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Showing posts from January, 2011

The Holy Grail - Gluten Free Chicago Stuffed Pizza

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That's what the hubby calls gluten free Chicago Stuffed Pizza. Since going gluten free I have tried time and time again to produce something close to our favorite glutened versions: Patxi's (Palo Alto, California) - who would have thunk? Great sauce, crust (whole wheat to boot - who knew it was poison?) and toppings - not as heavy as its Chicago counterparts. Oh how we miss Patxi's - we used to go there all the time but alas, when you walk in the first thing you see is a huge mound of flour so it's off limits to us now that we know better. Giordanos - best overall combination of crust, sauce and toppings. pure heaven. Edwardos - similar to Giordanos - a near 2nd Lou Malnati's - not stuffed but has the best sauce overall Zachary's (East Bay/SF Bay Area) - great unusually chunky sauce Piero's - also very good stuffed pizza Gino's East - tasty but not as much of a fan of their corn meal crust What is Chicago Stuffed Pizza? Well, it's

A pause before breakfast... Rudi's Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread

When I first went gluten free over 3 years ago, I really missed a good piece of bread. First I bought some of the brown rice breads at Trader Joe and Whole Foods but to be blunt, they were disgusting. Dense, crumbly, no taste, no softness. Then I tried Kinnikinnick sandwich bread, hamburger rolls and pizza crusts which were much better but almost too soft,  kind like Wonder Bread for the gluten free community. So I started baking which enlightened me to the fact that there is such a thing as great tasting gluten free bread. But breadmaking takes time (even when I use my Zohirushi bread machine) and although I always try to have a few pieces in the freezer I always end up with a few weeks here and there without bread in the house. Enter Rudi's . No, not Udi's - who is also a fine bread and excellent pizza crust maker, but Rudi's. I first had Rudi's multi-grain bread at Erik's Deli as they have recently started offering gluten free sandwiches. It was very tasty. So

Fresh Choice -no longer my choice

Fresh Choice was an early favorite of mine when I first went gluten free although it's always been a love-hate relationship. In case you are not familiar this long time bay area chain, Fresh Choice is an all-you-can-eat salad, soup, potato, bread fruit, etc buffet - with most emphasis on the salad bar. Prior to having to eat gluten free I used to prefer Sweet Tomato's (same chain as Soup Plantation) due to their pizza and breads but after going gluten free I switched to Fresh Choice because Fresh Choice actually listed allergens for each dish - that and I could no longer eat the pizza or bread from Sweet Tomatoes. The labels were so helpful- but also frustrating because we started to get used to disappointment when something that was labeled gluten free had been contaminated by something sitting along it's perimeter. After filling out numerous surveys and even a chat with corporate we started to see some of the gluten free foods rearranged such that they were on the back r

Eating out - it doesn't have to be scary!

When I first found out I could no longer eat gluten, finding a safe place to eat out was so difficult. As an introvert, the thought of having to speak with a server, manager, gasp- even the chef to see if they understood what gluten is let alone make sure they practice safe food prep practices was terrifying. So those first months we mainly frequented places who had actual gluten free menus, like PF Changs and Outback Steakhouse. Every so often I would need to go somewhere for a business meal or out with friends where there was no such menu so I would carefully research it - first on local boards to see if anyone else had tried going there, then I'd look at the restaurant web site. Finally, if I thought I'd actually try to go there, I would call them during late afternoon when they would not be busy and ask to speak with the manager. I'd quiz them on various things like whether they had gluten free offerings, and if so, would ask "does it have soy sauce?". Most wo