Triple Almond Biscotti

'Tis the season, everyone!  This time of year is filled with happiness and joy and giving and over-indulging. Who doesn't love that? One of my favorite holiday treats is biscotti. I have several different kinds I make regularly throughout the season and all winter long, if I'm being honest.  This Triple Almond Biscotti is very easy to make, and pairs famously with a mug of piping hot coffee or even hot chocolate.

Don't be afraid of the fancy-pants Italian name (which means "twice baked").  And if you've had some horrible cellophane packaged rock-hard biscotti in the past, that is like comparing the powdered mac 'n cheese to a creamy homemade goodness.

This recipe uses three forms of almond to power-hit these biscotti with loads of flavor.  There's almond extract (you'd be surprised at how many recipes don't use this), Amaretto (almond liqueur), and chopped almonds.  I don't put the almonds in mind usually, only because I don't like the texture and they are delicious with our without.

Triple Almond Biscotti

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 t. baking powder

1/8 t. salt

3 eggs

2 T. Amaretto

1 t. almond extract

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. toasted chopped almonds (optional)

6 oz. vanilla almond bark or white chocolate

1/4 t. nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 300°. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

In a bowl, combine first four ingredients with a whisk.  

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, Amaretto, and extracts.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in almonds.  The dough will be a bit sticky at this point but it'll all work out in the end. 

Turn out onto parchment paper and shape into two logs about 10 x 3 inches.  You may need to flour your hands to prevent the dough from sticking as you shape it.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until firm and lightly golden brown.  Remove and cool. Using a serrated knife, slice log into 1/2 inch angled slices.  

Lay the slices cut side down on the sheet pan and bake an additional 20 minutes, flipping halfway thru baking time.  Let cool completely.  

In a bowl, microwave the almond bark and nutmeg, stirring every 15 seconds until melted.  Using a spoon, drizzle melted candy over biscotti.  Allow to set.

Roasted Red Pepper & Swiss Dip

As a blogger, I am supposed to follow these silly guidelines on how to promote my blog.  {In 1950's announcer voice} "You too can be a popular blogger if you just follow these simple rules..."  It's really overwhelming and annoying, in my opinion.  I am going to eat some Roasted Red Pepper & Swiss Dip while I contemplate it. (See, I followed one of the rules - "make sure you put the name of your recipe in the first paragraph so search engines ping it).

For example, I'm supposed to comment on a bunch of blogs in order to get my name out there.  Forget it. Ain't nobody got time for dat! As much as I love reading my favorite blogs, most have so many security settings that it takes as long to enter the random letters and numbers as it does to read the actual blog post.

As far as my Facebook page goes, I refuse to inundate everyone's news feed with blog promos.

I realize I'm going to offend some people with this next opinion.  I apologize in advance.  I can't stand link-ups.  I understand why people do it, for sure.  I know it's a good way to "get your name out there."  I am just absolutely annoyed to death by link-ups of any kind, and ignore any link that comes from a link-up. Those kinds of things feel so self-serving (I know, that's the point) that I just can't bring myself to participate.

Yes, I sound like a bitter, grumpy old lady.  I'll just grab my tea cup, set it on my doily, and have a little bit of this rich and decadent Roasted Red Pepper & Swiss Dip while I watch Golden Girls.

Roasted Red Pepper & Swiss Dip

12 oz. (3 cups) Swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1 T. Dijon mustard
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
chives for garnish (optional)
Crackers, sliced bread, toast points for serving

Pre-heat oven to 400º.

Mix 2 cups Swiss cheese and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.  Place in baking dish (fits in 8x8 inch dish or smaller).  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

This Cheesy Skillet Bread is a sort of combination of stuffing and cheesy bread pudding.  It's crunchy on the top and bottom (the best parts!) and the middle is cheesy and gooey and custard-y like bread pudding.  It's a great snack to munch during a football game.

Cheesy Skillet Bread

1 lb. baguette, cubed to 1/2 " pieces
2-2/3 c. chicken or vegetable broth
2 eggs
5 T. butter, divided
8 scallions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Pre-heat oven to 450° and set oven rack to upper-middle.

