Friday

Delicious Summer Desserts to Create

Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcakes with Buttermilk Biscuits and Grand Marnier Whipped Cream
Makes 1 dozen

Strawberries
2 pounds strawberries, hulled and quartered
½ cup sugar
In large bowl, combine strawberries and sugar, set aside. (Toss occasionally until syrup forms)

Biscuits
1 cup tapioca flour
½ cup sweet sorghum flour
½ cup white rice flour
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup potato starch
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ cup vegetable shortening
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1½ cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425°F and grease a baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the tapioca flour, sorghum flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.  Using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut the shortening and butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.  Add the buttermilk, stirring until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Scoop out ¼ cup of dough, shape into a 1-inch-thick round, and place on the greased pan.  Repeat with the rest of the dough, (leaving 2 inch space between biscuits. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let cool on wire racks before serving.

Whipped Cream
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon Gran Marnier
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream, sugar, orange zest and Gran Marnier until stiff peaks form. 

Plating
Cut biscuit in half and place bottom in shallow bowl.  Top each generously with strawberries and whipped cream.   Cover whipped cream with biscuit top and dust with powdered sugar.


Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Candied Walnuts
Makes 4-6 servings

1 ½ pound beets, trimmed and washed
½ cup walnut halves or pecans
¼ cup sugar
Pinch cayenne
1 medium onion, caramelized
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
¼ cup olive oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 oz Arugula, Chiffonade

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Individually wrap beets in tin foil and cook in oven 1 ½ hours.
While beets are cooking, place walnuts, sugar and cayenne pepper in medium sauté pan over medium heat. Continue stirring nuts until sugar dissolves into a liquid, and coats nuts. Pour walnuts out of skillet onto a piece of tin foil to cool.

In a second sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add onion, sprinkle with sugar, and stir occasionally 20-30 minutes until caramelized.

Remove beets from oven and allow to cool 30-40 minutes.
To peel beets, place them under cold running water and using your fingers, remove the skins. Dice beets and place in large mixing bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard and honey.  Gradually whisk in oil, salt and pepper until dressing is emulsified.  Pour dressing over beets and toss until thoroughly coated.  Sprinkle caramelized onions, candied walnuts, and goat cheese over beets, garnish with arugula and serve.

Monday

WikiCell - Will It Sell?

WikiCells is a form of edible packaging that will attempt to eliminate society's wasteful addiction to packaging—millions of tons worth end up in landfills each year, according to the EPA. According to the new venture's website, the idea for WikiCells is rooted in the way nature has always delivered nutrients: in a digestible skin "held together by healthy ions like calcium." Apples, potatoes, tomatoes: they all have an edible exterior that protects the treat within. Even something that isn't exactly delicious—like a citrus peel—finds its way into the kitchen in the form of zest.
"This soft skin may be comprised primarily of small particles of chocolate, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, or many other natural substances with delicious taste and often useful nutrients," writes the WikiCells team. "Inside the skin may be liquid fruit juice, or thick pudding." So far Edwards and his collaborators—chief among them the industrial designer François Azambourg—have experimented with a gazpacho-stuffed tomato membrane, a wine-filled grape-like shell, and an orange juice-laden orb with a shell that tastes like, you guessed it, an orange. Possibilities like an edible milk bottle or yogurt container are not out of the question.
This summer WikiCells plans to market ice cream in an edible shell to a French audience—a high-tech version of something the Japanese have long enjoyed: ice cream-stuffed mochi.

Tuesday

A Delicious Spring Recipe

Strawberry Spinach Salad

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion

10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Thursday

Cold Winter Days Call for "Warm Your Belly" Recipes

As the weather grows colder and we remain indoors more often, having guests over for a special meal is a fun pasttime. For some unique ideas on what to prepare, what better recipes can there be but presidential recipes - Martha Washington's devil's food cake, Thomas Jefferson's beef stew or JFK's Boston clam chowder, to name a few. Go to: OurWhiteHouse.org/tasteofpast.html and NowPublic.com/style/eat-president-50-white-house-recipes-you-can-enjoy
Have fun - you'll be in good company!

Tuesday

Freshman 15 - It Really IS a Myth at UConn

Well, UConn students have taken the "Freshman 15" survey on our Facebook page and the consensus is...drum roll please...it really IS a myth!
Out of 69 students that responded, 14 said that yes, they did gain the Freshman 15, and 55 said that no, they did not gain the Freshman 15. Interesting, for sure.
So, how did that myth start? According to a study from Ohio State University, "The 'freshman 15' is a media myth." The authors of that study have written an article slated to appear in the December issue of the journal
Social Science Quarterly, noting that the first mention of the phenomenon in the popular press appeared in 1989 in an article in Seventeen Magazine. Maybe they should have called it the 'Freshmen 17.'

Wednesday

Study: 'Freshman 15' Weight Gain Is A Myth








A study was just published today on FoxNews.com about "Freshman 15 Weight Gain Is A Myth." After all these years, we just assumed gaining all that weight was inevitable. So, out of curiosity, Dining Services is posing the question to students on our Facebook page: Did you gain 15+ pounds when you were a freshman or not? We'll compile the results and see how UConn stacks up to the study. Photo from the nutritionpost.com

Thursday

Fall Weather is Coming and the Soup's On

Cooler weather is on it's way, any day now, and with it, the desire to enjoy a bowl of hot, delicious soup. While searching online for some quick, easy and delicious soup recipes, I came across this adorable story put to music by one of my all time favorite singers, singing about one of my all time favorite soups....enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNBzJlpwChU&feature=player