Healthy veal scallopini? Yes, please!

Today, at the grocery store, I was waiting at the butcher counter when I glanced down and saw the most gorgeous 1/2 pound of veal cutlets that I've seen in a long time. Some people don't eat veal and lamb (just as some people don't eat meat at all) because of where it comes from...but I don't have any such qualms as long as the meat is certified tether and hormone free. To me, veal is one of those slightly sinful meats, almost always breaded and slathered in butter/cheese or combined with sausage or on top of a huge mound of pasta. As a matter of fact, veal is one meat I have studiously avoided since going gluten free simply because I was unable to picture it any other way. Today, however, I decided that I wanted it so I impulsively put it in my shopping cart (sorry Mom, I know veal is nowhere near my wedding diet).

When I got home, I started looking at veal recipes online and decided on veal scallopini...it's quick, simple, and it doesn't (necessarily) require pasta. So I took stock of what yummy veggies I could make into my sauce and found tomato, onions, and asparagus. I would imagine you could make any of your favorite yummy veggies make your sauce, but these are my personal favorites.

This recipe is for two:

1/2 pound veal cutlets

2 small onions

1 large tomato

1 bunch asparagus (approx 1 lb)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

salt

pepper

olive oil

flour (tonight I used King Arthur gluten free multi-purpose flour)

whatever wine you're drinking while you cook (mine was red - Petite Syrah)

Begin by tenderizing your veal. Some people will tell you that you can skip this step. I disagree wholeheartedly. I own a meat mallet for a reason (and it's not to chase my darling husband-to-be around our kitchen)....it's because certain meats are best thin and tender. Veal is one of those. Place your cutlets between two pieces of plastic wrap (I like this for ease of cleaning, but wax paper works great too!) and pound away till your veal is (uniformly) half as thick as it was when you started. The thinner it is, the more tender it will be. Don't go over too overboard though...you want something left to cook! Slice your veal into 3-4 inch strips.

Now, prepare your vegetables. Cut the tomato into pieces that are about the size of a quarter. Sliver your onions, and cut your asparagus into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces (discard the woody end of the stems). Mince your garlic (or get it out of that insanely large jar of minced garlic that has permanent residence in your fridge like mine).

Pour just enough olive oil in your skillet to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil olive to medium-high. Just like frying anything, the oil is ready when you put a tiny pinch of flour in and it sizzles rather than sinking. Salt and pepper your veal and dredge it through your flour (yay, gluten free flour!). Shake off any excess flour and place them in the hot oil. Cook approximately 1 minute on each side. Don't overcook! Veal gets tougher the longer you cook it. When the flour has browned on each side, remove the veal from the oil and place it on a plate lined with an absorbent cloth.

Back to the skillet! Add your garlic, onions, and asparagus, and sauté them for two minutes. Add your tomatoes, a healthy splash of wine, and some salt and pepper. Then simmer your sauce till your veggies are as crunchy as you like them. Me? I'm a crunch-lover so the sauce was on for less than six minutes...

To plate, spoon a nice-size portion of the sauce directly onto the plate, arrange your veal on top, then top with a little more sauce. I served this with crunchy green beans and cottage cheese (which previously-mentioned fiance said made it taste "really Italian"...haha!).

La zuppa toscana

I love soup. I eat it in the fall. I eat it in the winter. I eat it in the spring. I love soup so much, I even eat it in the summer…though chilled soups are much better at times like that. The weather is a little dreary today, and even though it’s April, it made me think of soup. So here’s a look at one of my favorites, stolen right off the menu from Olive Garden: la zuppa toscana.

So, I’ve been in love with this soup for as long as I can remember…creamy stock, crumbly potatoes, savory sausage and onions, and crispy kale. The problem I keep running into though is that a) it’s not listed on the gluten free menu at Olive Garden and b) they stopped putting the large amounts of kale in the soup that made me love it in the first place.

