Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti

 

Despite what your mother told you, cookies are perfect for breakfast. Some of us wake up without feeling hunger (definitely not me), but I know you're out there. For those of you who don't and are told to eat breakfast because it starts your day off right, then this is your go-to. Yes biscotti is a cookie, but its less sweet and goes perfectly with a glass of milk, or a cup of hot tea in the morning or at night. 

The word biscotti, means twice baked in Italian. In this recipe you bake the cookie once, remove from the oven and slice diagonally, placing back in the oven to cook for the remaining time, allowing the biscotti to reach a crunchy and soft consistency. If you never have tried homemade biscotti, it is an experience, quite different from buying them at Starbucks or the market. These are anything but hard on your teeth, and the flavor increases every day.

 

You can make all types of biscotti, but I chose to use cranberry and pistachio. It was so wonderful. Seeing as how two of my friends, Diane Kay (Stepmom) and Susan Monus, the woman I work for in Malibu had their birthdays recently, I decided to make biscotti because their shelf life is much longer than any other baked good. You can freeze them so they will last even longer too! How great is that? Always having a small snack to go along with your tea! 

My kitchen looked like a complete mess afterward because I doubled the recipe thinking there wouldn't be enough, but oh crap, I now am left with 3 huge ziplock baggies filled with biscotti just sitting here waiting to be eaten. If you ever are having a party, this is a great way to make a lot in one session.

 In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. Then combine the dry ingredients before adding the pistachios and cranberries.

 

What I did notice is the pistachio are much stronger in flavor than the cranberries, so if you are in it for the cranberries mostly, I would highly recommend adding more. For me, the proportions were perfect, but I probably would add a little more pistachio and cranberry so that there is more in every bite.

 

Just a note, the dough is extremely sticky, so don't be shy when flouring your surface. Mix one egg in a bowl to coat the dough when formed into a log. (shown below).

 Before going into the oven (above) and first time removed from the oven shown below.

 At this point, your kitchen will smell like you are in Tartine Bakery, which is located in the Mission District in San Francisco. That's a good thing if you've never been there and don't know what I am talking about. I had one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten recently. My mom and I shared a vegetable croque monsieur and a lovely quiche. Go there if you are in San Fran. You can smell it from a few blocks away and everyone leaves happy with a smile on their face. I'm killing myself for not taking any pictures...oh well.

 After removing, cut the biscotti diagonally. Do not cut immediately after taking out of the oven, wait around 15-20 minutes so that it won't crumble and fall apart. Don't wait too long or else it will harden and it won't slice easily, leaving you with a messy kitchen and not so pretty biscotti.

 On a wire rack, place the biscotti on the side they were cut to prep for their second baking round. You can see the lovely pistachio and cranberries throughout. At this point, the outsides are hardening, but the inside is soft. If you like doughy centers, you technically don't have to bake again, although it wouldn't reaaallly be biscotti. Who care though right?!

And there it is, after baked a second time, the outsides are even more golden and the inside is crispier than before, yet softer than market bought biscotti. Like other recipes, I'm sure everyone is sad when the last bite is taken and you are longing for more. Nope, not in this case. Like I said, 3 bags of biscotti left (I doubled the recipe for birthday presents). I will have these in the freezer for quite some time. Who wants to come over for a tea party?

Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti
originally from Marth Stewart

Ingredients:
 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup boiling water
3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3 large eggs, plus 1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces)salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 357 degrees. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Place cranberries in a small bowl; add boiling water. Let stand until plump, about 15 minutes. Drain, and set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mic on low speed until combined. Mix in cranberries and pistachios.

3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a 16 by 2 inch log, and transfer to prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Brush beaten egg over surface of the dough logs, and sprinkle generously with sugar.

4. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until logs are slightly firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer logs on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

5. Place logs on cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2 inch-thick slices. Place a wire rach on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange slices, cut sides down, on rack. Bake until firm to touch, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven; let biscotti cool completely on rack. Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Freeze if you want to keep them longer.