Place bread cubes on sheet pan and bake until light golden brown, 12-15 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Whisk broth and eggs in a large bowl.  Add bread cubes and gently fold in until mixed well.  Set aside and fold over occasionally.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 12-inch non-stick oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.  Add scallions and cook 5 minutes. Season to taste.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.  Stir green onion mixture into bread mixture.  Mix in shredded cheese.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in same skillet over low heat.  Add bread mixture to skillet, pressing down with a spatula.  Cook until bottom of bread is lightly browned.  Transfer skillet to oven and bake until center is hot and the top is golden and crunchy, 20-30 minutes.  Rotate skillet half-way thru baking.  Cool 10 minutes and serve.

Zucchini Bread

You may have already blown thru your abundance of zucchini this summer.  I know my personal supply is done, but the farm stand down the street still has zucchini. And I'm sure everyone has their favorite zucchini bread recipe.  Here's mine!

I started with a two beautiful green and yellow zucchini, equaling about a pound.  That's why the flecks of yummy zucchini goodness in the photos are yellow.  Plus it gives it a homey autumn-y feel.

Zucchini Bread

1 lb. zucchini
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1-1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. allspice
1/2 t. salt
1-1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 T. lemon juice
6 T. melted, cooled butter

Pre-heat oven to 375°.  Spray 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Shred zucchini on large holes on box grater.  Squeeze as dry as you can.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk sugar, yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and butter in a separate bowl.  Add wet ingredients and zucchini to dry ingredients and fold gently to combine.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and continue to cool.

Adapted from Cooks Country

Strawberry Shortcake with Buttery Pound Cake

You know how every once in a while you have those amazing moments with your children that make all the hard stuff worthwhile?  I had one of those a few weeks ago with my 8-year old daughter.  It's probably not what you think.  She did not form a charity for autism.  Nor did she save a baby from a burning building. However, what she did was remarkable all the same.

My daughter asked to make Strawberry Shortcake together - from scratch!!  Yes, she specifically said, "Can we make strawberry shortcake but make it all from scratch?  Like the cake and the whipped cream and macerate (although she pronounced it mask-er-ite) the strawberries?"  This will go down in the history of our family as one of my proudest moments as a mom.  I've officially succeeded in making my kids foodies. Mama couldn't be prouder.

My other daughter, who is almost 7, loves to cook too so we three piled into my mini-van and headed to the store.  The girls sliced the strawberries, measured the ingredients, and added sugar to the cream as it whipped.  It took forever, and as always it's a lesson in patience to cook with kids.  But it was one of those shining times I'll always treasure.

Strawberry Shortcake with Buttery Pound Cake
Serves 6 (healthy sized portions)

2 lbs. strawberries, hulled, cored, sliced
2 T. sugar

2 sticks butter
6 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1-3/4 c. cake flour
1/2 t. table salt
1-1/4 c. sugar

1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla

Mix sliced strawberries and sugar in a bowl.  Set aside, covered.

Cut butter into chunks and place in bowl of electric mixer.  You want to bring this to just below room temp. Beat lightly 3 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup.  Set aside to come to room temp with the butter.

Heat oven to 325*.  Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Using the paddle attachment, beat butter and salt for 2-3 minutes, until shiny and smooth, scraping down sides.  Very slowly pour 1-1/4 c. sugar into bowl while running on medium high speed.  Let it run for 5-8 minutes, scraping down sides as necessary.  You're looking for a very pale, fluffy butter mixture.  Turn machine to medium and very slowly pour egg mixture into bowl, scraping down sides.  Turn to med-high and let run for 3-4 minutes.  It's ok if it looks slightly curdled.

In three additions, sift the cake flour over the bowl and fold into the butter mixture with a spatula.  Don't over-mix or the cake will end up tough.

Pour into loaf pan and smooth top.  Bake 70-80 minutes until golden brown and passes the toothpick test.  Let cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes.  Turn out and flip so it's right side up on wire rack and let cool 2 hours before slicing.

To assemble Strawberry Shortcakes:

Place cream in clean bowl of mixer.  With whisk attachment, beat until it starts to increase in volume.   Add the vanilla and slowly add the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Place one or two slices of pound cake on plate.  Top with macerated strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

Recipe for pound cake adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Tabouleh

Also known as Tabbouleh and Tabouli, this is a super-refreshing Arab dish.  It's typically eaten as part of a mezze, which is sort of like a tapas thing served in a spread of several small dishes.

