Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies^®, 2nd Edition

Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies^®, 2nd Edition

by Danna Korn

Author of Living Gluten-Free For Dummies

Connie Sarros

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

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Nutritional Analysis: Patty Santinelli

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Composition Services

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Food Stylist: Lisa Bishop

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Introduction

When I was asked to write Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies, I panicked. Sure, I know plenty about the gluten-free lifestyle — I’ve been living (and loving) it since 1991, and am proud to frequently be referred to as “The Gluten-Free Guru.” I had already written Living Gluten-Free For Dummies, so I was familiar with the format of a For Dummies book. So why the panic?

Because although I love to cook, I’m a little — ahem — unconventional in my methods. Take measuring, for example. I don’t. Oh, and recipes? Nope. I usually can’t get past the list of ingredients before going my own way and modifying the recipe to suit my needs.

My ideas for recipes in this book went something like this: “Take a bunch of chicken and sauté it in butter.” (Oops — forgot to tell you to cut it and heat the butter — you should have known that.) “Add a dab of whatever spices sound good to you at the moment — maybe a few globs of diced tomatoes and some veggies. When it’s done, put it on the gluten-free rice noodles” (that I forgot to tell you to prepare in advance). “Voilà! You have chicken stir-fry on noodles!” That didn’t go over too well.

So this book offers you a compromise. I believe in helping people figure out how to make anything gluten-free — without recipes, complicated terms, or ingredients you’ll have to fly to Paris to purchase. Chapter 8 shows you how to do that using simple substitutions that you probably already have on hand.

And for those of you Real Cooks who love recipes, we have Real Recipes written by Real Cookbook Author Connie Sarros. Connie specializes in gluten-free cooking, and her recipes are easy to follow and absolutely amazing. She tends to emphasize good nutrition, which also is a passion of mine, and she introduces unique ingredients that are nutritious, delicious, and offer diverse flavors and consistencies. With Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies, Second Edition, we provide additional recipes with Cindy Kleck’s help. Cindy has done a great job of simplifying some of the more difficult creations.

Although this book focuses on cooking gluten-free, it also touches on medical conditions that benefit from a gluten-free lifestyle, nutritional considerations, and other practical questions and issues that you may face being gluten-free. This, though, isn’t as much about lifestyle as it is about cooking. If you’re interested in knowing more about living (and loving) the gluten-free lifestyle, read Living Gluten-Free For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).

Written in the easy-to-follow-and-incredibly-comprehensive For Dummies style, this book is the reference guide you need to help you create incredible gluten-free delights.

About This Book

In this second edition of Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies, we’ve updated it with a new design so you can find one recipe on one page for easy reference. (Don’t you hate having to turn the page when you’re cooking, and then get the pages all sticky?) We’ve also replaced some of the more difficult recipes with 20 or so new, easier recipes written by Cindy Kleck. In this updated edition, you can also find a new chapter on meal-planning with our suggestions to make your life a little less hectic.

Readers had asked for a couple of new recipe sections, and we listened. We’ve added two new recipe chapters — one on quick-and-easy meals and one on ethnic foods.

Like any For Dummies book, this book makes it easy to skip around and read whatever floats your boat at the time. But if you’re new to gluten-free cooking, I suggest you read the book in order. There are considerations that you’ll want to know about for gluten-free cooking that don’t relate to regular cooking, such as cross-contamination. To ensure you’re making a safe gluten-free meal, make sure you read Chapter 5 before you start cooking.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the book, so if you read nothing else, you can at least have an intelligent conversation about gluten-free cooking at the next party you attend. And by golly, won’t you be the life of the party!

For those of you who’ve been cooking gluten-free for years, you’re probably just dying to dig in and try Connie’s and Cindy’s amazing recipes. I encourage you to do so, but remember that rules have changed and some things that used to be off-limits on the gluten-free diet no longer are. You may want to take a look at Chapter 3 to see if something you’ve been avoiding is now considered safe.

By the way, I should mention that the recipes in this book have been tested by the publisher’s professional recipe tester, so I’m pretty sure they all work as intended.

Conventions Used in This Book

For Dummies books are known for having consistent ground rules and conventions. Some of those used in this book include

Made-up words are just part of my vocabulary — you’ll get used to it, and they’re not hard to figure out. For instance, a glutenivore is someone who eats gluten; glutenated means a product has been contaminated with gluten. Glutenilicious is a scrumptious gluten-free meal, and glutenologism is a made-up word having to do with gluten!

When I refer to ingredients throughout this book, you can assume I’m referring to the gluten-free version. Soy sauce, for example — I don’t say “gluten-free soy sauce” in the ingredients list. You can assume you should use a gluten-free version (please, do I really need to say that?!?).

Recipes are designated as vegetarian by using a little tomato icon.

Nutritional facts accompany all the recipes and are based on the actual ingredients found as the recipes appear in this book. If you make substitutions, the facts may not be valid.

Speaking of substitutions, feel free to make them. Chapter 8 offers lots of ideas for being creative when creating your concoctions.

A mixture of gluten-free flours works best when baking. Check out Chapter 9 for a gluten-free flour recipe and advice for storing and using gluten-free flour.

Milk substitutes can be used in place of milk in most recipes (hence the clever name milk “substitute”).

Unless otherwise noted, all eggs are large.

Butter and margarine are interchangeable.

All temperatures are Fahrenheit.

When a recipe calls for salt and/or pepper, use regular table salt and freshly ground black pepper.

