Monday, September 7, 2009

Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook, by Robert Landolphi

Hey everyone!

A little while ago, I was sent a copy of Robert Landolphi's Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook, and I'd like to tell you why I'm really excited about it.

Cookbooks are a tricky thing, because they need to be interesting enough that you actually want to make things out of them, but not so complicated that they are impractical for people living regular lives (like too many ingredients, ingredients that are difficult to find, or too hard to make).

The story goes that Chef Robert Landolphi's wife was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. He started experimenting and creating gluten free dishes.

From the back cover, "Not just another gluten-free cookbook, the Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook is an essential lifestyle resource complete with informative ingredient glossaries, cooking tips and techniques, baking tutorials, and even advice for eating away from home."

The book is attractive and easy to use. Chapter One is "Gluten Free Basics" and includes a "Flours and Starches" section. I think this is very helpful--it describes properties of the flours and their nutritional information. It also offers tips on how long and where to store the flours (how long in the cupboard vs. the fridge vs. the freezer).

The chapters are:
  1. Gluten Free Basics
  2. Soups, Chowders, Chilis, and Bisques
  3. Entrees
  4. Side Dishes
  5. Pies and Cakes
  6. Quick Breads, Biscuits, Muffins, and Bread Sticks
  7. Cookies and Sweet Bars
  8. Puddings, Mousses, and Cobblers
  9. A Chef's Perspective on Eating Out
Also, at the end is a section of Resources, which lists Celiac Organizations, Gluten-Free Food Distributors, and Dining Information. I feel like these list are somewhat incomplete. (For example, Bard's Tale Beer is listed, but nothing about New Grist or Redbridge products). It would seem that these categories are expanding so much that a cookbook can't keep up (which I think is great!)

Anyway, the main dishes I made were the Chicken Piccata and the Beef Stroganoff. Both were amazing!

Here's a pic of the Chicken Piccata:



















I made this dish with my family this summer. (ha ha, don't you love the 70's plates?)

Yum--Everyone loved it! It was like eating out at home.

Some of the recipes are simple. Some of the recipes take time, and have more than a few ingredients. But good things take time. And this book was easy to understand and the directions were easy to follow. The recipes were DELICIOUS! Really good. Like you can count on them when company's coming over.

Anyway, I haven't felt this good about very many GF cookbooks! This one's a keeper.

2 comments:

  1. I haven't heard about this book yet, but will have to give it a look!

    Also, I absolutely love that plate.

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  2. Yes, I love the plate! I have the book and need to try some more recipes. Both the ones you tried sound great.

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