¼ cup unsalted butter (softened)

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 ¼ cups flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

zest of one orange

2 tbs. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup chopped hazelnuts

½ cup chopped pecans

1. Cream butter, sugar and orange zest.
2. Add eggs one at a time and combine with butter and sugar mixture.
3. Add vanilla and orange juice.
4. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
5. Add by thirds to creamed mixture until a soft dough forms.
6. Fold in chopped nuts.
7. Roll dough, over flour-dusted surface into logs about 1 ½ inches in diameter.
8. Place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 2 hours.
9. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Bake logs on a cookie sheet about 1 ½ to 2 inches apart for 35 – 40 minutes.
11. Remove rolls when dough is a light golden brown.
12. Allow to cool for 5 – 8 minutes before cutting each roll into pieces about 1 inch thick using a sharp knife.
13. Lay cut pieces flat on cookie sheet and bake for an additional 8 – 10 minutes, until cookies are light golden brown on the top.
14. Remove and cool completely on a rack before storing in an airtight container.

Today is weigh-in day and I weighed:  Drum roll, please:  188.4 pounds!   YAY!  That means that I have lost 6.6 pounds so far and that I am 63.4 pounds away from my goal weight!  Do you have any idea how LONG it has been since I saw anything below 190?  I can’t even remember how long that has been, but I am so excited about it!  

So… Bologna and Biscotti.  I don’t know why, but when I made my daughter a bologna sandwich it looked so good that I made myself a little one.  And while I’m discussing delicious things, I’m hooked on Biscotti lately.  Nonni’s Biscotti only has 90 calories, and with plain coffee and skim milk, I love it so much.  I’m not sure how many calories other brands have because this is usually the only kind my local grocery stores keep in stock.  It is something sweet, and I think I have lost all taste for the Little Debbie cakes I was practically raised on.  As I grew up and read labels more, I could not believe how many times I ate those as a “snack.”  Those are almost a fourth of what I should be eating per day, since many of them come in at around 300 calories.  The oatmeal pies are probably my favorite now.  Fudge Rounds used to be, but somehow, they have since gotten very small with little filling and more calories… 

I will post later so you can see how I’m doing as far as any exercise or calorie counting!  Have a great day! 

In fashion speak today, I am SO excited about the new hosiery cropping up with lace on it.  I saw the picture above on Women’s Wear Daily.com today.

Thank you to everyone who has followed my project.

After taking the last image at midnight I felt melancholy.  I left the fireworks and went back to the party and ate cream puffs.  It was very strange not photographing dessert.  Guilt and relief over not documenting my diet continued through New Year’s Day.

I am still reflecting on what the process meant to me.  And without further ado, the photos…

Rutland and I eat.

Tea at dad’s place.

Nothing beats Brooklyn pizza with Sam.

Dark and Stormy & red wine at a great party.

Quite a spread… lots of ham.

John at the bar.

Ending it exactly how I started it… Champagne at midnight in Prospect Park

watching fireworks.  An excellent way to begin and end!

Whenever a holiday rolls around I get excited to make a list of cookies that I want to make. The story was no different around Christmas, only instead of baking only for my family, I wanted to share cookies with our neighbors too. I probably spent a whole week browsing cookie recipes, looking for impressive, yet time do-able recipes (I had planned to make seven different things). One cookie that I have wanted to try was the biscotti and I thought that it would be the perfect holiday cookie.


Before I baked the dough, I shaped the dough into logs which gives the cookie its characteristic shape. After the logs baked and cooled, I controlled the length of the cookie by how deep I cut the logs on the diagonal. I cut the logs in a way to make smaller biscotti because they were cute and fit perfectly on a plate of shared cookies to the neighbors. You should have seen me cut the biscotti logs! To be honest, I don’t have a good bread knife, so I had to use two different knives to do the job! If I hadn’t done this, I found that the logs would crumble.

The recipe I used is from epicurious.com but I changed the recipe slightly by using anise extract instead of whole anise. I also used walnuts instead of pistachios. Here is the original: Holiday Biscotti

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon whole aniseed
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
3/4 cup shelled natural walnuts (chopped)

6 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend well. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla and anise extract. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. The dough will be sticky and soft. Turn dough out on lightly floured surface. Gather dough together; divide in half. Roll each half into 15-inch-long log (about 1 1/4 inches wide). Carefully transfer logs to 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart.

Bake logs until almost firm to touch but still pale, about 28 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Carefully transfer logs still on parchment to cutting board. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, cut logs crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, 1 cut side down, on remaining 2 prepared sheets. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 9 minutes per side. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave and dip the ends of the biscotti into the chocolate. Lay dipped biscotti on the baking sheet and let cool until the chocolate has set.

11:30 PM Boston time

Hi everyone! This is a late post for me, so I will try to breeze through but I do have lots that I wanted to write about tonight.

Before I start, I wanted to tell you guys about a new discovery for me today at Starbucks, thanks to my friend Olivia. She told me about a drink that I had never heard of before: espresso truffle! This drink is DELICIOUS but quite rich — it’s a little bit of a sweeter version of good quality dark chocolate — in drink form. We shared a short size because we just wanted to have a taste of it.

It was a real treat today even though I didn’t have much of it. I am definitely ordering this drink again (and again…)! This next picture is courtesy of Olivia!

After I saw my last patient at around 3pm, I started to get a little hungry! So, I decided to listen to my body and fuel up, especially since I had a run planned. I ate a small pear (not pictured) as well as one of my last biscottis from a patient’s holiday gift. They turned out to be an awesome pair, no pun intended.

Fundraising Update
After work, I hustled over to the Healthworks corporate office on Newbury to meet Zara and pick-up the Healthworks Gift Card that she has given me for my fundraiser. Turns out she also gave me a 1-day Pass good at ANY Healthworks location. I will raffle this one too!

I also got the confirmation today from Jose McIntyre’s in the Faneuil Hall/Aquarium area to hold my fundraiser there on SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 6-10PM. If you are in or around Boston, I hope that you’ll come and join me and invite and bring as many friends as you can! More details to come later, but the basic details are:

WHAT:
Patricia’s Marathon Fundraiser for the Tufts President’s Marathon Challenge

WHERE:
Jose McIntyre’s (160 Milk Street, Boston)

WHEN:
Saturday, 1/23/2010
6-10pm

REQUESTED DONATION:
$20-30 sliding scale donation at the door
(includes food + raffle tickets)

Each person who attends will get *free* appetizers courtesy of Jose McIntyre’s + 2 raffle tickets for a chance to win prizes like the Healthworks 1-Month Free Membership, Rock Bottom Gift Card, Dinner for 2 at Jacob Wirth’s, Chipotle “Burritos for 10 Party,” and MUCH MORE! There will be a cash bar there as well (but drinks are NOT included with the donation fee, sorry!).

More details to come, but please help me start spreading the word if you can…I would be eternally grateful! And if you or your friends cannot make it to the event, here’s my fundraising website as well:
http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/patriciadizon

100% OF THE DONATIONS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO TUFTS SCHOOL OF NUTRITION SCIENCE & POLICY TO HELP FUND THEIR RESEARCH IN ADOLESCENT OBESITY + FUND GRAD STUDENTS’ TRIPS TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (ESPECIALLY 3RD-WORLD COUNTRIES) TO HELP SPREAD THE IMPORTANT LESSONS OF PROPER NUTRITION.

Workout
Onto my workout! I decided to run from Healthworks instead of from home because I felt like running around the Boston Common and to avoid rush hour traffic on the T. I also wanted to see some ice sculptures that I had heard about earlier this week.

