Biscotti, Biscotti, Biscotti!

I know my husband thinks I have nothing better to do than shop on line, well that's only sort of true.  Seriously, when I find a great deal, and I love it, I mean what would you do?  Exactly! That's what I thought! 

So I found this and sent him an email, one of those "your wife found this and loves it".  When he arrived home from work later that evening I got the response I was dreading just a bit.  "Why do you send me those things, you know our goals...."  Etc, etc, etc.  Well, I haven't spent my life in sales for nothing, so of course I proceed to tell him the benefits of us owning this pretty little pasrty box...I would fill it full of homemade biscotti of his favorite flavors, just for him to enjoy with his morning coffee.  They would be there for him when he arrives home from a hard day's work, for a light snack while waiting to be served some fabulous creation for dinner.  I then went on to explain the quality of all the items I have ever purchased from Napa Style... blah, blah blah.  Then, I hit him where I knew he would see the logic and good sense of this purchase, IT'S ON SALE!! 

He then proceeds to tell me that IF he was a great guy, he would have pulled out his credit card and it would be shipped to our door in a few days. Was I serious about the fresh baked biscotti and I better not back out on my promise to fill it because, in fact, it was already on it's way.  Angel of my heart.

So that's what I did.  I baked 12 dozen fresh baked biscotti of three different flavors!

They are so easy and fun to make!

First, this wonderful Granola Biscotti, with freshly made granola that is then baked into the biscotti.  The popular breakfast snack imparts a wholesome oat crunch to these cookies.

Granola Biscotti

Granola Biscotti

1 C ganola (recipe follows)

2/3 C blanched sliced almonds

1/2 C butter

2/3 C light brown sugar, packed

1/3 C honey

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

Prepare the granola and set aside.

To prepare biscotti dough, place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool.  In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in honey, eggs and vanilla.  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture, mixing until blended.

Mix in granola and nuts.  Divide dough in half.  On a greased and floured baking sheet pat out into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing at least 2 inches apart.  Bake in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Place on a cutting board.  With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angel about 3/8 inch thick.  Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes longer, turning them over once, to dry slightly.  Let cool on a rack.  Store in a tightly covered container.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Granola

1-1/2 T olive oil or vegetable oil

1-1/2 T honey

1-1/2 T brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 C regular oatmeal

To prepare Granola, place in a small saucepan the oil, honey, sugar and vanilla.  Heat stirring, just until combined.  Spread oatmeal in a shallow baking pan.  Pour the honey mixture over the oatmeal and mix until well coated.  Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until oatmeal is slightly crisp and lightly browned, stirring twice.  Let cool.

Makes 1 cup.

Note:  I found this dough to be very loose, you may want to add a couple more tablespoons of flour to the dough.  I also baked mine on two separate baking sheets, they spread quite a bit.  The flavor is great!

Praline Biscotti

Almond candy crystals fleck these cookies with their sublime, shattering sweetness.

Praline Biscotti

Praline:

1/3 C sugar

1/3 C slivered blanched almonds

Biscotti dough:

2/3 C whole almonds

1/3 C butter

2/3 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 C plus 2 T all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

To prepare Praline, place sugar in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, shaking pan until sugar melts and caramelizes.  Add almonds and shake to coat nuts, then immediately pour mixture out of the pan onto a buttered sheet of foil.  Let cool.  Break candy into pieces and pulverize in a blender or processor into a fine powder.

To prepare biscotti dough, place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in a  preheated 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool.  In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture, mixing until blended.  Stir in praline.  Cut almonds into halves or thirds and fold in.  Divide dough in half.  On a greased and floured baking sheet pat out into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.  Bake in the middle of a preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Transfer from baking sheet to a rack.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Place on a cutting board.  With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle about 1/2 inch thick.  Lay the slices cut sided down on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes, turning them over once, to dry slightly.  Let cool on a rack.  Store in a tightly covered container.

Makes about 3-1/2 to 4 dozen.

Our favorite!

Candied Orange Pecan Biscotti

Bittersweet chunks of candied orange peel and toasted pecans lend a delicious dimension to these biscotti.

Candied Orange Pecan Biscotti

1 C Candied Orange Peel (recipe follows)

3/4 C pecans

1/2 C butter

3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

2 T orange liqueur, or orange juice concentrate, thawed

Zest of 1 orange, minced finely

2 C plus 2 T all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Candied Orange Peel

3 oranges (use peel only)

1/2 C water

1/2 C sugar

To prepare Candied Orange Peel, peel oranges, scoring the peel into 5 or 6 sections to make them equal in size.  Place the peel in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer 10 minutes.  Drain and let cool.  With a grapefruit knife, lift off most of the white pith.  In a saucepan combine the water and sugar.  Bring to a boil and cook until dissolved.  Add peel and let simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Lift peel onto waxed paper to cool.  Makes about 1 cup candied peel.

