Super Bowl Pick'ins II

Photo/GFGardenState

Potato skins are a fan favorite for football viewing.

We've been making a homemade version for years that's lower in fat and calories than what's typically served at the local watering hole. They're not fried and can be made with lighter ingredients. They're also very easy to prepare, and you can make as many or as few as your party requires.

You'll need large baking potatoes, shredded cheddar cheese or cheese mixture, bacon, sour cream and optional chives, which should be diced.

Super Bowl Pick'ins I

Photo/GFGardenState

Everyone has their own Super Bowl traditions, even if its to simply do nothing. One thing we all do, however, is enjoy food seemingly tailor-made for football viewing.

On our Super Bowl table is homemade mozzarella sticks.

For starters, I measure almost nothing. Cooking isn't the exact science that baking requires. It's much more of an art form that allows the chef to create to his or her individual taste. However, there is a process.

To make these mozzarella sticks, you'll need a block of, well, mozzarella cheese, gluten-free bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, eggs, gluten-free flour, olive oil and marinara sauce (or gravy) for optional dipping. 

A Pizza Hut take-out

Photo/GFGardenState

Pizza Hut launched its gluten-free initiative earlier this week, and days later, I had my first opportunity try a pie.

My experience was pleasantly surprising, yet not over-the-moon satisfying. Quite frankly, I had low expectations going in. Having not eaten at Pizza Hut in many years, I was happy to discover a decent product that was better than a typical pizza chain of the corporate kind.

Bakery fills a North Jersey need

A 100% gluten-free bakery recently opened in North Jersey, and it appears to be a hit with customers.

Isaura Bakery in Hawthorne is generally believed to be the first of its kind in Passaic County. It also serves a celiac clientele in Bergen County, which currently lacks a fully gluten-free bakery of its own.

Although we have yet to visit Isaura Bakery, multiple online and word-of-mouth reviews are positive. We're hearing good things about many of the items prepared on site, including cakes, cookies, breads, pastries and tarts.

Pizza Hut delivers on gluten-free promise

Photo/Udi's Gluten Free

It's starts today.

Gluten-free pizza is now available at about 2,400 Pizza Hut locations across the country, including 28 in New Jersey. They're listed below.

The national chain is offering plain cheese and pepperoni varieties, cooked on pizza shells by Udi's Gluten Free. Prices start at $9.99.

Pizza Hut is certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group, and the company appears to be making efforts to avoid cross-contamination. For one, all ingredients to be used for gluten-free pizzas are being kept in designated kits, apart from other foods items.

GFGS Community Calendar: January 2015

As a service to our regular readers and the Celiac community at large, Gluten Free Garden State has started an ongoing list of upcoming events of interest. We will feature local happenings, as well as national events open to the public. The calendar will appear on the second Sunday of each month. Links will be posted to Facebook and Twitter using the hashtages #2ndSundaySked and #savetheceliacdate.

Enjoy!

In the Garden State

Sunday, Feb. 8: CSA (Celiac Sprue Association) Southern New Jersey Chapter #9 meeting, 2 p.m. at Hope Church, 700 Cooper Rd., Voorhees. New members welcome. Visit the group's website for more information.

It's Toffee-Tastic news!

Image/Little Brownie Bakers

The national Girls Scouts organizations recently announced its release of two gluten-free cookies for this year's sale. This blog reported in August about the Trios, which are available through the Girl Scouts' Central & Southern New Jersey Council.  

We have since learned that the second gluten-free cookie, the Toffee-Tastic, will be available in the rest of the state, through New Jersey's other three Girl Scout councils: Heart of New Jersey, Jersey Shore and Northern New Jersey. This is described by the manufacturer, Little Brownie Bakers, as a "crisp, buttery cookies packed with golden toffee bits."