Almond Biscotti

Sometimes inspiration isn't inspired by profound deep thought, but by a hankering for a certain something! Today's post was one of those moments. I saw a Starbucks commercial, which made me think of their great pastries, which then made me think of their biscotti, which made me think: "Mmmmm... Biscotti....".

1 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

Pinch salt

1 3/4tsp baking powder

1/3 cup plain, roasted almonds, roughly chopped

1/4tsp vanilla extract

1/8tsp almond extract

2 eggs, combined

3 tsp veg oil

Heat your oven to 350f. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and almonds. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts, oil, and eggs. Combine until the dough forms a ball that cleans the bowl walls. Lightly flour your counter or large cutting board, and turn out the dough onto it. Cut the dough in two, then form two logs, about 6-8 inches long. Roll each with a rolling pin to about 3/4-1 inch thick. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut the biscotti's with a pizza cutter or knife to about 1 inch wide, then return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes. They should be hard when they're done, an nicely browned.

Serving suggestions: Plain, dipped in coffee, dipped in chocolate, dusted with powdered sugar... There's many different options! Hope you enjoy!

Lasagna

I have the pickiest young eater you have ever met. Every night he wants macaroni and cheese, a hot dog, tomatoes, and a cheese stick. Recently he's started to branch out though, including ASKING me to make him LASAGNA! I'm pretty sure that was my son....? So...:

1 box lasagna noodles, cooked
2-3 jars pasta sauce (I made mine the same way I made it for the "Layers and Layers of Egg Plant Lasagna, but buying it cuts out a ton of time!)
1 box chopped, frozen spinach, thawed
2 large tubs ricotta cheese
5 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup fresh, shredded parmesan
1lb ground beef, browned
4-5 mild Italian sausage links, casings removed, browned

Heat your oven to 375f. Mix the spinach with the ricotta. Using a deep 9x13 pan, spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom. Layer 3-4 pieces of pasta, the spread more sauce on the noodles, then spread 1/5 the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle some of the beef and sausage, then top with some mozzarella and parmesan. Top with another layer of noodles, and repeat the process until you've gotten 5 layers of pasta noodles. top the final layer as you did the rest, but add a little more cheese than you did the rest of the layers. Bake for roughly 30 minutes, or until the cheese on the top has browned some. Remove and rest for ten minutes, to allow the lasagna to set. Slice, serve, eat!! Don't forget a little garlic bread to sop up the bits on your plate! Hope you enjoy!!

Spiced Apple Tarts

I was in the mood for some apple pie, however I was also in the mood for a tart. I also wanted to make my own pastry cream, so, naturally, my decision was clearly made: Spiced apple tarts!

For the pasty cream:

2 cups milk

5 egg yolks

3/4cup sugar

Pinch salt

3Tbsp corn starch

4Tbsp unsalted butter

2tsp vanilla extract

In a medium sauce pan, begin heating the milk over low to medium low heat. Meanwhile, combine the yolks, sugar, and salt. Add in the corn starch and combine well again. Once the milk has begun to simmer, remove from the heat. Slowly pour about a quarter of the milk into the yolk mixture to temper them. Return the pan to the burner and add in the yolk and milk mixture. Stir gently continuously until the cream has thickened, which will take about a minute or less. Add in the vanilla and butter, and stir gently to melt. Strain the cream through a mesh strainer, into a medium glass bowl or seal-able plastic container, to ensure it's smooth a silky. If using a glass bowl, cover the cream with plastic wrap to keep a film from forming. Putting the plastic wrap directly on the top of the cream will better ensure this. Place the bowl or container in the fridge, and allow to cool completely, either for several hours, or even over night.

For the tart crust:

1 1/2cups all purpose flour 

8Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3Tbsp warm water

1 1/2Tbsp white sugar

Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, flour, water, sugar, and salt with a fork or handheld pastry blender. Add more flour or water depending on how moist your dough is. It should be roughly the consistency of play-dough. This is enough dough for one large tart crust, or three 4" tarts. I made the smaller ones, so I divided the dough into three equal portions. Press the dough into an ungreased tart pan(s), pressing the dough into the sides and bottom evenly. Perforate the bottom of each crust with a fork, about 10 times each for the smaller ones, to keep the dough from bubbling up while baking. Place the crusts in a cool place to chill for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 350f. Once the crusts have firmed some, place them in the oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

For the apples:

3-4 medium apples

1/8-1/4 cup white sugar

1Tbsp brown sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

Small pinch of salt

Thinly slice the apples. I like to use a variety to provide favor and texture variation. Place the slices in a medium to large bowl, then toss with the sugars, salt, and cinnamon. Allow the apples to "marinate" while the crusts and cream cool.

