Biscotti are lovely little cookies that go great with coffee, tea, milk, or any other drink you usually like dunk cookies in. They have an aura about them that makes them seem much more complex than they actually are, and hardly anyone even thinks of baking them at home. They're one of those cookies you buy at the store, no questions asked. Today, I'm going to de-mystify them for you. Impress your friends, your relatives, and anyone else you meet at the holiday party circuit this season. Enjoy!

First we'll start with the basic recipe, which you can add any ingredients to if you want. Pistachios, dried fruit, nuts, and various baking chips all work extremely well. You can even change the extract flavoring for a different taste if you want!

Biscotti

How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

4 T butter, unsalted, plus more for greasing the pans

3/4 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 t. vanilla or almond extract (I used vanilla)

2 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for the baking sheets

1 t. baking powder

pinch salt

1 or 2 T milk if necessary (was NOT necessary for me.)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375°F. Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy; add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well blended, then add the extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the dough a little at a time, beating until just incorporated and adding a little milk if needed to bring the dough together. (Note: I had to add extra flour to mine. The dough should be workable, and not super sticky, when you're ready to shape it. If it's sticking to your hands more than itself, add flour, a little at a time, till it's closer to normal cookie dough consistency.)

Butter two baking sheets and dust them with flour; invert the sheets and tap them to remove excess flour. Divide the dough in half and shape heach half into a 2-in. wide log. Put each log onto a baking sheet.

Bake until the loaves are golden and beginning to crack on top, about 30 minutes; cool the logs on the sheets for a few minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 250°F.

When the loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to cut each on a diagonal into 1/2 in. thick slices. Put the slices on the sheets, return them to the oven, and leave them there, turning once, until they dry out, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks. These will keep in an airtight container for several days.

Chocolate Chip Biscotti.

one recipe biscotti, plus:

1/2 to 3/4 c. mini chocolate chips

8 oz. semisweet chocolate

3 T. unsalted butter

Directions:

Add the mini chocolate chips to the biscotti dough just before shaping into logs, mix in well.

After baking according to above directions, melt semisweet chocolate and butter together and dip one side of the biscotti in once cool. Let cool. Enjoy!

One final note: My apologies on the lack of pictures on this post. While they did not turn out, the cookies did! 

Pacific Rim Stir-Fry

Recipe from Easy Everyday Cooking, from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

3 oz. rice sticks (also called rice noodles), or dried vermicelli, broken

12 oz. skinless boneless chicken thighs or breast halves

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 T snippd fresh basil or 2 t. dried basil, crushed

2 T. soy sauce

2 t. cornstarch

1 t. chile oil

-or-

1/2 t. crushed red pepper (we used this)

1/2 t. ground turmeric

1 T. cooking oil (peanut oil works best, but other will do)

2 med. carrots, cut into julienne strips

2 c. broccoli florets

1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into lengthwise strips

1 bunch green onions, chopped small, opt.

1/4 c. cashew halves or peanuts

Directions:

In a saucepan cook rice sticks in boiling water for 3 minutes, or cook vermicelli according to package directions. Drain, keep warm. (We did this at the end, so we didn't have to worry about keeping them warm, and it worked just as well.)

Meanwhile, rinse chicken; pat dry with paper towels. Cut chicken thighs or breasts into thin, bite-size strips; set aside.

For sauce, in a small bowl combine chicken broth, basil, soy sauce, cornstarch, chile oil or crushed red pepper, and turmeric; set aside.

Add cooking oil to a wok or 12-in. skillet. Preheat over medium-high heat (add more oil if necessary during cooking). Stir-fry carrot strips in hot oil for 1 minute. Add broccoli; stir-fry for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes more or until crisp-tender. Add green onions, if using, cook one minute more. Remove from wok. Add the chicken to wok; stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender and no longer pink. Push from center of wok.

Stir sauce; add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return cooked vegetables to wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat. Cook and stir about 2 minutes more or until heated through.  Serve immediately over hot rice sticks or vermicelli. Top with cashews or peanuts. Makes 4 servings.

