Tag Archives: Gluten Free Appetizers

Terrine de Foies de Volaille

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Or in other words…Chicken Liver Pate

Now don’t freak out.

Chicken liver is delicious!

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I have a deep love for chicken liver.

I like calves liver, but in my opinion it can’t hold a candle to chicken liver.

There are a couple of different “traditional” ways to make chicken liver pate. I also ran across many recipes where people just added what they felt like adding. I like that mindset. I thought that the addition of hard-boiled eggs sounded unappealing, so I left them out.

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I know that bacon fat goes very well with chicken liver, so I used that instead of dairy free butter. I thought caramelized onions and apple sounded like it would be tasty on top.

And it was.

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I keep a large ramekin full of bacon fat in the refrigerator.

Doesn’t everyone?

And by large I mean this isn’t one of those baby ramekins. This is cereal bowl size, folks. Oh yeah.

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If you don’t have bacon fat on hand, this recipe is the perfect excuse for you to make yourself bacon for breakfast. You could also use butter I suppose.

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Keep in mind that chicken livers and bacon fat were meant to be together.

You won’t be disappointed.

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I allow myself fried chicken livers with sautéed onions, mashed potatoes, and gravy twice a year.

Pure Heaven on a fork.

If you haven’t ever tried it you should. They are so tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, salty. Not shocking liver-ee just the right amount of flavor. Amazing. I also like chicken livers chopped up in my Thanksgiving & Christmas gravy.

Pate is a good place to start if you haven’t ever dabbled in chicken livers. Then you can move on to fried chicken livers and before you know it, you’ll be a convert and you won’t be able to live without them in your gravy.

So no more wrinkling of the nose when you hear the words “chicken liver”.

Chicken Liver Pate with Carmelized Apples & Onions

About 1 Pound of Organic Chicken Livers, drained (liver filters the body, better to not have hormones, pesticides, etc . in the chicken)

1 Medium Sweet Onion, diced

3 Generous Tablespoons of Bacon Fat

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

A Few Grinds of Fresh Pepper

2 Bay Leaves

About 1/3 Cup Dessert Wine (I used a late harvest Semillon)

1 Granny Smith Apple, diced skin on

1 Medium Sweet Onion, sliced thinly

1 Generous Tablespoon of Dairy Free Butter

Small Pinch of Kosher Salt

Saute the diced onions and bay leaves in the bacon fat until the onion is translucent.

Add chicken livers, salt, and pepper.

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Cover with a splatter guard and saute until browned, about 8 minutes or so. Deglaze with the wine and reduce by about half. Set aside.

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Lightly caramelize the sliced onion and apple in the butter and salt. Cooking on medium low it will take about 20 minutes or so. Set aside.

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Remove bay leaves from liver mixture, add to food processor. Blend until smooth. Season to taste.

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Serve with toasted bread or crackers topped with the apple/onion saute.

I sliced gluten free french bread, buttered it (non-dairy) and toasted it under the broiler on each side.

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I spread the pate into different ramekins. It will last in the fridge for two to three days and can also be frozen for use at a later time.

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Oven Fried Zucchini with Homemade Pizza Sauce

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This recipe has been floating around Facebook for a while now. I’m a fan of pretty much anything fried (who isn’t?) so I thought I’d tweak it and give it a try.

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I would change two basic things the next time I make it:

#1. I would dip the zucchini in dairy free butter instead of almond milk prior to breading.

#2. I would shpritz the breaded zucchini lightly with a good olive oil before placing them in the oven.

If you want to keep it healthy you can just follow the recipe below and it will taste just fine. But I think that the butter and olive oil would add more flavor and moisture to the breading so it would crisp properly. And keep in mind that although the addition of butter and olive oil will increase the fat content, it’s not by much. Certainly not as much as if you were to deep fry them.

Oven Fried Zucchini

1/2 – 3/4 Cup Gluten Free Breadcrumbs

1/4 Cup Dairy Free Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Several Grinds of Pepper

About 1/4 Cup Almond Milk

1 1/2 – 2 Medium sized Zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

Non Stick Spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and spray an oven safe cooling rack with non stick spray. Lay the cooling rack on the baking sheet covered with foil.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a shallow baking dish and stir to combine.

Pour milk into a cereal sized bowl. Dip the zucchini slices in the milk and then dredge well in the breadcrumb mixture. Place each slice on prepared cooling rack, don’t allow sides to touch.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned, outside is crisp and middle is tender.

