I think I can get in one more Passover recipe to share with you, this week. As you know, Gnocchi is probably my favorite pasta – the one I judge all Italian restaurants, and even cookbooks, by. So, when Amy of Ess Eppis (Yiddish for Eat Something) piped up on Twitter that she’d found a kosher for Passover gnocchi recipe, I had to give it a try.

Amy found the original recipe here, where it was originally posted in 2009.  And since Amy posted it in 2010, I thought it was time to share it with you, with my own tweaks. As Mimi said in her post that she couldn’t recall where she’d found the recipe originally, I’m going to post my version of it here, in full.  If anyone recognizes it as theirs, please feel free to pipe up!

Actually, my only quibble with the original recipe is that it specifies “medium potatoes”. Potatoes come in a number of varieties and sizes, and I frankly don’t know what a “medium” potato is. No, I don’t think I’m being dense, because, while a “medium onion” is a more forgiving measurement in, say, a sauce or a soup or a stew, when the size of the potato (or avocado, etc.) could significantly affect the texture when combined with the other ingredients, I do feel it necessary sometimes to get more specific.

I’m also not that wild about the method of boiling potatoes unpeeled, then peeling them hot. Which is heresy, I think, to the purist. I think it’s messy and uncomfortable, and just annoys me.  So, I peeled my potatoes and boiled them whole.  The recipe also didn’t indicate what kind of potatoes to use.  Gnocchi traditionally calls for a more mealy potato, such as a Russet, but I was out of those, and used reds.  The reds yielded a very silky end product, but if you like a more substantial gnocchi, definitely go with the Russets.

Passover Gnocchi  (makes approximately 120-130 pieces)

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ lbs of potatoes (russets, reds, or golds)
• 2/3 cup matzo cake meal
• 1 cup potato starch
• 2 egg
• 2 tsp salt
• ¼ – ½ tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbs olive oil

Preparation:

Peel the potatoes and boil them whole in salted water until fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes. Start poking them with a fork at around 20 minutes, to check.

Drain the potatoes and, keeping them in their cooking pot, shake them over a low flame till they are very dry, just a minute or two.  Mash well with a potato masher, while still hot.

Turn the potatoes out onto the counter or a large cutting board (or even a very large mixing bowl), add the dry ingredients, and make a well in the center.  Add the eggs, salt, pepper, and olive oil to the well.

Start mixing from the inside, out, drawing more of the potato, cake meal, and potato starch in and then mixing and kneading with your hands, until you have a smooth, silky dough. Don’t add any additional meal or starch – it will take a few minutes, but it will come together.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, cut the dough into 4 or more pieces, and on a flat surface well dusted with potato starch, roll each piece out into a snake about 3/4 of an inch thick.  If you have small counter space for the purpose, feel free to just tear off pieces of dough that you’re more comfortable with.  Using a fork, cut the rope into pieces about 1/2 inch long, and roll them along the tines of the fork to kind of round them off and imprint them with those lovely grooves.  I got a little better at it, than I did the last time.   The process moves pretty quickly, after you get past the first few.

Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water, in batches, if necessary. When they rise to the top, allow them to cook for an additional one minute. I mean it: One minute, only. Do not overcook!  Scoop them out with a slotted spoon or spider, and if not dressing right away, toss with a few drops of olive oil, to prevent sticking.

Please note that, in the end, I doubled this recipe from the original. Who knew? I was weighing potatoes and perfected it by feel. Half of this fed the two of us, but we didn’t have anything else for supper, except small green salads.  Be assured, that you can wrap any remaining dough in plastic wrap and drop it into a freezer bag and freeze the remainder for future use.

I like a pink sauce on my gnocchi, so I made a batch of my Quickie Pasta Sauce and added 1/4 cup of cream at the end.  I like the sauce kind of chunky, but you can hit it with a stick blender at the end, if you prefer yours smooth.  You can also garnish with some shaved Parmesan, which I didn’t do here.

Verdict? This was some of the best gnocchi ever. Really. Even the husband said that, not only is this the best gnocchi I’ve ever made, he thinks I should make it this way all the time, not just at Passover!  So, if you’re jonesing for some pasta right about now, make this. You’ll feel guilty – I promise!

