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CONTENTS

9 Acknowledgments

10 Introduction

25 Breakfast

47 Breads

75 Sandwiches

95 Appetizers and Snacks

121 Soups and Stews

143 Sides

165 Meat Main Dishes

189 Seafood Main Dishes

203 Fried Foods

225 Pies

245 Cakes

273 Cookies

295 Desserts

312 Index

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SANDWICHES

AMERICAN CLASSICS REINVENTED76

There will be disagreements about this recipe. We all have our own platonic ideal of the burger small and smooshed beneath a crinkly white bun; large and oozing juice under an enormous sesame seed bun; made of buffalo meat or beef chuck or turkey or filled with bacon or mushrooms or caramelized onionsand there is quite a bit of heated conversation around what makes a great burger. Were not trying to stop that conversation by being definitive. Were simply offering our favorite kind of burger and the ways to reach it. Choose the meat. We believe the best burgers are not lean. If youre going to eat a burger, go all in. Its harder these days to find beef in the meat section of the grocery store that isnt labeled extra-lean. That meat does not make a great burger. It makes a mealy burger. Ideally, the meat is 80 percent meat and 20 percent fat. The best bet is to ask the butcher in that meat department (or at a good local butcher shop) to coarsely grind chuck for you, which ensures youre going to get good fat in there. If you can afford grass-fed beef, there are solid reasons to believe that beef may be better for you. But if you cant afford it, this isnt necessary. Some chefs we know use different mixes of beef cuts in their burgers: a friend in Maine uses chuck, brisket, and bacon together. Thats a darned fine burger. But its not necessary. We love the taste of buffalo meat, and that truly is an American burger. But buffalo tends to run leaner, so youll want to cut in more fat with frozen bacon (see page 79). Form the patties. Remember this: a hamburger is not meat loaf. The more you handle the meat, the tougher the burger will be. Treat the meat gently. Take it out of the refrigerator, season it with salt and pepper, then divide the meat and form loose patties. These should be hamburger patties that look as though they might fall apart. Choose the right surface. We find that the absolute best cooking surface for a burger is a cast-iron skillet, especially one youve cooked with for a while. (Youve probably noticed that we cook much of our food in a cast-iron skillet.) It conducts heat well, making for even cooking at high heat. Some chefs swear that cast-iron is better than the grill, so if they are having a barbecue, they put the cast-iron on the grill. (We still put ours directly on the grill.) And dont be afraid of the heat. Add fat. For decades, Americans lived in fear of fat. But fat is not the enemy, as the medical profession and traditional media are recognizing now. Besides, if youre having a burger, theres no point in going halfway and trying to make a low-fat burger. Enjoy this. We like greasing the skillet with beef suet before laying down the patties. Now, with all this, youre going to have a great burger. Lets look at a couple of options.

ThE gREAT AMERICAN BuRgER

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SANDwIChES 83

Were big fans of the Hoosier state around here. We have some dear friends, Debra and Rod Smith, who live in Indiana, and they assured us this recipe simply had to be in this American cookbook. Its classic Indiana! You have to make a breaded pork loin sandwich. Many of our most fervent fans agreed. After making thisa flattened piece of tender pork, dunked in flour, eggs, and bread-crumbs, and then fried until crispywe certainly agreed.

2 pounds boneless pork loin

2 cups low-fat buttermilk

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 teaspoons onion powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

280 grams All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend (page 17)

2 cups finely ground gluten-free breadcrumbs

Fat or oil of your choice for frying (we like rice bran oil, peanut oil, or lard)

4 Hamburger Buns (page 55) or Hoagie Rolls (page 60)

Pound the pork. Cut the pork into 4 pieces. Cut each piece horizon-tally across, stopping before you cut through entirely, then open the piece. It should look like a butterfly. Put each piece between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound the pork with a meat mallet until it is only 1/4 inch thick.

Marinate the pork. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk, garlic, and onion powder together. Nestle the pounded-out pork pieces in the buttermilk mixture. Let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Dredge the pork. The next day, remove the pork from the butter-milk and wipe off each piece. Season each piece with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a wide bowl, set the buttermilk mixture next to it, and set the breadcrumbs in a third bowl next to that. Dredge a pork piece on both sides in the flour, then into the buttermilk mixture again, and then dredge it on both sides in the breadcrumbs. Lay the pork piece on a plate while you finish the rest of the pork.

Fry the pork. Set a large wok or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Pour in 1 inch of the oil or fat you chose for frying. When it has come to 360F on an instant-read thermometer, gently place 2 of the pieces of pork in the hot fat. Fry on one side for 3 minutes, then flip the piece. Cook until the pork loin is golden brown and crisp, about another 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towellined plate. Repeat with the remaining pork.

Make the sandwiches. Open the hamburger buns or hoagie rolls and put the fried loin inside. Top and slather with your choice of ingredients and condiments: we like homemade mayonnaise, dill pickles, tomatoes, and arugula. That choice is up to you.

BREADED PORK LOIN SANDWICHESFeeds 4

Feel like playing?

You can easily make this with the Grain-Free Flour Mix (page 19), if you wish. If you have to be dairy-free, add the juice of 1 lemon to your favorite dairy-free milk to make buttermilk for the marinade.

