Chocolate Chip Biscotti

I didn't like the texture of the chocolate biscotti I was trying, and wanted to try some with chocolate chips.  This recipe from Giada turned out really well.  I mixed some semisweet mini chips with some milk chocolate mini kisses.  The texture was good, and I like the flavor of the anise in the cookies.

If I drizzle them, I will use milk chocolate.

These are a keeper.

Pasta Puttanesca

When we were in Italy, we were fortunate to have a cooking lesson at a the home of Chicca, an architect and really good cook.

We made our meal that night, and every item was delicious.  I also have her cookbook, and one of my favorites from her cookbook is Pasta Puttanesca.  It is easy and really flavorful.

When my son and future DIL were here at Christmastime, they made this.  It was so good.  I tried it, and it turned out well for me, too.

1 lb spaghetti
1/2 c capers, rinsed
3 c black olives
3 garlic cloves
1/3 c olive oil
1 1/2 lbs tomato sauce
1/2 c fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 t chili flakes

Saute olives, capers, garlic, and chili flakes in olive oil.  Add sauce and cook for 15 minutes until sauce thickens.

Cook spaghetti, and when al dente, add it to sauce.  Cook for another two minutes, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Cherry Almond Biscotti

Big B loves biscotti, and all Italian sweets.  One of his clients at work offered him a biscotti recipe, and here it is:

Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c Crisco
1 3/4 c sugar
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1 cup maraschino cherries
5 eggs
2 t anise extract
5 1/2 c flour
1/2 c sliced almonds

In a large bowl, cream butter, Crisco, and sugar.  Add in eggs and anise, and set bowl aside.

Mix in a separate bowl 4 c of flour, slat, and baking powder.

Add this to the liquids, mix well, and then add 1 1/2 more cups of flour.

Mix well, then add cherries and almonds.  Mix together.

Shape into two loaves.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Slice into approximately 1" slices, and bake at 300 for 10 more minutes on each side.



This is a very pretty biscotti.  It takes on a pink color from the maraschino cherries.  The texture is good, and it holds together well for slicing.  I might drizzle it with white chocolate for company, but it is delicious the way it is.

Lasagne Spinach Roll Ups

I don't like to cook on Fridays.  When I taught, the weekend started as soon as school was out on Friday, and I didn't want to do any work again until Sunday evening.  When B was little, we would go out a lot for pizza, and that was always a joyful and enjoyable start to the weekend.  

As B got bigger and busier, we would order pizza in for dinner on Fridays.  It was quick and good, and we could relax.

Now that I'm retired, I don't have an excuse for not cooking on Fridays, so I like to find easy and good recipes.  Here is a good recipe for lasagne roll ups from Giada.  It came together really easily, so today still feels like Friday.  It is lent, so I skipped the meat, but here is what it looks like:

Floral Arrangements

Before the holiday, I took a flower arranging class at our local garden center.  It went for 4 weeks, and we made some nice things.  I enjoyed it, so I signed up for a flower arranging class.  It lasts for three weeks.

I'm kind of surprised, because traditionally I'm very cerebral.  In retirement, however, I am more hands-on and action oriented.

It is a true pleasure to walk in the door after being outside in 0 degree weather and to see such colorful arrangements on the table:

Fabulous Lentil Soup

This recipe is fabulous.  I'm so glad I tried it on Ash Wednesday.

I knew Giada would have a good Italian-tasting lentil soup, but it tasted better than I thought.  It was so easy, too.

This soup will go on regular rotation, particularly when we are eating vegetarian.  I used orzo for the pasta, and that tasted really good.  I really like Trader Joe's lentils, and that is what I used.  Quick, easy, tasty, and good for you!  Yay, Giada!  Yay, Lentil soup!

