Udi's did it again - BAGELS!

I recently discovered that Udi's has been busy. Busy making yummy, yummy baked goods! Hot dog buns! Hamburger buns! Bagels!!!

I hadn't purchased any of these goodies because Gracie is one picky squirrel! She won't eat hot dogs. She won't eat hamburgers. When I asked her if she wanted to try the bagels she said no. sigh...

Yesterday I decided to try the bagels anyway. This morning I told her I would make her breakfast - I thawed the bagels for 30 seconds in the microwave, split it (it was cut - you just need to separate it) then I toasted 1/2 in our toaster oven (on foil to prevent cross contamination.) I called Gracie in and said "butter or cream cheese?" Her eyes widened and she smiled. "Butter!"

She ate it. She ate ever bite. She smiled and said "Thank you Mom! That was SO good! Could I have more?!" Well of course!

It was delicious - it was REALLY delicious! A great texture and the flavor was excellent. It wasn't as chewy or dense as "normal" bagels are - more like a really good crusty French bread. When I say it is good I am not saying "It is good for gluten free." I mean it is GOOD BREAD! for anyone - gluten free or not.

My wheels started turning - I immediately thought of "The Bread" that I made for my In laws last week. "The Bread" was a recipe I had come across on the Pioneer Woman's blog. I had been wanting to try it but never had a reason to until visiting them. It has two ingredients - bread and butter - but it is bread and butter in a fantastic way! Tasting Gracie's bagel made me think of "The Bread." It would be SO good cooked this way! I just feel it. Trust me - I will try it.

I can highly recommend the Udi's bagels! You will be pleasantly surprised. Let me know if you have tried the hot dog or hamburger buns - I would love to hear your reviews!

Easy, fancy, oh so very good...

Troy has always loved Eggs Benedict and will get it at nicer restaurants when we are eating out for breakfast but we never make it at home. I wanted to do something nice for him for Father's Day so I decided to make this for him in the morning.

We had perfected Blender Hollandaise years ago when we made Bearnaise sauce for steak but I haven't made it in over 10 years. Now I know why - it is fantastic! To the point of being an invitation to an obsession... That said - I have controlled myself - somewhat. Purists would say the only way to make it is on the stove. I am not a purist. I like simple and good. I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I changed the servings from 6 to 4 - it made just enough w/a little extra left over.

In a nutshell you take egg yokes and blend it with a good Dijon mustard and a little Tabasco and lemon juice - then add hot melted butter and blend until it is all combined - easy, easy, easy. It is smooth and silky and won't break up like the traditional sauce.

Now time to put it all together. I poached three eggs, toasted three English Muffin halves and instead of Canadian bacon I used chopped bacon. Muffin on the bottom, bacon next, egg then top with Hollandaise. The picture above is the one I made on the second day. The flecks are from a whole grain Dijon I used - I think it adds a rustic look.

Drool...

We loved it so much I got up and made it for Troy again the next morning before he went out of town. Then I stopped. I could eat it every day.

Now I know what you are saying - English Muffins are not gluten free - and you are right. That said everything else is! You could serve it on a gluten free English muffin, a slice of toasted Udi's bread or Udi's bagel 1/2, do it ala Martha Steward and serve it on an artichoke base, serve it on chopped, cooked spinach etc. Or simple serve the sauce over poached eggs. It is hard to go wrong.

Once you realize how easy it is to make Hollandaise Sauce the possibilities are endless. Serve it over steamed asparagus, over grilled chicken or fish, over steamed broccoli or cauliflower - oh so many things. Try it, see if you like it.

Cinnamon rolls - num, num, num...

I went to get Udi's Sandwich Bread for Gracie from Herb's & More in Decatur and discovered something glorious - Udi's Cinnamon Rolls! Oh - I had such hope...

They were frozen so I thawed one in the microwave, topped it w/the enclosed icing and served. Warm, sticky, gooey, cinnamony goodness! It tasted as Gracie has been know to say "like it is full of gluten!" They are the size of a big muffin - depending on how hungry she is she will either eat a full one or a 1/2 and save the other 1/2 for later.

We went out of town last weekend and took these with us. She had them instead of dessert at night and instead of biscuits for breakfast. They kept well thawed for the 3 days. My only suggestion would be that instead of 2 bigger icing packets there were 4 smaller ones. It was hard to travel w/an open packet.

At $6 a package of 4 they are about $1.50 each - about what you would pay for a cinnamon roll at the donut shop.

