From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• 3 squares (3 oz.) unsweetened chocolate or 70% dark chocolate
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate and 2 ½ cups of the milk together in a 6-8 cup microwave safe bowl.

2. Mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a separate bowl and stir in remaining ½ cup of milk to make a smooth mix.

3. Whisk milk/sugar mix into milk/chocolate mix.

4. Microwave for three cycles of 2 minutes each, stirring with a whisk in between. Then microwave for three cycles of 1 minute a piece, whisking each time until the mixture is bubbling. Time will vary with power of microwave. The bowl will be hot and heavy, so be careful with lifting in and out to stir and taste test mixture.

5. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla. Pour into ramekins or martini glasses. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tips and Alternatives:

I have made this pudding with refrigerated almond milk and with a combination of almond and coconut milks – both with dairy-free and gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate. When using semi-sweet chocolate, I decreased the chocolate to 1/2 cup. I found the flavor to be thinner than with dairy milk and chocolate, but my students were happy.

I have also used the refrigerated gluten-free vanilla and hazelnut creamers. They gave an excellent flavor. I then poured cooked hazelnut chocolate custard into a hazelnut crust following the same recipe as the pecan crust I use for my Chocolate Pecan Indulgence.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Makes about 28 cookies.

Gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, and can be easily made lactose or dairy-free.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats, ground in food processor to flour consistency
• ½ cup Oonagh’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 cup certified gluten-free oats, chopped in food processor to consistency of quick cooking oats. Leave unchopped for a crunchier cookie.
• ¼ tsp. xanthan gum
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup or honey
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1+1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or dairy-free substitute, melted
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine the oat flour, Oonagh’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix, chopped oats, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and sugar in a bowl.

2. Heat butter and syrup gently in the microwave until the butter melts and the syrup becomes liquid. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and baking soda.

3. Add syrup mixture to the dry ingredient mix and stir thoroughly to combine. Mixture will come together as you stir it.

4. Using a 1 tbsp. measure, scoop mix at least one inch apart on lined cookie sheet. It will be crumbly, so tidy scoops of dough back into mounds on baking sheet. Flatten slightly with fingers. You can sprinkle with regular sugar for crunchier, sweeter finish.

5. Bake in 325 degree oven for about 15-18 minutes. Cookies should be golden, not dark brown.

6. Allow to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Tips & Alternatives:

The raw mix will stiffen as it sits, so work quickly if you don’t have enough baking sheets.

Drizzle the cookies with melted semi-sweet or milk chocolate once they have cooled.

Think about substituting ¼ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, coconut flakes or chopped nuts for ¼ cup of chopped oats. Or sandwich two cookies around frosting or buttercream.

If you do not flatten the cookies, then cook for 20+ minutes. They will not be as crispy when cooled.

Courtesy of Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations

I make sweet panna cotta and got the idea for a savory version from a recipe from Wilson’s Farms in Lexington MA, one of my favorite places for fresh fruit and vegetables. I like that this recipe can easily be adapted for as many people as you need to “cook” it for. This makes life so much easier when you are either trying out a recipe or there are only two of you at home. I will eat this as a dinner with salad, as a side with fresh salmon, or garnished with shrimp or smoked salmon, even spread on bagels. This is not that strong, hits-you-in-the-mouth goat cheese taste. If you can tolerate goat cheese, use an unsweetened milk substitute for the half and half and leave out the sour cream/yogurt. It will still be good.

If you cannot tolerate goat cheese then use an unsweetened milk substitute for half and half and ignore the sour cream/yogurt. It will still be good.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup half and half (richer fat content than whole milk, but not as rich as single/light cream)
• 1 tsp. sour cream (I use lite or else plain yogurt)
• ¼ cup mild goat cheese at room temperature
• ½ tsp. gluten-free gelatin
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp.finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives or green of green onions (If you use green of green onions, choose very thin green onions. The thicker and therefore older the green onion, the stronger the raw onion flavor, even from just the green leaves.)
• Pinch of salt and white pepper so no black flecks are visible.

Directions:

1. Warm half and half in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl, add goat cheese and stir until goat cheese is totally melted.
2. Sprinkle gelatin (looks like fine sand when dry) over water in a small microwave safe bowl, stir in and leave to stand for 2 minutes. It will now look like a lump of rubber. Microwave for about 10 seconds until gelatin is totally melted and liquid is clear yellowy color. If gelatin is not completely melted it will set to rubbery bits in the panna cotta.
3. Stir in sour cream, fresh herbs, salt and pepper then gelatin. Pour into lightly oiled (oil on paper towel) ramekins (small custard cups, suitably shaped teacups, mugs, containers that will allow panna cotta to be turned out, i.e. no weird shapes) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. While goat cheese layer is setting, make the beet layer.
4. If you are heavy handed measuring gelatin, then the panna cotta will be tougher and rubbery. Just enough makes a lovely creamy custard. It goes well as an appetizer, salad or side dish with grilled steak or chicken.

Beet in Lemon Gelatin (jelly)

My Aunt Noìrin used to make a salad with lemon gelatin (jelly) and cubes of cooked beet, less chance of the beets (beetroot) falling on clothes and floor and staining everything. Nowadays, gelatin/jelly seems to be totally artificial so I made a simple syrup, plus lemon juice and zest to set the beets.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. (about 3 golfball sized beets) cooked red beets cut into small cubes, roughly half an inch or smaller. You can buy beets in a can just in salt water but I haven’t tried them. Please don’t use pickled beets as they will overpower.
• ¼ cup water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. gelatin
• 1 Tbsp. water
• Zest of ¼ lemon (less if you like less tang but remember the syrup is sweet but not sickly)
• 1 Tbsp. chopped chives or green of thin green onions
• 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. fresh dill if you like it or have it.

Directions:

1. In a 4 cup bowl or jug, heat water, sugar, lemon juice and zest until sugar is totally melted.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus chives, parsley, dill.
3. Stir beet into lemon mix so each piece is mixed in. I now leave this until goat cheese is set, then dissolve gelatin in the 1 tbsp water as in #2 in panna cotta directions. If you want to just make the beet jelly on its own, then add gelatin now with beets, spoon into container and refrigerate.
4. Carefully and evenly divide up the lemon liquid/beets on top of the set goats cheese layer.
5. Refrigerate until firm. Eat anyway you want.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick (2 oz.) very soft butter
• ½ cup (4 oz.) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup (4 oz.) of almond meal
• 1/2 tsp. gluten-free baking powder
• 2 tsp. gluten-free almond extract
• Topping: powdered sugar, ¼ to ½ cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until well blended and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix will go lighter in color as you beat it.
3. Spread mix in greased and gluten-free floured 8” x 8” cake pan. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes until well-risen, golden brown and set but still soft in the middle. The texture should be similar to rolls of almond paste when cut, but cooked throughout.
5. Remove from oven, serve warm or cold, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Raspberry Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 x 12 oz. bag of frozen raspberries
• ½ cup. sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• ½ cup seedless raspberry jam or jelly for extra “oomph” of flavor

Directions:

1. Melt sugar and water together, add raspberries, and simmer for just a few minutes. Stir in raspberry jam until it melts. Depending on ripeness of raspberries and your personal taste, you might want to add more sugar.