Frito Waffles with Mascarpone and Warm Strawberry Compote

if you know me, you would know i couldn't let this frito-lays gluten-free chips challenge pass me by without trying something sweet. 

if the idea of "frito waffles" make you cock your head and whisper, "whaaa...?", then just trust me. the great thing about fritos and many of the frito-lays chips is that they are made of three simple ingredients... in this case corn, oil, and salt. a simple canvas on which so many sweet or savory flavor profiles can be painted. i already know that corn cakes go exceptionally well with lemon and blueberries, so i decided to give strawberries and cream a go.

oh, yum... it so works.

admittedly, like so many gluten-free baked goods, these waffles are a little more tender than crispy-crunchy. think pancake tender. but still delicious. and i'm thinking that maybe if you pop these guys in the toaster oven or regular oven they may just crisp up a bit, if that's your waffle texture preference. we, at my house, didn't seem to wait around to care... just had to struggle a little with portion control.

so, thanks to frito-lay for taking an interest in providing safe, delicious gluten-free snacks and encouraging us to think a little out of the box to incorporate them in some yum recipes. don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY... and you can even have some for free!

Frito Waffles with Mascarpone and Warm Strawberry Compote

175          grams (about 1 1/4 cups) millet flour
50           grams (about 3/4 cup) crushed FRITOS® Original Corn Chips
1              tablespoon golden flaxmeal
1              tablespoon baking powder
1              cup milk
3              large egg yolks
1              teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3           cup melted butter
1/4           cup honey
3              large egg whites

1              pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/4           cup sugar
2              teaspoons cornstarch
1              teaspoon vanilla

Mascarpone cheese

Combine flour, corn chips, flaxmeal, baking powder, milk, egg yolks, vanilla, butter and honey in a blender container. Blend until smooth. Beat egg whites in a medium bowl until they form soft peaks. Fold flour mixture into beaten egg whites until incorporated, being careful not to deflate egg whites.

Pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto greased, heated griddle and cook until waffle is done, according to manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until juicy and thickened.

Serve waffles with mascarpone cheese and warm strawberries.
Yield: about 9 waffles.

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i received free samples from frito-lay of the products mentioned in this post. by posting this recipe i am entering a recipe contest sponsored by frito-lay and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. i was not compensated for my time.

White Corn, Asparagus & Ham Quiche with Frito Pastry Crust

upon changing my life to a gluten-free version, i somewhat assumed i would never again make a pie crust. oh how wrong i was... gluten is no friend of the pie crust anyway. that's why you don't want to man-handle the wheat flour pastry, lest you produce a tough crust. so hey, no gluten - not as big of a deal.

the first thing i made with a homemade gluten-free pie crust was quiche. i know that may be somewhat surprising to any of you who may have been following this blog and have a full understanding of my obsession with sweets, but it's true. there's something i love about quiche... maybe it's that it fits so nicely into a brunch menu (& brunch makes me happy). maybe it's that you can check the box on the savory, high-protein portion of your plate, but it looks kind of like pie. maybe because many times it involves bacon, which can never be bad in my book. or perhaps all of the above.

so when challenged to use frito-lays gluten-free chips in a recipe (in case you missed the last post & ongoing GIVEAWAY!!), i couldn't get a quiche out of my mind. the corn-y-ness of fritos lends itself so perfectly to a crust (fritos are only corn, salt & oil anyway), along with a super-yum savory quiche filling. and so this recipe was born. ooo, it's good.

White Corn, Asparagus & Ham Quiche with Frito Pastry Crust

Crust:

165          grams (about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) kumquat's all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour

140          grams (about 3 cups) FRITOS® Original Corn Chips

1/2           cup chilled butter, cut into pieces

about 1/4 cup ice cold water

Cooking spray

Quiche:

1            leek, sliced

1 1/2      tablespoons butter

1            cup fresh or frozen white corn kernels

1            cup sliced on the diagonal asparagus

1            cup chopped ham

4            large eggs

1/2         cup half-n-half

1/2         cup milk

1/2         teaspoon salt

1/4         teaspoon pepper

1 1/2      cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

For Crust:

Combine flour and corn chips in the container of a food processor; pulse until mixture is finely ground.  Add butter and pulse until mixture looks like coarse meal. Slowly pour in water, while processor runs, to form a ball of dough. (you may need less than 1/4 cup. use enough that the dough forms a ball, but not so much that it's sticky.) Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight. 

Preheat oven to 400°. Roll dough out into a 12-inch circle between two pieces of parchment. Place dough into a pie plate coated with cooking spray. Press dough into pie plate and flute edges. (if dough breaks, just piece together and pinch any seams) Pierce bottom of crust a few times with a fork. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden.

For Quiche:

Meanwhile, cook leek in melted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until just beginning to brown. Add corn, asparagus and ham; cook for 4 minutes or until warmed through. 

Combine eggs, half-n-half, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl; mix well. Sprinkle cheese in the bottom of baked pie crust. Evenly spread ham and vegetable mixture evenly over cheese. Pour egg mixture evenly over top. 