With Passover and Easter coming this weekend, I wanted to create a recipe that everyone could enjoy for dessert. Actually, I was thinking chocolate. Because, aren’t you? Really?  And I got inspiration from a couple of different places that you might not immediately associate with each other.  It’s kosher for Passover, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It’s light, and decadent, and perfect for your seder or Easter holiday table.  Intrigued? Ha!  But first…

It’s a national tragedy.  And a travesty.  Nearly 17 million children in the United States are hungry every single day.  That’s 637,779 children in Florida, alone.  And it’s not like the resources aren’t out there, but they’re the missing the mark.  That’s where Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry Campaign come in.  And you can help.

On April 28, 2012, food bloggers all over the United States are joining together to conduct Food Blogger Bake Sales to raise money to help connect these kids with the food they need to grow and thrive.  As part of the National Food Bloggers Bake Sale, we are proud to announce the Third Annual Miami Food Bloggers Bake Sale, which will happen at the South Miami Farmers Market (my home away from home), 6130 Sunset Drive (in front of South Miami City Hall).

This year’s Bake Sale will be bigger and better than ever, with some of the best known bloggers in town baking their little hearts out, and some of the finest local restaurants and food entrepreneurs donating gift cards and gift baskets for an insane raffle – for YOU – and to end child hunger, once and for all.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering in South Miami has donated a gift card for our raffle. Brendan Connor of Whisk won the Judge’s Favorite Award for his crispy shallot, bacon and Swiss burger at the 2012 South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash!
• The fabulous Town Kitchen & Bar restaurant in South Miami has donated a gift card for our raffle!
• Harry’s Pizzeria in the Design District has also donated a very generous gift card for our raffle! Harry’s is the latest brainchild of James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink fame.
• WokStar Eleanor Hoh has donated a gift certificate for 2 people to attend one of her awesome wok cooking classes (valued at $130) for the raffle! Learn Eleanor’s no-recipes, no-measuring method to put a delicious and healthy meal on the table in minutes.
• Dunkin’ Donuts of South Florida (8099 S. Dixie Hwy) is providing us with the best ever coffee to sell, plus a gift card redeemable at that location! We definitely run on Dunkin’!
• Lester’s Cafe and Wine Bar in the Wynwood Arts/Design District has donated a gift card for our raffle! Lester’s multi-function cafe is the host of the monthly Wynwood Supper Club, as well as the Motown Brunch every last Saturday of the month!
• CRAVE Restaurant Coral Gables in Merrick Park has donated a generous gift card!
• Delicious and unusual Freakin’ Flamingo local micro-batch jams are being donated for sale, plus a gift basket of Freakin’ Flamingo jams & gift items will be raffled! Freakin’ Flamingo was featured in the Fall 2011 issue of Edible South Florida Magazine‘s holiday gift guide.

If you can’t join us – and why wouldn’t you? -  please consider making a donation.  To learn more about the 2012 Miami Food Blogger Bake Sale or to make a donation, please click here.  To paraphrase the Whitney Houston song: I believe that children are our future. Feed them well and let them lead the way.

Okay, now!

My first inspiration for this decadent Chocolate Orange Mousse Torte, was a ready-made macaroon pie crust made by one of the kosher food companies for Passover, that I spotted in a kosher butcher/grocery store several weeks ago, when I went on an expedition with my mother.  Genius.  The kind of thing you see on the shelf and say to yourself: Why didn’t I think of that?  I make macaroons (you can find them here and here)!  Then I thought: What would I fill it with?

My second inspiration was this article and “Genius Recipe” on the Food52 blog for a chocolate mousse that you can make in 5 minutes with just two ingredients: chocolate and water.  No, really. I made it several times, and it really does work!  And the answer to: What would I fill it with?   Check it out:

Chocolate Orange Mousse Torte

For the crust:

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup almond meal or ground blanched almonds
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut (if using sweetened coconut, cut the sugar to 2 Tbs.)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbs. cocoa powder (optional, if you want a chocolate crust)
• A bit of vegetable oil or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large glass or metal bowl, whisk or beat the egg whites until frothy.  We’re not making meringue, just loosening up the egg whites to be able to incorporate the other ingredients smoothly.  Stir in the dry ingredients until well-mixed.  Lightly oil or coat an 8 1/2″ – 9″ pie plate or torte pan, and *very important!* – line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper! Do not skip this step.  Then press in the crust mixture firmly.  Bake for 18-20 minutes and allow to cool.