Orzo

Sometimes I like the sweetness of orzo rather than rice.  I really enjoy orzo in soups, and it makes a good side or lunch dish.  I found this recipe in the Post Gazette, and we have enjoyed it:

Orzo with Saffron and Fennel

1 t saffron threads
1 small red onion
2 T olive oil
1 fennel bulb, chopped
8 oz orzo
2 c vegie broth, heated
handful of walnuts or pecans

Soften saffron in 1 T hot water, set aside.
Peel and chop the onion.  Heat olive oil in a medium sauté pan, and add chopped onion with a spoonful of water.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the chopped fennel and sauté for 3 more minutes.

Add orzo, sauté for 4 minutes.

Cover everything with the hot broth, season with salt and pepper, and stir in saffron.  Cook about 10 or 12 minutes.  Garnish with fennel leaves and chopped nuts.

Here is what it looks like before the garnish:

Mexican Wedding Cookies

My sister recommended a recipe from Relish Magazine for Mexican Wedding Cookies.  I like the taste of chocolate with the nuts in these cookies, so I like these.  I may end up with too much chocolate, though, and have to take these back to just nuts.  For now, though, it is a really good cookie.  I just have to figure a way to make sure they look more evenly sugared.  Here is how they look.

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 t vanilla
2 c all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 c finely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 c mini chocolate chips
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar for 3 minutes.  Beat in vanilla, and Add flour and salt.  Add pecans and chocolate chips, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 and cover baking sheet with parchment.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls.  Place balls on pans, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.  Bake 15 to 18 minutes.

Roll in powdered sugar when removed from oven, and again when totally cool.  Makes 3 dozen.
(I got 42 cookies)

Cauliflower Parmesan

I tried this recipe for Cauliflower Parmesan today, and it was delicious.  I thought it would take longer, or be a little sloppier to make, but it didn't take too much time.  It looked really nice when it was done, and one small cauliflower really made a lot.

Box of treats

I sent a box of treats to NY, and they were appreciated.

The box included macaroons, the lemon thumbprints from TL, nutella biscotti, brownie bites with rolos, and the sugar cookies with rose icing.  We are getting off to a good start.  The macaroons were the ones that were a little sticky with the sweetened condensed milk, but they were a hit.

Rugelach or Kolache?

I love these kind of cookies.  I love them with nuts, apricots, poppy seeds, raspberry, you name it!

This week, I wanted to get a good recipe for one or the other.  I have made good apricot kolache in the past, but I can't find that recipe yet.  I have a really good nut bread recipe, but the look of the slices might not work for a cookie table.

I need something that tastes good, and is cookie size.  The first recipe I tried was from Gourmet Magazine, in 2004.  It is a basic rugelach with cream cheese dough.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to use a yeast dough, a sour cream dough, or a cream cheese dough.  I wasn't sure about the shape--whether to do the roll-ups or the squares that fold over, but this gives you a roll with one-inch bites.  This size sounded perfect for the cookie table.

I made the dough yesterday and chilled it overnight.  It was really easy to roll out.  I used apricot preserves, cinnamon sugar, and walnuts for the filling, and rolled them up.  Since the dough didn't have any sugar, I sprinkled sugar on top.

I took these out of the oven when they browned, and they looked incredible!  Unfortunately, I took them out too early, and they are a little soggy in the middle, but other than that, they are great!  I need to get some raisins to increase the chewiness, and the dough may need a little salt, but these are close to perfect.  I will try them again later this week, and I may have a good recipe on hand!

Sugar cookies with rose icing

I need some cookies that make a splash and look great, and I have found some!

I used Iambaker's Rose cookie tutorial and mine turned out really nice!  I followed her recipe for sugar cookies, and they were good.  The recipe made quite a few cookies, and their shape was good when they were finished.  Mine cooked in the recommended 8 minutes.

I followed her directions to make a glaze first, and I think it helped the flowers stay on.  I used her recipe for the flowers.  My piping skills need some work.  Some turned out like hers, and some needed some improvement in the appearance department, but all tasted good.

It took a lot of strength to pipe the icing.  I think I could have added a little more liquid, but I was afraid to lose the consistency completely.  I had trouble filling the piping bag without making a mess, but i have watched some tutorials on youtube with good ideas.

