Comeback Sauce

This is the perfect dipping sauce for fried chicken fingers.

2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard (I use Zatarain’s)
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
optional : if you can tolerate a tiny bit of garlic, grate about a 1/4 teaspoon into the mixture.

Combine and serve.

Fried Chicken Fingers

All of the credit for this recipe goes to Elizabeth Barbonne.  I served this with a dipping sauce that was about as close to “comeback sauce” as I can make. I’ll post that recipe next.

• 2  cups yogurt thinned with about a 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 2-inch strips
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco, optional

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Vegetable oil for frying

Combine the first four ingredients and refrigerate, covered for at least an hour.  When ready to fry, remove chicken from fridge.  Whisk the dry ingredients together in a shallow casserole or pie pan.  Have a piece of wax paper ready for holding the dredged chicken.  Remove a piece of chicken from the yogurt and shake off the excess. Dredge it in the flour mixture to coat thoroughly and place it on the wax paper. Repeat with the remaining chicken.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet.  It should be about 1/2 inch deep.  When the oil is hot, shimmering and almost smoking, add chicken to the pan, one piece at a time. Don’t crowd the pan; cook chicken in batches if necessary.  Chicken pieces should not touch each other. Fry until golden brown one one side, flip and fry the other side.  It should take 2 – 3 minutes per side.  Lay cooked chicken strips on a paper towel lined platter.

UnGranola

One of the first low FODMAP recipes I devised was granola.  Traditionally, granola is based on oats.   I am actually not that fond of oats, so when I saw a recipe for a granola-like cereal without oats, I knew I could modify it easily. If the lactose in butter is a problem for you, substitute a neutral tasting vegetable oil like canola or safflower.

5 plain rice cakes (brown or white depending on your preference)
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (I use Ancient Harvest brand)
1 cup low FODMAP nuts (I use pecans)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter or neutral vegetable oil
1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300F. Break up the rice cakes into small pieces, no bigger than 1/4 inch.  Place in a bowl and add the quinoa flakes, nuts, and cinnamon. Melt the butter and pour it over the dry ingredients, then pour the maple syrup over all. Combine very well.  All of the dry ingredients should be thoroughly coated.  Spread the mixture out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Stir the mixture thoroughly, spread it out again and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.  Combine with the cranberries and store in an air tight container.

Asian Braised Beef and Carrots

I was meandering around the meat section of my local supermarket, bemoaning the high cost of meat when I spotted cross-cut beef shanks at $2.99 per pound. Sold! Each piece of meat was flat, about 1/2 inch thick and had a large round bone in the middle.  I trimmed off the fat that was on the outer edges of the meat, but left in the bones.  When the braise was finished, I scooped the marrow out of the bones and stirred it back into the meat juices.  I’m sure you could easily modify this recipe to use any other cut of beef for stewing that you find.

I used a large, shallow, lidded skillet for this.  A casserole dish or Dutch oven would work as well. All of the meat should fit in the pan without overlapping.

2.5 lbs cross cut beef shank, trimmed of fat
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon wheat-free soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin (sweetened rice wine for cooking)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 lb. carrots, peeled, cut into chunks

Rub the trimmed meat with the five spice powder and the fresh ginger.  Combine the liquid ingredients and pour over the meat, coating the meat thoroughly.  Sprinkle the meat generously with salt and pepper.  Let marinate for at least an hour, longer if you can.

Preheat the oven to 275F. Put all of the meat and marinade into your casserole or skillet.  Add the carrots.  Cover and let cook in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours.  When done, the meat should be very easy to shred with a fork.  Remove from the oven. Discard the bones and any chunks of fat remaining in the meat.  Shred the meat with two forks.  Serve hot over rice.