 For the filling:

• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used parve (non-dairy), kosher for Passover bittersweet baking chocolate)
•     (If using a “good quality” bittersweet chocolate, such Ghirardelli or Scharffen Berger, you may want to add a couple of tablespoons of sugar during the melting process. Taste your chocolate first!)
• Juice of one orange (should come to about 4 oz. or 1/2 cup)
• 2 oz. or 1/4 cup water (juice + water should equal no more than 3/4 cup or 6 oz)
• Finely grated zest of the same orange (about 1-1/2 – 2 Tbs.)
• Large bowl filled with ice and water

Pour the juice and water into a small saucepan and add the chocolate.  Heat on medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid and chocolate blend together into a smooth, homogeneous sauce.  Stir in the orange zest.

Pour the hot chocolate orange sauce into a clean bowl, then carefully place the bowl into the ice bath and start whisking. I’m not much of a hand-whisker, so I used my stick blender with the whisk attachment, on the lowest setting.  I’ve also used my hand mixer on low speed, as seen below. When using small kitchen electrics for the process, be prepared for a bit of a mess, so try to use a bowl that’s relatively deep.   The whisking action incorporates bubbles into the chocolate and the cooling action of the ice bath combine to create the light, smooth mousse.  Keep whisking until the sauce thickens to a soft, almost pudding-like consistency. It will happen in just a few minutes. I promise.

Pour the mousse into the prepared macaroon torte or pie shell, garnish if desired (I used several tablespoons of toasted, slivered almonds), and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight, until firm.

The combination of chocolate and orange is a classic that, I confess, is one of my favorites.  The mousse is both rich and light, the orange infusing a fresh, yet almost decadent, counterpoint to the chocolate, and works with the macaroon crust like a good marriage.  A perfect end to any festive meal, and easier to make than it looks!

Happy Holidays, all!

Top o’ the mornin’ to ye!  St. Patrick’s Day is here again, one of the favorite holidays around the ol’ Flamingo Pond.  The husband is half-Irish, and back when we got married, we made a deal:  I would get all the Jewish holidays and he would get St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas.  I took this to be a pretty fair compromise, since the only holidays he wanted were the ones involving good food, good drink, and prezzies!  And we like to start the morning with a slab of old-fashioned Irish Brown Bread.  This is not the sweet bread with raisins or some such, that you might find in stores, today.  Real Soda Bread is just that – bread. Slice it up for sandwiches, chunk it up to sop up soup or gravy, toast it up & slather with good butter, a piece of cheese, maybe some jam.

We don’t dye anything green around here, no sir!  From the beginning, we’ve only made traditional Irish recipes, prepared as closely as possible to the traditional ways.

One of the really lovely things about this bread is that it’s pretty quick to make. Just mix up the dough – either by hand or mixer with a dough hook – form it up and bake.  No resting time, no rising time.  You can have this on the table, all warm, crusty, and ready to eat in about an hour!  And I’ll bet you have the ingredients ready to go, right now.  So, let’s do it:

Irish Brown Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups stone ground whole wheat flour
• 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 3 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbs. sugar, honey, or molasses (optional)
• 2 1/2 cups soured milk *

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl (or your mixer bowl), combine the flours, salt, and baking soda. Mix well.  Add the sweetener (if using),  and add the milk, a little at a time, mixing well.  The dough should be firm and still just a bit sticky.

Divide the dough into two pieces, form into firm balls, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or pan liner.  Flatten each ball slightly with your hand, to about 2-3 inches thick.  Slash an X across the top of each loaf (to let the fairies out, of course!).

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when the bottoms are rapped with your knuckle, or an instant-read thermometer inserted through the side indicates at least 192° F.

* Yes, I actually let milk go naturally sour for this. Don’t go freaking out. No, it’s not going to hurt you.  After all, that’s how basic farmers cheeses historically got their starts, and the natural acids work with the baking soda to get the dough rising.  And it’s a great way to use up milk that’s “gone off” on you.  If you don’t have any soured milk on hand, just measure out your milk and add either a teaspoon of lemon juice or a teaspoon of white vinegar, mix it well and let it sit till it reaches room temperature.

