Amy Ruth

[SinglePic not found]Biscotti and I have never met.  I’ve never eaten Biscotti before until tonight, much less baked them.    Dorie, these are really great.  My impression of this new friend in the past was based on the petrified, probably up in years, character you typically bump into at you local coffee establishment.  I don’t mind old things, heck, I’m old, but something screams out mass production.  I’m all about the “made from scratch”, original designer label, designed and crafted with the best materials, kind of biscotti.    Sharing the love.  My handmade biscotti are  (the ones I haven’t eaten) packaged in clear cellophane sacks, tied with a colorful ribbon, ready to go “Make Friends.”

 My hubs told his brother tonight on the phone that its hard to loose weight around here no matter how hard you work out, because there is all this good cooking going on around the house.  To that I added, Oh My Goodness, Honey, you should see all the cooking groups out there in the blogosphere.  I just belong to ONE of them. Many foodie bloggers belong to multiple groups.   The blogosphere only knows about my baking, so far.  He just smiled.  Life is good.

Gretchen of Canela & Comino selected Lenox Almond Biscotti as this weeks recipe.  You can make friends with Lenox Biscotti, really… here.  Thank you so much for introducing us.  Its a pleasure knowing Biscotti.  If you are tempted by all the wonderful recipes included in Baking From My Home to Yours, you can run down to your local book store and have Dorie’s book for your very own or just click and shop.  [SinglePic not found]

A trip down Google Lane, provided me historical information about Biscotti.  Interesting thing, turns out many European countries have their own version and name for biscuits, twice baked.  I learned about the traditional flavors of anise and almonds.  Of course, since then they have evolved into a many splendored thing.

This time, I adhered to Dorie’s version with only a single addition and variation.  I had some dried cranberries in the pantry that were begging to be included.  Since they needed a little fluffing up I took Dorie’s advice on page 92 to steep and flame the fruit.  I did so and used some Amaretto for the “flaming.” Also, I used slivered almonds rather than sliced because thats what I had on hand.    

Again, following Dorie’s suggestion for the “controversial baking time” was really pretty much on target for me and my oven.  Because I was dealing with a completely different concept I realized I needed a baseline experience and so I only added 5 minutes to the second baking time.  I think they became a little more golden than was ideal.  So next time I will adjust for that.   After they cooled they firmed up nicely and they tasted delicious.  I had a cup of chai tea with mine.  Scrumptous!!!  Tomorrow, Sumatra coffee. (then the gym)  Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit.  I read all comments  and make friends easily. [SinglePic not found]

Please join in the fun before the cutoff date of October 31.  Tuesdays with Dorie baking group to view the blogroll of all the baking maniacs.  We have fun baking desserts together.

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[SinglePic not found]Tuesdays with Dorie, in my case this week, was also Tuesdays with Steve, my hairdresser.  The day for “the magic wand.”   After my trip to the gym, I quickly mixed together this neat little cake for my 8 inch springform pan (which I use for a wonderful cake in Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet cookbook- my sweet, precious husband bought them both for me), popped it in the oven while I tidied up.

  While mixing the cake I thought perhaps if I didn’t mix too much air into the ingredients it would help prevent the sinking middle syndrome.  So I stirred gently as directed by Dorie in the recipe.  Low and behold, don’t know if I was lucky, but I had minimal “sinking in the middle”, just a note to self.  I set the timers  (actually two timers) one for a minute or two less and one for 5 minutes less than the prescribed amount.  I tend to like things not dried out from overbaking.  As I recall I was typing something on the ‘puter when the chocolate aroma hit my nose.  You know that lovely warm chocolate “hey, I am almost finished baking smell”  (not the burned smell).  Anyway, after checking the timer with 9 or 10 minutes to go I was standing at attention waiting to make sure it was perfectly baked.  I waited for a few more minutes before performing  the knife test and it was perfectly baked so I removed it from the oven and left it to cool on a rack.  This is when I ran back for a quick shower to prepare for my time at the salon.  Fast Forward 15 minutes to come back and remove the ring for quicker cooling, as instructed by Dorie.  Done!  Back to finish making ready for Salon time.  Upon returning to the kitchen I reviewed instructions for the caramel.  I have made caramel before, but days have passed and I have slept since then so just wanted to make sure I had all ingredients at the ready.  There is an overwhelming urge to just watch the pot boil.  Actually you really have time to take your eyes off and multi-task at the beginning of the boiling process.  Setting timers really keeps me on task and helps me account for time.  The caramel came together beautifully.   I learned that selecting the right pot for the job really makes a difference in the amount of time required.  I have a heavy 2 1/2 quart saucepan with a wide bottom providing good surface area contact with the burner.  Followed the instructions, plus a couple of minutes and the caramel worked nicely, added the peanuts, stirred and enjoyed the aroma.  It surprised me how beautiful it was atop the chocolate brownie cake.  Look!

I didn’t get to taste the finished product, just the batter of course,  but the reviews from patrons and employees at the salon were great.  Dorie did it again.  Great elements combined into a really pretty dessert.  Simple as well.  Thank you Tammy from Wee Treats for selecting a tasty and simple dessert.  A combination of all American flavors from Dorie Greenspan’s  Baking from My Home to Yours.  All the of members of the blogroll can be found at Tuesdays with Dorie for a different prospective and lots of fun.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit.

PS  One more thing…. that remaining caramel sauce, excluding the peanuts, went well with the apple pots de caramel the next night  ymmmm.  I used  fresh apples, (from a friend Molly’s tree) spiced with cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, ginger, brown sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, a little butter.  A good healthy drizzle of caramel sauce, pecans, and the whole wheat biscuit  topping from the Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler recipe, page 415.    It was delicious with vanilla bean ice cream.  Maybe a little more caramel sauce on top, too!