Hale's Kitchen: A New Spin on Bruschetta

This month, Hunter Hale show us how to take traditional bruschetta to a whole new level! Instead of demonstrating a few of the (probably) hundred variations on savory bruschetta, our young chef has developed several sweet adaptations that make for a simple, elegant desserts! Watch out Food Network, Hunter Hale is on his way!

Part I:


Part II:


The Recipes...

Sweetened Ricotta, Pistachio & Chocolate Drizzled Bruschetta
Ingredients
4 slices of Udi's Gluten free White Sandwich Bread, crusts removed and sliced on the diagonal, toasted
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup confectioner's sugarDash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pistachio's
2 Tablespoons chocolate sauce or chocolate shavings

Directions
In a small bowl, beat the ricotta with the confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract until incorporated.

Spread ricotta mixture on top of the toast triangles and top with chopped pistachios and drizzle with chocolate (or top with shaved chocolate).

Marinated Strawberries with Sweet Mascarpone Bruschetta

Ingredients
4 slices of Udi's Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread, crusts removed and cut on the diagonal, toasted
1 cup strawberries sliced
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
Dash of vanilla extract
Mint leaf for garnish

Directions
Toast the bread triangles under the broiler until just browned.

In a bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese along with the confectioner's sugar and a dash of vanilla extract until incorporated.

Spread about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the mascarpone cheese mixture over a toast triangle and top with marinated strawberries. Drizzle the top with any reserved marinade and garnish with a mint leaf.

Hale's Kitchen: Hunter's Valentine Lava Cakes

This month, Glutenfreeda's budding young chef Hunter Hale shows us how to make Chocolate Lava Cakes, just in time for Valentine's Day! Perfect single-serving desserts, these decadent cakes come together as easy as pie and are a great way to impress and pamper that special someone this weekend!

Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients
Centers**
2 oz. semi-sweet gf chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup whipping cream

For cake
Unsalted butter or gf non-stick cooking spray for ramekins
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup gluten free flour mix (we love Jules All-Purpose Blend)
Fresh strawberries for garnish

Directions
Centers

Add chocolate and whipping cream to the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until all is melted and blended. Remove from heat and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill. When chilled, scoop chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula and form into 6- 1" balls.

Place balls in a small bowl and keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cake
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray 6 ramekins with gf non-stick cooking spray.
Add 4 oz. chopped chocolate and butter to the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until melted and blended; remove from heat. Add eggs, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla to a medium bowl and beat on high speed for about 5 minutes, until pale and thick. Fold melted chocolate and flour into egg mixture until all is blended.

Spoon batter into ramekins. Place 1 chocolate ball in the middle of each ramekin. Gently press ball to bottom of ramekins. Bake for 15 minutes; remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Run a small knife along the edge of the ramekins and invert onto serving plates. Top each lava cake with sliced strawberries. Serve immediately.

**For an even easier option, use store-bought gluten-free chocolate truffles in the flavor of your choosing and simply press into the batter as you would our chocolate centers!

Hale's Kitchen: Jule's Gluten Free Flour Pizza Crust

In this month's edition of the magazine, we have a new feature: Hale's Kitchen. A new monthly video series featuring Hunter Hale, our teen chef in residence, teaching a cooking class. This month's recipe is for Jule's GF Flour pizza crust (our favorite so far). In this month's video, Hunter shows us how to make both Jule's GF Flour pizza crust and turn it into a pepperoni pizza. We are so excited to have two fantastic video cooking classes - Cybele Pascal's allergy friendly webisodes and now, Hunter in Hale's Kitchen.