While I was walking to the gym from the corporate office, I passed by one on Copley Square!

Isn’t it awesome?!

And here’s a quick snapshot of the sign they are projecting on the Boston Public Library for Boston’s First Night celebration! Love this city and all its exciting events!

Anyway, I finally reached my gym after being distracted and suited up for a cold run outside! At least the winds have calmed down by A LOT!

I had a 3-mile run scheduled for today, but I felt good so I listened to my body — this time, to go a little longer. In total, I did a 4.1 mile tonight. Unfortunately, my Garmin could not locate the satellites right away. I decided not to wait too long since I was already standing in the cold waiting for it to find reception for about 10 minutes! Sometimes, it gets really slow around the city. I should really get it checked?

Anyway, it finally started to work just as I was about to run around the Boston Common. It didn’t record the first 0.67 mile of the run (which I ran in 4:57 mins), but here’s the Garmin page for the rest of that run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/21330400.

Sorry about that mouthful of an explanation!

Overall, it was a great run considering it was 18°F outside! I did sport my new running gloves and hat so they kept my hands and head nice and warm. I also saw more ice sculptures being transported from the Boston Common. I saw the one of Michelangelo carving The David! Really cool!

Dinner
After my workout, I rushed home to make dinner but I picked up some fresh veggies at Whole Foods along the way. I was dying to get some fresh veggies in my dinner tonight after the frozen ones from earlier in the week.

I ended up making a quick meal from Giada De Laurentiis’ book called Everyday Pasta – Chicken + Penne in a Lemon Cream Sauce. I used ziti instead of penne though.

Here are the cubed pieces of chicken breast cooking with some olive oil & herbes de provence. It was already smelling good at this point!

Then my batteries died and didn’t get to take pictures of the rest of the cooking process! Sorry! Here’s the finished product though:

I love creamy sauces but sometimes they are too heavy. I like this particular one because it doesn’t take over the entire dish. It’s a nice light sauce but has tons of taste!

I also cooked up some spinach…just sauteed the bunch in some olive oil and minced garlic. Look how much it wilted! Amazes me every time!

And here’s my plate!

I also grilled some asparagus…I really wanted veggies!

I love this meal every time I make it. I may have taken seconds (and thirds?) of that pasta! I need to practice my portion control…but I once again listened to my body and ate up because I was starving today!

Well guys, it’s a bit late for me so I’m off to bed! I am planning on an early Body Pump workout tomorrow! Can’t believe it’s the last day of 2009 tomorrow — gotta end it with an awesome workout right?!

Happy running and good eating!
Patricia

I baked some traditional Italian cookies for the holidays. Most of the cookies taste yummy with a cup of cafe latte or an espresso. Enjoy!

Almond Biscotti

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cups of chopped almonds
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp grated orange rind
1 egg (remove white part) with a little milk to brush on top of the dough for shine

+ Mix flour, baking powder and almonds
+ In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, almond extract, and orange rind
+ Stir liquid ingredients into flour and form into a dough
+ Roll into 2 logs (like in the photo)
+ brush the logs with the beaten egg
+ place into oven at 350 for 20 min
+ remove from oven and chop in one movement (do not saw into the dough or else it will break) into cookies. Please cut diagonally.
+ place into oven again for another 20 min at 350 (this is so the biscotti becomes harder, I usually don’t do this because I like them soft so I keep them in untill they are cooked)
+ leave them out to dry.

Sometimes the day after Christmas can be just as exciting as the real thing itself. I started like any teenage boy the day after a present haul: playing my new wii game for an hour. Thank God for no responsibilities By 8 at least I wasn’t the only one up so I started getting things done. Eventually, I worked up a breakfast that would get things out of the house.

Chocolate Mint Brownie Yogurt

Pumpkin Oatmeal In A Mighty Maple Jar With Monkey Boy Peanut Butter

I think that’s going to be a theme this week: eating to make room. We have so many leftovers! I secretly love it The brownies and yogurt was so so good; I love chocolate mint and that creamy texture so much. And since the yogurt was sweetened with stevia and the brownie erithrytol it was all naturally low sugar, too(ergo I could make out this was a “healthy” breakfast. The oats in a jar were long awaited and a perfect touch. I had hoped on getting out, cashing some checks, and doing shopping before lunch but I’m definitely the faster movie in this house and that did not end up happening. Instead, I made a breakfast of comfort foods.

Asparagus, Thinly Sliced Spoon Roast, Whole Wheat Mac N' Cheese

I may have steamed the asparagus too long, but they were still nice. The spoon roast really had to be eaten a few days ago and for some reason I had steak and mac n’ cheese in my mind. The best thing about a kitchen scale is definitely being able to portion out individual servings of the instant stuff from a family size box before cooking it(because, if I made the thing, I could definitely put it all away, too ).

Eventually, we did get rolling. First up was Target to use up some gift certificates. Did anybody else get a singing one from Target? They’re cute, but they’re about 1/2 an inch thick. And I got 3 of them. Can you imagine the wallet disaster that is? I was able to use up 2 and transfer what remained on the last one to a normal gift card. After that we went to the mall to return some stuff where I only was able to score more gift certificates And then to Macy’s to exchange my mini food processor for this.

Black & Decker Food Processor

I think I hit upon a mac daddy of food processors! It ended up costing me $43 more but I think it will be entirely worth it. Banana soft serve, chocolate avocado pudding, raw cashew cookies, my own nut butters! Really–this is opening doors. After that I grabbed a quick drink.

Yumberry Pomegranate Lifewater

And then we were off to Whole Foods. I asked for chocolate for Christmas but not a single square wound up in my stocking I planned on getting a milk chocolate bacon bar which I’ve been wanting to splurge on since the Summer but they were all out I’m sure I’ll find it next time because the man said he’d order some for me(though I’ll probably just go to a different Whole Foods that I know always carries them).

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar

I grabbed my favorite “candy bar”. Seriously–these are too good to be healthy. When I got home it was time to put away my new “toys”(though I bet I’ll be breaking the food processor out pretty soon to play with).

Marvel T-Shirt, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Chocolate Bar, Season 1 I Love Lucy

From Target I got some things on my Christmas list: a new shirt to wear/run in, chocolate, and I Love Lucy on DVD. I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been so aware that this show is never on TV anymore! Shame because it’s the best, don’t you agree?

My mom decided she needed to get out of the house for dinner. I decided I needed to stay in and eat “my food” for the first time in days. It all worked out and I got the run of the house for myself to play with. Naturally, I decided to turn to the oven and eat a meal probably no one would care about that they missed but me.

Maple Baked Tofu

Sweet Potato Maple Roasted Veggies Pie

There was definitely more maple syrup present here than at most breakfast tables because it was in the pie, on top, and all over the tofu. Scrumptious I loved the real baked tofu; it’s 10 times more flavorful than the microwave. Unfortunately the back of the fridge froze the other half of my container and that got thrown away. And for “dessert” I had quick leftovers.

Cantaloupe With Sea Salt

Which were perfect with a little dessert fork. Tiny utensils are just the best. Christmas definitely threw me off because I had no idea it was Saturday night. But nothing ended up being on TV anyway Instead of pop in a movie I waited for parents to get home and watched Days, followed by more dessert.

Chocolate Soy Yogurt With A Peanut Butter And Chocolate Biscotti

I don’t even know how much cocoa powder and hand mixing it took to get soy yogurt that color and smooth but it was A LOT. I’ll definitely stick with plain chocolate yogurt from now on because of that and reserve soy yogurt for simpler things. These cookies still taste as good as ever. After this I was stuffed but had a HUGE craving for pecans, which I never get.