This soup is simple and homey and so fast to make…and it makes me want to say “buon giorno” or “ciao bella” (or something equally Italian) while I stand in front of my stove.

You will need:

1 sleeve of Jimmy Dean (or brand of your choice) sage sausage

3 large Russet potatoes

1 large white or yellow onion

2-3 Tbps. minced garlic (3-4 cloves?)

kosher salt

black pepper

bunch of kale (though how much you use is up to you, haha!)

half-and-half (I use fat-free Lake o’Lakes)

chicken bullion

Cut your potatoes into ½ to ¾ inch pieces. Boil them in the chicken stock you make from the bollion (5 cubes to 10 cups of water...or 3-4 tsp of Better Than Bullion Chicken which is so definitely better than bullion since it's gluten-free and delicious...it comes in a highly viscous form in a jar at your grocery store) in a large soup pot until mostly tender.

While waiting for your potatoes, brown the sausage with the onions and garlic. I usually use less garlic if the onion smells particularly strong, but that’s a judgment call on how much you love onions and garlic. I personally could probably fend off vampires with my garlic consumption each week, but I know that some people don’t love it as much as I do. Make sure to drain the sausage as (I love Jimmy Dean anyway) it’s pretty greasy.

When the potatoes are mostly tender, add the sausage/onion/garlic concoction to the pot. Stir and simmer for two or three minutes. Add enough half-and-half to make it creamy but not terribly thick (usually up to a full cup…I eye-ball it since too much makes it pretty heavy). Here’s where you want to start tasting this heaven-sent yumminess (if you haven’t already). Salt and pepper to taste (I don't usually add a lot of salt because the bullion is pretty darn salty).

Now, let’s talk about the kale…I like mine pretty crunchy, and if you don’t, now is the time to start ripping the kale into half-dollar sized pieces and throwing it in the pot. If you are a crunch lover like me (everything else in the soup is soft), put your ripped kale in the bottom of each person’s soup bowl just prior to serving. Allowing the hot soup to soften the kale for a minute or two gives just the crunch and texture that I’m looking for.

This soup refrigerates well for up to five days. The cream in the half-and-half will separate as will the fat from the sausage, but heating it up makes it all blend together again. The soup also freezes well for up to four months. It’s great to pull out to thaw one morning when the temperature isn’t going to be quite as warm as you wanted (reheat on the stove or in the microwave).

I guess all that’s left to say is BUON APPETITO!

Gluten free Maryland crab cakes

Mmmm...Maryland crab cakes

2 lb crab meat (pick out any shells)
3 stalks celery, minced
1/2 bell pepper (I use orange), minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 eggs
1/2 cup gluten free mayonnaise (regular Duke's works best!)
2/3 cup gluten free bread crumbs (you can use regular if you're a regular kind of guy or gal)
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 shakes of garlic powder
7-8 dashes dried basil
1 tsp kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. If you aren't squeamish, use your hands to really work the ingredients together (like hamburgers!). Form the mixture into patties. I like big ones, but small ones would be yummy too. The cooking instructions are for quarter pound patties, so just make sure you watch so that smaller ones don't overcook.

Bake at 375 degrees. Flip after 15 minutes then bake another 10-15 minutes till firm. Use caution when flipping...gluten bread crumbs don't have the same sticking power as regular bread crumbs! I used a pancake spatula and a baking silicon spatula...only broke one.

Makes 8 quarter-pound-ish patties. These reheat well. Serve with remoulade sauce (see below) or your favorite tartar sauce.

To make the remoulade sauce (my personal recipe, so sorry if it's less than authentic!):

1/2 cup mayonnaise

lemon or lime juice

minced garlic

sugar

parsley

basil

horseradish or Tabasco sauce if you want to make it spicy

Add citrus juice to the mayonnaise and whisk till smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon each of parsley and basil, and add sugar to taste. If you want a spicier sauce, add fresh grated horseradish or Tabasco sauce. Whisk.