Don’t save this just for St. Patrick’s Day, either! This is a tasty, healthy bread that’s great all year long, especially if you just noticed that you’ve run out of bread for sandwiches or snacks.

More St. Patrick’s Day food ideas:

• Mashed Potato Biscuits (Irish Potato Cakes)
• Shepherd’s Pie for St. Patrick’s Day
• Chicken in (Non-Dairy) Tarragon Cream Sauce
• Colcannon (Mashed Potato with Cabbage and Leeks)

Congratulations! You’ve gotten past the Passover Seder meal(s) and lived to tell the tale. The pressure’s off and it’s just you and your nuclear family. But it’s only Day 2 of the 8-day holiday and you’ve still gotta eat. Time to start thinking of some more casual meals, and maybe using up those leftover matzo balls.

If the kids are back in school and you’re back to work, you’ve probably prepared a couple of batches of these Passover Rolls for your lunches. You might remember that I adapted that recipe from a 1960′s Manischewitz recipe folder that they used to give out around the holiday. One of those folders included a recipe for a meatball “stew” which used your leftover matzo balls and included a can of their Tomato Mushroom sauce. Well, if your grocery store is anything like mine, if you can find the product at all, the price has gone right through the roof (yeah, they know they’ve got you!).

I make my version of this Meatball/Matzo Ball Stew every year, but lost the actual recipe quite a long time ago, and stopped using the commercial tomato mushroom sauce even longer ago than that. You know what? You don’t need it. No leftover matzo balls? Well, if you don’t want to make a fresh batch, just cut up a couple of potatoes. It’s all good.

Passover Meatball Matzo Ball Stew
(serves 4-6)

For the Meatballs:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup matzo meal
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbs. ketchup
1 Tbs. vegetable or peanut oil

Combine everything, except the oil, in a medium bowl until well-mixed.

Heat the oil in a large (about 6 quart) pot over medium-high heat. Form the meat mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball and brown in the oil gently, turning occasionally.

For the Sauce:

1 medium onion, peeled & coarsely chopped
3-4 carrots, scraped & sliced into 1/2″ – 1″ pieces
2 ribs celery, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
Water
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Salt & Pepper

Matzo balls or 2 – 3 medium potatoes, cut into roughly 1″ pieces

Add the vegetables to the pot with the meatballs, lower heat to medium and stir occasionally, cooking until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the diced tomatoes, fill the empty can with water and add that to the pot, as well. Season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine well.

Add the matzo balls or potatoes, and bring to a boil. If your matzo balls are very large, cut them in half or quarters.

Cover the pot tightly and simmer for about 30 minutes. Uncover, stir, and simmer uncovered for about another 10 minutes to reduce the liquid.

This is one of my favorite Passover dishes, and like all stews, it tastes even better the next day!

This is Week 3 of our Saveur Holiday Cookie Challenge: Cookies We Love. I chose to bake the Vanillekipferl, that is – Vanilla Crescent – Cookies, this week. Here’s the recipe from Saveur, with my notes following:

Vanillekipferl (Vanilla Crescents)

(Yield: 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for finishing cookies
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 oz. walnuts, finely ground in food processor
2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for rolling

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325°. Beat together sugar, butter, and vanilla in a bowl; mix in nuts and flour. Flour and roll into a cylinder; divide into 48 pieces. Roll each into a sausage shape. Taper ends; bend into a crescent. Transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 1″ apart. Bake until golden, 12–15 minutes. Sift with confectioners’ sugar. Let cool.

Notes:

Of the cookies I baked from this series so far, these are by far our favorites. Crispy and tender, excellent flavor, and since you dust them with the confectioners’ sugar while they’re still hot, they don’t shed as much sugar on you when you eat them. I worry about that with powdered sugar covered cookies. That’s why I avoid doughnuts with powdered sugar on them, too.

I did find, however, that the dough was a bit more difficult to work with than I thought it would be. It kept coming apart on me when I tried to roll it into a cylinder. I found it was easier to divide the dough into 4 parts, roll those into something vaguely resembling a cylinder, then just pull off pieces of dough and roll them into balls a little smaller than a ping pong ball. I could then feel the dough melding together in the warmth of my hands, which made it much easier to then roll each piece into a small sausage, then crescent shape.