Oatmeal With Pecan Butter

This definitely put me over the top of fullness. But ’tis the season, right I can’t wait to make my own pecan butter with my food processor! I was actually planning on doing that at night, except I didn’t have any pecans… Definitely an ingredient fail.

This morning I had no motivation for anything. I stayed in bed for 40 minutes after looking outside to see the rain washed away most of the snow. Yuck. But when I felt guilty about not wanting to be active, I just kept in mind that they’ll be plenty of time for that in the future, and a day or a week or a month of pure laziness and joy should be well warranted.

Chocolate Mint Brownie Yogurt, French Toast Oatmeal

Also well warranted would be repeating the same yogurt from yesterday because it’s “healthy” and delicious and uses up leftovers. Can’t beat that logic, can you I think I need to get to making eggs the proper way again while I’m home but for the morning I like my oatmeal so this was a compromise. And now, of course, I’m looking for recipes to make with my new food processor and muffin top tins. If you have any at all, send them my way.

Would you believe the same blogger has a Newman’s giveaway, Vans Natural giveaway, Zevia giveaway, and Annie’s giveaway?

Caprivi ของขจีสิ่งแวดล้อมสีเขียวอาหารตามจำนวน converging ระบบแม่น้ำให้ขึ้นไปมากมายสัตว์นกและปลาหลายชนิดที่ไม่พบในพื้นที่เครื่องตากของนามิเบีย.

ภูมินี่จะขึ้นเตือนความทรงจำของบอตสวานาของ Okavango Delta กว่า Namib ทะเลทราย!

ทำไมไม่ใช้ตัวนามิเบียไดรฟ์เดินทางไกลไปนี้บริเวณที่งดงามและอาจสำรวจ Hakusembe Lodge ใกล้ Rundu, Ndhovu Lodge ใกล้ Mahangu Game Reserve, Namushasha Lodge ใกล้ MudumuNational Park & Mamili อุทยานแห่งชาติ Lianshulu Lodge, Impalila Island Lodge, Ichingo Lodge หรืออาจแม้แต่ Ichobezi เรือนแพ moored ใน Chobe River!

ฉันเพิ่งไป familiarization เดินทางไปยังส่วนตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือของนามิเบียยังเรียกว่า Strip Caprivi. Caprivi Strip เป็นส่วนสำคัญของนามิเบียยังมิได้สำรวจและเป็นธรรมไม่คุ้นเคยกับนักท่องเที่ยว.

ท่องเที่ยวเฉลี่ยของคุณไปนามิเบียจะสมาธิในไฮไลท์ที่รู้จักกันดีมากเช่น Etosha National Park,เนินทรายสีแดงที่ Sossusvlei และ Sesriem และ Namib Naukluft Park กับโรงงาน Welwitschia โบราณ.

เราเริ่มต้นการเดินทางของเราในวินด์ฮุกและฝูงไป Hakusembe River Lodge ใกล้ Rundu. ลอดจ์ตั้งอยู่บนธนาคารของแม่น้ำอันยิ่งใหญ่ Okavango ซึ่งมีพื้นที่รับน้ำใน highlands ของ แองโกลา และไหลลงสู่ที่รู้จักกันดี Okavango Delta ในบอตสวานา.

เราใช้เวลาเพียงหนึ่งคืนที่นี่แต่กับกิจกรรมบนหนึ่งให้สามารถใช้ 2 หรือ 3 คืนที่นี่.เฝ้าดูนกกระตือรือร้นจะสนุกกับล่องเรือ. ทำให้ทางเราลึกลง Caprivi Strip เราใช้จ่ายคืนไปที่ Namushasha Lodge.

Lodge นี้ตั้งอยู่บนธนาคารของ Kwando แม่น้ำที่มีต้นกำเนิดใน highlands ของ แองโกลา. ยื่นตั้งอยู่อย่างดีเลิศให้แก่แขกที่จะเดินทางวันใดด้วยหรือยื่นเองใน Mudumu และ Mamili อุทยานแห่งชาติ.

พืชที่มีลักษณะที่ของ Okavango Delta และ Chobe National Park. ในวันที่สามเราเดินทางไปปลายตะวันออกที่สุดของนามิเบียเรียกว่า Impalila Island.

ปลายแน่นอนดังนั้นระยะไกลและแยกจากส่วนที่เหลือของนามิเบียที่จะสามารถเข้าถึงได้เฉพาะทางบอตสวานา. เกาะนี้ยังเป็นสถานที่เฉพาะในภาคใต้แอฟริกาเป็นสี่ประเทศพบ; ได้แก่นามิเบีย, บอตสวานา, แซมเบียและซิมบับเว.

เราอยู่ที่ Ichingo Chobe River Lodge บนเกาะเกี่ยวกับ 8km ล่องของที่ Chobe แม่น้ำตรงยิ่งใหญ่แม่น้ำซัมเบซิแม่น้ำ. กิจกรรมในข้อเสนอที่ยื่นรวมถึงเรือเรือใน Chobe National Park, โรงประมงและเดินแนวทางในเกาะ.

บริเวณนี้เป็นแน่นอนต้องสำหรับนักดูนกและชอบเล่นช้าง. Chobe National Park ที่นี่มีประชากรช้างที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในย่อย Saharan แอฟริกา.

มีการไปที่สุดปลายตะวันออกของนามิเบียเราหันหลังกลับไปทางทิศตะวันตกและเมินเฉยต่อ Rundu. เราค้างคืนที่ Ndovu Lodge เก็บไว้เป็นอย่างดี Tented Lodge กับความรู้สึกธรรมดาไป.

ทั้งหมดยื่นแจ้งเตือนฉันของแบบเก่ายื่นอาคารตามเดิมสร้างประมาณ 10 ปีที่ผ่านมา. ยื่น stays จริงไปประสบการณ์แอฟริกาแท้ด้วยความสนิทสนมเพื่อธรรมชาติ.

ที่อยู่ในธนาคารของแม่น้ำ Okavango คุณมีโอกาสเข้าชม (ฮิปโปหรือช้าง) เพื่อ Lodge. Mahango Game Park เป็นเพียง 4 กม. ห่างจากที่พำนักทำให้นี้เหมาะสำหรับการหยุดพักระหว่างทางแขกเยี่ยมชมสัตว์ป่านี้วิหารอุดม.

ที่พักคืนสุดท้ายของเราก่อนกลับไปวินด์ฮุกถูกใช้จ่ายที่สำคัญไม่ทราบ Lodge Ohange นามิเบีย.

ที่นี่เป็นอัญมณีจริงของ deserves ยื่นและบทความทั้งหมดบนของตนเอง. อ่านข้อมูลเพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับการพำนักในข้อความถัดไปของฉัน

เมื่อวางแผนการเดินทางไปของคุณนามิเบียรวมพื้นที่ Caprivi และพยานที่ซ่อนขุมคลังนี้ส่วนใหญ่ยังไม่ได้เปิดมุมของทวีปแอฟริกาถือ.

December 27:

This is a purist’s biscotti. I know they come in all flavors nowadays, but this is still my favorite and my standby. When I just NEED biscotti, these are the biscotti that I NEED.

I got this recipe about 15 years ago from Carey Smith when I was still living in CA and hubby was still working for Summit Adventure. Now Carey’s husband is the Exec. Director of Summit! I don’t know if she still makes these cookies, but this is a keeper recipe. For years my boys called these Scotty cookies. For obvious reasons.

Biscotti di Prato

3/4 c. whole almonds, toasted and halved
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. almond extract
2 c. flour
7/8 c. sugar
1 t. soda
dash of salt

Dough will be very stiff. Form dough into logs on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.