Also, Nancy Baggett makes a frosting that holds a rose shape using freeze dried fruit.  It makes pretty colors, and I'll bet it tastes good, too.  That is on the docket for next time.

The very best thumbprint cookies

Three Rivers Cookbooks have the best recipes.  The first one was published soon after I got married, and I've relied on these cookbooks ever since for everyday and special occasion dishes.  One of my favorites over the years is for Thumbprint Cookies from Three Rivers I.

You need:

1/2 c brown sugar
1 c butter
2 or 3 egg yolks
2 c flour
Egg whites
2 1/2 c chopped nuts
raspberry preserves

Cream together sugar, butter, and egg yolks.   Beat flour into mixture.  Form balls and dip into slightly beaten egg whites.  Roll balls into chopped nuts, place on lightly greased cookie sheet, and put a thumbprint into each.  Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.  Remove and reset thumbprint. Bake an additional 8 minutes.  Fill with preserves.  The last time, I used a mix of walnuts and toasted pecans, and they were good.  I also used buttercream frosting with salted butter.

Pecan Tea Cookies

This recipe is a good one.   I went to a cookie class in town, and this was my favorite of the bunch.

Pecan Tea Cookies

1/2 lb unsalted butter

2 t vanilla

2.5 c pecans

2 c flour

1/2 c confectioners sugar

1/2 t salt

roll out in confectioners sugar

bake at 350 for 10 minutes

Today, I was in a hurry, so I tried rolling them out in flour.  That was a bad idea.  The sugar gives them a unique, almost caramel flavor, and keeps them moist.   Here's what they look like drizzled with chocolate.

I like the chocolate, but they may need a little more.  I might try a caramel and chocolate drizzle next time.

Vegetarian for Lent

Most of our meals are meat-centric.  My husband is a meat and potatoes person, who would honestly be happy with a burger and fries three meals a day.  To get away from our emphasis on meat, a few years ago we tried "Vegan for Lent," and ate vegan for every meal.  Vegan requires a lot of cooking, so we've found that "vegetarian for Lent" is a little easier and works better for us.

This recipe from Smitten Kitchen for Mushroom Bourgignon is really good and so tasty for a cold day.  It is cold here, so this will be dinner today.  I will probably post links to many of our vegetarian dishes, because sometimes it is hard to figure out what to make when you are only eating vegetables.  What usually works for me is to think in various ethnicities, and figure out what would be good without meat.

More Macaroons

Hi,

Today I tried more macaroons.  They turned out well the last time, so I thought they would be good this time.

They tasted a little too sweet to me today.  This recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk.  It also adds sugar.  The next time, I will either cut way back on the sugar or try a recipe that doesn't use the condensed milk. 

I sprayed Pam on the parchment paper, and that allowed the cookies to lift off.  It took just a wee little bit of chocolate to drizzle on the cookies and make them look nice.

I had a bag of 14 oz coconut and a 12 oz bag of coconut.  It seemed like so much coconut, so I didn't include all of it.

When they were done, they seemed a little "meringuey."  What a word.  Next time, I will use all the coconut.  I used a teaspoon size ice cream scoop, but the cookies get big.  The meringue really fluffs them up.  I would prefer to get them smaller next time.  This recipe still needs work.

Nutella Biscotti

I had a biscotti cookbook, but I can't find it, and surprisingly, there aren't a lot of sites with a wide variety of biscotti recipes on the internet.  I hope I can find the book soon.  In the meantime, I tried Nutella Biscotti today.  The recipe can be found here.  I think I like the flavor of these better than the biscotti I tried the other day.  The chocolate is nice and rich, with cocoa powder, nutella, and chocolate chips.

Here they are:

Biscotti always look good, don't they?

Wassail

I know, it's not holiday time.  So what's up with this recipe?  On this snowy day, I looked for more cookie recipes.  As I was going through drawers, I realized my recipes are so disorganized.  The blog helps me stay organized for some reason, and I am going to copy some of the recipes that are just lying around on here.