You should definitely make these cookies. They’re delicious and a very pretty addition to a holiday cookie platter. I’m going to make another batch.

Please be sure to visit my comrades in cookies to see what they chose to serve up!

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Michelle of Big Black Dog

RJ of Flamingo Musings (that’s me!)

Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench

Tiffany of The Nesting Project

Courtney of Coco Cooks

I feel kind of bad that I haven’t posted anything recently for The 12 Weeks of Holiday (Christmas) Cookies. Since this is the last day of that cookie roundup, I hope they’ll let me count this one. Please visit these wonderful cookie bakers, too! Happy Holidays to All!

Week 12 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

This post is part of Share Our Holiday Table, a seven-day, online progressive dinner series that we hope will encourage you to support and donate to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign during this critical holiday period. I’m honored to be one of more than 50 bloggers who are participating. If you’ve been following along, the dinner has been unfolding for the last week across 7 courses and in 4 tracks (Gourmet, Family-Friendly, Gluten Free and Vegetarian).

Today’s featured course is the Side Dish and I’m offering you one of my favorite Vegetarian dishes, Kasha Varnishkes. My mom used to make this as a side to pot roast and turkey, and I’ve been cooking it through my adult life, frequently as a main course.

You see, kasha is actually roasted buckwheat kernels and is one of the healthiest grain products out there. A complete protein on its own, high in fiber, yada yada yada, kasha can be used as a main dish, side dish, stuffing, and even as a delicious hot breakfast cereal. It’s also gluten-free, so if that’s an issue for you or someone you love, you can also prepare the following recipe without the pasta as a Kasha Pilaf.

This recipe will feed a crowd on your holiday table or buffet, and makes an attractive change – or addition to – the usual potato fare. If you have less than a crowd, you can easily make half the quantity.

Kasha Pilaf Varnishkes
(serves 8-10 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main course)

Ingredients:

1 14 – 16 oz package Farfalle (Bowtie) pasta

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup carrots, split & sliced thin
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
1-1/2 cups medium or coarse Kasha
1 large egg or egg white (optional – see Preparation)
2 Tbs canola oil or butter
3 cups vegetable broth (divided)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

If not using the egg, skip to the next step. If using the egg or egg white: Beat the egg or egg white until well-blended. Add the kasha and combine with a fork until the grains are coated well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the kasha and stir while toasting, till the grains are mostly separate and you smell a pleasant, toasty aroma.

Add the vegetables and 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth, stir well, and saute until the vegetables soften slightly, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add the remaining broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan tightly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the kasha is soft. Uncover, and cook an additional 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the kasha to dry out a bit.

Check the seasoning, and add the farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, tossing together until thoroughly combined. Serve hot.

Notes:

You can find kasha in your regular grocery store in either the pasta/rice aisle or the ethnic foods, kosher products section. I’ve only ever seen Wolff’s brand, but feel free to use any other you may spot. It comes in Fine, Medium, or Coarse granulations. Only use the medium or coarse granulation for this recipe. The fine granulation is mostly for cereal and will turn out mushy.

A variety of liquids can be used to prepare this, including beef or chicken stock (although using these would render this no longer vegetarian), or even water.

The word “varnishkes” refers to the bow-tie pasta. No, I don’t know what it means.

As noted earlier, if you omit the pasta, this Kasha Pilaf is an excellent gluten-free choice, too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this special holiday post on behalf of Share Our Strength, and that you’ll visit the other participating blogs to see what they’re serving up for Share Our Holiday Table.

In fact, I hope you’ve enjoyed it enough to click on one of these links and make a donation to Share Our Strength and sign the No Kid Hungry Pledge. Approximately 17 million children right here in the United States go hungry because of lack of access to programs that can change that, and lack of access to healthy foods. A hungry child can’t learn.

Even though my husband and I have no kids, we recognize that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. And can yank our Social Security in a heartbeat.

Will you join us in the No Kid Hungry Campaign?

Today’s side dishes in each track are brought to you by:

Gourmet

• The Urban Baker
• Heather Christo
• We Like to Cook, and Eat
• Plum Pie

Family Friendly

• What’s Cooking
• Dine and Dish
• The Evolving Cook

Vegetarian

• My Kitchen Addiction
• Taste as You Go
• Flamingo Musings (that’s me!)