Take out of oven and slice the baked logs diagonally. Turn each slice on its side. Bake at 275 degrees for 12-13 minutes per side.

Let cool.

Dip in melted chocolate and let chill if desired.

The only bad thing about this recipe is that you can probably eat the entire batch of biscotti in one sitting if you have a pot of good coffee to dip them in!

Once you make homemade biscotti you will forever wonder why Starbucks can get away with charging so much for something so simple to make.

BK

I just made these super yummy muffins today.  Not only are they filling but also very delicious.

Christmas should be a good time to be grateful and since no one gifted me on Christmas, I have in my Gratitude Log for the day:

1. Empire Total War–I started playing this game as the United Provinces, the Dutch, which many of the gamers on YouTube have problems playing. After a few turns I started to do well. They have to attack a power in India, some minor holdings of the great powers in the new world, and just a few provinces near them in Europe, like Flanders. Doing that makes the Spanish angry since its theirs and the French are allied to the Spanish. Good use of Diplomacy make the Spanish back down, but the French can’t seem to forget after peace was signed, they couldn’t let go so they attacked later on. Can you imagine the Dutch destroying the French and setting up control of Paris in the early 1700’s? Then the Spanish seemed to feel threatened by that so they attack, only to fine Madrid having an influx of Wooden Shoe wearing soldiers. Then a great deal of their holdings in the new world fall also… What fun.
2. Biscotti–We picked some up at Costco the other day and we needed them for snacking.
3. Constant Comment tea- This is one of our favorites. Just a well balanced taste.
4. Baseball caps–The hair has started to thin and a handy baseball cap is a quick cover
5. Movies–We went and saw Avatar at the Imax, and Cheryl remembered how much she enjoyed going out to see movies.

My progress on writing slowed this week as I played Empire Total War. But Roses War is near it’s end. The Battle took much longer to write, this was the second battle, the civil war sequence. One of the challenges is that a general should not pull their sword but be around for the big picture, which in a medieval setting you must use different terminology.

I do, but the set-up, the fight took chapters and a great deal of pages. In addition, a general would have a lot of lieutenants, staff that have to be reduced to a number the reader and i can keep track of. Then our hero does have to pull his sword at some time. Else the action would be a little dry.

Roses war has grown by 21,000 plus words this week, it is over 111,000 words now.

Then there is editing The End of the World. Have gone through 2 chapters, and added about 1000 word to the 12000 words that comprised those two chapters. At this rate it might end up at 110,000 words when finished.

For the year my writing total as of Christmas 2009 is 689,000 words.

Christmas should be a good time to be grateful and since no one gifted me on Christmas, I have in my Gratitude Log for the day:

1. Empire Total War–I started playing this game as the United Provinces, the Dutch, which many of the gamers on YouTube have problems playing. After a few turns I started to do well. They have to attack a power in India, some minor holdings of the great powers in the new world, and just a few provinces near them in Europe, like Flanders. Doing that makes the Spanish angry since its theirs and the French are allied to the Spanish. Good use of Diplomacy make the Spanish back down, but the French can’t seem to forget after peace was signed, they couldn’t let go so they attacked later on. Can you imagine the Dutch destroying the French and setting up control of Paris in the early 1700’s? Then the Spanish seemed to feel threatened by that so they attack, only to fine Madrid having an influx of Wooden Shoe wearing soldiers. Then a great deal of their holdings in the new world fall also… What fun.
2. Biscotti–We picked some up at Costco the other day and we needed them for snacking.
3. Constant Comment tea- This is one of our favorites. Just a well balanced taste.
4. Baseball caps–The hair has started to thin and a handy baseball cap is a quick cover
5. Movies–We went and saw Avatar at the Imax, and Cheryl remembered how much she enjoyed going out to see movies.

My progress on writing slowed this week as I played Empire Total War. But Roses War is near it’s end. The Battle took much longer to write, this was the second battle, the civil war sequence. One of the challenges is that a general should not pull their sword but be around for the big picture, which in a medieval setting you must use different terminology.

I do, but the set-up, the fight took chapters and a great deal of pages. In addition, a general would have a lot of lieutenants, staff that have to be reduced to a number the reader and i can keep track of. Then our hero does have to pull his sword at some time. Else the action would be a little dry.

Roses war has grown by 21,000 plus words this week, it is over 111,000 words now.

Then there is editing The End of the World. Have gone through 2 chapters, and added about 1000 word to the 12000 words that comprised those two chapters. At this rate it might end up at 110,000 words when finished.

For the year my writing total as of Christmas 2009 is 689,000 words.

Termini Brothers is a fabulous Italian bakery in South Philadelphia that has been in business for more than 80 years and is still run by the grandsons of founder Giuseppi Termini. It’s in the heart of Philly’s robust Italian neighborhood and exudes Old World charm. The bakery cases are filled to the brim with traditional Italian cookies and confections – pignoli, amaretti, biscotti, sfogliatelle (which are amazing, by the way), cannoli and many more. Uniformed polite young ladies take your cookie order, then box it all up and tie your parcel with plain twine.

When we’d visit Philadelphia from DC my purchases from Termini Brothers rarely made it home. Instead, we’d gobble them up in the hotel, on the train or in the car on the way back.

Needless to say, Salem’s so-called “Little Italy” doesn’t have an authentic Italian bakery. Luckily, I’ve discovered a biscotti recipe that comes close to matching the good stuff cranked out by Termini Brothers. It’s a simple recipe with the flavors of almond and anise all wrapped up in a crunchy, dry biscuit. (No white chocolate, cranberries or other frou-frou stuff here.) It is easy to prepare and keeps well in an air-tight container; thus it also makes a good last-minute hostess gift. Perfect with a cup of espresso, coffee, tea, or whiskey for that matter. It’s also delicious all on its own.

Almond & Anise Biscotti (from Bon Appetit, 1999 by way of Janet Mercuri of OH)

3 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 T unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 tsp aniseed, ground (I have also used 1 tsp anise extract with good results)
1 c whole almonds toasted and coarsely chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Mix sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and anise in large bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until well-blended; mix  in almonds. (The dough is fairly wet / sticky at this point.)

Divide dough in half. With floured hands, shape each piece of dough into 13 inch by 2 1/2 inch logs. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Froth an egg white in a bowl and brush over the tops  and sides of each log. Bake logs until golden brown (they will spread, so don’t place them too close together), about 30 minutes. Cool logs completely on sheet on rack, about 30 minutes. Maintain oven temp.

Once logs are cooled. Transfer to work surface; discard parchment. Using a serrated knife, cut logs on the diagonal, into 1/2 inch wide slices. Arrange slices cut side down on baking sheet and bake 12 minutes. Turn biscotti over and bake an addition 8 minutes or  until they just begin to color. Transfer to rack and cool. Store in airtight container at room temp.

Contains “Spices”, originally uploaded by arahbahn.

Mincemeat Walnut Cantucci

adapted from a recipe of same name in “The Best 50 Biscotti Recipes“

2/3 c crumbled condensed mincemeat
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder

In a small bowl, combine mincement and brandy; set aside.

In another bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and mix well. Add mincemeat mixture. Stir in nuts.

In another bowl, combine flours and baking powder, then add to mincemeat mixture. Divide dough in halves or thirds. On a well-floured surface, shape into logs (or, just shape them with wet hands, on the cookie sheet, if you’re using a Silpat).

Transfer logs to a parchment paper-lined or lightly sprayed baking sheet (I use a Silpat/silicone pan liner), and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until firm and lightly browned.

