Chicken Marsala

So, we were fortunate enough to be one of the hosts for our church college ministry's Winter Formal Progressive Dinner.  Each year before the kids head home for Christmas they do this dinner and gift exchange.  I was the designated "food allergy" house.  Thanks to the help of my daughter, her boyfriend, and a good friend of mine, we fed 8 young adults and ourselves a delicious meal.

My wonderful husband was gracious enough to get my double ovens installed prior to the meal, which served quite nicely as warming drawers so we were able to plate the food just like at a restaurant and feed everyone all together.  Since this was a progressive dinner, we only had to worry about the entree and we went all out.

I decided to go with my husbands favorite, Chicken Marsala.  Sides included a Lemon Risotto and Balsamic Glazed Baby Carrots.  I am posting each recipe separately for ease of cataloguing on the blog.

Chicken Marsala is one of those dishes that a lot of people order when they go out, but if you have gluten or dairy allergy, ordering this is no longer an option.  You can very easily make this dish both gluten and dairy free, which is what I did.  For those lucky people without food allergies, you can use all purpose flour, butter and heavy cream in this recipe instead of GF flour, margarine and coconut milk.

Chicken Marsala
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved and pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1/4 cup GF flour blend
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
6 Tbsp Dairy Free Margarine
3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 pound mushrooms of choice, chopped (I used baby bellas, oyster and a chef's blend of 4 additional varieties)
1/4 pound pancetta, cubed
1/2 cup thin sliced leeks
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup Marsala cooking wine
1 cup low sodium GF chicken broth
2 Tbsp coconut milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place flour, italian seasoning, 1 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a gallon size ziploc bag.  Seal bag and shake contents to blend.  Season chicken breasts lightly with salt and pepper.  Add to the ziploc bag, seal and shake to coat chicken.

Preheat olive oil in a frying pan. Add chicken breasts and fry until golden brown on each side (about 4 minutes per side).  remove from oil an set aside.  Drain oil from pan, reserving as much of the brown bits as possible.  Return to stove and add pancetta to pan.  Cook until brown and slightly crisp.  Add butter to pan.  Saute leeks and garlic until leeks are softened, about 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms start to give up their moisture and are reduced.  Add Marsala and deglaze pan.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce temperature to low.  Add sage and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened.  Stir cream into sauce to finish it.  Add chicken back into sauce to warm and coat for about 5 minutes.  Serve with lemon risotto.  Makes 4 servings.

Japanese Steak Rolls

So if you are like me and love oriental food, being gluten free meant missing out on most of your favorites dishes because the primary ingredient in most oriental dishes is soy sauce, which contains wheat as a stabilizer and thickener.  Well miss out no more, as there are good, wheat free soy sauces available at your local health food store and they taste no different than their wheat-containing relative.  So bust out those chopsticks and enjoy!

Japanese Steak Rolls
For the dipping sauce-
Process the following ingredients in a food processor, transfer to a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes.  Cool to room temperature.
1 1/2 cups red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

For the steak rolls-
1 lb. flank steak, trimmed
Salt and pepper
16 asparagus spears, trimmed to about 8 inches long
16 scallions (green onions),  trimmed to about 8 inches long

Marinade-
6 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
6 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
Combine ingredients in a small dish and set aside.


Slice flank steak across the grain into 16 strips about 1/2 inch thick.  Pound each strip out to 1/8 inch thickness, then season with salt and pepper.  Place an asparagus spear and scallion across short end of the beef.  Roll beef around vegetables and secure with a toothpick.  Place beef rolls in a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet.  Repeat with remainder beef and vegetables.  Pour marinade over beef rolls and let sit for 10 minutes.

Preheat broiler.  Broil steak rolls for about 5 minutes.  Brush dipping sauce over steak rolls and broil 2 additional minutes.  Remove from oven and serve with sticky rice.

Try substituting other vegetables that you like...red bell peppers, zucchini and slices of sweet yellow onion work great also.  If you like a little spice, add 1 Tbsp Sriracha to your marinade.

Original recipe from Cuisine At Home and adapted to meet the needs of a gluten free diet.

Bison Meatloaf with Red Wine Sauce

When I say meatloaf, some of you already checked out, thinking of that loaf pan-shaped pile of hamburger covered in ketchup that you grew up on.  Well, check back in because this is not your mamma's meatloaf and yes, it can be served to guests with pride!

If you have never tried bison, this is a great opportunity.  While you could make this meatloaf with ground chuck or ground beef, bison is lower in fat and higher in protein than beef, making it an ideal choice for boosting nutritional value.

