Gluten Free in Aruba!

At first I was a little worried about vacationing with a gluten free diet. With this being my fifth trip to "The Happy Island," I was really looking forward to some delicious dinners. In the months leading up to my vacation I was constantly researching gluten free restaurants in Aruba. I found Trip Adviser and other blogs to be very helpful, but emailing a restaurant prior to my trip was the most helpful. To my surprise many restaurants in Aruba were more than willing to accommodate my food allergy. When you make a reservation remember to mention your allergy and always communicate with your waiter. Unfortunately, gluten free beer has not made its way down to Aruba, but the grocery stores offer many gluten free items! Here are the restaurants I dined at while I was away:

The Jolly Pirates Sunset Sail

Texas de Brazil

My family ate here on the first night and I was amazed by the staff's knowledge of gluten. Our waitress completely understood my gluten allergy and arranged for a chef to show me around the salad bar. For those of you who have never been to Texas de Brazil I will explain the serving style of the dinner. First, guests visit the salad/appetizer bar for the first course. Next, you sit back down at your table flip your card to green ("yes, I would like more food!") and servers come around with a variety of meats that are carved right onto your plate! The chef walked me around the salad bar and told me all of the dishes and dressings that contained gluten. He also reminded me of which meats I would not be able to eat for dinner. For my entire dinner our waitress kept an eye on me and reminded me of which meats I could not sample. She even knew to avoid vodka in my drinks! I highly recommend going to Texas de Brazil while you're in Aruba gluten free or not! Our dinner was awesome!

Smokey Joe's

In the past this restaurant has been one of my favorites while in Aruba. The ribs here are amazing! My family ate here twice during our trip. Unfortunately (and not to my surprise) the ribs are not gluten free. The first night my waiter did not understand my allergy; he actually thought I said I was allergic to glue, so he brought the manager over. I ordered plain grilled chicken on a salad with oil and vinegar dressing. Although the salad was not nearly as satisfying as the ribs I was wishing I could have I did not get sick. The second night our waitress told me the dry-rub ribs did not contain gluten ingredients, so I decided to give them a try. After watching my family devour delicious saucy ribs early in the week I was green with envy. Although the dry-rub wasn't as good as the BBQ ribs I had years ago they were still tasty. Afterwards, I did have a bit of an upset stomach, but nothing too terrible. In the future I would just stick to the salad and suggest others do the same, especially if you have Celiacs.

Linda's Pancakes

One night my family decided to order in, so I picked up a gluten free pizza with peppers from Linda's. I was definitely one of the best GF pizzas I've had. One of my cousins even said he thought it tasted just like regular pizza. Unfortunately, I got a stomach ache pretty quickly. Although several other blogs raved about Linda's gluten free dutch pancakes I was too hesitant to go back after trying the pizza. The rest of my family stopped at Linda's for breakfast one morning and loved it. 

Yemanja Woodfire Grill

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Yemanja is the only restaurant I found with an actual gluten free menu. Most of their dishes are gluten free to begin with so I was able to choose from the same dishes as my family. They even brought me fresh, fluffy and delicious gluten free bread!! This night I had grilled mahi-mahi and was able to eat the family style side dishes that were put on the table. I highly recommend dinning here if you have a gluten allergy! 

Gianni's

Definitely put this restaurant on your list if you are looking for excellent Italian food. Although they do not have a gluten free menu they offer gluten free pasta and a knowledgeable staff. All but two pasta sauces are gluten free. We actually ate here twice because the food is so good and they could accommodate my allergy.The first night I had gluten free penne with carbonara sauce. It was so good I had it the next time as well, but the gluten free pasta of the night was fusilli. Both nights my waiters took great care in noting my gluten allergy. 

Chalet Suisse
When my cousin made our dinner reservation this night he actually spoke directly to the chef. The chef informed him that many of the restaurant's dishes did not contain gluten and he would be more than willing to accommodate my food allergy. I had the delicious filet mignon special with spinach, mushrooms and a baked potato. 

At the end of my trip I ate lunch at the Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club when my waitress told me I could have asked the front desk to make note of my allergy in the computer. She said all of the restaurants on the grounds  would be able to see my food allergy in the computer when processing our meals. I will definitely remember this for next time! I hope this helps all of you gluten free readers who may be traveling to Aruba! 

Gluten Free Italian

     Since going gluten free I have found pizza and pasta to be much less enjoyable. Recently, I found a fresh spinach linguine from Whole Foods that is awesome! Costco also sells a brand called Felicia which I also like. This brand is a corn, rice, buckwheat and quinoa mix. I personally think all-rice pastas aren't very good. Lately, I've really enjoyed having gluten free linguine with homemade marinara sauce or garlic and oil. 

      This past weekend I visited Boston for the first time! I stayed in the North End which is a  "Little Italy" type of area. I have never seen so many restaurants in one place. There has to be at least 100 Italian restaurants, 1 Mexican restaurant and 1 Chinese restaurant. My friends and I had dinner at Benevento's. Not only was everyone's food delicious, they offered both gluten free pasta and pizza! I had the option of at least 6 different sauces served with gluten free pasta and about 12 pizzas. I was in gluten free food heaven!! I chose the "Vodka Classic" pizza. One of the waiters recommended choosing vodka sauce because it would balance out the sweetness of the gluten free dough. I think the pizza would have been delicious regardless of what was on it. I also liked how my pizza was cooked on a disposable aluminum tray (avoiding cross contamination). And of course, their beer options included Redbridge - one of the best gluten free beers I've tried. 