Cool on a rack for at least 5 minutes. Cut logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch slices. Return slices to sheet, one side down, leaving space around each slice. Continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until desired crispness. Cool completely on rack.

Then, eat! With coffee!

Pfeffernüsse (German), also spelled “pfeffernuesse” or “peppernuts” (English) or “pebernødder” (Dutch), is a hard little cookie made with, well, pepper, and a whole bunch of other spices.  Because of its deep “winter” flavours, it’s often associated with Christmas (kind of like gingerbread).

I kind of get the idea that pfeffernüsse is to Germans what biscotti is to Italians.  As described by Jim Hoy and Tom Isern (from Emporia, Kansas and West Fargo, North Dakota, respectively):

… most of the Pfeffernuesse you get in that part of the country are mighty hard and crunchy; folks dunk them in coffee before eating, and they use the leftover ones to fill holes in their driveways.

According to Wikipedia:

Pfeffernüsse are extremely hard when they are first baked. For at least a week, it is difficult to bite into them without first dunking into a beverage. However, they soften with age.

Hmmm.

Well, since there’s already a lovely blog about pfeffernüsse here, I thought I’d talk about Christmas traditions instead (‘tis the season, after all).

What are your Christmas traditions?  As I’ve already hinted, one of Deanna’s family traditions is to make their own eggnog on Christmas Eve (I, for one, cannot wait for that post).  My friend Di is not a huge fan of turkey dinner, so last year she and her family did hot pot (what a great idea!).

In my family, we open one present on Christmas Eve (it really sucked if you opened the batteries!).  In Jim’s family, Santa puts the candy canes on the tree when he delivers the presents.

As we’ve gotten older, we’ve developed a tradition of Christmas morning Caesars (mmmm).  And Jim’s sister makes the best sherried eggs ever (so bad for you, you can only have them on Christmas!).

Sherried Eggs:

1. melt a whole bunch of butter in a frying pan
2. crack in a bunch of eggs
3. pour a goodly splash of sherry over the eggs
4. cover, and poach in the butter and sherry
5. sprinkle with freshly-grated parmesan cheese, and serve!

Oh, wait!  We were talking about pfeffernüsse, weren’t we? I think I’ve had pfeffernüsse before (and haven’t been a huge fan), so I approached this blog with some trepidation.  I looked at a few recipes online and then pulled out my good ol’ Joy of Cooking.  I was pretty sure I wanted them a little more peppery, so I adjusted the spices.  What follows is my adapted recipe (with some comments sprinkled in).

Pfeffernüsse:

This is a very small recipe – it only makes about 60 wee Pfeffernüsse (Pfeffernüsses?).  I was taking it easy, in case I didn’t like them and ended up throwing the whole lot away.

1. Sift:

• 1 C + 1 T flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp baking soda
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1½ tsp cardamom (the recipe called for ½ tsp – really?)
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp allspice (my addition)
• ½ tsp black pepper (recipe called for ⅛ tsp.  They’re called peppernuts for goodness’ sake!)

2. Beat until fluffy:

• ¼ C butter (softened)
• ½ C sugar

3. Add and beat: 1 large egg yolk
4. Stir in:

• ¼ C ground almonds (the recipe said “¼ C slivered almonds, finely chopped”.  I only had whole raw almonds, so I threw them in my spice grinder–which in its last life was a coffee grinder— and they made a nice, moist almond paste)
• 2 T finely chopped candied lemon peel (it asked for candied orange peel, and fresh lemon zest, but I actually had candied lemon peel on hand.  And I felt like the lemon zest would be “too much” for the cookies)

5. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with:

• 3 T molasses
• 3 T Havana Club rum (the recipe asked for brandy, but I only had apricot brandy, leftover from Sangria Day—and it seemed like that would taste a little gross—so I used rum instead)

6. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours (recipe said 8, but really?  Who has that kind of time?)
7.  Shape into ¾ inch balls and arrange on greased cookie sheet.  Bake until lightly browned (about 14 minutes).
8. Remove from oven, then toss in confectioner’s sugar.
9. Cool on a rack.

Jim liked them – a lot. He said they had all of the qualities of a savoury treat – peppery, spicy, not too sweet.  He had several (shockingly).  They were not tooth-cracking hard, despite the warning.  I would make this recipe again!

xx Eva

The last day of school before break, we have our annual Christmas Breakfast. Everyone brings something and the men cook the eggs, pancakes and meat. Thank goodness for the family consumer science room. All teachers, retired, current and new mingled across several classrooms as we enjoy our early bird time before the students arrive. Last year I made two quiches, but didn’t have time to heat them in the morning and each person had to heat up their individual slices. This year I decided to make biscotti.

I looked through several biscotti recipes and improvised with the ingredients that I had on hand.

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips, 1/2 c. almond pieces, 1 beaten egg

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk and almond extract together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and almond bits. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place onto parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs o flatten and then brush beaten egg on tops and sides. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

Almond Biscotti

*Drizzle melted dark chocolate on top or dip into chocolate (I dipped the tops of half my biscotti).

Check out Riotflower’s biscotti.

In previous years (when I’ve been employed) I’ve ordered lovely baskets for Eric’s parents that were magically constructed and delivered to their house without ever passing before my eyes. This year I got slightly more creative and decided to put together my own basket. Good for me, eh?

Both his parents are half Italian and half German, and I decided to make some traditional German and Italian cookies. I figured that since I am also both of those nationalities, albeit in slightly smaller quantities, I should be able to channel my ancestors and turn out some truly spectacular sweets. My confidence runneth over.

I’ve been making biscotti for years, so I wasn’t worried about that. I have a book full of recipes and tweaked a triple-chocolate almond recipe to suit my own desire for chocolate peppermint biscotti. I can’t describe just how easy these are to put together. All you have to do is pat them into lovely raw logs like this.

Then bake them for about 25 minutes till they’re puffed and lightly browned and beautiful like this.

Once they’ve cooled on a rack for a few minutes you need to cut them into individual cookies and put them back in the oven to dry out a bit. 10-15 minutes usually, depending on how crunchy you want them.

Then dress them up for Christmas.

My dad tried one and said they were some of the best I’ve ever made, which pleased me greatly.

Next I tried my hand at something less familiar: Lebkuchen. A spicy German Christmas cookie somewhat reminiscent of gingerbread, but not so molassesy. They’re full of ground hazelnuts and chopped candied citrus peel.

You have to refrigerate the dough overnight and it was a pain in my booty to roll out- stickiest cookie dough ever. I also thought the glaze was a little strange. Very shiny.

They ended up tasting really delicious though. And once I sprinkled them with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking to each other they looked great too.

Last but not least we have the Pfferneuse, the recipe for which I got from Anita Chu’s Field Guide to Cookies. Literally translated, the name means “pepper nut” and there is actually black pepper in the dough. There is also supposed to be a little anise, but I loathe anise so I omitted it. This is another dough you  have to refrigerate overnight. Silly, patient Germans.

Much easier to work than the Lebkuchen though. Just roll it into little balls, flatten the tops and bake away!

To finish them off you roll them in powdered sugar that’s been spiked with a few turns of fresh cracked pepper.

And there you have it. Three lovely Christmas cookies sure to please your family or your significant other’s parents. I threw in a couple mugs and some drinking chocolate as well, just to round out the dessert course.

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the Christmas pudding but how could I write a post about it without a photo of it on fire? It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.

Here’s wishing everyone a happy and healthy Christmas holiday!

