Pignoli Biscotti

This week I "bought Gerry" another biscotti cookbook, this one Biscotti by Lou Siebert Pappas.  Last night I made the Pignoli Biscotti on page 18.  I was looking for something less dense than the ones I had made before. These were and we think they will be nice and crisp and light next weekend.

Toast 2/3 cup pine nuts in a 350 degree oven (non-convection) for 6-8 minutes and let them cool.

Blend 2 cups plus 2 T of flour with 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt.

Cream 1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter with 3/4 cup sugar and then beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.  Add 2 T. lemon juice and 2 T. lemon zest.

Blend in the dry ingredients until well-blended.  I try not to overblend, though.  I'm not entirely sure if they will be tougher or lighter.  (Note to self: Ask Beth who is reading up on the science of cooking in Michael Ruhlman's books, Ruhlman's Twenty and Ratio).

OK.  So line the biscotti pan with parchment paper and bake for about 30 minutes.  Check after twenty. The biscotti should look golden and dry - not white and wet.

Remove from oven and turn over on rack.  Cool at least 5 minutes.  Cut into 1/2 inch slices (at a 45 degree angle if you prefer).

Jameson's Irish Whiskey Cake

We're going to a belated St. Paddy's Day party tonight and I am in charge a dessert. Of course, Irish whiskey was on my mind.  I decided against a Bailey's Irish Cream recipe but loved the thoughts of a boozy cake.

This is one I found, strangely enough, on the PETA website.  Of course, it called for animal-free products but I modified it.

Preheat oven to 350 (convection 325).  Grease my favorite Bundt pan with baking spray.

Blend together 2-1/2 cups flour, 1 T baking powder, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 T baking cocoa, and 1 tsp. salt.

Combine 1/2 cup Jameson's whiskey and 1/2 cup very strong black coffee (espresso).

Cream 3/4 cup of softened unsalted butter.  Add in 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar.  Cream until light and fluffy.  Add three eggs, one at a time.

Alternate the dry and wet with the butter/sugar/egg mixture until they are beaten and blended well.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes until a pick comes out clean from center of cake. Cool.

Simmer 1/4 cup butter with 1/4 cup whiskey, whisking in 1 cup sugar.  If you simmer this for a few minutes it should be thickened when it is cooled.  Take off the heat and add 1 tsp. coffee extract if desired.   Drizzle the cooled cake (insert toothpick over the cake top and bottom many times).

Chicken Salad Croissants

Gerry made the best homecoming lunch - chicken salad in croissants.

3 inches celery stalk, sliced paper-thin
16 red, seedless grapes cut in quarters
chopped iceberg lettuce (or other greens, chopped fine), 1/4 cup chopped toasted pistachios, and some mayonnaise.

Add this to some grilled or baked chicken breasts. Gerry sprinkled some ground sumac from Savory Spice in Princeton, NJ and pepper on the chicken before baking.

Delicious!

*Ground sumac information from the Savory website:

Sumac comes from the fruit of a bush indigenous to the Middle East. The bush is actually a member of the cashew family and the fruit is used widely in Turkey and other Arabic countries. Sumac is a main ingredient in the Middle Eastern spice blend Za'atar.

Before the Romans learned of lemons, they used sumac for its sour and pleasantly astringent taste.  They called it Syrian sumac.

Savory.com

 

Sumac berries are picked, dried and ground into a coarse powder before being used in the cooking process. This powder is used to flavor salad dressings, meats, rice dishes and kebobs. Sumac can also be mixed with other vegetables such as onions and used as a condiment.

Anise Almond Biscotti

We tried another recipe from The Best 50 Biscotti Recipes - this one Anise Almond. We didn't have anise seed in Marion and we'll definitely add them to the next try.  Overall, the biscotti were crunchy and tasty but I'd like to find more recipes and refine them a bit.  I guess I'd like them to be a bit more 'airy' and less dense.

Beat 1 cup sugar, 1 cup coarsely chopped, toasted almonds, 1/2 cup butter (melted), 2 T. crushed anise seeds, 1 T water, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tbs. anise extract until combined.  Beat in three eggs, one at a time.  Add these dry ingredients that are already blended together: 2-3/4 c. flour and 1/2 T. baking powder.

The recipe calls for refrigerating the dough for three hours and dividing into halves and shaping into logs. We just put the dough in the biscotti pan (lined with parchment) and baked for about 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven until firm and lightly browned.

Turn pan out and cool on a rack for five minutes.  Cut the biscotti into 1/2 slices and place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 more minutes, turning halfway if possible.  Cool.