Gluten Free

• The Whole Gang
• Jenn Cuisine– A mostly gluten free cooking blog.
• Creative Cooking Gluten Free

Last year at this time, our intrepid troupe of cookie bakers were baking The 12 Days of Cookies, attempting to bake 12 holiday cookies in 12 days. While I did eventually bake all 12 cookies, I don’t think I finished until January! This year, the group decided to take it a little easier and bake 4 cookies in 4 weeks, thereby saving what’s left of our sanity. This year, we’re baking our choice of any four of the nine cookies in the Smart Cookies: Favorite Holiday Cookies From Around the World collection from Saveur, and calling our series:

One of my favorite cookies to bake and eat, is biscotti. These crunchy twice-baked beauties are light and flavorful, packed with hazelnuts and almonds, and just perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. I also find them one of the first cookies to disappear from the cookie platter! So when I spotted this recipe in this year’s collection, it had to be the first one I baked.

First the recipe, directly from Saveur, followed, as always, by my notes.

Tozzetti (Roman-Style Biscotti)

Ingredients:

Butter, for greasing pan
3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for pan
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 cups whole blanched almonds, toasted
1 1/2 cups whole blanched hazelnuts, toasted
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 eggs
*1/4 cup anise-flavored liqueur, like
sambuca
*1 tbsp. crushed aniseed
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375° F. Grease and flour a 10″ x 15″ jelly roll pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; toss in nuts. In a bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs; whisk in sambuca*, aniseed*, and vanilla. Add flour mixture; fold. Pour into pan; bake until golden, 20 minutes. Let biscotti cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325° F. Remove cooled biscotti slab from pan; cut crosswise into twenty 10″-long strips; cut each strip in half to form forty 5″-long strips. Transfer strips to parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing strips 1/2″ apart. Bake until golden brown, 20–25 minutes. Let cool.

Notes:

This recipe is very different from most biscotti recipes, in that it’s a loose batter poured into the pan, rather than a dough shaped into a loaf. That attracted me, initially, because it seemed that there would be at least one less step. The result is a more rustic-looking cookie. Compare to last year’s Bon Appetit Holiday Biscotti, a cookie I’ve been baking all year-long (without the white chocolate dip), I love it so much.

At the risk of repeating myself, I can’t stand anise or anything that even remotely tastes like black licorice. So it won’t come as a surprise that I omitted the sambuca and aniseed from this recipe. Instead, I substituted 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier and 1/2 Tbs. almond extract. I probably would have used Amaretto instead of the Grand Marnier, but my husband stashed it in the top cabinet over the refrigerator, and I didn’t feel like dragging out the tall step-stool to get it down (it’s the giant 1.75 liter bottle and damn heavy – we do everything big around here). Also, a bit of grated orange zest would not have been amiss.

And then I discovered that I don’t own a 10″ x 15″ jelly roll pan. My pans all seem to be 12″ x 17″. ->Sigh<- But you know what? Didn’t make one bit of difference. Except, of course, that I got more and bigger cookies! My yield was 45 6-inch biscotti (including the rejects) rather than the recipe’s 40 5-inch yield.

The verdict? This is without a doubt, a very tasty cookie. And since there’s no butter in the recipe (except for greasing the pan – and you can use cooking spray instead), it makes an excellent choice if you’re cutting calories or avoiding dairy for whatever reason. So it comes down to personal preference, and honestly, I’m going back to my old love.

Please be sure to visit my comrades in cookies to see what they chose to serve up!

Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes

Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen

Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook

Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Kelly of Sass & Veracity

Michelle of Big Black Dog

RJ of Flamingo Musings (that’s me!)

Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench

Tiffany of The Nesting Project

Courtney of Coco Cooks

Yes, I said Peanut Butter Cup Bon Bon Cookies. A little bit today and a little bit yesterday.