It’s the holiday season, and I have a new (red!) KitchenAid Stand Mixer.  It was absolutely time to break it in, so I decided to go with my favourite Christmas cookie: biscotti!  I love chocolate biscotti, and anything orange-flavoured reminds me of Christmas… inspiration called, and these cookies answered.

As I am experimenting with new-to-me gluten-free flours, I’ve used two of my favourites here: buckwheat and brown rice flour.

Gluten-free Chocolate Orange Walnut Biscotti

Adapted from Chocolate-Pistachio Biscotti at Brown Eyed Baker

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. buckwheat flour
• 3/4 c. brown rice flour
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 12 oz. dark chocolate (at least 70%, I love Callebaut for my baking), cut into chunks
• 1 1/2 c. walnut halves

Wet Ingredients

• 4 eggs + 1 egg white
• 3/4 c. agave nectar

For dipping or drizzling:

• 4 oz. dark or white chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a food processor, combine dry ingredients (including vanilla) until the chocolate and nut pieces are the size of peas.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until they create a thin ribbon on the surface when the beater is raised.  Add the agave mixture, and beat until just combined.

Change the stand mixer attachment to the flat paddle.  Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.

Divide the batter into 3 equal pieces, and form each into a log.  Place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.  Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes, or until the logs are just firm to the touch.  Remove from oven and let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack.

With a serrated knife, cut diagonal slices of the log, 3/4″ thick.  Arrange slices on the baking sheet, and bake at 350 F until the biscotti are dried out and firm to the touch, around 10 minutes more.

Transfer back to wire rack, and let cool completely.

Melt the remaining 4 oz. of chocolate, and drizzle over top of the cooled biscotti with a fork, or dunk one end of the biscotti into the chocolate.

Store in an airtight container for up to one week, or freeze.

Coffee and a good home made rusk or biscuit snuggled on the couch…now is that not just the perfect way to relax!  Not to mention the glorious smells that fill the house when baking biscuits..can’t help but feel a little nostalgic.

So to start off I came across this awesome recipe for Health Rusks and gave it a bash.  To be honest what I love so much about this recipe is that you can add nuts, cranberries, dried citrus fruit, pumpkin seeds, pretty much anything your tummy desires and it works!

Ingredients

• 1kg self-raising flour
• 10ml salt
• 10ml baking powder
• 500ml brown sugar
• 500ml rolled oats
• 750ml all bran flakes
• 500ml sunflower seeds
• 250ml seedless raisins
• 2 eggs
• 500ml buttermilk
• 500g butter melted

Method

1. Combine the dry ingredients

2. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter.

3. Combine the two mixtures and mix into a dough.

4. Spoon into a large, deep, greased baking tin and smooth the top.

5. Using a sharp knife, mark out rectangles, which will make it easier to break into rusks after drying.

6. Bake at 180 deg C for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the oven and thickness of the rusks.

7. Remove from the oven, leave to cool slightly, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Break into fingers, return to a baking tin and dry the rusks out in a cool oven for about 4 hours or leave them in the warming draw overnight.

Depending on the size, this recipe will yield 80-100 rusks

Next for the dunking is a decadent chocolate and almond biscotti…heavenly to say the least.(taken from from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library Series – Cookies & Biscotti)

125 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup (215 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar

250 grams cups all-purpose flour

30 grams unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch-processed

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanillaextract

1 cup hazelnuts toasted and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).  To toast hazelnuts: spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and the skins begin to flake.  Remove from the oven and place nuts in a dish towel.   Roll up the towel and let the nuts ’steam’ for 5 minutes and then briskly rub the towel (with nuts inside) to remove the skins from the nuts.  Cool and then chop coarsely.   Set aside while you prepare the dough.

Reduce temperature of oven to 150 degrees C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the coarsely chopped chocolate and brown sugar and process until the chocolate is very fine; set aside.

Sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl; set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer combine the eggs and vanilla extract and beat to blend, about 30 seconds.  On low speed mix in the chocolate/sugar and flour mixtures until a stiff dough forms, adding the hazelnuts about half way through mixing.

On a floured surface divide the dough in half. Form each half into a log 12 inches (30 cm) long.  Do this by rolling the dough back and forth into a cylinder shape with floured hands. Transfer the logs to the baking sheet, spacing them well apart (width-wise on the pan), and pat to even the shapes. Bake until almost firm to the touch, about 35 – 40 minutes (logs will spread during baking). Remove from the oven, place on wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes.

Using a long spatula transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife cut the dough into slices 3/4 inch (2 cm) thick on the diagonal. Arrange the slices cut-side down on the baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake until crisp and dry, about 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

These are wonderful with a white chocolate glaze: Melt 90 grams of chopped white chocolate in a small metal bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Watch carefully as white chocolate can burn easily. Stir to melt. Dip one end of the biscotti into the chocolate and let it dry, on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Store in an airtight container for several weeks.

Makes about 30 biscotti

An old time favourite is a really good melt in the mouth shortbread.

Ingredients

500ml (2 cups) cake flour
60ml (4 Tablespoons) White Sugar
45ml (3 Tablespoons) corn flour
Pinch of salt
250g butter (soft, but not melted)
Extra White Sugar for sprinkling

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process till combined into a ball. Do not over- process. If you don’t have a food processor, work the mixture with your hands till combined.
2. Press the mixture into an oblong tray (or two 20cm round pie dishes). With the prongs of a fork, prick the mixture well. Bake at 160ºC till just starting to turn golden (35 – 40 minutes).
3. Remove from the oven and immediately slice into serving portions. Sprinkle with extra sugar while hot.

HINT:

• It is important that the butter is soft, though not melted. For best results use butter not margarine.

Grandma’s Crispy Biscuits with awesome variations not only keeps the kids happy but keeps dad quiet too…how could you resist?
Ingredients

250g butter or brick margarine
250ml (1 cup)  White Sugar
2 eggs, beaten
5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla essence
4 x 250ml (4 cups) flour
10ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder
5ml (1 teaspoon) salt
25ml (5 teaspoons) water

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add vanilla essence and the eggs.
3. Sift the dry ingredients together. Add to the creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. Add a little water if necessary.
4. Roll out to a thickness of 3mm and cut out into different shapes.
5. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 200ºC for about 8 minutes.

VARIATIONS:

• Sift 10ml of ground cinnamon, 10ml ground ginger and 3ml nutmeg with dry ingredients to make them spicy.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking.
• To make orange biscuits, omit the vanilla essence and one egg. Add 5ml grated orange rind and use orange juice instead of water. Cover the baked biscuits with orange glacé icing and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
• Decorate with either red, green or yellow quartered glacé cherries dipped in golden syrup.
• Dip half of each biscuit in melted chocolate.
• To make almond biscuits: Use a 40mm cookie cutter. Bake half the biscuits and cut 15mm holes in the centre of the remaining biscuits. Brush the top of these rings with egg and press on some chopped or slivered almonds. Bake like plain biscuits. Spread a thin layer of smooth apricot jam over each “whole” biscuit, and push an almond ring on top so that the jam oozes through the hole.

I had my last kiln fire before Christmas – so I’ve added several more items to my Jadeflower Shop on Etsy. That always feels good

I’ve been really enjoying the book My Life in France – by Julia Child. It basically an autobiography of her years living abroad with her husband and developing her passion for French food and cooking.

My Life In France by Julia Child

Prior to this I really knew nothing about Julia Child (and I haven’t seen the Julie & Julia movie yet either) but I think since the movie release there has been a renewed public interest in her, and I heard that My Life in France was a book worth reading. And how true!