We use 90 percent lean ground beef when a recipe requires that old standby. It tastes good, has the right amount of fat for our purposes, and isn’t hard on the budget.

All Web addresses appear in monofont.

And follow these tips to help ensure your recipes come out tasting scrumptious:

Read through the recipe from start to finish before you begin cooking. That way, you’ll know what tools and pans you need, what ingredients to set on the counter, how the steps progress, and how much time you’ll need.

Preheat ovens and broilers at least 15 minutes before you slide the dish in.

What You’re Not to Read

Well first of all, I’m impressed that you’re reading this. This is the Introduction, folks! Aren’t you just dying to dig into the good stuff?!? Because you’re an introduction reader, you’re likely to read all the stuff you don’t need to read, but if you want to skip something, feel free to skip the sidebars. Sidebars are extra bits of information you’ll find in shaded boxes throughout the chapters. I think they’re sometimes more interesting than the chapters themselves, but you’re welcome to skip them if you’d like.

Foolish Assumptions

When we author types sit down to write a book, we make a bunch of assumptions about our readers — at the same time, you make assumptions about the author. Here are some assumptions I’ve made about you:

You’re interested in gluten-free cooking (that one was easy).

You’re interested because you’ve been diagnosed with a condition that requires a gluten-free diet, you’re cooking for someone who’s been diagnosed with a condition that requires a gluten-free diet, or you’re interested in being gluten-free for personal interest or health reasons.

You’re most likely interested in the recipes, but you may also be interested in nutrition, knowing how to make your kitchen as safe as possible for cooking gluten-free foods, and cooking any food gluten-free without the aid of recipes.

You may have read the many reasons a gluten-free diet is healthier, and you’ve decided to give it a try.

You’re either a newbie and know very little about the gluten-free diet, or you’ve been at this for a while and are looking for new ideas. Either way, I have you covered.

No matter why you’re cooking gluten-free, you’ll find that cooking gluten-free is an art form, and one that sometimes takes a little innovation on your part to figure out what is and isn’t allowed on the diet.

Likewise, while I’ve made assumptions about you, you can make a couple of assumptions about me and what you’ll read in this book:

I’m an expert on the gluten-free diet, and am known to many as “The Gluten-Free Guru.” I’ve been researching the gluten-free lifestyle since 1991, when my son was diagnosed with celiac disease. With absolutely no resources available to me, I set out to learn everything I can — and to help others live and love the lifestyle.

Unlike many authors of gluten-free cookbooks or resource materials, I do live the lifestyle. Granted, I didn’t go gluten-free back in ’91 when my son was diagnosed with celiac disease; I didn’t “see the light” until 2002, when I was writing my second book and realized gluten isn’t good for anyone. I’ve been gluten-free ever since.

Connie, author of the recipes in this book, is gluten-free as well. She’s the author of several gluten-free cookbooks and is a sought-after speaker, as well.

Although this book is loaded with lots of great information about the medical conditions that benefit from a gluten-free diet, it’s not intended to serve as medical advice. See your health-care professional for further guidance if you feel you need it.

How This Book Is Organized

Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies is easy to navigate. All the parts that should go together do. The book starts out with general information about the gluten-free diet and medical conditions that it benefits; it’s an overview of why you might be gluten-free or consider going gluten-free. From there, it gets into preparing to cook, which leads to the recipes. Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies wraps up with the Part of Tens, familiar favorites in all For Dummies books. Here’s how the four parts break down:

Part I: Preparing for Your Gluten-Free Cooking Adventures

The eight chapters in this part encompass everything but the recipes. Chapter 1 is a brief overview of the entire book. The next seven chapters discuss what is and isn’t gluten-free, nutrition, shopping, setting up your kitchen, and figuring out how to cook anything gluten-free — without recipes.

Part II: Mouthwatering Main Courses

Part II dives right in, with recipes for main courses served up by Connie. With an emphasis on nutrition and unique ingredients, Connie’s recipes are easy to follow, yet absolutely amazing.

Part III: Dishes to Enjoy Before, After, or Any Time

In this part, you find recipes for appetizers, salads, soups, and snacks. Desserts and baked goods round out this part, with decadent and delicious dishes you’d never guess were gluten-free.

Part IV: The Part of Tens

Without the Part of Tens, a For Dummies book is a For Dum — it’s not finished. All For Dummies books finish with a Part of Tens, which in this book consists of two chapters, each with (get this) ten tips or ideas relating to gluten-free cooking. You can find one chapter with suggestions for gluten-free comfort foods and another with ideas for cooking gluten-free with the kids.

Icons Used in This Book

Like all For Dummies books, this book has icons to call out tidbits of information. Here’s what the icons mean:

Can you guess what the Tip icon is for? Yep — it’s for calling out tips that will help you with your gluten-free cooking.

You’ll find friendly reminders throughout this book, marked with a Remember icon that looks like this. These are pieces of information that are important enough to have you make note of.

Text flagged with this icon can keep you out of cooking-related or diet-related trouble.

Where to Go from Here

Where to go from here is completely up to you. Like any For Dummies book, you can skip around if you want. You may want to curl up in a snuggly chair and read the first part for background information, or you may want to grab your apron (do people still wear those?) and dive into the recipes!

Part I

Preparing for Your Gluten-Free Cooking Adventures

In this part . . .

Here we give you all the preliminary info you need about gluten-free cooking before you dive in and try the recipes. We cover what is and isn’t gluten-free, nutrition, shopping, setting up your kitchen, and figuring out how to cook anything gluten-free even when you don’t have recipes.