At the moment, we’re only going up to my in-laws’ condo about once a week, picking at cleaning things out. No, we’re not making a lot of forward progress that way, but what’s the rush? It all has to go through probate court, and with the housing market the way it is, and the construction on the exterior of the building going on, no way we’re going to be able to sell it for at least a year. *Sigh*

But going slowly has its advantages, too. Mike started gathering up their books and set aside the only cookbooks they had, for me to look at: the 1967 Joy of Cooking and the 1956 and 1974 Betty Crocker Cookbooks. Flipping through them, I kept running across newspaper clippings of lamb shanks recipes. Not sure why – I don’t think they cooked anything from scratch in over 20 years.

But, lovin’ me some old-timey cookbooks (I own several going back to 1920′s), and thinking about the 12 Weeks of Holiday (Christmas) Cookies, I then turned to the cookie (or as they wrote it, cooky) chapters, and found several that I think I will share with you over the next few weeks.

First, my version of the recipe and then my notes:

Peanut Butter Cup Bon Bon Cookies
(liberally adapted from The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, ©1956)

Yield: About 20 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla extract (yes, that’s one tablespoon, not a typo)
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1/8 tsp. salt

5 full-sized Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, cut into quarters

Nonpareils, or decor of your choice

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar together till well-blended and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour, cocoa, and salt. Beat on low speed till thoroughly incorporated, and you get a good, stiff dough.

For each cookie, scoop out 1 level tablespoon of dough. Flatten it out in the palm of your hand and place one of the peanut butter cup quarters in the center. Wrap the dough around the candy and roll it lightly between your hands to form a ball. Roll the cookie ball in the nonpareils and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing the cookie balls about 1 inch apart. They will spread a little.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies are set, but not browned.

Notes:

The basic recipe in the cookbook did not call for cocoa powder. I added that, as I thought a chocolate cookie dough would work best with a peanut butter cup center. Alternatively, you could melt and add a one ounce square of unsweetened chocolate. But for me, why make another pan dirty? And yes, there is no egg or leavening in the recipe.

You can make them plain and use virtually anything you can think of as the center surprise. Other kinds of candy bars, drained & dried maraschino cherries, dried fruit, maybe even a whole hazelnut!

You can decorate them in so many different ways, too! There’s a recipe given for a thin icing you can dip the baked cookies into. You can even color the cookie dough and the icing with food coloring, then maybe sprinkle with colored sugars or holiday sprinkles. Or just roll the unbaked cookies in different colored sugars.

I baked these for the full 15 minutes, resulting in a crisp cookie. If you’d like a softer cookie, you might want to take them out of the oven at 12 or 13 minutes.

I loved the crispy exterior, and the peanut butter cup piece inside kind of melded with the cookie interior itself, making a soft, rich texture contrast. But what I love best about this recipe is the myriad ways you can change it up to suit your taste and the flavors of the seasons.

Go ahead – Play with your food! You’re only limited by your own imagination!

Week 8 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

I recently began cooking and writing occasional mini-reviews for Cooks & Books & Recipes, an awesome website that focuses exclusively on reviews of the latest cookbooks, featuring a sample recipe from each one. Okay, I’ve done two, so far. But if you’re thinking of buying any of the new cookbooks coming out, be sure to check Cooks & Books & Recipes for the inside scoop!

One of the latest cookbooks reviewed at Cooks & Books (I call it for short), is Abby Dodge’s Desserts 4 Today. The recipe featured from the cookbook is Mini Bittersweet Chocolate Cheesecakes. Cheesecake? How could I pass up trying a recipe for personal-sized cheesecakes that takes 5 minutes to throw together and only 15 minutes in the oven?

Abby encourages creativity and even gives suggestions for ingredient switch-ins (or outs) and additions in case you want to “Gussy It Up.” I, of course, couldn’t leave well-enough alone and adapted her recipe even further. Not once, but twice! Because I’m just that kind of a girl. I give you

Coffee Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes
(makes 6 mini cheesecakes) (Recipe adapted from Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Johnson Dodge)

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. instant coffee powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (do not use regular-sized chips)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300º F.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand-mixer until smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl between each step.

Dissolve the coffee powder in the vanilla extract and add to the cream cheese mixture, then add the egg. Beat thoroughly. Add the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine completely.

