Guinness And Chocolate Cheesecake-It Beats Green Beer Any Day!
St. Patrick’s Day is a week away and for my DC Foodies entry this week, I felt a little Irish and made a decadent Guinness and Chocolate Cheesecake.
Go check it out at DCFoodies.com.
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Entries Tagged as 'baking'
Savory Biscotti- Parmesan Rosemary And Parmesan Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
I’ve been becoming quite proficient at making biscotti lately. This Holiday season, I decided to concentrate most of my baking focus on Italian specialties such as pizzelles and biscotti. With my new VillaWare pizzelle maker, I’ve been cranking out chocolate pizzelles, traditional anise pizzelles and orange rum pizzelles. Using my KitchenAid mixer, I’ve been baking batches and batches of chocolate cherry walnut and anise almond biscotti. I thought it might be fun to try a savory biscotti however, perhaps to enjoy with an anitpasti and cheese platter with a nice glass of Sangiovese wine.
Here are two recipes which I found to be delicious and easy to make. The first combines parmesan with rosemary and Dijon mustard (pictured at top right). The second uses Classico Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Parmesan (pictured at top left).
To serve, pop into a 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes to warm and crisp them up. Enjoy!
Parmesan, Rosemary and Mustard Biscotti- makes about 2 dozen biscotti
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour (All Purpose)
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can use pecorino if you wish)
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, finely ground
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt and rosemary. In mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light yellow. To mixer, add mustard, Parmesan cheese and eggs. Mix to combine, about 2-3 minutes on low. Add dry ingredients slowly. Combine until dough forms a ball.
Transfer dought to a lightly floured board. With lightly floured hands, bring dough together into disc. Cut in half. With each half, roll into a 12 inch log (you may need a small amount of flour to prevent sticking). Transfer each log to Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each log until 2 inches wide. Lightly score individual biscotti- about 12 cookies to each log.
Place baking sheet on the middle rack of oven and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut individual biscotti and return biscotti to baking sheet, standing upright. Bake another 10 minutes until they are golden and crisp. Allow to cool completely. Store in air-tight container.
Parmesan Tomato Pesto Biscotti- makes about 2 dozen biscotti
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour (All Purpose)
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (you can use pecorino if you wish)
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, finely ground
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tbsp. Classico Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto (or use any comparable brand)
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In bowl, place dry ingredients: flour, corn meal, baking soda and salt. In mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light yellow. Add cheese, eggs, and tomato pesto. Mix on low until blended, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until dough forms a ball.
Transfer to a lightly floured board and continue preparation and baking as outlined above.
More Holiday Baking- Chocolate Cherry Walnut Biscotti
Chocolate biscotti are a wonderful treat for anytime, or for after dinner as a light sweet to dunk in your coffee or dessert wine. They make a special gift for Holiday giving too. Biscotti are also deceptively easy to make. Check out my recipe on DC Foodies!
Hound Picks - VillaWare Quattro Pizzelle Maker
I got a new toy for Christmas baking- a pizzelle maker. After doing a bit of research, I bought a VillaWare Electric Quattro Pizzelle Maker. It works like a charm. Once my batter was made, the process of churning out pizzelles was quick and efficient. I made two types yesterday; orange-rum and chocolate-walnut. The former was outstanding while the chocolate was just meh. Fortunately, I have a great chocolate biscotti recipe up my sleeve and will post about that later.
Pizzelles originated in Italy. The name “pizzelle” means round and flat. Early on, pizzelles were made in molds and cooked over fire. Often times, the pizzelle mold had the family crest, initial or town name of origin.
Pizzelles now associated with Christmas and Easter, were made for celebrations. Specifically, for the “Festival of the Snakes”, also known as the “Feast Day of San Domenico” day in the town of Colcullo Italy, which is in the Abruzzo region. After the snakes were captured and subsequently driven back into the bush, away from the town, the residents would celebrate with these round delights. The town was said to be rid of snake bites for another year.
Back to my new toy.The pizzelle maker is truly non-stick. No spraying. No sticking. I found two kitchen tools to be very helpful during and after making the cookies. First, a small scooper to ensure uniformity. Second, a small pasta cutter to cut the excess away from the pizzelles and round them out. Each batch of 4- 3 inch pizzelles took under one minute to pour and bake. I allowed each batch to cool on a large wooden board, then stacked them until I was finished with the batter. I then cut and stored them in tins.
Last, I want to share these wonderful tins and boxes I bought from Michael’s craft store. The Chinese take-out boxes are very popular this year. I purchase a variety of Holiday themed boxes and tins for gift giving.
I’m looking forward to making the traditional anise pizzelles of my childhood Holidays. In the meantime, here’s a recipe for those delicious Orange Rum Pizzelles.
Orange Rum Pizzelles
Ingredients:
3 eggs room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp. rum
2 tsp. orange zest
2 cups flour
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl or standing mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until creamed. Add the cooled butter a little at a time. Add the rum and grated orange zest. Gradually add enough flour to make a light dough. The batter should be stiff enough to be dropped by a spoon or small ice cream scooper (I added just about all 2 cups).
Place about 1 tsp. (for small pizzelles- large pizzelles should take about 2 tsp.) on each mold and close grill firmly. Each pizzelle batch should take 45-50 seconds to bake. Remove to cool. Cut excess batter from around each pizzelle when cooled.
Rosemary, Dew Of The Sea. A Recipe For Rosemary, Olive and Honey Quick Bread- WHB**
As early as the Roman Republic, rosemary has been loved for it’s wonderful scent and the the beautiful appearance of it’s flowers and needle-like leaves. It was woven into bridal head pieces for lasting love and placed under mattresses for faithfulness, as well as warding off insects. The name rosemary is from the Latin ros marinus, dew of the sea. From the French term incensier, it was used church ceremonies to ward off evil and dark spirits.
Rosemary’s complex scent is reminiscent of sea air, pine and camphor. It’s essential oils brings both brightness and earthiness to dishes ranging from chicken, to lamb, to potatoes and many things in between. Foods rich in fat and bland foods favor rosemary as a pairing.
Rosemary dries well and the dried herb can be easily substituted for fresh. Usually 1/4 the amount of dried rosemary will do, and should be chopped fine or ground since when dried, rosemary is like pine needles. The plant takes well to growing indoors as well as outdoors and should get plenty of sunshine.
Here’s a bread which can be made in a jiffy, as it has no yeast and needs no time to rise. It will go nicely with soft cheeses and butters and is perfect for sopping up soups and sauces.
Rosemary, Olive and Honey Quick Bread
makes one loaf
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 /2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. fresh rosemary, chopped coarsely (or 1 t. dried rosemary, chopped fine)
3/4 cup olives* drained and chopped coarsely
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Into mixer, place eggs, milk, honey and olive oil. Using paddle, mix at low speed for 3-4 minutes, until combined. At slow speed, add 3/4 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Set speed at medium and combine for 2 minutes until incorporated. Add olives and rosemary. Combine at medium speed. Add remaining dry ingredients and allow mixture to combine for 3 minutes.
Transfer dough to a greased loaf pan (approximately 8″x 4″). Place pan on lower 1/3 of oven and bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out dry. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes. Transfer loaf to a baking rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
*You can use any type of olives you wish. I happened to have Manzanilla olives, or green olives stuffed with pimento. I love how the salt plays off of the sweet of the honey!
**WHB- Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly blog event held by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s event is being hosted by Pille at Nami-Nami. She is a fantastic foodie, cook and blogger from Estonia. Check her out!
