Gluten Free Bun at Red Robin, YUMMMM!

DELICIOUS gluten free buns from Red Robin!

Last night we picked up Tim from the airport and took advantage of being near the only Red Robin on Long Island for dinner.  We have been to a few Red Robins in the last couple of years, including the one in Carle Place and always enjoyed our meals.  After arriving last night and facilitating multiple bathroom trips and trying to get all of Ellis's food out of the diaper bag, I glanced at the menu for a second and tried to make a decision.  Thank goodness Tim is a speed reader because he was the one who noticed they now carry Gluten Free Hamburger Buns, for $1.00 more.

I usually get my burgers wrapped in lettuce when I'm there, which is nice, but messy, the juice just leaks out all over the place and makes a disaster.  I didn't have much faith that the Gluten Free Bun would be much more than edible, but was I ever WRONG!!!  It was AMAZING!!!  Soft, warm, lightly toasted, and buttered, PERFECT!  I have eaten so many hamburgers without buns in my life that this was a truly delicious experience, the bun is there to sop up all the juices and make the whole thing more edible, who knew!

Tim also noted that his Royal Red Robin burger actually looked like the picture on the menu when it was delivered to him.  I had the "Big Tavern," I think, the waitress helped me order (she told me the Tavern double is two smaller patties and almost the same weight as the Big Tavern) amid the chaos of two hungry kids, and I couldn't have been happier .  Ceci had a cheese burger without a bun, she is so spoiled!  She lives in a world where there is access to gluten free buns and she doesn't even want them, foolishness!

We will be going back for sure!  And if I have my say it will be sooner than later.

Gluten Free Buttermilk and Cranberry Scones

Ellis and I are sitting here at the breakfast table and I'm realizing I haven't really posted anything since he was born.  I'm nearly positive that's because he hasn't slept through the night, more than 5 times since he was born, which combined with the lack of sleep at the end of pregnancy means I haven't slept right in almost a year.  I'm happy to report (and hope I am not jinxing myself) that he has finally started sleeping through the night a little more regularly and I now seem to have more energy, go figure.

Yesterday, armed with my new found energy I was inspired to use some of the buttermilk I have sitting in the fridge and bake.  I found a recipe for buttermilk scones and could not wait to try it, I'm always so tempted at Starbucks by the pretty scones in the case.  Fortunately I can always resist them, but it's getting harder and harder, until now!!  Ceci and I made these up yesterday afternoon while Ellis was sleeping and we could hardly keep our hands off them to save them for this morning's breakfast.  Ellis even ate bits of them for his breakfast, after I picked around the cranberries for him.

I love baking with buttermilk, it gives a really nice tang to the scones, as well as a velvety moisture, making them impossible to resist.  The recipe called for cinnamon to be sprinkled on top and gave a warmness to the scones.  I realized when we were making the scones that I take a lot of language for granted with Ceci, she is 4 and a half now and communicates with us incredibly well.  I told her to sprinkle cinnamon on, and turned to put some dirty dishes in the sink, I turned back to see her hand all the way into the (costco size) cinnamon jar, and piles of cinnamon on top of several scones.  Oops, guess I should have explained the difference between sprinkle and dump, one of the scones I had to dump the excess cinnamon off.  She is a crack up!  The scones were still delicious

Gluten Free Buttermilk and Cranberry Scones

1/4   Cup Soy Flour
3/4   Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2   Cup Oat Flour
1/2   Cup Brown Rice Flour
1      teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1/4   Cup Granulated Sugar
4      teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4   teaspoon Baking Soda
1      Egg
1      Cup Buttermilk
3 1/2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
1/2   Cup Dried Cranberries (or any dried berries, raisins, or chopped up dried fruits)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F)
Whisk dry ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl and set aside.
Mix Egg, Buttermilk, and melted butter, then add all at once to dry mix, with dried fruit.  Stir with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are moistened, batter will be very wet.
Using a large spoon, or a muffin scooper with a 2 1/2 inch bowl, drop batter in mounds on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkle tops with cinnamon.
Bake for 12-15 min, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of scone comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack, or serve warm.

Inside view of Buttermilk Cranberry Scones