Roasted Chicken and Broccolini Lemon Pasta

 

Oh yessssss. Fresh. Healthy. Light. Flavorful. Crunchy. Salty. Lemony. I could go on and on and on. My mom made this for me after falling in love at a dinner party. I think I have eaten it about three times now, so I figured why not learn how to recreate it myself? 

When you're in a rush to get dinner on the table, this recipe can go from difficult to easy in just a couple steps. Tonight, since there weren't any rotisserie chickens available at the market, I had to roast my own chicken at home. Here I will show how you can make this in a jiffy without all the labor!

 Here is the beautiful chicken I roasted at home, but for the speedy cook, buy a rotisserie chicken at your local market so you can start this immediately when you get home.

 I higgghly recommend toasting the pine nuts before starting the recipes steps because the flavor drastically changes, adding such wonderful flavor. 

Before, I have always eaten this with plain fettuccine noodles. I just so happened to stumble upon the lemon & pepper pappardelle pasta when buying ingredients at Trader Joe's and decided to test it out. Why not use lemon pasta when the main flavor already was fresh lemon juice? It worked out very well. I can't tell you which one was better, just slightly different.

 Chop the end stalks of the broccolini to make them bite size and squeeze 1/4 cup of lemon juice (2-3 lemons).

 

Boil the broccolini in salted water for 2 minutes until crisp-tender. You don't want to cook completely because they will cook after you remove, AND when you place back into the final pot to mix with the other ingredients before plating.

I can't even express how deep my love for this dish is. Maybe it's just because I'm obsessed with citrus and cheese, but I truly believe you will love every bit of it. Especially the leftovers. The day after is probably my favorittte. All the lemony goodness soaks up into the brocollini and the flavor is unreal!

Ingredients:

Salt

1 pound Broccolini, trimmed and stalks cut

1 (9 ounce) package of pappardelle or fettuccine pasta

1 (14 ounce) can of reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)

4 cups of shredded chicken (1 roasted chicken will yield 3-4 cups of shredded meat)

3/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon zest

freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccolini and cook until crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccolini to a large bowl. Add the fettuccine to the same pot of water and cook, stirring to prevent sticking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, bring the chicken broth and the lemon juice to a boil over medium- high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, or until the broth has reduced by half. Add the chicken and simmer just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked pasta, broccolini, pine nuts, olive oil and lemon zest. Toss to coat, adding 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to melt. Then add reserved cooking liquid from the pasta if dry to help moisten. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the pasta, sprinkling the remaining parmesan and parsley on top. YUM.

Baked Salmon in Foil Packets

While taking my end of the year exams, I found myself craving seafood regularly. So, I decided to make this recipe I found on the Food Network by Giada De Laurentiis, who by the way is my secret guilty pleasure. While on summer vacation, all I do now is watch either the Food Network or the Cooking channel, but whenever Giada is on, she is my go-to. Most likely because I miss Rome more and more every day.

Well, this recipe was a pleasant surprise. I must say I was pretty nervous trying to attempt these individual salmon packets but it was well worth it. So delicious and moist. The flavors of the shallots, lemon juice, dried oregano and thyme were such a nice compliment to the fish...I wouldn't change a thing! (Although, maybe just swapping the dried oregano for fresh instead).

Roasted asparagus with cracked pepper and salt. I think I might eat this with every meal, no joke. Thought you might like to stare at the pretty vegetable so I added a picture even though they aren't part of the salmon recipe. Not a bad complimentary side though ;)

Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Look how pretty! The recipe called for dried oregano but I used fresh instead.

This picture reminded me of the book I used to read as a child, The Rainbow Fish. Look at the pretty, reflective scales!

Place the individual salmon fillet, oiled side down, on top of a piece of foil. Wrap the ends around the fish to create a boat-like structure that will hold in the tomato mixture.

Ladle the tomato mixture into the tinfoil boat, covering the salmon fillet.

My favorite wine. If you missed my previous post, buy this and try it out! It was just written up in Food & Wine Magazine as one of the top 5 best white wines for the price. Told ya!

