As a pleasant surprise, I received this cookbook the other day in my mailbox for me to peruse, try out, and review.
The author, Robert M. Landolphi is a chef and graduate of the Johnson and Wales University culinary school. He is currently a certified culinary arts instructor and the culinary operations manager at the University of Connecticut. In 1998, his wife became increasingly ill, and was eventually diagnosed with celiac disease. Robert Landolphi combined his culinary experience with a desire to keep his wife healthy and happy, and started experimenting and developing gluten-free dishes.
The Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook has a wide variety of recipes, starting with soups, entrees, and side dishes, and following up with desserts, breads, muffins, and cookies.
What impressed me most about the cookbook is its first chapter – Gluten Free Basics. This chapter lists every conceivable gluten-free flour, starch, nut-flour, binding agent, etc. It explains which ones are best for which applications and how to combine them. It also explains how to store, and how long to store, each one.
I decided to try out the pizza recipe. I love pizza, and have tried several very different recipes. This recipe ranks right up there with one of the best that I’ve had. It had a lot of flavor, owing to flax seed meal, roasted garlic, and pecorino cheese all in the crust. My husband, who is not gluten-free and regularly eats “traditional” breads, described the crust as “bready.” As in, it was not gummy or resembling cardboard. Because it is a rolled dough and not a batter, it is possible to get a nice edge to the crust.
This crust also freezes well once it is par-baked. I baked one of the crusts for about 6-8 minutes without toppings, and then froze. I then took it out of the freezer, added toppings, and cooked about 6-8 more minutes. It was a little crispier this way. My husband actually liked it better, and said the crust had a nice “nutty” flavor.
I plan to try several more things soon, and will be posting as I do. There are several recipes, including one for buttermilk biscuits, that caught my eye.
Filed under: baking, cookbook, gluten free, product review