*Update 7/13/13* This post was written early on in my gluten free life. In the future I would be more cautious of the vodka used in the sauce. Not all vodkas are gluten free therefore it's important to discuss this with your server. 

Honey Tequila & Lime Shrimp!

My first post- college blog post! I actually made this meal the first weekend I came home, but haven't got around to sharing it until now. This dinner was so quick and easy - a perfect start to summer! Grilled shrimp marinated in fresh honey, lime and tequila with brown rice and homemade guacamole. 

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp (I thawed frozen, de-veined shrimp)
- 1/2 cup of tequila
- 1 tsp of lime zest
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 lime, to serve on the side
- 1 tbsp of pure honey
- 2 cloves of garlic, miced
- 1-2 tbsp of cilantro, finely chopped
- kosher salt and fresh black pepper

Click HERE for my guacamole recipe!

Directions:

Whisk together all of your ingredients in a large bowl then add in the shrimp. Make sure all of the shrimp is coated in the marinated and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes. I used a grill pan on my stove; the shrimp quick fast, so keep an eye on them. You'll known when the shrimp is done when they begin to curl up (probably no more than 3 minutes total). Serve with fresh lime slices on the side, brown rice, homemade guacamole and gluten free corn chips!

*My best friend is allergic to shrimp, so I used the same marinate for grilled chicken.

Lunch Frittata

A simple and healthy lunch or breakfast! Saute mushrooms, broccoli and baby spinach in olive oil in an oven safe pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Next, add 2 eggs and 1 egg white (scrambled). Shift the pan around so the egg is evenly distributed, but don't mix! Cook on medium heat for about three minutes. You should be able to see the outer edges solidifying. Add shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to the top. Next, place pan in 350 degree oven for 6 minutes. 

Rice Krispie Treat Nests!

This weekend I not only celebrated Easter, but also my blog's first birthday! Whether my posts are regularly read or not I have enjoyed adding to my blog since last spring. For Easter I made special Rice Krispie treats! Here is how to make my Rice Krispie treat-nests:

Ingredients:

- 3 tablespoons of butter

- 4 cups of mini marshmallows

- 6 cups of Rice Krispie Cereal

- Peanut M & M's

- 1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

Melt butter in a pot completely then add marshmallows. When the marshmallows are completely melted take the pot off the heat and add in the Rice Krispies, mix thoroughly. Spray 2 cupcake tins with cooking spray and spoon in mixture. Use parchment paper to press the mixture into the tins. Try to make each treat cave concave so the M & M's will stay put. Melt chocolate chips in a double broiler on the stove then add a little bit to the center of each nest. Last, add 3 M & M's to each nest and place in the fridge for a half hour.

Chocolate Cupcakes & PB Icing

Over spring break I made delicious chocolate cupcakes with peanut-butter icing! I used Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) recipe.  It was actually easy to follow. When making cupcakes it is very important to sift the dry ingredients in order to prevent lumps and heavy cake. You also need to remember to let the dairy products warm up to room temperature. If the dairy products are too cold you won't be able to mix your batter thoroughly.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I made chocolate-stout cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream icing. I used a recipe by Dave Lieberman which I found on FoodNetwork.com . I used one bottle of Guinness Extra Stout beer. The recipe does not instruct you to sift the dry ingredients, but I did anyway. I also let the dairy products warm up to room temperature. Make sure the stout is room temperature also. If you don't the cold beer will harden the butter when you add it to the mixture. Next time I attempt this recipe I may also let the beer go flat so the carbonation is not incorporated into the mixture. For the icing I used 3 cups of confectioners sugar and 5 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream Liquor. For a finishing touch I used a vegetable peeler to add shavings of Hersey's chocolate to the cupcakes. 

Pretty Popovers!

The other night I decided to tackle a more difficult recipe...and I rocked it! I used Alex Guarnaschelli's popover recipe. I followed her exact instructions, but used a little less salt. Her instructions tell you to warm the lightly greased muffin pan. I ended up doing this twice, because I warmed the pan too much the first time around and burned the butter. These popover were so delicious my grandma even asked me to make them again!

Easy Pizza!

The first meal I made when I came home for the semester was pizza! I had made it when I was at school (my camera died, so I didn't take a picture) and it was delicious. 

Ingredients:
2 fresh whole wheat pizza doughs (refrigerated section near cheeses)
2 tomatoes
2 green peppers
1 medium onion
Marinara Sauce 
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Powder
Dried basil and parsley 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease two baking sheets very well and stretch the dough to fit each pan. I recommend using a smaller size baking sheet for this type of dough. At school I have a small baking sheet (college style) and the crust came out perfect, but at home I used bigger sheets and the dough was a little thin.

I made first pizza with just tomatoes, ricotta cheese, garlic powder and herbs. The second pizza I started with my homemade sauce, peppers, mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic powder and herbs. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. I put one on the top rack and the other on the bottom rack, switching them half way through.