After the salmon is done cooking, remove from the oven and unravel the sealed tinfoil packets. Beautiful, moist and flavorful fish awaits your consumption!

 

I served the fish with asparagus and some lemon, basil angel hair pasta. The juices from the tomatoes and shallots work wonderfully with everything on the plate. Top of with some freshly shaved parmigiana cheese.

Ingredients:

4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets

2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cherry tomatoes, chopped

2 chopped shallots

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, (if you like lemon buy more to use when serving)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Handful of fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, lemon juice, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Place each salmon fillet in individual tinfoil packets. Twist the ends of the foil to create a boat-like structure around the salmon to hold in the tomato mixture. Spoon the tomato, shallot and lemon juice mixture over the salmon, evenly distributing among each fish packet. Then, fold the sides over to seal each packet closed. Place the fish packets on a heavy large baking sheet. Bake the salmon until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to their plates and serve or remove the fish from the foil and place directly on plate, spooning the leftover tomato mixture on top. Enjoy!

Apricot & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

 

Summer is here! Well for me at least. What better way to celebrate than to munch on some apricot & white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies? 

 I've been looking through my recipes and photos of what I have made over the past few weeks and today I realized, where are all the sweets?! This is absurd and entirely unlike me. All throughout high school, I would only want to bake. My mom was becoming frustrated with what little knowledge I had of cooking and thought of baking as an easy method because all you had to do was follow the recipe exactly. I now understand what she meant, but who doesn't wan to eat sugar now and again? Or maybe all the time?

Anyway, during high school, my mom taught me how to bake pies. Banana cream pie, lemon meringue, wild berry, chocolate pudding, anything I could think of I made. Banana cream and lemon meringue were instantly my favorite and the ones I chose to submit in the local Malibu Pie Contest. For two years I won 1st and 2nd prize in the adult category. I was no amateur at baking because it's all I did with my free time. So now, here I am, the so called "baker" with very little to show on my blog. How come I don't even have a pie up to share with you all? Maybe that will come next!  

 

 Seeing as how my sweet tooth is extra strong today, I decided to bake up some fresh summer cookies! What I had in my kitchen were some apricots (I used Turkish), white chocolate chips and some rolled oats. You could substitute anything in place of these, like dark chocolate chips and cherries or white chocolate chips with cranberries. I have to say though, I've never had apricot cookies so I chose to experiment and wowwwww were they fantastic! I mean just pure bliss!

What's nice about this recipe is that if you aren't an oatmeal cookie fan, then you're in luck because the recipe doesn't call for many oats. Just enough is used to make them ooey gooey and chewy ;) I don't usually like to use a lot of white chocolate chips because they have a tendency to over-sweeten recipes, so I reduced the amount and added a little more dried apricot from the original recipe that sparked my interest. Below are the measurements I used.

 Mix the dry ingredients, including white sugar, tightly packed brown sugar and a full stick of butter.

 After adding the egg and vanilla extract, combine completely and gradually mix the dry ingredients in with the wet. (look below for dry ingredients.)

 Cut the apricots into 4 pieces and add them to the mixture. (Do not cut into 6 or 8 pieces because the apricots are mild enough that you won't taste them). Then toss in the white chocolate chips and mix till evenly distributed throughout the batter.

 1 1/2 tbs. cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, cooking in a 350 degree oven. After 8-10 minutes, the cookies will be golden brown and ready to remove from the oven. Place individual cookies on a cooling rack so that they don't overcook.

These cookies are nice and soft on the inside, while chewy and crispy on the outer edges. Such a delicious recipe and perfect for the summer. I'm sure if you wanted to substitute fresh apricots, that would be lovely as well! I will definitely make these again soon. Also, later in the night if you want a snack, warm them up just a little and don't forget to dip them in milk!

Apricot & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies:

adapted from Closet Cooking

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter (room temperature)

1/2 brown sugar (tightly packed)

1/2 white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of rolled oats

3/4 cup of dried apricots (each cut into 4 pieces/chopped)

1/2 white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt. Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet.