Changing an original recipe could be looked at as either amazingly awesome or incredibly blasphemous.  On one hand, we are not limited by conventional "must do it like this" ways and are free to tweak and twist ingredients and foods to fit our own likes and dislikes.  However, there is definitely something to be said for preserving the history of hundreds of years of culinary tradition.

Either way, Tabouleh is a really yummy salad or side or main dish.  It's especially good in the summertime when the tomatoes and cucumbers and parsley are so good it makes me want to slap my Granny.  (I don't really want to slap my Grandma.  For those of you who have not heard that expression, it's a southern thing).

Here's the thing - you can change so many of these ingredients to suit your own palette, it can only be delicious to you.  Some people use green onions instead of red.  You can also leave the mint out if that's too strange to you.  There are recipes that have more of a parsley base and the grain is the addition, but I prefer the grain as the base.  If you don't like Quinoa, you can use the traditional bulgar, or even couscous.

For this batch, I found I was nearly out of Quinoa so I supplemented with some whole-grain couscous.  Play around and let me know what you like the best!


Tabouleh

1 c. quinoa
2 c. water
3/4 c. small diced red onion, or about 1/2 a medium onion
1/4 c. lemon juice, or juice from 1 lemon
1 cucumber, peeled and small diced
4 roma tomatoes, seeded and small diced
3/4 c. fresh minced parsley
1/4 c. fresh minced mint leaves
4 T. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mix the red onion and lemon juice.  Allow to sit (the lemon juice helps to cut the sting of the onion) while you prepare the rest.

Bring quinoa and water to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer on low, covered, for 15 minutes.  Stir and re-cover, and set aside off heat for 5 minutes.  Bring to room temperature and fluff with a fork.

Mix all ingredients, including the onion/lemon juice mixture and cooled quinoa.  Serve as a side dish, or with pita bread, or in a toasted pita half.

Country Pumpkin Bread

I know it's not autumn, although Mother Nature has us fooled here in the upper south.  It's chilly and raining (per usual it seems).  I've got a fire roaring in the fireplace and three loaves of Country Pumpkin Bread filling my kitchen with warm scents.  It feels like fall today, but you certainly don't need a cold, wet day to justify making this delicious quick bread.

Country Pumpkin Bread is a moist, tender loaf.  The pumpkin flavor is not masked by too many spices.  It is dairy-free as well.  It's so easy - just two bowls and a whisk is all you need to whip up this delicious bread. This recipe makes 3 mini-loaves and they freeze beautifully if you want to stash a loaf or two for another day.

Oh, and did I mention that it makes a great gift, too?  Just perfect for Mother's Day!  I give Country Pumpkin Bread loaves wrapped in parchment paper and tied with a pretty ribbon with some cinnamon sticks stuck in for Christmas gifts.

While I'm on the subject of Mother's Day, I'd like to give a huge cyber-hug to SA, one of the most incredible, generous, intelligent, thoughtful, caring women I know.  You are my second mom and I love you dearly.  Happy Mother's Day!

Country Pumpkin Bread

1 - 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 c. vegetable oil

2/3 c. water

3 c. sugar

3-1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking soda

1-1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cloves

1/4 t. ginger

Pre-heat oven to 350*.  Grease and flour three 8 x 3-7/8-inch pans.  Or you may use three 7 x 3-inch pans; adjust your baking time as necessary.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended.

Apple Spice Hand Pies with Cinnamon Cream

Why are little girls so mean to each other?  My 8-year old daughter and I were on a field trip with school together and were having a great time.  At the end of the day, we were to all meet in a central location.  My daughter sat on a brick half-wall next to a girl in her class and Girl Scout troop.  They were chatting and having fun.  Along comes (well, hobbles, as she has a broken ankle) another girl in their class, who is also in their Girl Scout troop.  My daughter's friend asked her if she could sign her leg cast, and she said yes and handed her a Sharpie.  Then my daughter asked her if she could sign her cast.  The girl looked her square in the eyes, cocked her head, hand on her hip, and said, "Um, no."

My daughter hung her head for a second, shrugged her shoulders, and then started doing some clapping rhyme thing with another kid.

It really hurt my feelings to see someone treat my baby this way.

Moms always want the best for their kids, and for all other kids to be kind to them.  Wouldn't you want your baby to be treated with love and respect all the time?

And how do you think your mom feels when someone is unkind to you?  I can tell you ~ it breaks her heart.

