Crave Catering

I did it. I started a catering/personal chef business. We specialize in gluten-free and other restricted diets (vegetarian, vegan, allergen-free).

www.cravechattanooga.com

Come check it out. I catered two weddings last winter; have a couple lined up for this fall. All without trying. Now I’m trying – trying to figure out how to market my business; how to write a press release to get accepted by the paper; how to get more traffic to my website. It’s fun, exciting, and a little scary.

In addition to catering, I offer gluten-free cooking lessons, and custom gluten-free baked goods (cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc.).

Stay tuned for updates and lots more recipes, reviews, and photos! 

Walnut Rum Cookies

These didn’t spread out quite like I thought they would, but they sure did taste good.  And they were particularly tasty warm.   I need to figure out what flour-blend works best with cookies to get the texture just right.  But I really don’t mind all the “experiments;” nor do my friends who have all volunteered to be my taste-testers!  More cookies to follow…

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups walnut pieces, toasted
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons dark rum
1/2 cup all purpose, gluten-free flour (I used 1/4 cup sorghum flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in lower and middle positions.
2. Finely chop 1 1/2 cups walnuts; coarsely chop the rest, and set aside.
3. Beat butter and brown sugar in electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in egg and rum. Stir in flour, xanthan gum and salt. Mix in finely chopped walnuts.
4. Drop dough (about 2 teaspoons per cookie) onto large parchment-lined cookie sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake 4 minutes; remove from oven, and sprinkle tops with reserved coarsely chopped walnuts. Rotate cookie sheets; bake until golden brown around edges, 4-5 minutes more.
5. Transfer cookies, on parchment, to wire racks; let cool 10 minutes. Remove from parchment and let cool completely on racks.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Almond Crackle Cookies

 

My first cookies of the holiday season – a gluten-free, chocolate almond crackle cookie.  Hopefully the first of many cookies.  I miss Christmas cookies. 

These were adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.  Super-easy to make gluten-free because the main ingredient is ground almonds with very little flour added in.  

Gluten-Free Chocolate Almond Crackle Cookies

Ingredients

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup almond flour (or very finely ground almonds)
1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour blend (I use 1 part sorghum flour, 1 part potato starch)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Melt chocolate in the microwave, stirring as needed. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk together almond flour, flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in chocolate. Reduce speed to low and add almond-flour mixture. Cover and chill 1 hour.
4. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar to coat, then in confectioners’ sugar. Arrange on parchment-lined cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until surfaces crack. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Enjoy!

Where has the time gone?

Has it really been almost a whole year?  My life took a huge 180 turn last summer – last August to be exact.  I can’t believe it’s been that long ago. 

This time last year, I was an attorney in a small/medium-sized law firm here in Chattanooga, having been a lawyer for almost 10 years.  I’m now the Banquet Manager at the Doubletree Hotel Chattanooga.  Really?  How did that happen?  That’s the reaction I get from most people.

Changing careers midway through my 30s was the most courageous, most insane, most truthful, most ME, thing I have ever done.  It was the first time I actually felt like I took total control of my life.  Granted, I still sometimes feel like I’m in way over my head, but that’s okay.  I’m learning.  I’m growing.  I’m living the life I want to live.  I’m no longer simply drifting through life on a path based on what I think I should be on (based on the expectations of others).  Do I know exactly where I’m heading?  No.  Does that bother me?  Not anymore. 

The only regret I have is letting my cooking, baking, and blogging fall my the wayside.  I have had a lot on my plate, so I’ll forgive myself on this one.  But I am going to get back to this – it’s what I really want to focus on.  And I now have an awesome new kitchen to cook in, so no excuses!

Recently, I have started baking again.  I also catered a baby shower for a friend, with lots of yummy hors d’oeuvres.  My goal is to start slow.  One post a week.  Two, if I’m feeling ambitious. 

My ultimate goal is to have my own catering/personal chef business that specializes in allergy-friendly diets.  That may be years off, but it’s important to have goals and ambition. 

So please stop back by, and visit. 

Peace.

Karen

I’m Back! With Betty Crocker Review

After an excessively long hiatus, I’m finally back!  Granted, the kitchen still isn’t completely done, but it’s close.  We had a bit of delay waiting for lights.  I had to cancel our original order and get them elsewhere.  They are being installed on Friday.  Some additional finishing touches will finally get done then too.  Then the only major thing left to do will be the back-splash.  Oh – and paint the whole place!  I’ll get some more pictures up once we get those lights in.

I’ve been enjoying my brand new range.  It has a convection oven, which I’ve never used before, and beginning to experiment with.  I’m thinking it will help with some gluten-free baking projects.  And it is unbelievably wonderful to have more than 2 feet of counter space!

So back to blogging.  Today I just have a product review. 

Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I followed the instructions on the box exactly – just add one stick of butter, one egg, and one teaspoon vanilla; then mix.  Can’t get any easier than that!  I then baked them on parchment paper using the convection setting of my oven. 

They are really soft (to the point of falling apart) when they come out of the oven, but after letting them cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet, they firm up a bit, and can be transferred to a cooling rack.  They stay fairly chewy on the inside with a little bit of crispness on the bottom. 

I was impressed with the taste and the chewiness.   And you really can’t get any easier.  It is a lot of butter, but since when are cookies healthy?  I won’t count that against them. 

(non-gluten-free) Husband’s comment:  “They tasted pretty much glutenous.”  (translation – they tasted “normal.”)

  

It’s still day one, so the jury is still out on how well they hold up after a day or two.  However, initial score = A

Day 2 impression – the cookies do tend to crumble a bit.  Still taste good though.  Overall score = A-

 

 

Back soon

So I’ve been gone for a while.  As you have seen, we have been undergoing a major kitchen renovation.  It’s almost done.  I have all the functioning parts – appliances, cabinets, countertops, a new floor.  I’m just missing lights and all the little details like a back splash, crown molding, paint, etc. 

By the end of this week, I should have a few more things done – like the lighting.

And I’m slowly washing all my incredibly dusty stuff and putting it away.  I’m sure I will move it around a few times until I get it all in just the right place.

But the good news is that I’ll be able to start really cooking and baking again soon.  I have plans, and schemes.  So stay tuned!