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until just set. Let sit for 15-20 minutes after removing from oven before slicing. 

Yield: 6-8 servings.

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i received free samples from frito-lay of the products mentioned in this post. by posting this recipe i am entering a recipe contest sponsored by frito-lay and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. i was not compensated for my time.

Mac & Cheese Carbonara with Potato Chip Crust {& a GIVEAWAY}

it has been over 5 years now since gluten and i broke up. 

and wow, have gluten-free products changed even in that short amount of time. where i once felt limited to only shop in natural food and specialty shops, i now feel confident walking into a regular 'ol grocery store to pick up a lot of the things on my grocery list. and now, so many gluten-free items are clearly marked so there's no confusion or concern about whether something is or is not safe to consume. though i know there's still work to be done, we really have come a long way, baby.

it's always nice when a long-loved, familiar brand-named product is known to be gluten-free. no wondering what a new gluten-free product will taste like. just that comfort of an old sweater feeling,  knowing exactly what you're getting. something you've loved before the food on your plate changed. agree? well, good news. many frito-lay products are and have always been gluten-free! 

according to the company... "Frito-Lay is not removing gluten from products, rather, Frito-Lay has developed a gluten free validation process with input from the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) and the Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF) for testing ingredients and finished products to ensure they contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten before making a 'gluten free' claim." very cool.

so, whether you just dip up your favorite salsa with some tostitos or want an easy gluten-free potato crumb topping for a cheesy side dish like this one... dig in. (and added bonus... be looking for another recipe here on the blog later this week too!)

today i'm also offering another very cool giveaway! one lucky kumquat reader will win a "gluten-free prize pack" directly from frito-lay... it will include one (1) bag each of lays classic potato chips and tostitos scoops, a serving try for chips & dip from party city, and a copy of nicole hunn's fantastic cookbook, gluten-free on a shoestring.

in order to enter the giveaway, leave me a comment about your favorite way to incorporate frito-lay chips (classic potato chips, fritos or tostitos) into a recipe or just tell me which are your favorite.

for extra entries you can: (and be sure to leave a separate comment for each)

1. tweet: "#win @Fritolay #GFree prize pack from @kumquatblog http://bit.ly/Lyx9yg"

2. "like" kumquat on facebook
3. follow me on twitter

4. subscribe to this blog using the "subscribe by email" box on the right side of the page

this means you can have up to five entries! a couple of rules, though... you must be 18 and in the US. the giveaway will end on june 3, 2012 at 5:00 pm EST and a winner will be chosen using random.org. please leave a link to your blog, a twitter name or some other way to contact you in case you win!

Mac & Cheese Carbonara with Potato Chip Crust

16        ounces dried gluten-free macaroni pasta (i like tinkyada)

6          slices peppered or regular bacon

1          large shallot, minced

2          cloves garlic, minced

1          cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

1          cup fresh or frozen peas

1          cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1          cup shredded Swiss cheese

1          cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1          (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

1          large egg

2          tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2       teaspoon salt

1/4       teaspoon pepper

1 1/2    cups coarsely crushed LAY'S® Classic Potato Chips

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.

Cut bacon with kitchen shears into bite-size pieces into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bacon until beginning to brown, but not crisp. Add shallot and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and peas. Cook until mushrooms become tender. Remove from heat and set aside. 

Combine Cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Stir in warm pasta and bacon mixture. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine milk, egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture over pasta mixture and stir until well-combined.

Pour pasta mixture into a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine potato chips and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Sprinkle mixture over pasta.

Bake at 375° for 18 minutes or until mixture is bubbly. Be careful that Parmesan cheese in crust doesn't brown excessively. Tent with foil if cheese begins to get too brown. 

Yield: 8-10 servings.

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i received free samples from frito-lay of the products mentioned in this post. by posting this recipe i am entering a recipe contest sponsored by frito-lay and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. i was not compensated for my time.

Strawberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

recently my son and i experienced a first... strawberry picking.

we went with a little preschool friend, his mommy and little brother to the same nearby orchard where we picked peaches last year for this recipe. actually, i must admit, i got a little carried away and picked about 10 pounds of strawberries. they were so red and ripe and beautiful that i couldn't control myself. justifiably, there are surely worse things to have too many of...

seeing my son slurp down a strawberry milkshake at the orchard fruit stand made me wish i had my own dairy-free, tummy-friendly version of the perfectly pink creamy treat. clearly, i knew what i'd be doing with at least some of those pounds of fruit...

there's no better way to begin to welcome summer and bid a fond farewell to the school year like making ice cream. though it's hard to believe it's almost june, i think a bowlful of strawberry ice cream is a nice meeting of spring and summer. ease on in.

Strawberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

1 1/2     pounds hulled fresh strawberries

2           (13.5-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk

1/4        cup agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Chill mixture.

Place mixture in an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instruction. Store in freezer.

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