Next I have planned Espresso Biscotti and Pistachio & Golden Raisin Biscotti

Print this Recipe

Spring Break Feasts

Our son Collin(pictured far left) came home for Spring Break from Rice University and brought his friend Dan (pictured far right) and their Harem. The girls from left to right: Beth, Annie, Julia, Katherine, Liz, Aida, and Megan. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit. They were the nicest, brightest, and most polite house guests! Individually unique, interesting and fun to be around! For me personally, a great opportunity to do what I enjoy most cook and host!

Feasts prepared and enjoyed began with a cheese assortment upon their arrival. Since not all of them our from our great state of Texas, they ventured out that evening in search of some local Bar-B-Q and wound up at one of my favorites Granzin's Bar-B-Q in New Braunfels, worth a visit just for the potato salad. The next morning my husband and I prepared Eggs Benedict, Apple Strudel French Toast, Cinnamon Raisin French Toast, Coffee and Orange Juice. They spent a day enjoying the Riverwalk and came home hungry! Later that evening, we enjoyed the biggest Pork Loin (about 7 pounds) I have ever prepared, with Fresh Roast Asparagus, a Whole World Salad (it had the whole world in it!), Cornbread Dressing and French Bread. And sent them home with fresh baked Pumpkin Cranberry Bread.

Parents, you can be extremely proud. Your children have grown up to be lovely adults! Beautiful manners, considerate, polite and truly wonderful and considerate house guests! They are each welcome back anytime and we hope to see them again soon!

Pork Loin Roast with Orange Marmalade/Apricot Sauce

This can be prepared with any size pork loin, I would still make the same amount of sauce. I poured the sauce over the sliced roast but you can, pass the sauce instead.

7 pound boneless pork loin roast (the big ones can be found at Costco)

4 T Hot Dijon Mustard

4 T Regular Dijon Mustard

Fresh Ground Pepper

Kosher Salt

8 oz jar Orange Marmalade

8 oz jar Apricot Preserves

2 T Light Karo Syrup

1/4 C Pomegranate Vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Put pork loin roasting a large baking dish (9x13). Combine mustards in a small bowl and spread over top and sides of roast. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and generous amounts of fresh grown pepper. Place in 350 degree oven, uncovered and roast until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees (about 1-1/2 hours). Remove from oven, let rest covered in foil for about 10-15 minutes. Slice in 1-1/2 inch thick slices. Ladle sauce over roast slices and serve.

Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine marmalade, preserves, Karo syrup, vinegar and spices. Bring to boil and simmer until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Roasted Asparagus

2 bundles of thick asparagus, break ends at natural break

olive oil

sea salt fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil and arrange asparagus side by side. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, turn to coat. Place baking sheet in oven and roast for 15 minutes. Note: if you can only find thin asparagus, then back off on length of time to roast for about 10 minutes. Can be served at room temperature.

Whole World Salad

This is what I had on hand, just use what you have on hand and make it your own!

Arugula Baby Spinach Caperberries

sliced cucumber

quartered tomatoes

green onions, large dice

roasted beets, sliced and diced

Red, yellow and orange bell peppers sliced thinly

Feta cheese broken into large chunks

Kalamata olives

Dressing:

1-1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp Maggi

1/4 C Balsamic Vinegar

1/3 C extra virgin Olive oil

Combine dressing ingredients until well incorporated, set aside to dress salad just before serving

Candied Pecans:

3/4 C pecan halves

1/4 C brown sugar

3 T butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

Combine ingredients in medium saucepan over medium heat, toss until the sugar begins to crystallize. Pour out onto granite or foil to cool.

Toss vegetables in large bowl. Break feta & pecans over salad. Toss with dressing. Top with fresh ground pepper and serve.

Print this Recipe

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon + LeslieMichele's Apple Tart

Well Folks, I survived it, it was lovely and it was worth it.  I made it the afternoon, refrigerated it for two days and served it for my parents and friends for dinner.  We all loved it!  The separate steps are necessary and the end result is nothing short of magnificent! It takes a long time to prepare, but after all when you are channeling Julia, there is a lot of nostalgia and history to consider and the process should, in my opinion, be savored!  This is the only time in my memory that I have actually followed a recipe without changing something.  I'm actually quite proud of myself for that.

My parents were over earlier in the afternoon delivering pecans to use during the holidays.  Thanks Mom and Dad, I love you!  So when I served it to them it was with Julia's Potatoes (Pommes De Terre Sautees, pg 526).  Later when our friends were here for dinner, I served it with pasta.  The potatoes, I think, are the way to go, it seemed more authentic somehow.  Just a note; I tasted it the day I made it, and it really does benefit from the overnight refrigeration.  The flavors meld and blend in a beautiful and noticeble way.