Honey-Spice Cake

Recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

1 T butter, plus butter for the pan

1 T grated or finely minced orange zest

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. rye or whole wheat flour (I used rye)

1 t baking soda

1/2 t ground cinnamon

pinch salt

pinch each ground allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger

2 eggs

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. freshly brewed coffee

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5 in. loaf pan, or if you double the recipe, a tube pan. Combine the 2 T. butter and the zest in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until the butter sizzles, then turn off the heat. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light and thick; beat in the honey and coffee, followed by the butter/zest mixture.  Add the dry ingredients by hand, stirring just to combine; do not beat. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a rack.  Remove the pan, then turn the cake right side up.  Let cool before slicing.

I frosted this cake with mocha glaze, also from the HTCE Veg. cookbook. I halved the original recipe, and I still had about three times as much as I needed. In retrospect, I think this would have been a great cake to top with simple homemade whipped cream. However, this is a great glaze for a chocolate cake, or even your basic white cake, so here's the recipe anyway.

Mocha Glaze

Recipe from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman

(This is the full recipe. Half a recipe was more than enough for a loaf cake, but it may not be enough for a 13x9 cake.)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coffee

1/2 t. vanilla extract (optional, I used it)

3 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) plus more as needed

1 oz. melted semisweet or bittersweet chocolate 

-or-

3 T cocoa powder

(I used the cocoa powder, and wish I'd used the melted chocolate instead. It turns out better with the chocolate, I think.)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients and beat until combined and smooth; it should be about the consistency of thick maple syrup-just pourable. Adjust the consistency by adding a little more liquid or a little more sugar. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Note: I've been stirring a small spoonful of the leftovers into my oatmeal in the morning. Delicious!

Spaghetti/Lasagna sauce

Recipe from: Katy Lyren

Makes: plenty for spaghetti or an 8x8 pan of lasagna, double recipe for a 9x13 pan of lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 to 1 t. oregano

2 t. sugar

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 1/4 c. hot water

Directions:

Brown beef and garlic powder together.

When beef is browned, add rest of the ingredients, and simmer till slightly thickened, or until desired consistency.

For Lasagna:

Ingredients for 8x8 pan, double for 9x13

1 recipe pasta dough

1 recipe lasagna sauce

1 small container cottage cheese and/or ricotta cheese

Shredded cheese of your choice, opt.

Assembly:

Layer 1 row of noodles, 1 layer of cheese, one layer of sauce. Repeat. Top with one layer noodles, and one layer of cheese. Top with shredded cheese, if desired.

Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350°. (Bake up to 1 hr if using 9x13.)

Homemade Noodles

Recipe from Gayle Van Camp (my mom)

Makes: Enough dough for an 8x8 pan of lasagna. (Mom says she can get a 9x13 out of this recipe...I double it for that.)

Ingredients:

 2 eggs

4 T. (1/4 c.) milk

2 c. all-purpose flour (can use up to 3/4 c. whole wheat flour)

1 t. salt

Directions:

Beat eggs in mixer a little.

Add milk, mix.

Beat 1 c. flour in at a time, alternating with salt.

Let mixer form it to a ball, (you may have to lock it in place if you can do that). 

Here's where my mom and I differ...she says grease the counter, I say flour it. Basically, if you want to let the dough dry completely and store it, greasing works, but it takes a long time. If you want to use the dough right away, flour the counter.

Flour your counter. :) Your dough will be a bit sticky now, so flip it around on the counter a bit so it collects some extra flour.  

Roll out your dough as thin as possible (check out these little rolling pin spacer things! They work great if I need a precise thickness - I ended up just putting on the thinnest set, which simply kept me from rolling the dough too thin) and cut the dough to size.

If you choose to grease the counter, roll the dough out as thin as possible, let dry some, then cut to width desired. Let dry more, then flip with a spatula so the back side can dry too. Once completely dry, you can store in the fridge or freezer until needed.