I remember we enjoyed this on Christmas Day a few years ago.


Wassail

1/2 gallon cider
12 cinnamon sticks
1 t cloves
1 t whole allspice
(wrap the cloves and allspice in cheesecloth)
1 cup orange juice
1/2 c lemon juice
1 1/2 c bourbon
sugar to taste

This will help you stay warm through the winter.

Time Schedule

Tomorrow will be February 1.  I think that by the end of February, the recipes should be selected and perfected.

During March, all of the display trays should be collected, and a layout designed.

In April, I should purchase a freezer and the materials for freezing and transport.

This sounds good, and allows time for the cookies to be baked in July and August.

More Lemon Cookies

The Land of Lakes Lemon Bar recipe gets great reviews online, so I knew I had to try it.  It is for Lemon Shortbread strips.  I have tried Lemon Shortbread before, from Nancy Baggett.  I loved the taste of hers, but the bars fell apart easily when I sliced them, and they didn't look pretty.

These taste good, but not quite as tangy as the Nancy Baggett bars.  However, they held together better when cut.  I like the look of the glaze--it is white and shiny and looks good with sparkle sugar on top.  These still fell apart a little when I sliced them.  Maybe they need chilled before cutting.  I've been using a pizza cutter to cut them, and it slices right through.

You can see that they look nice, but some have still fallen apart:

And we have a thumbs down on the taste of these from my DH.  Not that they're bad, they're not as good as others we've tried.

Lemon Tea Cookies

I have tried so many lemon cookies.  All of them have tasted great, but I haven't had much luck with the looks.  I have a good lemon bar, but I am still searching for a lemon cookie.  Today I tried the Lemon Tea Cookie from Betty Crocker.  They turned out pretty, and they taste good.

I think I would try them in a mini muffin pan the next time to make them closer in size to each other.  They were easy, though, and taste good.  I got 3 dozen out of one try.

Here is how they looked:

My neighbor is a great cook!

My neighbor is a really good cook and baker.  She shares food and invites us over frequently.  She does what I do, and searches the internet until she finds the perfect recipe.  When I told her I needed the recipe for Italian Knots, she shared hers.  It is perfect.  The cookies have the traditional texture and are not too dry.  Here is the recipe:

Italian Knots

1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
1/4 c milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
3 3/4 c flour
5 t baking powder


Icing:

4 c confectioners' sugar
1/2 c softened butter
1 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
3 T milk
food coloring


Preheat oven to 350.  Grease cookie sheets, or line with parchment.
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Stir in liquids.
Combine the flour and baking powder.
Stir into wet mixture.
Roll into 1" balls.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the balls into ropes about 5 inches long.
Tie into knots or twists and place 1" apart on cookie sheet.
Bake 5 minutes on bottom shelf, then 5 on top.

Dip into icing when cool.

Butternut Squash Soup

We are getting a big snowstorm tonight, and we are going to have a week of vegetarian meals.  One of the meals will be butternut squash soup with broccoli slaw.   The butternut squash soup recipe that I used is from Emeril, and it is found here.  It has a full flavor, and is nice and spicy, so perfect for a cold winter's day.

Chocolate Biscotti with Almonds

Today I tried chocolate biscotti with almonds from David Lebovitz's recipe, which you can find here. They were good, and nice and chocolaty.  At first I thought the flavor might be too strong, as I tasted them after the first baking.  They were just right after the second baking, though.  He recommends using the highest quality chocolate available, and I think I will purchase the kind he recommends.  Also, mine may have been too thick.  I only got about 30 biscotti out of the recipe.  I used a knife that might not have been strong enough.

I would like to dip them next time, too, maybe in white chocolate, and maybe in milk chocolate.  Either way, they have a nice taste, a nice texture, and are looking good for an addition to the cookie table.