So my poor, sweet, loving daughter and I came home and made some Apple Spice Hand Pies.  And ate several of them each.

The best part?  The cinnamon cream sort of melts and gets all creamy and gooey.  Like a cherry cheese danish with apples in a hand pie form.  Unreal.

Apple Spice Hand Pies with Cinnamon Cream
Makes 16

4 Granny Smith apples
2 T. butter
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cloves
1 c. brown sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. vanilla extract
pinch salt
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
4 pie crusts, uncooked
1 egg
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Pre-heat oven to 425*.  Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

Peel and chop apples.  In a large skillet, melt butter over med-high heat.  Saute apples for 5-10 minutes or until beginning to soften.  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and saute 1 minute to bloom the spices.   Add brown sugar and saute 3-5 minutes or until syrupy.  Make a slurry with the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water.  Add to apples and cook 1 minute, or until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

While the apples are cooling, whip (by hand or with a mixer) the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and cinnamon until light and fluffy.  Set aside.

Using a 5" biscuit cutter or similar (I use a funnel), cut rounds of the pie dough, rolling scraps as necessary to make 16 rounds.  Fill rounds on one side with 1-2 tablespoons of apples, leaving a 1/4"-1/2" edge.  Dollop 1 teaspoon or so of the cream cheese mixture on top of the apples.  Dip your finger in water, run along edge, and fold over pie dough to seal.  Crimp with a fork by rolling the fork so the twines push down on the border.

Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water.  Mix sugar and cinnamon in separate bowl.  Brush tops of hand pies with egg wash.  Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating and switching pans halfway thru.

Banana Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup

I had a really strange experience regarding these Banana Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup.  One night not too long ago, I was drifting off to sleep ~ I was in that odd stage between sleep and awake where you're super comfortable and feel like your body is made of lead, yet you are somewhat aware of your surroundings.  All of a sudden I had an epiphany!

Instantly, the recipe for these Banana Pancakes popped into my head.  (Don't be alarmed ~ it actually happens quite often.  Frequently enough, in fact, that I keep a steno pad on my nightstand so I can write down my creative thoughts). Then the ingredients for the Peanut Butter Syrup jumped in my little brain.  Ok, so that's not the strange part.

I fell into a deep sleep.  The next morning, I woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head. (Not really.  Just wanted to quote the Beatles).  I picked up a magazine on the floor and immediately opened to an article on Jack Johnson, whose favorite food happens to be Banana Pancakes.  I'd never even heard of this guy until reading this article.  (My dear husband reminds me occasionally how I'm not a big music lover... and that I married a musician.)

Later that day, the whole family was in the vehicle for the 2-1/2 hour drive to visit relatives.  We had been on the road about 15 minutes when my husband, the musician, plugged in his phone to play some music.  What comes on, but this John Jackson or Jack Jackson or John Johnson or Jack Johnson or whatever his name is. And what song is he singing?  "Banana Pancakes."  Guess I was meant to make these.

When you cook these, the bananas get golden brown and caramelized.  The pancakes are fluffy and tangy and sweet.  And they really are very easy.  It's not much more time-consuming than a boxed mix. You can make the sauce ahead as well.  If you don't have buttermilk, you can make a substitute by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white vinegar to 2 cups milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes.  These pancakes are rich, especially with the syrup, so a little will go a long way.

Banana Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup
Feeds 6

Pancakes:
2 c. (10 oz) flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. sour cream
2 eggs
3 tbsp. melted butter, slightly cooled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5-7 bananas

Sauce:
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. butter
pinch salt

Vegetable oil for skillet
Butter for skillet


Pre-heat oven to 200°.  Stick a sheet pan in the oven.

For the pancakes, whisk first 6 ingredients.  In another bowl mix buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Dump all sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and heat over low heat, whisking occasionally.

As you make the pancakes, slice a banana or two so they don't brown as you wait.  Heat non-stick skillet over med-high heat.  Add a bit of vegetable oil and a pat of butter.  Scoop pancake batter in 1/4-cup measures into skillet.  Place banana slices in the batter, gently pressing into batter.  Once the top is bubbling and drier, and bottom is golden, carefully flip.  Cook till golden brown on bottom.

Remove from skillet and place on sheet pan and put in oven to keep warm.

Serve with butter and peanut butter syrup.