Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Best Gluten Free Birthday Cake Ever -- Giant Oreo
For my birthday last year, my husband baked an amazing cake. He bought chocolate cake mix, ingredients for a cheesecake, and combined the two into this magical ginormous Oreo.
Yes, it tasted every bit as delicious as it looks. Simply buy any chocolate cake mix, and bake it according to instructions. Cut it in half lengthwise when it's cooled down. Using the same size pan, make a cheesecake with no crust (you may need to really grease the bottom so that it doesn't stick). Stick it in the middle, and you get this sheer awesomeness.
Don't have time to bake a cheesecake? Even Cool Whip would go well here, or ready-made cheesecake mix. You could get creative and add a layer of chocolate chips, or crumbled gluten-free Oreos. Or add a caramel drizzle on top! Yum. My husband is the best.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Eating Gluten Free at Alta Strada - MGM - Foxwoods
Foxwoods is in the type of area where there really is nothing for miles and miles. Though I live near the Wellesley Alta Strada, my friend and I decided to go to the one at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods while visiting my parents for the weekend, who live nearby. I tried googling "Foxwoods gluten-free" to see if anything came up, and the only option was the Veranda Cafe, which is not the type of place we were looking for.
Our server at Alta Strada was incredibly friendly and kind. She went through the whole menu with me, and let me know what I could have and what I couldn't have. I was disappointed that they don't carry gluten-free pasta -- it seems like something easy enough to hold onto, and they have delicious sauces there that I would've loved to try. I opted to start with the Caesar salad (hold the croutons) and got my old standby, the bunless burger with a side of veg instead of fries.
The Caesar salad was wonderful and salty. I was a little bummed watching my friend eat the freshly baked crusty Italian bread, and a gluten-free roll would've been great. I don't understand why restaurants don't carry them -- they're frozen and don't spoil, so they can be kept for people like me. But I enjoyed my salad.
My burger was also excellent. It came with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese, and the veg was broccoli rabe with sauteed garlic and red pepper flakes. It was perfectly cooked, high quality meat, and extremely tasty.
The highlight of the meal, for me, was the dessert. Alta Strada is the sister restaurant to a favorite Boston spot of mine, Via Matta. At Via, they make these Marscarporeos, which are homemade Oreo cookies with a marscrapone filling. One time years ago, they offered a special of stone fruit with the marscarpone filling. I asked the server if the pastry chef could do something similar, and she said it was no problem. I got a dish of brunch fruit (green apples, bananas, strawberries), with a dish of the marscarpone cream -- absolutely delicious. It's always a nice surprise to get something for dessert that isn't sorbet or ice cream.
Overall, Alta Strada didn't really cater directly to celiacs. They don't offer gluten free pizza or pasta, but almost all of their entrees are already gluten free, with the exception of their chicken parmigiana and their chicken milanese. But there were enough options that I was happy with my meal, and the dessert made it completely worthwhile.
It's also worth noting that the Alta Strada at Foxwoods has a different menu than the Alta Strada in Wellesley. The one in Wellesley offers tapas-style small plates, which I love, and I've never seen a burger on their menu.
Our server at Alta Strada was incredibly friendly and kind. She went through the whole menu with me, and let me know what I could have and what I couldn't have. I was disappointed that they don't carry gluten-free pasta -- it seems like something easy enough to hold onto, and they have delicious sauces there that I would've loved to try. I opted to start with the Caesar salad (hold the croutons) and got my old standby, the bunless burger with a side of veg instead of fries.
The Caesar salad was wonderful and salty. I was a little bummed watching my friend eat the freshly baked crusty Italian bread, and a gluten-free roll would've been great. I don't understand why restaurants don't carry them -- they're frozen and don't spoil, so they can be kept for people like me. But I enjoyed my salad.
My burger was also excellent. It came with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese, and the veg was broccoli rabe with sauteed garlic and red pepper flakes. It was perfectly cooked, high quality meat, and extremely tasty.
The highlight of the meal, for me, was the dessert. Alta Strada is the sister restaurant to a favorite Boston spot of mine, Via Matta. At Via, they make these Marscarporeos, which are homemade Oreo cookies with a marscrapone filling. One time years ago, they offered a special of stone fruit with the marscarpone filling. I asked the server if the pastry chef could do something similar, and she said it was no problem. I got a dish of brunch fruit (green apples, bananas, strawberries), with a dish of the marscarpone cream -- absolutely delicious. It's always a nice surprise to get something for dessert that isn't sorbet or ice cream.
Overall, Alta Strada didn't really cater directly to celiacs. They don't offer gluten free pizza or pasta, but almost all of their entrees are already gluten free, with the exception of their chicken parmigiana and their chicken milanese. But there were enough options that I was happy with my meal, and the dessert made it completely worthwhile.
It's also worth noting that the Alta Strada at Foxwoods has a different menu than the Alta Strada in Wellesley. The one in Wellesley offers tapas-style small plates, which I love, and I've never seen a burger on their menu.
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