Mix the rolled oats, apricots and white chocolate into the cookie batter.

Place 1 tbs or slightly larger balls onto a cookie sheet.

Place in the preheated oven and let bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove when golden brown.

Lemon Goat Cheese Chicken

Wow these past two weeks have been so exhausting. I haven't been able to even look at my blog, but I did manage to cook up some delicious recipes for my best friend and I during finals. After a really stressful semester, I'm happy to say I have completed my Junior year at Willamette University in Oregon and am back home in Malibu, CA enjoying the sun and everyone around me. 

 Seeing as how life was sort of put on hold, this chicken recipe has been sitting in my iPhoto for over a week now, but I sure do think about it a lot. I stumbled upon this goat cheese chicken rendition on a website called Real Simple and immediately wanted to make it with the leftover sweet potato mash from my previous post. Always use your leftovers! 

I know, you're probably thinking, goat cheese and sweet potato?! What craziness have you come up with again? Well, just trust me. The tangy flavor of the cheese with the mildly sweet vegetable was so delicious, I literally dream about it. You will want to make it again immediately after you finish consuming every bite.

 I decided to add a side of roasted brussels sprouts that I cooked in the oven at 400 degrees. I cut them lengthwise, removed their stems, tossed them in a little olive and sprinkled pepper and salt before placing them in the preheated oven. (These were exceptional with the goat cheese sauce.)

 In a skillet, the chicken breasts cook with the olive oil and minced garlic for 3-5 minutes on each side.

 After 15-20 minutes, I tossed the brussels sprouts in the oven so they would cook evenly and removed them when they reached their desired crispiness around 30-40 minutes.

 When the chicken breasts were removed from the already thickened chicken broth, lemon, thyme sauce base, I placed the goat cheese in the pan to melt and combine. 

 Once the sauce fully combines, place the chicken back in the pan to coat and to absorb the flavor. I let sit for about 1-2 minutes. Almost done!

 Assemble the plate with your side dishes. Like I mentioned before, I decided to use my leftover sweet potato mash as a bed for the chicken (highly recommended). Then, lay the breast over the sweet potato and spoon however much goat cheese sauce you prefer on top. I am a HUGE lover of cheese, especially goat, so I added a substantial amount so that there was enough for the brussel sprouts as well.

And there you have it! The finished product. Lemony goat cheese chicken on top of sweet potato accompanied by roasted brussels sprouts. I think I might make this again tonight...why not?! You will absolutely love it!

Goat Cheese Chicken:

from Real Simple 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tbs of olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled & minced

1 tsp of salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

4 ounces of soft goat cheese

Directions:

Using a rolling pin, pound the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of wax paper until uniform thickness so they can cook evenly. Then heat the oil and garlic in a large pan over medium heat until the garlic browns. (make sure to not burn.)

Add the chicken breasts and cook on each side for about 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the salt, pepper, chicken broth, thyme and lemon zest. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 3 minutes longer or until the chicken is fork-tender.

Remove chicken to a platter and keep warm while thickening the sauce. Increase the heat to high, allowing the mixture to boil and gradually thicken. It will become a syrup-like texture after 3-5 minutes when you will finally add the goat cheese. Once the sauce thickens and the cheese fully melts, place the chicken breasts back into the pan to coat. Now the chicken is ready to serve with your chosen side dish.

*As for the sweet potato recipe, refer back to the previous post, Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos for cooking instructions.

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. of Brussels Sprouts

3 tbs. of olive oil

salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut off the ends of the sprouts and slice lengthwise. Toss lightly in olive oil and crack pepper and salt on top. Place them on a cooking sheet and roast for 35-40 minutes. Toss them a few times so they reach desired crispiness. If you'd like, sprinkle with a little extra salt at the end.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos

YOU MUST TRY THESE! The combination of black beans with sweet potato is killer, not to mention the added flavor of swiss cheese really brings in a totally new element.