I have to give a shout out to Udi's. Not only is their food gluten free it is DELICIOUS! It taste as good as "regular" baked products w/o the horrible dry crumbliness that gluten free products often have. I hear they have bagels - I am on the lookout for those now.

Cinnamon rolls - ummmmmmm

Fairy Bread

A couple of years ago Gracie had to make some sort of food from another country for her class. We looked at Australia and found a traditional kids party treat - Fairy Bread! Never has a treat been more simple AND simply good.

In a nutshell it is bread spread with butter and topped with sprinkles - nonpareils specifically but honestly any sprinkles will do. The crunchiness and sweetness of the sprinkles combined with the creaminess of the butter and the substance of the bread - lovely.

Traditionally sprinkles are made with rice flower - many say specifically on their label they are gluten free. Gracie is currently making her Fairy Bread with Udi's White Sandwich Bread, butter and Halloween sprinkles - never mind it is March :)

Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread

Along with the other goodies we received from Udi's was a loaf of Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread. I thought "Oh - Grace won't eat that." She didn't like whole grain bread before she was diagnosed - I couldn't see her liking it now.

Well... I hated to waste the bread and since she had only been eating it as grilled cheese I decided to give it a try - oh - and not tell her :)

It has been 3 sandwiches later and she is none the wiser - she sucked them down as quickly as she did with the sandwich bread and never questioned it. Trust me - if she thought something was "off" she would have mentioned it!

I compared the nutritional info on both breads - honestly it will come down to taste. If you like a whole grain bread then try it - you may like it better. Either way - the Udi's Sandwich bread or the Udi's Whole Grain bread is a HIT at our house!

Udi's Gluten Free Muffins

Last week I reviewed the Udi's Sandwich bread (which Grace devoured and we had to buy more!) A day or two later I got an email from Heather who is the Marketing Coordinator for Udi's Gluten Free Foods. She had seen my previous post and offered to send me some more of their baked goods to try. I was cautious at first because I think one of the things that makes this blog work is I go to the store to try something - post if I like it or not and go about my business. Would free muffins make me a cheater? I decided they would not - mainly because I am cheap and I love free stuff! So with full disclosure I will give an honest review of the Udi's Gluten Free (and dairy and soy free) Lemon Streusel Muffins.

They were REALLY good! I mean honestly really good. A bit crumbly but not too sweet and a light lemon flavor. Grace decided she wanted it with milk since it was a bit dry - I was thinking it would go well with coffee. Troy's comment was they were not "over done" as in many gluten free baked goods try to over flavor their stuff to mask the fact they really taste like crap. The texture was also very good - not grainy or sandy as other things we have tried.

Even though they were a bit on the dry side they were not "too" dry - they just were not sticky like muffins often are. They were big with a satisfying "muffin top" which Gracie loved. She ate 3/4th of the large muffin with a glass of milk she immediately wanted another. I convinced her it would be best to wait until morning. This however is the golden "thumbs up" from Gracie - if she doesn't love it she doesn't eat it willingly.

These run about $6 for a box of 4. This comes to about $1.50 a muffin. Not bad for bakery muffins but more of a treat in my house than a staple. That said - we will be buying them again.

As we try our goodies (muffins and bread) I will report back and let you know what we think. Thanks to Udi's for the goodies! We do appreciate it.

Udi's Gluten Free Sandwich Bread - Oh My Word!

My friend Jennifer has Celiac and recommended Udi's Sandwich Bread. She said it was great for sandwiches, grilled cheese etc. with out having to be toasted. We were at Central Market yesterday and they had some in the freezer department. We got up this morning and made a grilled cheese sandwich for Grace and she LOVED it! Troy and I tried a bite and it tasted like real bread - REAL BREAD!!! It was good - and not just "good for gluten free."

Grace wanted to add:

"I just had a grilled cheese that tasted so much like REAL grilled cheese, that my mom had to check AGAIN to see if it was gluten free!!!!!!!!!! CENTRAL MARKET ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Grace is right - after Troy and I had a bite I have a momentary panic attack that I had gotten the wrong bread - I didn't - it was gluten free! It wasn't brick heavy - it was airy and spongy - like a good home made bread.

You can find it in the freezer section where better gluten free breads are sold. It was just under $6 a loaf - about average for GF bread. I found it at Central Market - but Jennifer said she has gotten it at bigger health food stores in the North Texas area. You can also buy it online.

Oh - and Grace had another grilled cheese for lunch :)