The Year of the... ?

According to my family and many of my friends, 2007 was The Year of The Suck. And not in any sort of risque or good way.

So, here's to hoping 2008 is the Year of Something Better.

In that spirit, I'm back to blogging. I have a new Acer Aspire (never, ever buy a Gateway a.k.a. eMachines) and a need to talk to myself, so...

Our New Year's Eve appetizer spread. I like to say we had "tapas" but I fear that anytime potato chips are involved, one is not classy enough to be having tapas.
From the top left: Energ-G brand "Seattle" crackers (gluten-and-everything-free) and Havarti, fresh-caught wild Gulf shrimp cocktail (missing the cocktail sauce as of photo time, because Kentucky was still playing football and The Grill-Geek is the designated Cocktail Sauce Maker and a rabid, blue-blooded UK fan), Roasted Garlic Potato Skins, veggies with Really Onion Dip, prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe (what IS the attraction with that?) and "quickles" with White Bean Hummus. (Tip... make the onion dip first, so you don't have to wash the food processor, then you get a bit of oniony goodness in your hummus.)

Brunch this morning signals the end of the holiday feasting. Thank gods. I'm partied out. I love feasting, but my heart wasn't in it this year.

Ham, re-baked with butter and white pepper, mini smoked salmon and Havarti frittatas, and fruit salad with toasted pistachios and walnuts and a rum-coconut sauce. The top right of the photo shows one of the fabulous chocolate muffins I made last night, on the Little Guy's plate. Brunch was also accompanied by glasses of Barefoot Chardonnay "champagne." Delicious.

Let's see... recipes...

GFCF Chocolate Almond Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins.

Mix together thoroughly in a large bowl:
• 1 cup almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ cup arrowroot (I used 1/4 cup arrowroot and 1/4 cup potato starch)
• 4 Tbs cocoa, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda, sifted
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, sifted
• pinch of Celtic sea salt

Beat together:
• 4 oz coconut oil (or butter), melted
• 4 Tbs rapadura
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup mashed banana

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Let sit for a few minutes.
The batter should be quite thick, or it will take forever to cook. If it seems too thin, add some extra nut flour or arrowroot.
Spoon mixture into silicone muffin pan & bake for about 30 mins at 300F. (Silicone is a godsend for gluten-free baking!)

I added about 1/2 a cup of everything-free mini chocolate chips before spooning into the muffin pan.

These are the single bestest gluten-free thing I have baked so far. They taste exactly like the Hershey's Cocoa Tin Chocolate Cake I used to be semi-famous for. Fabulous.

Mini Frittatas
(based loosely on a recipe by Giada de Laurentis)

4 large eggs
1/4 cup almond milk (use real, if you have it, or even cream)
sea salt and pepper to taste (white or black pepper)
2 ounces smoked salmon, crumbled
no idea how much Havarti, crumbled
1 teaspoons parsley

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk the eggs, almond milk, pepper, salt, and parsley in a large bowl to blend well. Spoon or pour into silicon muffin pan. Should almost-fill 6 of the cups. Drop in cheese and smoked salmon. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 15-20 minutes. Using a fork, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter (or your own plate). Serve (eat) immediately.