 Who do I have to thank for this idea? Well I was over at the sorority a few days ago, hanging out with some girls who were all cooking together and my friend Lindsey Meloy was preparing these wonderful tacos. Yes I slightly adapted it by adding caramelized onions and cilantro but Lindsey and Cate definitely were the reason for why I recreated this gem of a recipe. After I stuck my nose in Lindsey's dinner and stole several bites (typical Lauren moment) I immediately bought the ingredients at the market so I could make it after school on Friday night for Laurel and Paul.

I must admit, right before preparing all the ingredients on Friday, I realized I bought the wrong sweet potatoes. I knew something was off when I cut into them and the lovely orange color wasn't there, just plain old white insides with no flavor at all. I guess what I bought were the real sweet potatoes, and I might try to make fries out of them, but I was utterly screwed if I didn't have the correct ones for the tacos. So I had Laurel pick up the right ones on her way over, and once I cut into them, I was amazed at the inside color. Look at how beautiful they were! All was right in my kitchen once again and I was ready to tackle this dinner so I could feed all three of our moaning bellies. 

Place the onion in a medium sized pan on very low heat. This process takes around 30 minutes because in order to create the caramelized texture, you must do so very slowly. Push them around with a metal spatula so that they never burn every 2 to 3 minutes. 

Depending on how big a fan you are of black beans, pour 1 to 2 cans of them in a pan to heat up.

I like to prep all the ingredients I'm using beforehand because it tends to make the process a little less daunting. Sometimes having to combine 3 or more steps overwhelms people, and in that case, I highly recommend chopping your onions, cutting the avocado into 1 inch squares, chopping the cilantro and wrapping the tortillas in tinfoil for when you want to warm them up in the oven.

Oh, and you can't forget the Chardonnay! Highly recommend this wine for any college students out there. It was surprisingly delicious, especially with this meal!

Once the onions begin to turn this beautiful, rich golden color, add about a teaspoon of white sugar to sweeten them up and further enrich the caramelizing process.

Cook the beans on medium heat. I added about 4 slices of swiss cheese early on to melt and combine. Don't be shy, the flavor is unbelievably good. 

Laurel and Paul looking miserable in the kitchen, waiting on the finished product!

Once the sweet potatoes had cooked all the way through in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, I scooped out the insides, leaving the skin behind and began to mash with a fork.

The tortillas were in the oven for about 10 minutes, and then I began to serve by placing a hefty dollop of sweet potato mash on top!

Paul is ready for the awesomeness :)

And here is the beautiful creation. Warmed tortillas with mashed sweet potato, swiss cheese infused black beans, diced avocado, caramelized onions and a little cilantro to top it off!

Ingredients:

3 medium sized sweet potatoes, cut lengthwise

2 white onions, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 or 3 avocados, diced

4-5 swiss cheese slices

handful of cilantro

olive oil 

pinch of sugar

white corn tortillas (do not buy Mission tortillas; buy fresh ones that bend easily)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut sweet potato lengthwise on a baking sheet and place into the oven for 35-40 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, use 1 tbs. of olive oil and coat the chopped onion over medium heat in a medium sized pan. Reduce to low immediately and constantly stir so they do not burn. This whole process of caramelizing the onions will take about 30 minutes, so pay careful attention to them. Once the 15 minute mark approaches, use about 1 tbs. of granulated sugar and toss with onions. Continue to cook over low heat.

Pour the black beans into a pot and heat over medium heat. Add the swiss cheese and melt to combine. If they cook before everything else is done, take off the heat and when ready to assemble the tacos, reheat. 

Wrap tortillas in a tinfoil pouch and place in the oven with the sweet potatoes at 400 degrees. Monitor closely and remove after about 10 minutes. This cooking technique helps keep the tortillas warm and fresh without drying them out.

When the sweet potatoes have cooked all the way through, scrape out the insides and place into a bowl, like shown above. Mash with a fork until desired consistency is reached.

When finished, place the mashed sweet potato on warm tortillas and cover with black beens, caramelized onions, and avocado. Top off with cilantro and you are ready to serve!