There’s so many different ways you could make this. You could add Italian seasonings to the breading mixture and dip them in a meat sauce. You could add Mexican seasonings and dip them in a spicy chipotle mayo, you could add fresh herbs and dip them in a lemon vinaigrette…

*Don’t stack them while hot like I’ve done for this photo. The steam will make them soft. If you’re serving them to a crowd, allow them to cook just a bit longer to become extra crisp and then you should be able to place them on a platter without them becoming soft. If you’re just serving them to your family, leave them on the rack and family can help themselves.

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Homemade Pizza Sauce

I don’t have a written recipe for this sauce, I just wing it each time. So I’ll give you my basics and then you can add your own flair.

Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Canned Tomato Paste

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Dried Basil (or fresh if I have it)

Dried Oregano (or fresh if I have it)

Minced Garlic

Kosher Salt and a Little Pepper to Taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until somewhat smooth.

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Saturday Night Special – Hors d’ oeuvre & Cocktail Night

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We’ve dubbed Saturday nights our hors d’ oeuvre & cocktail night.

I make fun little meals that can be enjoyed in the backyard with our feet up.  We’ve worked hard to make our backyard our little sanctuary and once the nice weather arrives, we try to enjoy every second possible!

Italian Stuffed Mushrooms

*Makes 20

1/2 Package Ground Italian Mild Sausage

1/4 Cup (heaping) Sweet Onion, diced

1/4 Cup (heaping) Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 teaspoon Garlic, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons Dried Oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons Dried Basil

1/4 Cup Kalamata Olives, chopped

1 Tablespoon Vegan Parmesan plus more for topping

Parlick Fell Sheep’s Milk Cheese, crumbled for topping

20 Cremini Mushrooms, stem scooped out at base

In a large skillet on medium heat, saute the sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, oregano, and basil. When sausage is done add the 1 Tablespoon of vegan parmesan and the olives. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet lined with parchment, hole side up. Fill each mushroom with stuffing.

Crumble a little Parlick Fell on each mushroom and sprinkle with more vegan parmesan. Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.

Spinach Tart

*Makes 4 personal sized tarts

1 Portion of Gluten Free Pie Dough

10 oz Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed & drained

2 Cups Raw Spinach Leaves, packed

4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

3 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

1 1/2 Tablespoons Dried Dill

1/4 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes Packed in Oil, chopped

1/4 Cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped

10 oz of Sheep’s Milk Feta

2 eggs

Roll out the chilled pie dough and fill each tart pan, press in, and trim edges.

Place remaining ingredients except the feta in a medium bowl and stir to combine thoroughly. Fold in the crumbled feta.

Fill each tart pan.

Place on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes or until the edges of the crust turn golden.

Sugar Plum Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Sugar Plum Tomatoes

English Cucumber, peeled and sliced

About 6 Basil leaves, torn

Ground Pepper

Olive Oil

White Balsamic Vinegar

Pinch of Kosher Salt

Place desired amount of tomatoes and cucumbers in a small bowl. Add the basil and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Season with ground pepper and kosher sat. Toss to combine.

Of course, no snack night would be complete without a cocktail or good wine and a delicious dessert.

My favorite wine from the Methow Valley.

Chocolate Mousse with Coconut Cream

*This recipe was adapted from the Black Dog Food Blog

(This recipe makes 4 – 1 cup servings. It is very rich and could easily be made into 8 – 1/2 cup servings)

24 oz of silken tofu, blended in food processor or Vitamix until very smooth

20 oz of Dark Belgian Chocolate, chopped & melted

1 1/2 teaspoons Espresso Powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

3 Tablespoons Raw Agave Syrup

2 Cans Full Fat Coconut Milk, refrigerated upside down overnight

Pure Vanilla Extract

Powdered Sugar

Raspberries & Apple Mint for garnish

Scrape the blended tofu into a medium-sized bowl. Add the melted chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla, salt, and agave. Whisk until thoroughly combined and very smooth. Set aside.

Remove the coconut cream from the fridge carefully as to not allow the coconut milk on the bottom to mix with the coconut that has settled on top. Remove the lids (which is actually the bottom of the can). Very carefully, scoop out the solid coconut cream stopping as you get close to the liquid and add to an electric mixer. Do this with both cans.

Pour 1/2 Cup of the clear coconut milk into the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Spoon chocolate mixture into dessert dishes.

To the solid coconut milk, add about 3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix on high with the whisk attachment, for about 2 minutes. It won’t get as firm as whipping cream made with cow’s milk, but it does set up a bit and will set up even more when refrigerated for a couple of hours.

Spoon the coconut cream on top of the chocolate. Garnish with raspberries and mint.