1 6-ounce chunk of bacon

1 9- to 10-inch fireproof casserole 3 inches deep
1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
1 slotted spoon
3 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
1 sliced carrot
1 sliced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3 cups of a full-bodied young red wine such as one of those suggested for serving or a Chianti
2-3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon thyme
a crumbled bay leaf
the blanched bacon rind
18-24 small white onions (brown-braised in stock)
1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter
parsley sprigs

Cooking Instructions:


In this case, as with most famous dishes, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon. Carefully done, and perfectly flavored, it is certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, and can well be the main course for a buffet dinner. Fortunately you can prepare it completely ahead, even a day in advance, and it only gains in flavor when reheated.

VEGETABLE AND WINE SUGGESTIONS

Boiled potatoes are traditionally served with this dish. Buttered noodles or steamed rice may be substituted. If you also wish a green vegetable, buttered peas would be your best choice. Serve with the beef a fairly full-bodied, young red wine, such as Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Bourdeaux-St. Emilion or Burgundy.

Remove rind and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2-inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Saute the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you saute the beef.

Dry the beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Saute it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sauteing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 21/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables.

(*) Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

FOR IMMEDIATE SERVING

Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

FOR LATER SERVING

When cold, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce.

Pommes De Terre Sautees (Potatoes Sauteed in Butter)

Oignons Glaces A Brun (Brown-braised Onions)

Champignons Sautes AuBeurre (Sauteed Mushrooms)

Apple Tart

12 sheets Phyllo dough
1/2 C. butter, melted
3 large apples (I used Fuji), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/4 C. pecans, finely ground

1/2 C brown sugar
3 Tbls. sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
Juice of  1/2 lemon


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a large cookie sheet with foil.  Lay first sheet of phyllo on cookie sheet, brush with melted butter, repeat with all sheets of phyllo until you have used them all.  Lay apple slices, fanned out slightly to cover Phyllo, leaving about 1/2 inch boarder on all sides.  Sprinkle tops of apples with grated lemon rind, ground pecans, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Place cookie sheet in preheated oven and bake for approx. 10 minutes.  Reduce oven to 325 degrees and continue baking for another 20 to 25 minutes.  Once cooled, remove tart using 2 large spatulas to serving tray and slice for serving.  Tart can be served warm or room temperature.

The tart is super simple and quick to prepare.  Perfect light dessert after a heavy meal!

Print this Recipe

Texas Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Toasted Pecans

So evidently my husband did not know there are anchovies in Caesar Salad and evidently he discovered he likes them.  I like them too, but in small doses.  I am also kind of a wimp because I like mine to come from the tube instead of looking at their hairy little bodies in a can or jar, but that's just me.  The recipe is below.

My weekends are usually spent doing a few chores in the kitchen for the upcoming week.  It's hard to actually think of them as chores because I like doing them.  Invariably, I have left over Sour Dough and/or French Baguettes.  I hate to see it go to waste but God knows my waistline can take it all.  Although, I am sure, if I had to, I could live on French Bread.  So I make my own bread crumbs in my super crummy food processor, remember I am still on a quest to break it so I have to replace it.  Here she is.  Understand?    So I suffer.  Oh it's true.  Anyway, so we now have all the fresh bread crumbs I can use for a while.  The Sour Dough quickly turned into Garlic Croutons.

Texas Caesar Salad

(In Texas, most every meal has a pecan in it somewhere)

For Dressing:

1/2 C Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1 Tbl Anchovie Paste

3 Tbl Lemon juice

Grated lemon rind from half a lemon

3 large garlic cloves, large dice

2 Tbl Dijon Mustard

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3/4 C Good quality olive oil

For Salad and Pecans:

Three heads of Romaine, discard outer leaves and tear the rest into large bite size pieces

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/2 C Pecans

In the bowl of a food processor, combine cheese, anchovie paste, lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic, dijon and pepper.  Process on high and slowly pour olive oil in a stream to combine while processor is running.  Dressing will be thick.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat small saute pan on medium heat, place pecans in dry pan and toast. Set aside to cool.

In a large serving bowl with romaine, toss with dressing a little at a time until it is coated with a desired amount.  You will have some dressing left over, it should be sealed tight and will keep refrigerated for up to a week.  Garnish salad with remaining parmesan cheese, croutons and toasted pecans.  Ya'll enjoy!

Serves 4-6.  You can also add rotisserie chicken to salad to serve as a meal. Note:  I did not add raw egg to dressing because we had a guest for dinner I was unsure would want that.  This dressing is thick and rich enough that it stands alone fine without it.

Print this Recipe