Pistachio Pastry Cream – Step by Step

Pastry cream is a recipe good to master for making really knock-it-out-of-the-park fantastic gluten free desserts!  It also happens to be so versatile. It can be used as filling for cream puffs, tarts and pies and can be flavored in almost endless ways. In my cookbook, Simply…Glutenfree Desserts I give a basic recipe for pastry cream as well as 7 other variations, including a dairy-free one.

You can easily also make this dairy free and even low fat, just by changing up the type of milk you use in the recipe. The butter can be substituted for dairy free or even omitted if you really want to cut back on fat and calories – but it won’t be as rich and silky – just saying!


Ingredients
1½ cups unsalted pistachios, finely ground
3 cups milk (can use low fat or dairy free)
¼ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (or dairy free substitute)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

In a large sauce pan combine the pistachios, milk and salt and bring just to a boil. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Measure the liquid, you need 2 cups. If you don’t have 2 cups add more milk. Rinse and wipe out the saucepan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is thick and light yellow, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the cornstarch. Slowly pour in the pistachio milk and mix until well combined. Pour the mixture into the saucepan.
Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the mixture starts to boil gently. Continue cooking, stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the cold butter and vanilla. If the mixture starts to look curdled, just whisk the daylights out of it, it will come together again. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a clean bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, pressed directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
Pastry cream can be made 2 to 3 days ahead. Whisk the pastry cream by hand or with a handheld mixture until smooth before using.
Makes about 2 cups gluten-free pastry cream.

Want to know more about your favorite Gluten Free Recipe or how to avoid being bothered by Celiac with our range of Gluten Free Recipes which are made from Gluten Free raw material feel free to visit us at: http://www.simplygluten-free.com

Article Source: http://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2011/05/pistachio-pastry-cream-step-by-step.html

Keep celiac bothers at bay with Gluten Free Recipes

May is Celiac Awareness Month! Did you know that over 3 million Americans have celiac, but only 5 percent have been diagnosed? That leaves 95 percent of the celiac community undiagnosed, and living with a variety of symptoms that could be managed by a fairly simple change of diet. Talk about a need for awareness!

Part of the reason behind the undiagnosed is the fact that celiac disease or gluten intolerance is often diagnosed as something else. The symptoms of celiac like fatigue, depression, bowl issues, vitamin deficiencies and the presence of other autoimmune disorders can cause physician to overlook a diagnosis of celiac for a "simpler" one of something like irritable bowel syndrome.

Another problem that leads to improper diagnose is that standard testing does not always come up with standard results.  A simple blood test can confirm Celiac Disease and yet all people who have Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance do not test positive.  It can be frustrating to say the least.  According to gluten sensitivity expert, Dr. Vikki Petersen, the easiest and least expensive way to test yourself for gluten intolerance is to eliminate gluten from the diet for a period of 30 days and see how you feel.  If you start feeling better and physical issues start to clear up, it is a really good sign that you benefit from a gluten-free diet.

Gluten-free seems to be everywhere these days, and still many don't really know what it means. If you are consuming a gluten-free diet due to celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or for any reason, then you are not eating foods that contain wheat, spelt, rye and barley. Sounds a bit overwhelming?

It does take a bit of getting used to, but there is an amazing amount of support available for celiac's or those with gluten sensitivities. There are people, who are gluten-free themselves, creating recipes and putting them up on blogs. Some of these same people are creating cookbooks that are available everywhere, including QVC. In addition to this community of gluten-free bloggers, there are new products arriving to the shelves and freezer sections of the local grocery store in addition to the small specialty markets and Whole Foods. This is a real boon for all people who are on the gluten-free diet, but there is a need to be careful. Make sure you are reading the labels to ascertain the ingredients, seems simple I know. If you are ever unsure if a product or medication is safe to take, call the manufacturer. It is your health, and once you have it on the road to recovery you don't want to find that you have accidentally ingested a poison.

Awareness is the key!  If you are aware of the problem and of the solutions to the problem, you are most of the way toward winning the battle to improved health.  So my wish for Celiac Awareness Month is that people who may be suffering from symptoms of Celiac or gluten intolerance will find awareness in how they can take charge of their own health and physical well being.

Want to know more about your favorite Gluten Free Recipe or how to avoid being bothered by Celiac with our range of Gluten Free Recipes which are made from Gluten Free raw material feel free to visit us at: http://bestglutenfree.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/may-a-gluten-free-week-month


Article Source: http://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2011/05/celiac-awarness-month.html

Simply.Gluten Free Desserts - FINALLY, a cookbook with recipes that are not only gluten-free but GR

The gluten free diet can be challanging as health concerns dictate one's diet, resulting in "healthy" foods that often taste and have a texture that is weird.

Kicinski with half her family gluten-intollerant and half not, didn't sit quiet and compromise on the taste of baked goods.  Instead she set out on a mission to develop dessert recipes, which while being gluten free, also provided her and her family the taste, texture and nutrition that equaled or surpassed the gluten-filled recipes.

Then Kicinski didn’t keep her recipes a secret from the rest of the world, as she has been constantly sharing her experiences, baking and cooking techniques and tips on television shows, on her popular gluten free website and as a freelance writer.

Now she has compiled her experiences and dessert recipes in her new cookbook - "SIMPLY...GLUTEN-FREE DESSERTS” (Thomas Dunne Books,2011) which sets a new standard as a reference cookbook for people who are gluten-intolerant and for chefs the world around who must now elivate their baking skills to satisfy the ever growing gluten-free demand.

This book also proves valuable for preparing your own gluten-free flour - giving a simple recipe for homemakers for an all-purpose gluten free flour blend that works cup-for-cup in place of regular flour for any recipe you choose to make - even your grandma's old favorites.

There are many recipes that don't require flour substitutions, making many of them not only gluten free, but also grain free. A surprising number of recipes are dairy free as well.

With this cookbook you can have a wide range of dessert recipes for your discerning taste buds and yet still be sensitive to good health - gluten free recipes that would have otherwise remained elusive for the gluten-intollerant.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carol Kicinski is the founder of the food blog, "Simply...Gluten-Free.com". She has appeared on The Fine Living Network and is in her second year of monthly segments on Daytime TV, a nationally syndicated morning show. She resides in Florida.