Tag: gluten-free

G-Free Review: Chili Lili’s Chili Bar

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The moment I read that Molly’s G-Free Bakery was teaming up with this fabulous restaurant, I knew amazing things were in store. My regular Friday-night-dinner out was spent at Chili Lili’s Chili Bar a few months ago and it was amazing. They have a great menu of chilies and foods to put chili on and in. Not only that, but they promise to make anything allergy-free by altering their ingredients.

Last visit, I had the traditional Cincinnati chili over waffle fries. It was the best and weirdest chili I’ve ever had- tasted like there was cinnamon in the recipe. (After looking into this chili phenomenon it seems that cinnamon is an ingredient.) I didn’t go out of my way to make sure the meal was g-free, but I didn’t get sick so I think that meal would be safe for anyone else who is a sensitive Celiac. The waiter at my recent visit said the Cincinnati was g-full so I ordered the Spicy Pizza chili over fries. I felt bad doing a review without trying the bread, courtesy of Molly’s, so I cheated even more on my South Beach Diet Phase 1 (no carbs) to be able to honestly say that Molly’s garlic bread at Lilli’s is AMAZING. They also serve rolls to make any of the sandwiches that Lili’s offers.

Spicy pizza chili on fries
spicy pizza chili on fries

Pros:

  • They know what’s g-free and what ingredients are in their foods.
  • The chili tastes amazing and is healthy (extras like mac & cheese or fries probably aren’t as healthy).
  • They serve Molly’s bread.
  • Prices are very reasonable and affordable.

Garlic Bread
garlic bread

Notice the bread bending in the picture? That’s because it’s SOFT. If you’ve had any g-free bread, you would know that most are crumbly and disgusting and dry. This bread was soft and delicious, with a perfectly toasted crust.

Soft bread
soft bread

Cons:

  • Long wait (at least for this visit): The wait was 45 minutes! For 5 people in a slightly empty place, food should have been up in no time. And one person ordered a burger done medium, so that also should have been fairly quick.
  • Poor service : When the food came, there was no order of magical garlic bread and the burger was burnt and well-done. (Burger was obviously sent back and later refunded.) The waitstaff never asked how the burger was to make sure it was done the right way… then the bread finally came a bit after… then I had my special “oh my god I am eating delicious g-free bread” moment…. and then after the table was done eating, out came a new burger (another 30 minute wait).

I have never had to wait so long (or witness someone else waiting) for food. There was a small party going on but they were mostly drinking, not really seated to eat. And the other 4 patrons in the place weren’t eating. I don’t know what was wrong with the kitchen that night…

I would recommend going when you aren’t starving. Just in case.

G-Free Grade = B-

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G-Free Review: Molly’s Gluten-Free Bakery

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Hidden in Pewaukee, WI is the home of the best g-free baked goods I’ve ever had, Molly’s Gluten-Free Bakery. They have an extensive menu from brownies to pita bread to sheet cakes. I’ve only tried a few things so far, but everything I’ve tried hasn’t disappointed.

The most recent purchases were rolls and  a cake for my dad’s 50th birthday. Vanilla cake / vanilla frosting (he’s a boring guy, what can I say?) – but it was AMAZING. You couldn’t tell it was g-free. Usually g-free baked goods leave a weird feeling in my mouth. Not Molly’s cake! And those rolls… wow. Plain, they were delicious. Warmed up, they were delicious x500. It’s not easy to bake soft and moist g-free foods, but Molly’s has mastered it.

Previously I’ve had their raspberry dream cakes, which are small cake sandwiches with raspberry cream filling. The cake part tasted like a Twinkie but felt a bit heavier. It was so delicious. I should learn some more adjectives, but really, there are no words for something this yummy.

Dad holding his beautiful cake. Says, "Buon Compleanno, Maurizio"
Dad holding his beautiful cake. Says, "Buon Compleanno, Maurizio". Please note his "Italian" expression.

I can’t wait to try everything on their menu! Has anyone else been to Molly’s? Was it as fabulous as my experience?

Molly’s G-Free Grade = A+

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New Year, New Skill

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Here is the journey I made making a gluten-free apple pie.  It wasn’t easy because gluten-free dough is ridiculous to work with. The pie looks a smidge burnt, but tastes amazing!

I started with this crust:

mix

Let’s be real, I wasn’t about to make the crust from scratch the first time I’m making a pie *ever*.  It’s from The Gluten Free Pantry brand and I bought mine at Health Hut, a local hippie store.  I’m sure other places have it, too.  I just followed the directions on the package… it was pretty easy. Not a big deal.  After I made the dough, I placed it in the fridge.  Cold dough is much easier to work with than warm dough (at least for gluten-free).  So I balled up 2 halves and wrapped them separately in plastic wrap.

This is when you’d want to start peeling and slicing 6-7 apples.  I recommend Granny Smith.  I put my slices in a bowl of cold lemon water to prevent browning.

pie-apples

After an hour or so, I took out one ball out and attempted to roll it out.  Not only was the dough tough to work with because it was hard and cold, but it was falling apart because it’s g-free.  Even after it warmed up a bit, the falling apart only got worse.  This is when my crabbies started.  I had to use a lot of rice flour to keep the counter and my rolling pin from even sticking in the slightest.  One small pull would cause the dough to fall apart.

pie-rolling

pie-flour

I used Ener-G brand rice flour because that’s what the hippie store had on sale, but I think any g-free flour will do.  After greasing a pie dish, I gently placed a half circle of rolled-out dough into the bottom.  The whole circle of dough will not lift off the counter without falling into pieces.  I pinched together the seams.  It’s a little messy but not terrible…

pie-bottom

Next, is the apple layering inside.  It’s hard to measure it out since I guesstimated with my mom’s recipe.  I started by cutting up a few Tbsp of Butter and putting it in the bottom followed by a few Tbsp of Sugar and a sprinkling of Cinnamon.

pie-layersapple

pie-layers

On top of that goes a layer of apples, then a sprinkling of 1 Tbsp of Rice Flour.  This gets repeated until the pile of apples is heaping over the pie dish level.  Arrange slices if needed so that mostly rounded edges are facing up, as to not poke through the top layer of dough.

This is the point of more crabbies.  By now, my 2nd ball of dough was too warm to work nice.  When I rolled out the pieces, it fell apart a lot more than before.

pie-ready

The top of my pie looks like a patchwork quilt…

The picture  is a little dark, but you can clearly see this is not pretty.  After sealing the edges and trying to press together the top, I brushed an egg white over the top.  Then sprinkled sugar all over it.  This seals the dough, makes the top shiny and also allows the sugar to stick.

The pie gets baked at 400* for about 20 min, then 350* for 10-20 more.  I baked mine a bit too long…

nastypie

That’s my beautiful sister gnawing on the edges.  She & my New Year’s Eve guests didn’t seem to mind the minor burns.  Overall reviews said it was tart, but in a good way.  I personally prefer sweet apple pie with lots of goo in the middle.  I had a medium amount of goo, so I will probably add more flour to the center layers next time.  I highly recommend this brand of pie crust – couldn’t even tell it was g-free!

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