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AMERICAN CLASSICS, REINVENTED158

In the middle of July and into August, theres nothing better than fresh corn. For the first few days of corn season, we eat corn on the cob with nearly every dinner. At first, that corn is slathered in butter and salt. Then we graduate to cotija cheese and a squeeze of lime juice. By the second or third week, we still crave corn but we want a different texture. Grilling the corn before cutting off the kernels, plus the sharp bite of aged Cheddar cheese and a shake of smoked paprika, makes these smoky sweet corn fritters a little unexpected and very much a hit at every summer party we have thrown.

6 ears sweet corn, husks and threads removed

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 large eggs, beaten

4 ounces (1 cup) freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (or soft chvre)

4 scallions, finely sliced

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

45 grams All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend (page 000)

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fat or oil of your choice for frying (we use olive oil or butter)

Prepare to cook. Fire up the grill. Make sure its screaming hot.

Grill the corn. Coat the ears of corn in the olive oil. Put them on the grill. Let them get a bit of color on one side, about 2 minutes, then flip and grill until all the sides are smoky hot and almost charred. Remove the corn from the grill and allow to cool to room temperature.

Prepare the corn. Using a sharp knife, slice the kernels off the corn. Flip the knife around and use the back of the knife to push out as much of the milk from the kernels as possible. Put the kernels and milk into a large bowl.

Make the fritter batter. Mix the eggs, cheese, scallions, basil, flour, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper with the corn. Let the batter sit for a few moments for the liquids to absorb the flour.

Make a tester. Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough of the fat of your choice to make a generous puddle in the middle of the skillet. Make a small fritter with the corn batter and put it in the hot fat. Fry until the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes, then flip and fry it on the other side. Turn off the heat, take the fritter out of the skillet and to cool. Taste the fritter. Need more salt and pepper? A little more smokiness? More cheese? Add to your own taste.

SMOKY SWEET CORN FRITTERSFeeds 6

AMERICAN CLASSICS, REINVENTED230

Sour cherries, also known as Montmorency cherries, are the perfect cherries for pie. Where we live in western Washington, we buy beautifully sweet Bing cherries from the farmers market. We eat them until our chins are stained with cherry juice. But for pie, I want sour cherries. A specialty of northern Michigan and Oregon, these cherries are small and tart, a jewel of a cherry that looks more like a red currant. If you cant go to the Michigans upper peninsula to visit a cherry grower, try to find sour cherries in season near you and freeze enough to make pies all winter. You wont be sorry for the trouble you took to find them.

6 cups sour cherries, pitted

11/4 cups (260 grams) organic cane sugar

35 grams All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend (page 000)

Freshly grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Pinch salt

2 disks chilled Pie Dough (page 000)

1 large egg, beaten

Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine the cherries, sugar, flour blend, lime zest and juice, cinnamon, almond extract, and salt. Make sure all the cherries are evenly coated. Set aside and let the filling sit for at least 30 minutes before filling the pie.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Roll out one of the dough disks, press it into a 9-inch pie pan, and crimp the edges.

Fill the pie. Fill the pie dough with the cherry mixture. It should mound pretty high.

Put on the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough. Lay the top dough onto the pie gently, as though you were putting a blanket on a sleeping child. Tuck the edges into the crimped crust. Make two or three small slits in the top crust to allow the steam out. Brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg.

Bake the pie. Slide the pie into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 375F and bake the pie until the top crust is golden brown, the juices are sizzling on the edges of the crust, and the bottom crust is browned when you look at it from the bottom of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Wait! Allow the pie to cool for at least 2 hours before you cut into it. I know. Its hard but its worth the wait.

SOUR CHERRY PIEMakes 1 (9-inch) pie

Feel like playing?

If you cant find fresh or frozen sour cherries near you, you can use canned cherries. Make sure to use 72 ounces of cherries to make up the bulk of the pie. Weve certainly made cherry pie with sweet cherries many times. Add more acid to cut the sweetnesstry 2 or 3 limes here instead, with a little more flour to soak up the extra liquidand cut the sugar in half.

Comfort food classics made gluten-free from the beloved

award-winning blogger

GLUTEN-FREE GIRL

ISBN: 978-0-544-21988-5Paper Over Board 8 x 9 inches

320 pages $29.99

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

Publicity & Marketing

Author Appearances

Online Advertising

Online Marketing and Social Media Promotion

Publicity ContactBrittany Edwards

(212) 592-1112brittany.edwards@hmhco.com

Following her James Beard Awardwinning Gluten-Free Girl Every Day, Shauna James Ahern has created a collection of comfort food classics that are all unbelievably and amazingly gluten-free. Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting, Chicken-Fried Steak, New England Clam Chowderthe coun-trys most beloved dishes are now reinvented. It wouldnt be true comfort food without dessert and Shauna aptly provides plenty of delicious recipes for sweets lovers including Pecan Pie, Red Velvet Cake, and even a version of those treasured Thin Mint cookies. Shauna has tested her recipes over and over again, so these dishes are as easy and foolproof as possible for at-home cooks and her thousands of devoted blog followers. This cookbook also includes all the basic bread recipes readers need to keep making classics at home like Pizza Dough, Sand-wich Bread, Hamburger Buns, and Pie Dough. Gluten-Free Girl American Classics Reinvented is Shaunas best assortment of recipes to date.

The only thing more sumptuous than Shauna and Dannys cooking is the spirited and spiritual prose that fills this generous, informative book.

LENA DUNHAM

Follow @HMHCookswww.hmhco.com/cooking