Jorge's Mushroom Gratin

When I first made this gratin, I was overwhelmed by how rich and filling it was--but in a good way! A mere seven ounces is easily enough for a meal or a side-dish for two people. The gooey cheese and reduced cream and touch of fennel combine to make an outrageously satisfying comfort dish. Forget macaroni and cheese. This gluten-free, Atkins-friendly pot of lusciousness will be your go-to comfort food on a rainy day with a healthy glass of buttery chardonnay. Yum!

Ingredients

The yellow Wonder Cup is perfect for measuring
and dispensing the sour cream.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms (or baby portabellos)
• 1 pound white button mushrooms
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dry vermouth
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions (the green part)
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 1 teaspoon crushed red chile peppers

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Coarsely chop the mushrooms (see below).
3. In a small pot, heat the whipping cream over medium heat and reduce by half. You can do this as you prepare the rest of the dish. Stir frequently otherwise the cream will bubble and overflow! The goal here is to turn the cream into a white sauce by reducing it. This saves us from having to use flour and butter for the sauce.
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the onions until they begin to color, about 8 minutes.
5. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they release their liquid, and then until the liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are nicely browned, about 18-20 minutes.
6. Stir in the vermouth and cook another three minutes.
7. At this point your cream should have reduced by half giving you 3/4 cup of reduced cream sauce. Add a pinch of salt to the sauce.
8. Stir in the sour cream, 1/2 cup of the reduced cream sauce, 3/4 cup grated gruyere cheese, green onions, nutmeg, fennel seeds and salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for another three minutes.
9. Divide the mixture among 4 ovenproof ramekins (7 ounce size) or custard cups placed on a cookie sheet (these will overflow so be sure to use the cookie sheet to protect your oven). Spread a tablespoon of the reduced cream sauce over each ramekin and sprinkle generously with the remainder of the gruyere cheese.
10. Bake for 12 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top.
11. Remove from oven and sprinkle with crushed red chile peppers. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 individual servings or 6 side-dish servings.

Step 2: Half of the coarsely chopped mushrooms

Step 9: Ready for the oven!

Jorge's Mexitali Pizza

Italy meets Tucson in this southwestern take on the traditional pizza! Use the cauliflower crust recipe on this site for a gluten-free option. This makes a great quick meal for during the week or for a party appetizer or snack. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped green olives
• 3/4 cup tomatillo sauce or salsa verde
• 1/2 cup chopped, fire-roasted green chiles
• 3/4 cup browned, Italian sausage
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cauliflower pizza crust

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Brown the sausage over medium heat in a medium pan until cooked, about 10 minutes.
3. Mix the tomatillo sauce and green chiles together and spread evenly over the pizza crust.
4. Spread the cheddar cheese evenly over the pizza crust.
5. Distribute the sausage and olives evenly over the pizza crust.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.

Serves six!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

It seems that cauliflower pizza crust is taking the blogosphere by storm and everywhere you look there is a variation of this gluten-free wonder. And why not? Cauliflower is a good source of vitamin C and manganese, contains high amounts of vitamin K and omega-3 fatty acids, and gives you a good dose of fiber to boot. Best of all, it's a fun way to eat cauliflower! But how can you make it a crust?

Well, the first problem in turning cauliflower into a crust that you can load up with your favorite pizza toppings and actually pick up by hand, is that the moisture in cauliflower works against you. Sure, you can boil it and try to squeeze out the liquid by hand (ugh!) or you can dry it out during the cooking process. That's what I do here in this recipe. The result is a very descent crust which serves nicely for an assortment of toppings. But be careful with how many toppings you use or you will need to eat it with a fork. Regardless, this is a very delicious and nutritious alternative to pizza dough. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 medium head of cauliflower
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup (about 4 oz.) goat cheese (chèvre)
• 1/2 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF on convection (400ºF if you don't have a convection oven).
2. Clean and de-stem the floretts from the cauliflower head and place in a food processor. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to work in batches for the next step.
3. Pulse the cauliflower in the food processor until the cauliflower resembles rice (see below).
4. Turn out the processed cauliflower onto a greased rimmed baking sheet. Spread out evenly on the cooking sheet (see below).
5. Cook the cauliflower for 20 minutes in the preheated oven until you start to see little brown bits forming. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.
6. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the cauliflower, egg, cheeses, oregano, and salt. Mix thoroughly together with your hands until fully incorporated.
7. Place a piece of parchment paper on a 9 x 13 inch rimmed jelly roll pan. You can also use a cookie sheet but the jelly roll pan is the perfect size (see below). It is VERY important to use parchment paper for this process otherwise your crust will burn!
8. Press out the cauliflower mixture evenly into the pan going up to the edges (see below).
9. Turn off the convection setting on your oven and set to 400ºF.
10. When the oven is heated, bake the crust for 30 to 35 minutes until dark golden brown (see below).

After you finish the crust, load it up with your favorite toppings and cook at 400ºF for about 10 minutes. Eat and enjoy immediately!

Step 2: Ready to pulse!

Step 3: Cauliflower "rice"

Step 4. Ready to cook!

Step 7: TIP--crush the parchment paper into a ball and then
unroll it to flatten it out. This will remove the annoying "curl."

Step 8: Cauliflower mixture pressed into the jelly roll pan.

Step 10: Golden brown and delicious!

Add any toppings you like to make a fabulous gluten-free pizza!

Crustless Quiche Tucson

I grew up with the saying "Real men don't eat quiche!" but I never paid any attention to that. I ate quiche but was really never a huge fan. I always found them to be too bland and not very satisfying to the palate. I wanted to change that perception because I always felt that this dish could really rise to the occasion with the right ingredients and become a truck stop favorite, if you will, appealing to both men and women.

If you have poo-pooed quiche in the past, you will want to taste this recipe. It will change your mind about quiche forever! Oh, and this recipe is TOTALLY Atkins friendly and gluten-free so enjoy without guilt!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of thick-sliced bacon (about six slices) cut into 1" pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 9-oz. bag of baby spinach
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (recommend Tillamook)
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. In a large, heavy pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked, about 15 minutes. Bacon should be brown with the bacon grease forming a "foam."
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan.
4. Add the onions and red bell pepper to the bacon fat in the pan and cook over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent, about 10-12 minutes.
5. Add a handfull of spinach at a time to the onions and bell pepper, stirring, until the spinach is wilted and you have added all the spinach to the pan.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bacon.
7. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the cheese, eggs, cream, and Ancho chile powder. Thoroughly mix.
8. Add the bacon, onion, spinach, and bell pepper mix from the pan to the mixing bowl. Stir until incorporated.
9. Grease a 9-inch glass pie plate and pour the quiche mixture into the plate.
10. Bake at 375ºF for 40 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves six.

Mmmm....bacon!

This is just half the spinach!

All spinach with bacon added
 ready for egg mixture

Pre-Oven