Macaroons

I like coconut, and I think that macaroons are a delicious cookie.   I like to eat, so most of the things that I make taste pretty good.  I am also impatient, so many of the things I make don't look that nice.   Appearance counts on the cookie table, so we're off to search for a new macaroon recipe.

I adapted a macaroon recipe from Nancy Baggett's All-American Cookie Book, and they turned out really pretty.  They have a nice sheen and a golden color, they should look nice on the cookie table, too.

I didn't know whether to use unsweetened or sweetened coconut, so I used both.  The flavor and texture were good.

12 oz sweetened coconut
12 oz unsweetened shredded coconut
3 T sweetened condensed milk
4 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 t lemon juice
2/3 c sugar
1 t vanilla

Toast the coconut first for about 8 minutes in a 325 oven.

Mix the coconut and sweetened condensed milk.
Beat the egg whites and lemon juice until soft peaks form.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold ingredients together.

Use a teaspoon cookie scoop, and bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

My favorite author

My favorite author for my cookie endeavor is Nancy Baggett.  I found The All American Cookie Book at our library's used book sale.  After I purchased it, I realized I had looked at quite a few of her recipes online, and also had watched some of her YouTube videos about decorating cookies.

She has a wide variety of cookies in the cookbook, and some shares some of her expertise with many hints about butter, how to measure, which chocolate to use, etc.  It's a great resource.  I also purchased the online edition of Simply Sensational Cookies.

One of the recipes I tried from the All American book was Mini brownies with rolos or peanut butter cups.  This worked really well in a mini muffin pan.  They are moist, look cute, and I think will freeze and travel well.  These are on the list, too!

Pizzelles

DH is the pizzelle cook in this house.  He grew up helping his mom, aunt, and grandmother make them for the holidays.  We had tons for our wedding, and now will pass on the tradition.

Here is the pizzelle recipe that I like.  We have a torn sheet of paper with most of a recipe from DH's aunt, and this one closely resembles it.

6 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 T vanilla or anise extract
3 1/2 c flour
4 t baking powder

Beat eggs add sugar gradually and beat until smooth.  Add butter and extract.  Sift flour and baking powder together and add to egg mixture.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on hot pizzelle iron.


This year we debated between using anise oil and anise extract.  I like anise extract.  We bought some anise oil at the italian store and that is what we used this year.  It makes the cookies have a strong taste of anise, like your grandma used to make.  Most people here preferred the strong taste.  I always use vanilla with the anise to round out the flavor.

Cookies

I am practicing on cookies.  I am trying to make them taste better and look better.  I have my new tool--a kitchen aid stand mixer--a very generous gift from my very generous sister.

I have tried lots of recipes, but my recipes are scattered everywhere.  I'm going to start to document them here.  I am hoping to narrow them down to the best twelve, or maybe ten.  Ladylocks will be a purchase from my farmer's market, so that will be one.

Today I worked on baci di dama.  I have tried two recipes, one with regular flour, and one gluten free.   I prefer the regular flour recipe.  The shape is kind of odd, so today I tried to make them a little flatter.  I flattened them slightly with a glass dipped in water, and that worked.   My future DIL loves nutella, so I think she will like these.  The recipe I like is from the selectitaly.com site, and you can find it here.  When I made them the first time, I used almonds instead of hazelnuts.  Even though I like hazelnuts a lot, I prefer this cookie with almonds.

They are a pretty, tasty cookie, so I think these will be included on the cookie table along with the lady locks.  We have two!

It's been awhile

I have a lot more time these days, so I've been cooking a lot.  Today I made pasta with cauliflower and sausage, from a recipe I've been looking at for awhile.  Sometimes I've looked at the recipe and thought that it sounds delicious, and sometimes I've looked at it and thought "I don't think so."  Actually, though, it is delicious.  And perfect for a cold January night.  I added a little wine to make it sweeter, and used seasoned bread crumbs.  It has a ton of flavor.  Here is a link to the recipe from thekitchn.com.

I will definitely make this again.