Super Bowl XLIII

Darlene writes:

What a game. I always root for the underdog, but the Cardinals just couldn't get that golden horseshoe out of Ben's butt! All season the announcers talked about Pittsburgh's defense, but the offensive line always does a great job of giving Roethlisberger all the time he needs to throw. It's funny how many of my Ravens colleagues were pulling for Pitt - our arch rival!

I may have been disappointed with the outcome of the game, but not the food. We put out a gluten free spread to rival most restaurants. But, in my estimation, the pièce de résistance was the decadent fudge brownies I made. This was my first attempt at baking a gluten free dessert since being diagnosed. I started out with a recipe that's an old favorite, but had to MacGyver it as I didn't have all the ingredients.

So...without further ado, here's my new chocoholic creation - No Gluten Zone Brownies.


No Gluten Zone Brownies

6 oz. 70% cocoa chocolate bar
1 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbl vanilla
1/2 + 1 cup + tbl gluten free flour blend (use your own favorite - I used Pamela's)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300°.

Grease an 8"x 8" baking pan.

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Do not overcook chocolate - if you are down to a few small chunks remove from heat immediately and stir until all chunks are melted and mixture is smooth.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light yellow - 3-5 mins. with an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat on low until thoroughly combined.

Add vanilla and chocolate mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and beat on low until smooth.

Add the flour and mix thoroughly.

Mix chocolate chips with 1 tbl gf flour and fold into batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 45-55 mins. or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool to room temperature before cutting into 2-inch squares.

Servings: 16
Yield: cut into 2-inch squares

This recipe will go down in history as my official Super Bowl dessert. And next year I'm rooting for a whole lotta Ravens Nation!

Fish, glorious fish

Darlene writes: In my house we're still trying to get used to gluten free living...I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease only 1 month ago so I'm still in the learning stage. A favorite winter dinner in my house is tomato soup and grilled cheese, or pasta fagioli with hunks of fresh Italian bread slathered with butter and topped with Hawaiian sea salt. Well, those are obviously persona non grata now. So, my husband Eric and I found ourselves shopping at Whole Foods where we spied this beautiful baby. It's a 7 pound Rockfish (aka striped bass) which was caught in the Chesapeake Bay. We decided to take it for a spin. We had the fishmonger dress it inside and out and we left with a gorgeous treasure from our local waters. As we drove home we began to discuss the flavor profiles we wanted to use to coax the delicious fresh fish flavor out. (can you say that fast 5 times?) We went with citrus and fresh herbs. First we scored it, rubbed the whole fish with freshly ground black pepper, Sicilian sea salt, and a few drops of olive oil. Then we took luscious fresh herbs (flat leaf parsley and dill) and tart lemon slices and stuffed the cavity. We tied it closed to keep all those goodies inside the fish and popped it on the grill. Voila! The flesh was succulent and tasted like fresh fish with a hint of herbs. It just fell off the bone beautifully. Alongside we served a light salad with romaine, red leaf lettuce, arugula, grape tomatoes, radishes and a citrus vinaigrette. Once we added that crisp Australian Savignon Blanc, we felt that we were transported to the Mediterranean. For one night it was a much nicer place to be than cold, icy Maryland.