The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The story of celiac disease is both old and new..." (more)
Key Phrases: egg replacer, biscuit mix, creamed soup base, Featherlight Mix, Comfort Foods, Four Flour Mix (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This sixth title in Hagman's "Gluten-free" series follows up on volumes covering bread and dessert with recipes for everything from Fruited Dressing for Pork and Chicken and Four-Star Chili to Biscuits and Gravy, Microwave Chicken and Dumplings and Chocolate Pecan Cupcakes. After a short introduction, Hagman offers a condensed history of celiac disease, whereby glutens produce an autoimmune reaction that leads to dangerously low levels of calorie absorption. She notes that while one in 150 people may have celiac, only one out of 10 people with gluten intolerance has been properly diagnosed. The "Growing Up Celiac" discusses the specifics of diagnosis and psychological reactions to the disease, and a short section covers "Autism and the GF/CF gluten-free/casein-free Diet." After annotated lists of "Exotic Flours and How to Use Them" and "Supplies Used in Gluten-free Baking" (along with an appendix in the back of where to find them), Hagman dives into the recipes. None are more than a page long, and all are tersely but clearly explained, with the calorie, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, protein and fiber counts broken down for each. Since the dishes here are "comfort foods," they're not exactly elegant: biscuits, meat loafs, shepherd's pies and casseroles hearken back to home cookery of earlier decades. But they make use of a wide variety of grains, including amaranth, millet, teff and quinoa, which means a greater choice of flours (and, by extension, dishes) for celiacs craving grain-based carbs and gluten-free baked treats. (Indeed, Hagman offers over 40 recipes with an "exotic flour" as a basic ingredient.) For those feeling nostalgic-or simply ready to enjoy a nice gluten-free Lemon Pudding Cake-Hagman offers the goods.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Sufferers of celiac disease used to find it hard to pursue a gluten-free regimen. Thanks to a growing awareness of this disorder and of food allergies, nutritionists and chefs have come together to generate a balanced diet with plenty of flavors and extensive variety to assuage the celiac's appetite. Hagman's Gluten-Free Gourmet series of cookbooks has added another volume: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods. Her latest recipe collection begins with a review of the various grains that lack gluten and the flours that can be produced by milling them. Mixtures of rice, potato, tapioca, and cornstarch--plus flour from exotic beans--provide texture, flavor, and nutrition to foods without resorting to forbidden wheat. This allows celiacs to relish formerly taboo comfort foods such as "macaroni" and cheese, chicken-fried steak, lasagna, rye bread, biscuits, pie, and a host of other heretofore inaccessible foods. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (December 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805078088
• ISBN-13: 978-0805078084
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,449 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #16 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Diets & Weight Loss > Special Conditions > Gluten-Free
  #26 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Low Fat
  #28 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Natural Foods

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for gluten free cooks!, January 3, 2007

By	WallyFam (middletown, de United States) - See all my reviews

Bette takes the guess work out of gluten free recipes. She has done all the experimenting for us! If you are willing to buy several different kinds of flours and starches to make your own baking mixes, this book provides MANY great recipes for using those mixes. I have tried many of the muffin, quick bread, and waffle recipes, and have not been disappointed yet. The baked goods don't stay fresh for long (maybe a day or two at the most), so I put everything in the freezer. It works out very well! I also have Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, but I like Comfort Foods better. She uses more of the "newer" flours (like Teff), which I have found really lend a lot to wheat free baked goods.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gluten, Get out of Dodge!, May 20, 2007

By	BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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This review is from: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours (Hardcover)

Bette Hagman's books are lifesavers and Godsends and I have them all. She makes the art of cooking gluten free and keeping a gluten free kitchen easy, logical and workable. You don't have to separate the wheat from the chaff - just regard the wheat AS chaff and you are on your way to a gluten free lifestyle!

Cooks who follow Bette's methods do work - you will need several different types of flours to make breads and bread desserts, such as cakes. Be sure to freeze your foods because they won't last long. It is also a good idea to cook in portions so as to prevent food from going bad.

Thanks to Bette, I have learned about hemp bread for celiac disease and for anybody following a gluten/casein free regimen and Teff Flour. There are many good websites out there that can direct you to places where you can buy the foods and equipment you need to start enjoying your gluten/casein free life. Bette Hagman is truly a Food Warden. She has given people that much needed Get Out of Jail Free card to break out of the prison of old eating habits and a Passport to Better and Healthier Living. Cheers to Bette Hagman!

86 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Author, Great Recipes, March 1, 2004

By	M. Bolling "LV Chef Mel" (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods: Creating Old Favorites with the New Flours (Hardcover)

Bette Hagman has several great books on cooking without gluten. My son is gluten, dairy and soy free so good cookbooks are a must. Best of luck in culinary arts class. I am in culinary school and am hoping to have a restaurant for people who have food allergies. If you are looking for books Bette Hagman has the best I have seen.