Being interested in food and cooking myself, it is fascinating to read about Julia’s own journey into cookery. It is also a very real-life account of the time period. Plus, she is hilarious! Her writing style is very engaging, and the amounts of detail she includes from travel excursions and meals she shared in the 1950s is amazing. It is definitely a recommended read.

Homemade Biscotti

On Saturday I made homemade biscotti (recipe from Smitten Kitten). It’s something I’ve wanted to try my hand at for a few years. Turned out quite yummy! And delicious with a hot cup of tea.

not hot tea, but hot wax!

Sunday’s trip to my favorite craft/flea market did not produce the last (and specific) Christmas present I’ve been searching for. But stopping by a thrift store later rewarded me with two darling porcelain tea cups which I then transformed into candles. (Love this tutorial from Martha Stewart)

teacup candle

There’s snow piled up on the window sill, Christmas music playing and cranberry-pistachio biscotti in the oven.  I feel a little like a Norman Rockwell painting.

The kids next store are bundled up A Christmas Story-style and playing in the snow.  I woke up to the sound of plows, not my alarm.  Ahhh it feels like winter holiday is officially here.

Sure I am taking 8:30pm Friday night conference calls and working crazy hours right now.  But despite the fact that I’m not taking any real days off of work- its baking season and I am determined to celebrate our last Christmas in the states in all sorts of red and green and snowy style and good cheer.

First up was the toffee and the homemade peppermint marshmallows, now its time for biscotti.  This recipe is one of my all time favorites and has been in my annual baking line up for a few years now.

These aren’t your typical biscotti.  For one, they aren’t long and lean, as if shaped to do battle with your coffee.  These guys are rather short and stubby (and cute to boot, I think).  For two, they don’t require you to make a trade-off between your dental work and a requisite long coffee dunk.  Rather than dry and hard, these guys have a lovely bit of chewiness to them.  They are as lovely un-dunked as they are dunked though let me assure you, dunked biscotti are one of the greatest tactile and tasty pleasures in the world.

How else are these cute and short and stubby little guys different from your typical Starbucks or Costco biscotti?  They are pretty! With bright green pistachios and jewel-like cranberries, these little guys practically scream to be put on a pretty cookie plate or bundled up in pretty packaging for your friends and neighbors.

This year I picked up some instant Starbucks coffee (yes, I too scoffed but now I know better) and put it in a pretty bag with some of the biscotti and-voila!  A back of instant-pick-me-up for my fellow bleary-eyed and overworked colleagues.

But onto the recipe!

Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti

(This recipe calls for dipping the biscotti in white chocolate.  I always skip that part as I think its just a touch to sweet but it does make for even prettier presentation)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon whole aniseed
• 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 3/4 cup shelled natural unsalted pistachio (as a poor college student whose budget was already stretched I would shell the pistachios myself-though I highly recommend buying pre-shelled if you can-just watch out for the salt factor!
• 6 ounces imported white chocolate, chopped (optional)

The Preparation: (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

Sift first 3 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend well. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.

Mix in lemon peel, vanilla, and aniseed.

Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in cranberries and pistachios (dough will be sticky or not sticky at all-mine never is for some reason).

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Gather dough together; divide in half. Roll each half into 15-inch-long log (about 1 1/4 inches wide). Carefully transfer logs to 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. (In a pinch, you can do this right on your silpat-lined baking pan if you have one and skip the flour mess)

Bake logs until almost firm to touch but still pale, about 28 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheet 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Carefully transfer logs still on parchment to cutting board. Using serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, cut logs crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices, 1 cut side down, on remaining 2 prepared sheets. Bake until firm and pale golden, about 9 minutes per side. Transfer cookies to racks and cool.

Optional:

Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Stir white chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water just until smooth. Remove from over water. Dip 1 end of each cookie into melted chocolate, tilting pan if necessary; shake off excess chocolate. Place cookies on prepared sheet. Chill until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)

Biscotti in Italian means “baked twice” which is what is done with this particular cookie. Many of us are used to the biscotti that comes in cellophane wrappers and has been sitting in a canister for some time. I decided a few months back to bake my own. I had fantastic results.

Last week I searched for another variation of the biscotti cookie and found this one, Orange Cranberry biscotti at allrecipes.com. I am not too happy with the results from the first baking, they were already crumbling, but they did taste fantastic in the end and did hold up with dunking in coffee. I knew from past experiences with biscotti baking, this was not supposed to happen.  I will be trying another recipe source for my next batch of biscotti. And I will more than likely make chocolate biscotti.

Orange Cranberry Biscotti

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Stir in the orange zest and orange liqueur.
3. 
4.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, stir into the creamed mixture.
5. 
6. Then stir in the almonds and dried cranberries.
7. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half.
8.  Roll each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches wide and 10 inches long. Set the rolls lengthwise on a baking sheet at least 3 inches apart, and flatten slightly.
9. 
10. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm to the touch and slightly brown on the top.
11. 
12. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then slice each log crosswise, at a diagonal, into 1/2 inch wide slices.
13. 
14. Lay them cut side down on the baking sheet and return to the oven for ten minutes, turn them over and bake for 10 more minutes.
15. 
16.  Cool on wire racks, store in an airtight container.
17. 
18. These keep for over a month.

They only keep for a month if you can keep your family from eating them before Christmas!

Biscotti are so easy to make, I don’t know why I’d ever buy them again. I’m not always in the mood to have them at all, but when I am, I use this recipe:
(from Joyofbaking.com, by Stephanie Jaworski)

Mix together:
2/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Mix together quickly (don’t overmix):
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt

Add dry to wet, then add in:
3/4 c. chopped almonds
4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Put dough on parchment-lined baking sheet, form into a log (4″wide  x 12″). Bake 25 minutes at 350°F.

Let cool on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, cut into slices (about 3/4″ thick). Place these slices cut side down back on the baking sheet, and bake 10-15 minutes on each side. Let cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

Note: The recipe for biscotti was published right after I had spent the good part of a day making one batch of biscotti  after another. What I didn’t realize when I wrote up this receipe was that I was very tired and made a few mistakes in writing up the recipe. I have corrected the mistakes – and I hope I did so before anyone started baking.  Sorry folks.

Well, this isn’t exactly a healthy anti-cancer food in the same way that spinach or Brussels sprouts are, but it’s the holidays after all. So, I asked myself: What cookie tastes great and doesn’t have a lot of fat in it? A biscotti!

And if we make the biscotti with whole wheat flour (and why not?) it’s better yet. So…here’s a recipe for a whole wheat biscotti with cherries. It’s delicious and impressive — and really quite easy to make!

I experimented a LOT with the recipe for Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti found on one  my favorite recipe sites, 101 Cookbooks. And below is my version of this recipe — which uses less butter (replaces some of the fat with oil), uses cherries instead of chocolate chips, and makes twice the quantity of biscotti. And for chocolate lovers, I’ve included two more variations — a Chocolate Chip Biscotti as well as a Chocolate Chip Biscotti with Chocolate.

Biscotti

Biscotti – version 1: CHERRY ALMOND BISCOTTI

Ingredients

1 ½ cups dried tart pitted cherries

• I used Trader Joe’s Dried Pitted Tart Montmorency Cherries

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

• I used Trader Joe’s 100% White Whole Wheat Flour. It’s a lot less expensive than King Arthur’s.

2 ½  cups whole wheat pastry flour

• I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Stone Ground Whole Wheat Pastry Flour which I found at Harris Teeter’s.

2/3 cup oat flour

• If you don’t have oat flour and don’t feel like running out to buy some, that’s OK. Just take plain rolled oats and put them into the work bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until you have oat flour. That’s it!