Take a regular-sized muffin tin and place foil liners into 6 of the cups, then spray with no-stick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can use reusable silicone cupcake liners without the cooking spray.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. The centers should barely jiggle when you nudge the pan. Set the muffin tin on a rack to cool completely, then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Notes:

About 30 minutes prior to serving, take the cheesecakes out of the refrigerator and remove from the liners. If using the silicone liners, just pull back the edges slightly with your fingers, then turn them over and push the bottoms with your thumbs. They should pop right out. This allows them to take some of the chill off and the cheesecakes to return to that creamy mouthfeel we all love about them.

And because I couldn’t stop playing with it, and because I love you, here’s your *Bonus* Recipe:

Mini Nutella Cheesecakes
(makes 6 mini cheesecakes) (Recipe adapted from Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Johnson Dodge)

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup natural cane sugar (or granulated white sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/3 cup Nutella
A few hazelnuts, finely chopped for garnish

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300º F.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric hand-mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl between each step.

Add the egg, vanilla, and the Nutella, and beat till thoroughly combined.

Take a regular-sized muffin tin and place foil liners into 6 of the cups, then spray with no-stick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can use reusable silicone cupcake liners without the cooking spray.

Bake for 18 – 20 minutes. The centers should barely jiggle when you nudge the pan. Set the muffin tin on a rack to cool completely, then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. After unmolding, garnish with the chopped hazelnuts.

For the original Bittersweet Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes recipe and a full review of Desserts 4 Today (and my mini-review!), click here.

Just think of the make-ahead possibilities for the Holidays. Or any day. Ooo… wonder what I could do with pumpkin…

I don’t want to panic you or anything, but have you looked at the calendar recently? The Holidays (capital H, here) are racing up on us and along with them, the dinners, the parties, the last minute and impromptu get-togethers.

I’m going to do something a little bit different today, and I’m not going to write about the food. Gasp!

Look, you’re going to be doing a lot of cooking and cleaning up – no getting around it. Admit it, there are going to be some times when you just can’t stand the prospect of loading and unloading the dishwasher one more time or looking at yet another sinkful of dirty dishes, and you’re going to do “disposable”. I don’t blame you – I’ll absolutely do the same. I’m going to ask you – for just half a minute – to think about the impact on the environment of all the discarded plastic cups, the plates, the utensils. Nothing like a side of guilt with your turkey and dressing, right?

One of my usual shortcuts is to line my cookie sheets and brownie pans with aluminum foil to help cut down on cleanup. Well, looky what I found in the wrap and foil aisle of my regular grocery store:

All I can say is, it’s about freaking time! Finally! It’s just like regular Reynolds Wrap, but it’s made from 100% recycled aluminum. This is the kind of forward corporate thinking I’d like to encourage, so this is the foil I’m going to use to line my pans and tent my turkey this year. It even costs a few cents less at my store than the regular Reynolds Wrap. By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, Reynolds has changed their packaging to use less materials – the amount of product inside is the same, but the packaging is smaller. Yay, Reynolds!

When it comes to disposable plates, there are a number of options at the store. Here’s the “Plain Jane” version:

Admittedly, you might like something sturdier for your dinner – especially if folks are eating off their laps. All that gravy and cranberry sauce is bound to get a little sloppy, right?

In that case, you might choose the popular Chinet brand. Chinet’s now made from recycled materials and is fully biodegradable and compostable in either your home composter/compost pile, or in a community composting program (check to see if your community has one). I actually just toss ‘em in my composter and they break down just like newspaper and tree branches. And not just the white ones – all of ‘em!

Let’s not forget the beverages! Solo is now selling a line of plastic cups called “bare“. The bare line is made with 20% recycled plastic and is 100% recyclable in your regular household recycling. Another “finally!” is due here.

There are several other eco-friendly choices available online and in party specialty stores: disposable utensils made from cornstarch and sugar cane, higher-end disposable serveware made from bamboo and palm and sugar cane fibers, too. There are even compostable plastic cups! Many of these products aren’t new, but they are becoming more easily available, both at the party stores and at your local grocery. These are just a few of the items I noticed while wheeling my cart down the paper aisle.

It’s not a great revelation that our health – and that of future generations – depends on the environment. You take the time to care about and ask where your food comes from, so this Holiday Season, please take a moment to think about what you’re putting your food on. No one family can do everything, but every little bit helps!

By the way, I am not being sponsored or in anyway compensated to show you these products. Except maybe with a little karma, I hope.