One note for my gluten-free friends- this recipe does require bread crumbs.  While you can buy a small package of gluten free "bread crumbs" at the specialty stores, they are not very good.  Instead, make your own by keeping all of your gluten free bread heels, bread that is going stale anyway, those left over pieces of gluten free cornbread, etc.  Dry them out on a cooling rack for 24 hours, tear them into chunks and process them to the desired consistency in a food processor.  Add 1 Tbsp of dry italian seasoning to every 2 cups of bread crumbs and you have italian bread crumbs for other recipes.  Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place and you are set to go!

Bison Meatloaf with Red Wine Sauce
For the meatloaf:
4 eggs (3 hard boiled)
1 medium white onion, diced
5 Tbsp butter
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Fresh italian parsley, minced to equal about 3 Tbsp
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground chuck
1 lb ground bison
2 cups bread crumbs
Bacon slices (around 10-15, I like an apple smoked bacon for this)
Rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  If you have not already done so, hard-boil 3 of the eggs, cool, peel and set aside.
Saute the diced onion in the butter until softened and transparent.  Remove to a bowl to cool.
In a large bowl, combine beef, bison, Worcestershire sauce, onion mixture, italian parsley, garlic and seasoning.  Work everything together with your hands until well combined.  Add the remaining raw egg and then the bread crumbs, mixing after each addition.

Divide the mixture in half.  Work one half of the mixture into a flattened, egg-shaped mound on your baking sheet.  Press a narrow ditch down the middle of the mixture.  Place your three hard boiled eggs in the center.

Shape the remaining mixture over the top of the eggs, sealing and smoothing the edges of the loaf.






Wrap meatloaf in bacon slices, tucking ends under so they don't curl during baking.

Bake for 1 hour or until center measures 160 degrees F with an oven thermometer. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

While the meatloaf is baking, make your red wine sauce.


Red Wine Sauce:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups gluten-free, low sodium beef broth
1 cup red wine, such as a Zinfandel or Cab Sauv
1 Tbsp low sodium, gluten-free soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 sprig fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan melt the butter.  Add the rosemary sprig and brown for about 2 minutes.  Add all ingredients except the cornstarch to the saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid has reduced by about half.  This will take around 20-30 minutes.  In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.  Remove rosemary sprig and discard.  Add cornstarch slurry to saucepan, whisking until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.  Finally, mount the sauce with butter (cut 2 Tbsp cold butter into 8 small cubes.  Add cubes a few at a time, stirring into sauce until melted).  Mounting sauce with butter gives it a nice shine and slightly thickens it. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.  Great side parings include garlic mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

So, it is a Friday night and what do we feel like for dinner? Pizza!  Why order pizza when with a few staple ingredients and some leftovers, you can have a delicious homemade pizza in less time than it takes to get one delivered.  If you are gluten free, ordering pizza is out of the question anyway, but you can still enjoy that gooey cheesy goodness!

This pizza dough can be made with gluten free or regular flour.  If using gluten free flour, you can only do a thin crust pizza, but if you are making this traditionally, you can indulge in a pan pizza if you so choose.



Chicken Pesto Pizza
2 1/4 to 3 cups flour (Gluten free blend or regular)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water (120 degrees)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Basil Pesto
2 cups roasted chicken, shredded (leftovers work great for this)
Dry Italian Salami, thin sliced
Roma tomatoes, sliced
Fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced (1/4 inch thick)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
8 - 10 fresh basil leaves

For crust, place yeast in bowl, with sugar, and warm water.  Let sit ten minutes or until foam appears on top of water.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour with salt.  Add yeast mixture and oil, mixing until combined.  Add additional flour until a soft dough is formed. Knead dough until is is soft and all flour is incorporated. Place dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.

Cut parchment paper to size for your pizza pan.  If using a round pan, fold paper in half several times, as if making a paper airplane.  Place tip of paper at the center of your pan and then cut paper to size.  Unfold and you have a perfect circle. Spray paper lightly with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray and place on pizza pan.  Lightly sprinkle 2 Tbsp. white cornmeal on paper.  This will give you a really nice crust like a real pizzeria!

Place dough in center of pan.  Work dough flat with your fingers and heel of your hand toward edges of pizza pan.  Continue until dough is spread across pan.  Prick dough with a fork several times and sprinkle with sea salt.  If using traditional flour and you want a pan pizza, set dough aside to rise for 30-45 minutes.  Bake dough in a 425 degree oven for 12 minutes for thin crust and at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes for a pan pizza.

Remove crust from oven.  Top with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, Italian salami and chicken.

Sprinkle parmesan over pizza.  Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes for a thin crust pizza and 15-20 minutes for a pan pizza.  remove pizza from oven, top with fresh basil and enjoy.

Makes one 14 inch pizza.