These noodles work famously for soups, to eat as regular pasta (though I usually can't get them thin enough for that...) or, my favorite use for them, in homemade lasagna.  My meat sauce recipe for this is upcoming, so check back soon!

Traditional Pesto

Recipe from: How to cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Makes: about 1 cup pesto

Ingredients:

2 loosely packed cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried (pat dried, not 'crunchy' dried)

salt

1/2 clove or more garlic

2 T. pine nuts or walnuts

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, or more

1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan, pecorino romano, or other hard cheese (optional) (I didn't use this)

Directions:

Combine the basil with a pinch of salt, the garlic, the nuts, and about half the oil in a food processor or blender.  Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary and adding the rest of the oil gradually.

Add more oil if you prefer a thinner mixture. Store in the refrigerator for a week or two or in the freezer for several months. Stir in the parmesan by hand just before serving. (I don't like parmesan, and so skipped this step.)

These are the basic ingredients. Like I said, add anything extra you want, though it is good simple too.

Butter the ramekin.

Add the cream. (A couple of teaspoons is plenty, though by all means add more if you wish.) Now is the time to add any extras you want.

Crack the egg in. I recommend separating the egg for this, so the yolk and white mix easier with the cream when baking. I didn't do that this time though, and it still turned out great, so again, you decide. (Don't you feel powerful? YOU control the recipe!)

Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 375°F oven for 10-15 minutes. (If your oven is normal, it should take about 12.) Don't overcook! When you pull it out, it will look a little runny, though the white should be cooked and the yolk set. It will continue to cook a bit, as the ramekin retains some heat.

Salt and Pepper to taste, then enjoy!

Thank you to Mark Bittman and his cookbook, How To Cook Everything, for the recipe.

My son is one year old today. Crazy. For his birthday party, we had family down over the 4th of July and threw his birthday party then.  Here are his cakes.

(You can see his second cake in the video at the bottom of the post.)

He makes this face whenever we give him new food. Usually, anyway.

See, he likes it!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

P.S. Thanks to my hubby, Chris, for the photos and video!

Please ignore the ugly green foam. I forgot to buy styrofoam!

And closer...

And one all by its lonesome...

These were a lot of fun to make. My cousin Heather helped me to assemble them, and by the time we were done, she was better at making them than I was!

This is a great recipe for using whatever bits of veggies you've got lying around.  I used asparagus, vidalia onion, and green pepper this time around.  I also left out the bacon, as neither Chris nor I am fans of it. I've had it both with and without bacon, and I personally like it better without, but the recipe is good either way.

Quiche

Crust:

1 c. flour

1/8 t. salt

1/4 + 1/8 c. butter (or butter-flavored shortening)

1 1/2 to 2 T. cold water

Filling:

3 eggs

1 c. evaporated milk

3/4 c. milk

1 t. salt

dash pepper and nutmeg

cooked bacon pieces (opt.)

sautéed onions

shredded cheese to taste

various cooked veggies to taste

Directions:

Combine flour and salt in a small mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture looks like small peas. Add water, a little at a time, forming the mixture into a ball.  Roll out into a circle, to fit a 9" pie plate, or, alternately, place ball in pie plate and push with fingertips out to edges evenly. (Be sure to give a good edge to the crust, as it shrinks a bit while cooking.) Bake at 375° for 8 to 9 minutes.

In a blender, combine all filling ingredients except bacon, cheese, onion, and veggies. Put the bacon, cheese onion, and other veggies into the pie crust, and VERY slowly pour the egg mixture into the crust. (A trick I've learned is to place the crust, with veggies added, back on the oven rack before pouring the egg mixture in.  This way, I don't have to move a very full, very liquid pie into the oven. Careful, though, as with this way you're more apt to spill in the oven if you don't pour VERY VERY slowly.) Place quiche in oven, and bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes.

Note: My mom always covers the crust edges with foil once the filling's in, to keep it from overbrowning the crust. I don't bother. The end product is prettier if you use the foil, but there's not much difference otherwise.