Whole Wheat Lemon Almond Biscotti

I can’t believe there are zero posts about biscotti on my site. Well, now there is finally one, but more than two years went by without any biscotti posts. I should explain that biscotti are kind of like scones to me. I’ve admitted that I try almost every scone recipe I ever see, four of which I’ve posted on this site, and I have the same issue with biscotti recipes although I’ve neglected to mention them. The difference is that I seem to encounter more failures with biscotti. I’ve tried recipes that resulted in cookies that were too large and unwieldy, or the add-ins were too difficult to slice through and the cookies were ugly, or the cookies didn’t bake evenly and were too dark on one side. I’ve learned that the initially baked dough logs shouldn’t be too large. Two to three inches wide seems to work best. Then, once the individual cookies are cut, they should be flipped at the half-way point in their baking time. That way, the cookies don’t brown too much on one side and not enough on the other. I’ve also read that some people have success with baking the cookies on their edges rather than flat on a cut side, but I haven’t tried that. Regarding the slicing issue, I now let the dough cool a little longer after the first baking and before slicing, and I always use a serrated knife. With these lessons in mind, I tried a biscotti recipe I’d seen in the December 2009 issue of Living, and these turned out great.

Whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder were sifted together and set aside. Butter was mixed with sugar, honey, lemon zest, and salt, and three eggs were added one at a time. Nice, big measures, one whole tablespoon each, of vanilla and almond extract were added, and that’s why these biscotti smelled so amazing as they baked. Then, the flour mixture was added followed by almonds. I used a mix of whole almonds and sliced almonds because I was in pantry-clearing mode. The dough was wrapped in plastic and chilled for an hour. It was then divided in half, formed into two logs, of appropriate size of course, the logs were placed on a silpat-lined baking sheet, and they were chilled for 30 minutes. The first baking was at 325 degrees F for 35 minutes. Then, the dough logs were allowed to cool enough to handle before they were cut on the bias into cookies. I placed the cut cookies on two baking sheets, and they were baked this time at 300 degrees F for 35 minutes. After about 18 minutes, I flipped each cookie for even browning.

The extracts, lemon zest, almonds, and honey worked together to make these biscotti incredibly fragrant and delicious. They were packed into an airtight container, and each time I opened it, I was struck by how great these cookies smelled. Of course, they were enjoyed dipped in coffee or cappuccino, and I liked them with tea as well. They were crunchy as can be and a definite success in my hit-or-miss history of biscotti making.

Parmesan Parsnips and Carrots

Parsnips aren’t usually one of the vegetables I associate with spring, but what do I know? My last CSA delivery included the prettiest, little carrots and parsnips, and I also saw parsnips at the farmers’ market last weekend. I always try to find good ways to use the locally grown produce that’s delivered to my door, and I was sure I had seen a really great-looking parsnip recipe somewhere at some point in time. Luckily for me, I had saved the link in my Evernote food notebook. I love how handy that is, and I can even access it on my iphone, and no, they didn't pay me to say that unfortunately. The idea for perfect parsnips came from the Good Mood Food blog, and I had saved this link thinking they did indeed look rather perfect. Roasted parsnips become crunchy and delightful with a coating of whole wheat flour and parmesan. It occurred to me that these would make great bar snacks since we enjoyed them with glasses of Mighty Arrow beer, and I think they'd go well with red wine too.

Although the recipe is for parsnips, I decided to use both the parsnips and carrots I had on hand, and since they were all very slender, I left them whole. I didn’t peel them either since they were young, tender things. I gave them a good scrubbing and pulled off the little hanging roots. The trimmed and cleaned parsnips and carrots were boiled for four minutes and then drained. Whole wheat flour, salt, and pepper were combined, and the cooked carrots and parsnips were tossed in that mixture. They were placed on a sheet pan, sprinkled with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, and they were drizzled with olive oil. They roasted for about 25 minutes until crispy and irresistible.

They’re sweet, savory, salty, crispy, tender, and easy to handle as finger food. All things that make bar snacks good. I made these as an appetizer course to enjoy while I finished getting dinner ready one evening. Dinner paled in comparison. After these crunchy, parmesany vegetables, we both looked at dinner like it didn’t even matter. So, try this with spring parsnips or fall parsnips or with carrots whenever you can.

Peanut Noodle Salad

You can imagine Kurt’s excitement when a book with the title Steak with Friends arrived in the mail. Steak! Naturally, my first thought was: what’s in the salad chapter? I received this review copy of Rick Tramonto’s newest book, and it’s devoted to home cooking for casual entertaining. It’s full of ideas for gathering friends around the grill and sharing fun, hearty meals, and it’s also about cooking the things that partner well with steak. So, in addition to steak recipes, you’ll find soups, salads, cedar-plank salmon with mustard and maple, rubs and sauces, grilled chicken with roasted squash salad, bread pudding with gruyere and shitake mushrooms, waffle-battered onion rings with maple-chili sauce, and even desserts. And, while this book is all about entertaining at home, it is clearly from a chef’s perspective with recipes like pan-seared foie gras with peaches and mint, hamachi sashimi with pineapple bubbles (foam), and filet oscar topped with an asparagus and crab salad layered with bread cut in rounds the size of the filet. I like that about this book. I appreciate learning chefs’ techniques as they’re adapted for home cooking. So, of course, Kurt was not deprived of a steak meal, but the first dish that caught my eye was the peanut noodle salad.

I made the peanut salad dressing in advance. Peanuts were finely ground in a food processor, and then peanut oil was pulsed into the ground nuts to moisten them. Rice vinegar, soy sauce, chopped ginger, garlic, a chopped red chile, dried chile flakes, ground Szechuan pepper, a little sugar, and some salt were added, and the mixture was processed until smooth. The sauce was transferred to a bowl, and sesame oil and chili oil were added. Interestingly, before adding the dressing to the cooked noodles, it was thinned with hot, Chinese black tea. Thinning the dressing with tea was something I hadn’t seen in other peanut sauce recipes before, but I have to say I’m not sure I noticed the tea flavor among the other ingredients. Chinese egg noodles should have been used for the salad, but I was lazy about making a special trip to buy them and used spaghetti instead. After the cooked pasta was tossed with the dressing, it was topped with sliced cucumber, bell pepper, jalapeno, scallions, and peanuts, sesame seeds, and lime wedges.

The flavors in the dressing made the salad addictive, and all the fresh, crunchy toppings just made it more so. No kidding, I ended up having this salad for lunch every day until it was gone, and then I missed it. This could be topped with chicken, or even steak I suppose, and the vegetables could be added to or changed. I think the cucumber and scallions are necessary though, as those flavors marry with the dressing so perfectly.

Kurt grilled his own New York strip, and I whipped up Tramonto’s gorgonzola crust to top it. In the steak chapter, there are three different ‘crusts’ to place on just-grilled steaks, and they are gorgonzola, horseradish, and parmesan. They’re called crusts because the choice ingredient is mixed with panko bread crumbs, and as the mixture melts onto the steak, the bread crumbs give it a layer of crunch. Gorgonzola was mixed with panko, butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I sliced the chilled mixture and placed two pieces on the steak, and Kurt grabbed it and ran to the table with knife in hand before I could get a shot of them melting into the meat. He said it was delicious.