Dip & Sip

Posted on February 7, 2014 by melsmosaic

I have a passion for baking and whipped up some Cappuccino Chocolate Chip biscotti last week. My friend and I finished dinner and we needed dessert so I went and found the remaining pieces of the goodies I’d baked. As we were sitting there enjoying our red wine, as well, I said…try dipping it in there. She looked at me for a second, went ahead with the suggestion and never turned back.

Many people equate biscotti with coffee, but find the right wine and the right flavor of treat to dunk and you have an amazing match! At this point in the night we were on my local ‘Two (or three) Buck Chuck’ since I can’t get Trader Joe’s wine because I live in MD. I get Pepperwood Grove (Pinot Noir for this circumstance) for $4.44 down the street at Rodman’s. Love it!

I work on savory biscotti, as well, that pairs nicely with a variety of white wines. Give them a try, dip & sip away!

Beer-scotti

Posted on August 10, 2013 by melsmosaic

Yes, oh, yes. You read it right. Why stick with the norm? I love making biscotti, but when opportunity knocks, find the bottle opener! I have my monthly supper club tomorrow and the theme is Texas. I was debating what to make and after some deep thought I remembered that a beer I love is right out of that state. The name — Shiner Bock. So (I feel like Alton Brown here), time to get to the lab. I’d made one beer-scotti before, but it’d been awhile, so I had to get the juices (aka beer) flowing.

I started by combining 12oz of Shiner (1 bottle) and about 1 cup of dried cranberries in a pot on the stove to have the cranberries get nice and drunk. Oh, sorry, absorb all the liquid. I kept it at medium heat for about 20 or so minutes.

Once that was done, I let them cool for a bit (and sampled a few…very good!…keep away from children, unless you need them to fall asleep).

Next I was trying to decide what flavors to use as accents. Do I want this to be savory or sweet? I chose to do a bit of both. I opted for rosemary and cinnamon. So, here I go with all these ingredients, and of the the staples of my normal recipe…

Flour, sugar, baking powder & soda, salt, cinnamon, rosemary, egg yolk, vanilla, (more) Shiner, drunk cranberries, walnuts.

Dough ready, make it into two logs, throw it into the over at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

When the first part is done, take it out and slice it. I use a pizza cutter. Makes it so easy. Samples required at this point. WOW! WOW! For the second baking, I just turn the oven off and throw it back in there. I don’t time it, I know it will work perfectly because I’m not picky on the crunchiness, softness, etc. of the biscotti. If you are wondering, the recipe called for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.

I am so excited to take this to supper club tomorrow. So, to summarize…pass me another. Make that a biscotti this time.

Baking…1,2,3…Biscotti

Posted on April 20, 2013 by melsmosaic

It’s Friday, it’s pouring rain, what better a thing to do before dinner than bake? You have to have dessert, right? And it helps to prep for a party tomorrow.

One of my favorite things to bake is biscotti because it has (or truly doesn’t have to have) butter, which means those who are lactose intolerant can totally enjoy it! And, it keeps for awhile. The crispier, the better!! With the recipe I use, I take the basics and alter the flavors. Tonight, I was looking around my kitchen and opted to include dark chocolate (duh!), whiskey and walnuts. There is a health benefit in all of those, in some way, shape or form.

The aforementioned recipe I use is from a cookbook I received years ago. You just combine:
-2+ c flour
-3/4 c sugar
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-most times I also use 1 tsp nutmeg

Blend. Then add:
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla

Those are the basics. Then you just need more liquid that is flavor and other dry ingredients for flavor, from nuts to chocolates to dry fruit to more spices You might also need some water sometimes just for that extra bit of liquid.

So for this recipe I used:
-‘some’ whiskey
-about 1/2 cup chocolate chips
-about 3/4 cup – 1 cup walnuts

Once the dough is mixed, you make it into flat ‘logs’ — I can’t think of a better word — and bake it for 30 minutes at 375.

After half an hour, take it out and cut it into ‘biscotti’ shape. And you know, these crumbs fall off– MUST sample. They have no calories, come on. Then, contrary to what the recipe said, I just turn the oven off, put the cookie sheet back in there, with the cut biscotti on it and let it sit in there, be it 1 hour or overnight. Again, the crispier the better.

Final product, perfect!