2/3 cup raw wheat germ

• It’s best to use raw wheat germ as the biscotti are going to bake for quite some time and toasted wheat germ would get too toasted.
• Be sure to store the opened wheat germ in the refrigerator or freezer because the oils in the germ go rancid quite easily if stored at room temperature.

1 teaspoon salt (if sea salt, then use fine grain sea salt)

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons canola oil

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

• I used eggs with omega-3’s

zest of one medium/large organic orange

• Next time I will use more zest. Maybe twice as much. You can’t taste it at all when you just use the zest of one orange. And, the zest is good for you and goes nicely with cherries, so why not use more?

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

• Use pure almond extract, not imitation. I used Penzeys Spices Pure Almond Extract.

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Pure vanilla extract is very pricy. The extract preferred by many bakers is Nielson-Massey Pure Vanilla Extract. I didn’t have that. I used Costco’s Kirkland 100% Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla. It’s OK.
• Vanilla extract helps to bring out the sweetness in a food, so, in general, when you add vanilla extract you can cut down on sugar a little.

2/3 cup chopped almonds

• To chop the almonds, I simply put whole raw almonds into the work bowl of the food processor fitted with a metal blade, and pulse it on and off. Caution: Processing the almonds in this way is very noisy; you might want to wear ear plugs!
• And you don’t have to use a food processor to chop the almonds, cutting them up by hand with a sharp chef’s knife works just fine too.

Ingredients shown above – but without all the explanation (better for printing)

1 ½ cups dried tart pitted cherries

1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

2 ½  cups whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup oat flour

2/3 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon salt (if sea salt, then use fine grain sea salt)

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons canola oil

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

zest of one medium/large organic orange

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup chopped almonds

Directions

Please see the “Note” at the top of this page.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Plump the dried cherries: Put the dried cherries into a small bowl and add boiling water to just cover. Let stand for 5 minutes. Drain well. Place the cherries on a paper towel (preferably one that’s not bleached white) and blot them well but gently. Set the plumped cherries aside.

Into a medium bowl, place the whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, oat flour, wheat germ, salt, and baking powder. Use a whisk to mix these dry ingredients well. Set aside.

Put the butter, sugar, and oil into a large bowl or into the bowl of your mixer. Cream the butter, sugar, and oil  together for about a minute, until well mixed and slightly lighter in color than when you started. Add the eggs, zest, almond extract, and vanilla extract.  Mix until fully combined. (If using an electric mixer, you will need to scrape the sides down a few times.)

Add the reserved dry ingredients (flours etc) to the creamed mixture. Mix just until the dough becomes stiff and the flour is almost all incorporated. Add the slivered almonds and cherries and mix until they’re well distributed throughout the dough.

Powder the counter and your hands with a little whole wheat flour. Take the dough and divide it in two equal parts. Set one part aside.  Take the second piece of dough and divide it up into two equal pieces. (Now you have three pieces of dough — two that are each equal to one-quarter the original lump of dough and one that’s equal to half of the original lump of dough.) Roll each of the two quarters into a log that’s almost as long as your baking sheet.

Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet (100% food-grade silicone). Place the two logs of dough onto the parchment lined pan, keeping the logs a few inches apart and a few inches away from the sides of the pan. Now flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. Each log should end up being about 1/2-inch high.

• If you have two more baking sheets, you can bake the remaining half of the dough at the same time. Just place one baking sheet inside the other (makes it like an air-filled baking sheet) and line the top baking sheet with parchment paper. Make two more logs out of the remaining dough and place them on the parchment-lined double baking sheet. Place this double baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. The timing might be a little different if you do it this way; I haven’t tested it. But it should work fine.

• If you don’t have three baking sheets all together,  just make one batch of biscotti after the other, which is what I did. Important food safety note: The dough should not remain at room temperature for more than two hours, and just to be on the safe side, it’s best to put the reserved dough into the refrigerator while you bake the first batch.

• Alternatively, the experts say that you can let the dough rest overnight or up to two days in the refrigerator and then bake the biscotti another day (but before you try this, see the P.S. bullet point below). Why can’t you refrigerate your biscotti dough for longer – just like the Pillsbury dough?  That’s because unlike Pillsbury, you’re baking with eggs that have not been pasteurized.

• For reliable information on food storage, see NDSU’s Food Storage Guide.

• P.S. After refrigerating the dough, I found it to be pretty hard and crumbly. Not good. So I tried warming it up for on the counter for 30 minutes, and that didn’t help much. Next I tried putting it in the microwave on a low setting — lower than defrost — for a few minutes. This worked great; the dough was much less crumbly and easy much easier to roll out — almost as easy as it would have been had I not refrigerated it all.

Place the single baking pan with biscotti logs on the middle rung of the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. After this time, the dough should be firm and starting to brown just a little bit.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Let the partially baked dough cool for about 10 minutes. (It was freezing outside on the day I made these biscotti, so I set the dough cool outside and so it took less than 10 minutes for it to cool.) When the dough has cooled but is still a little warm to the touch, carefully move the cooked dough to a cutting board and using a chef’s knife cut it into slices, about ½ – ¾ inch thick.

• Note: The best way I’ve found to make sure that the biscotti slices don’t break apart when you cut is to use a chef’s knife, rather than a serrated knife (which is what I used originally). Just hold the knife over where you want to make the cut and push straight down on the knife with your other hand. This works great! And, if you cut diagonally instead of straight across you will get the professional baker’s look for your finished product.

Place the partially-cooked biscotti slices, cut side up, on the parchment lined baking sheet, leaving a little space between each piece. Place the baking sheet with the biscotti pieces into the 300 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until they’re starting to get a little more golden brown around the edges of the underside. Using tongs or two forks, turn the biscotti to the other side and bake again for about 10 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they are very lightly golden brown on both sides.

Take the biscotti out of the oven and cool them on a wire rack.

When cool, store covered at room temperature. They’ll keep well for a few weeks – if they last that long.

Makes about 30 biscotti per baking sheet; 60 in all.

Biscotti – version 2: CHOCOLATE CHIP BISCOTTI

Use the ingredients and procedure given above but substitute bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cocoa – that’s the most cocoa I could find in chocolate chips) for the cherries.

Biscotti – version 3: CHCOLATE CHIP BISCOTTI WITH CHOCOLATE

If you want Chocolate Chip Biscotti that are ultra indulgent and chocolatey, just spread a little melted chocolate (from a 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate baking bar) on the underside of each Chocolate Chip Biscotti. Set the biscotti with melted chocolate aside to dry and when the chocolate is dry and hard, it’s ready to eat!

Biscotti Tips

• If you think you’re going to make biscotti over and over again, here’s a time saving tip. Place the dry ingredients for each batch of biscotti (flours, wheat germ, salt, and baking powder) into a plastic bag and put the bag in the freezer. (It’s best to keep whole grains, and especially wheat germ, in the freezer to keep them from going rancid.) Then whenever you want to make biscotti, just pull out your homemade mix, let it come to room temperature, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
• If you have a good food scale, you can make several batches of biscotti baking mix easily and quickly – much faster than using measuring cups. Here’s how: First measure using the measuring cups and then place the pre-measured flour, for example, whole wheat flour, into a plastic container. Place the plastic container with the pre-measured flour onto the food scale and note the weight. This is the weight of whole wheat flour (plus plastic container) that you need for each batch of your biscotti mix.

Biscotti making video and one more recipe

Here’s a video from Eating Well magazine with a good biscotti recipe that uses mostly whole wheat flour and no butter at all.

And here’s the printed biscotti recipe from Eating Well:

Happy Holidays!

Enjoy and be healthy,

~Leni