Elizabeth Barbone has a new cookbook out, How to Cook Gluten-Free. To celebrate, she is having a cookalong around the blogosphere. Fun times!
I actually lucked out, as I thought it would just be me testing these recipes (the kids are at their dad’s for spring break). However, I ended up hosting the missionaries from my church that evening, with my friends Martin and Sean, too.
When we got back to my house after church on Sunday, Martin and I were pretty hungry. We decided we would not be able to wait to make the Powdered Sugar Doughnut Muffins from Elizabeth’s new book.
We were soooo glad we didn’t wait.
I had to test them about 5 times, just to make sure my estimation of their greatness was correct. Martin, always the gentleman, ate twice as many as I did so I didn’t feel like a pig. 🙂
I ended up with almost two whole mini muffin pans of these, so there were plenty to pack away and save for dinner.
When they were still “fresh” (before being put in a container), the outside was crunchy and the inside was soft and almost melty. After being in the container for about 2 hours, the texture sort of evened out, leaving it soft throughout. They were still delectable, just a little different.
Every single one was polished off after dinner. The missionaries fought over who got to eat the last one (but, because they are missionaries, it was the polite “no, you can have it” type of fight 🙂 ).
Dinner, before the doughnuts, was Upstate Goulash. It was really a very simple recipe of pasta, tomato sauce, ground meat, onion/garlic, and cheddar cheese, but without any added spices. It was a big hit, though, with a “Man! This is good!” coming after the first bite. The entire first pan was completely gobbled up, as well as some of the second.
Dinner and dessert upheld my standards for a great meal for guests. If they’re not gushing about how good the food is, then I feel like I haven’t hit my mark.
I do not actually have any of Elizabeth’s other books (shocking, I know), but I have often heard good things about them. For good reasons, it seems.