheddar-Pepper Tartlets

This recipe is another one adapted from Canadian Living for gluten-free diets -- with a few additions that suit our taste for spice. These are a favourite appetizer for any occasion. We use jalapeno pepper jelly made from home-grown organic peppers. A 1/2 cup jar is just enough for one batch of 36 tartlets.

1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup finely grated, well-packed old Cheddar
2 tbsp (approx) ice water
1/2 cup jalapeno pepper jelly -- recipe below (or other savoury jelly)

Whisk together flours, pepper, and salt. Cut in butter until in fine crumbs. Stir in cheese. Add water one tablespoonful at a time, tossing with a fork, until dough begins to form clumps. Do not use too much water in gluten-free pastry; it will cause toughness.

Press dough into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Divide dough into 36 pieces. Press each piece into a tartlet cup, pressing onto bottom and up sides. Prick bottoms with a fork. Spoon about 1/2 tsp of the pepper jelly into each cup.

Bake at 375F for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp and golden. Let cool in the pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack.

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly: Mince 5 (or more) jalapeno peppers. Include the seeds to make a hotter jelly; discard the seeds to tame the heat. Place minced jalapenos in a 4 cup measure, and add minced red and green sweet peppers to fill to 4 cups. Pour into a large saucepan and add 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar. In a separate small bowl, whisk 1 box light pectin crystals with 1/4 cup of sugar. Slowly add this mixture to prepared peppers in the saucepan. Place over high heat and stir constantly until mixture returns to a full boil. Stir in 3 cups sugar. Stir constantly as mixture returns to a full boil. Continue to stir and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim off foam with metal spoon. Pour quickly into warm jars filling to 1/8” from the top. Process in boiling water bath. Yields about 5 cups.