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

I have had a chance to try a few things from this book for my son with wheat and egg allergy. Life certainly got easier since he outgrew the soy and milk allergies last year....before that, it was VERY hard to bake anything tasty. On with the review!I made the Amaranth or Quinoa Waffles on page 130 with both flours. (I made Amaranth waffles and then Quinoa waffles. I did not mean that I combined the flours. The recipe can be made either way). I doubled the recipe for each and my son (age 6) devoured them. The leftovers I froze and pop what I need into the toaster oven as needed.Tonight we made the Featherlight Biscuits on page 226. The were simply AWESOME hot from the oven, slathered with butter and honey! I'm not a biscuit fan at all, but the entire family loved them. I had to cut the children off so that there would be some left for the sibling who cannot have wheat. We gently rolled the dough, which was super easy to make, and fast, then cut biscuits with a heart shaped cookie cutter. One reason it seemed so fast to make the dough is that there are no eggs in the recipe (which can become tedious when using egg replacer). We were delighted with the results. There's nothing worse than using one's expensive alternate flours in a recipe that fails.Some time ago I made the Crunchy Broccoli Salad on page 121. I substituted turkey bacon and egg-free mayonnaise. My husband, who hates mayonnaise, liked it so much, that I made it again for company who then asked for the recipe.The author includes a large variety of meals, but interestingly enough, many are regular recipes without unusual ingredients (flours). My desire, in purchasing GF cookbooks, is to acquire good recipes that make use of alternative flours for baking. I have also made a GF Macaroni and cheese with corn pasta which was enjoyed by all, as well. I'm so sorry, it may have come from this cookbook, or another GF book I purchased at the same time. I just can't recall.I'm glad I bought this book and would recommend it to others who cannot have wheat. Maybe I'll even try some "regular" recipes as well.10/29/10I made the Banana Bread Deluxe on page 219. Instead of 1 c. of Teff flour, I substituted 1/2 c. coconut flour, 1/4 c. quinoa flour, and 1/4 c. amaranth flour. The bread was delicious and seemed completely "normal". The batter was fluffy and light as I spooned it into the baking pans instead of a solid, dense, rubbery mass as many wheat-free recipes seem to be. As I test more recipes, I'll review them. Someone who eats wheat would never notice that it was made with unusual flours.

I was hoping to get a book full of recipes that normally contain gluten. This book has a bunch of recipes that don't normally contain gluten but being in the book it is gluten free, for example "deviled ham and cheese spread", "Amandas artichoke dip", "Layered salsa dip", "deviled eggs", "nondairy stuffed celery" and the list goes on.BUT there some really good parts of the book like flour blends for different uses and descriptions of uncommon flours. I have not wandered into the alternative flours much so I can't review those recipes, but all in all it seems like an informative book.

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!

This cookbook is excellent, well put together and full of simple recipes for busy people and contains ingredients that are easy to find. Most newer cookbooks are full of ingredients that can only be found in big city's specialty stores but this is not one of those. Going gluten free is not easy on those of us that have to, but Bette Hagman has made it so much easier with this well planned and thought out book. I am looking forward to trying her pizza crust but am awaiting my order from Amazon so that I will have everything I need. This is the one that I wish I had found first! The "Wheat Belly" book is also excellent, with totally different flours, but already, I am getting tired of the same tastes in all of the baked goods. This book is much closer to the "normal" tastes that I've been used to for 60 years. My plan is to bounce back & forth between the two cookbooks and get the best of both worlds. In the meantime, I am down 15 lbs, no more eczema, no more heart burn, an energy level that I haven't had in 20 years and the brain fog has lifted.

New to the gluten free world, my wife has tried LOTS of new recipes on us. Seeing this one entitled "comfort foods" enticed me to buy this one for her. High level of excitement for her to get into this one and so far so good! All recipes so far have been clear and really just vary on those dreaded 'gluten free' elements that can taste horrid with one manufacturer and pretty good with others (rarely do we find an "AMAZING" in GF items.....not yet anyways). This book offers a lot of potential goodness and options is something you want when you have a limited base to choose from in a gluten free world.

This was a birthday present, and very well received . . . . . . . . . . .

Very nice cookbook, has what I need in it, but disappointed there weren't any pictures. However, to my shock, when I opened the first page there was a price sticker on it showing Bryan's bookstore, price $5.00. So what the heck is that all about?? If this book was just picked up at a store, and then sent to me, I want a $22.00 credit put on my account!

Being diagnosed as a Celiac (or having to cook for one!) inevitably means you'll be thrown head-first into the deep and mysterious world of gluten-free flours. Quite possibly, you'll find yourself examining packages of things labelled as "Flour" that you've never heard of...I know I was. What to do with them is another matter...! When you're really craving a homemade chicken pot pie - turn to Bette Hagman, and she'll soothe your frazzled tastebuds and reassure you that you can make pastry that's worth eating and doesn't taste like drywall!! Bette's "Gluten-Free Comfort Food" book addresses many of the old favourite that you thought you'd never eat again. Just be prepared to buy lots of different bins for the many flours you'll accumulate!

Nice range of recipes. Easy to follow instructions. If you have to eat gluten free, it's good to know you can still make the old favourites, and enjoy them!

Just an awesome book, I use it very regularly. I use most of the pre-mix recipes. I did change to more garbanzo bean flour. I recommend highly.