Once the pastry cream and tart crusts have cooled, heat your oven to 350f. Put enough cream into each crust to fill it half way. Lay the first apple slice on top of the cream, with one end in the center and the other touching the inner edge of the crust. Continue to layer the slices, fanning out the edges touching the crust as you go. Bake the tarts for roughly 20 minutes, or until the apples have softened and the edges have browned some. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before eating. Remove the tarts from the tart pans, drizzle with a little warm caramel, and serve! Hope you enjoy!

Coconut Cake

I started working on an idea for a milk-free cake a few days prior to making this. I had some coconut milk and butter-flavored crisco, however I didn't want to try following someone else's recipe, and I know that the ingredients for baking need to be properly proportioned, so I set out to learn just what those ratios are:

Equal weight of sugar to flour
Equal weight of eggs to butter (or shortening)
Equal weight of Eggs and liquid to sugar
1tsp baking powder for every cup of flour
A little salt to taste. I used about 1/2tsp for a single layer cake.

Preheat your oven to 350f. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs one by one, then the milk (I used coconut milk). Continue mixing until well combined. Slowly add the flour and mix at a reduced speed. Unless you feel like cleaning up flour for the next week!

To prep your cake pan(s), use either spray oil, butter, or shortening, and lightly coat the interior of the pan. Put about 1Tbsp of flour in the pan, the shimmy, shake, and wiggle it all around the oil! Turn the pan over your sink or trash, and tap out any excess flour. If you made enough batter for two pans, be sure to divide evenly between the two.

Place the pan(s) in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick can be removed cleanly from the center of the cake. Remove the cake and allow to cool fully before frosting. I made a quick and easy butter cream, again dairy free:

3-4 cups shifted powdered sugar
1 cup butter flavored shortening
2-3Tbsp coconut milk
1/2tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl using a hand mixed or stand mixer, whip the shortening and powdered sugar for 3-5 minutes. It should be smooth, a little fluffy, thick, and lump free. Add the vanilla and combine, then add enough coconut milk to get the frosting to the consistency you prefer. I ended up using about 3Tbsp. I also toasted some shredded coconut to top the cake with.

To put it together, poke a several holes in the top of the cake, and drizzle some coconut milk over the cake. Allow the milk to soak in before frosting or adding another layer. Top the cake with the toasted coconut, and eat! Hope you enjoy!

Chicken with lemon butter sauce

I bought some canned artichoke hearts for a pizza I made a few weeks ago, but I forgot to use them! So, I've been trying to think of the best way to utilize them. Publix had some great chicken breasts on sale, and the wheels began turning! Butter... lemon... Wine... Annnnd, GO:

2 Chicken breasts, skin on, bone removed
2Tbsp olive oil
1 Shallot, finely diced
5-6 canned artichoke hearts, quartered length-wise
2Tbsp capers
3/4 stick of unsalted butter
1Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Cup white wine
2 Cups chicken broth, low sodium
1tsp Paprika
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat your oven to 350f, and place an oven safe dish on the middle rack. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium to medium high heat. Season the chicken with some salt and pepper, then place skin side down in the pan. Sear until golden brown, then flip. Cook again until browned, then remove and place in the dish in the oven, skin side up.

Deglaze the pan with the wine, then add in the broth, lemon juice, butter, mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, and shallot. Reduce the heat to low, stir often, and simmer until the sauce had thickened and will coat the back of a spoon. Rinse the capers and add them to the sauce. Now add the artichokes to heat them through. Because they're canned, they're much softer than fresh, thus adding them in sooner would result in the artichokes falling apart.

Remove the chicken when it's reached the proper temperature, and allow it to rest. I plated with a bed of white rice, then the chicken, placed a few artichokes around the chicken, then poured some sauce over top. This was added to my husband's list of "Please, please, PLEASE, make again" dishes! Hope you enjoy!