Cranberry pecan biscotti

Based on this almond biscotti recipe:
http://www.italian-dessert-recipes.com/almond_biscotti_recipe.html

I consider this relatively healthy because it's only 2/3 cup a sugar spread over 16 slices and contains no butter. I read somewhere that real Italian biscotti should not contain butter; that butter is an American modification. Correct me if I'm wrong. I had XL instead of just large eggs at home, so I substituted a flaxseed egg for the other egg, which adds another healthier substitution without seriously compromising taste or texture. Also, if you use walnuts instead of pecans, you add omega-3 fatty acids to make it even healthier.

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti (makes ~12-16 biscotti)

Ingredients:
1 large egg
just under 2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs ground flaxseed + 3 Tbs water
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans (and walnuts, opt)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (make sure they are still dried yet moist, not hard and dry)

Directions:

1. If pecans are not yet toasted: toast pecans on skillet over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Let cool then chop.
2. Mix flaxseed and water in a small bowl and let sit for a 3-5 minutes to thicken.
3. Mix the all-purpose flour, pastry flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Beat egg and sugar till turns lighter in color. Beat in flaxseed water. Beat till light colored and thick.
5. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients until incorporated.
6. Fold in the nuts and cranberries.
7. Preheat oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet or lightly grease the cookie sheet.
8. Gather the dough (it will be sticky!) and place in a log-shape on the center of the parchment paper. Use a spoon to smooth out the dough into a longer log with even sides. You may use the parchment paper to help shape the log.
9. Based on the recipe, you can bake a log that is about 12 inches long by 3.5 inches wide for 25 minutes.
10. Remove and let cool for 8-10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 deg Fahrenheit.
11. Slice into about 16 slices. Place slices cut-side down on the cookie sheet and bake for another 10 minutes. Flip over and bake another 10 minutes.
12. Remove, cool at least 5 minutes and enjoy!

Ideas:

• Ice with a simple vanilla, milk or lemon icing 
• Melt dark chocolate chips and dip half of the biscotti or the top side of the biscotti in the dark chocolate and let harden
• Eat with coffee or milk

Summer Cookup Collection

I did a lot of cooking last spring semester. A lot of it wasn't chronicled, but why should every dinner be? Now, that'd be a hassle. I have a couple of pictures of experiments I've tried this summer. I finally decided to stop procrastinating and post them up. I don't know if I have the recipe for all of them, but I can give a gist of what they are and what I did.

Banh Da Lon (Vietnamese Pandan and Mung Bean Layered Cake)

This is a steamed cake, made by alternating layers of coconut-pandan rice cake and mung bean paste. I didn't have green food coloring when I made this, so it doesn't look like the typical one you see in Vietnamese stores, but it came out all right. Steaming was a little hard, and I had a tiny pie pan, so I couldn't do many layers. It came out all right. Will definitely have to keep practicing.

(Recipe courtesy of ch3rri-blossoms)

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Mushroom Ragu(?) over Cornmeal Mush

I actually can't remember what I did with this and where exactly I got the inspiration. I think I basically put cornmeal in boiling water, then added garlic parmesan dry mix from Costco. The mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil with onions and garlic, and maybe some wine. It came out kind of bland and tough to eat, actually. Won't make this again. Plus, I need to cut off the stems of shiitake mushrooms. Those were the tough part to eat. This was like eating some kind of savory cream of wheat again. Not that great, but pretty in the picture at least.

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Strawberry Jam Cake

I can't remember where I got the recipe for this. It was a cake with a swirl of strawberry jam through it. It was tasty and pretty, but not sweet enough. I added icing (lemon, milk, confectioner's sugar, butter) on top to make it more dessert-like and it was perfect.

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Homemade Tomato Sauce and Broccoli over Spaghetti

This was a simple, quick, and tasty throw-together. Just put cut-up tomatoes, sauteed with garlic and onions. Cooked with tomato paste and Italian seasonings and salt. Served with steamed/boiled broccoli, parmesan cheese, and spaghetti. Very easy but probably the tastiest of my Spring 2010 cooking attempts.

Next post up is my collection of summer attempts, hits and misses, including my first FANCY CAKE! Here's a preview :D See you soon!

Scallop Vegetable Risotto and Double Banana Muffins

Hello again.

"..."

What? Don't remember me? Oh yeah. We haven't spoken in a veerryyyyy long time. Well, between fun stuff, procrastinating, school, and other various distractions, Blog, you have been set at a lower priority. But, now I have returned to post!

"Really? A review, huh?"

Nope! I have my own recipe and it's delicious! Although, I must admit, I do have a long list of restaurants that I must review on Yelp, along with other foods I have made at home since my last post.

Today, I surprisingly had a lot of time. Also, surprisingly, I was not too tired in the evening despite staying up late to try and finish homework and getting up semi-early to go to research lab. After class was over, and after taking a fun stroll through Whole Foods, I was prepared to finally achieve one of my life goals!

Cooking risotto!!!

So I did it. And I was so psyched when I finished and even now. Haha. The finished product was really good, and SOOO much better than Pasta Pomodoro's special this month: Asparagus Risotto. That thing was bland and had no love put in it. Just kinda thick rice with asparagus. Nasty. Their El Cerrito branch will be receiving a bad review on Yelp soon...

Anyways, back to the risotto. A couple days ago, I made my own vegetable stock out of a bunch of vegetable shavings and leftovers. So excited that this dish is COMPLETELY from scratch. Makes it such a proud experience. It is a scallop risotto with red bell peppers, red onions, celery, and carrots. Apparently, the onion, peppers, celery, and carrots is the usual base mix of vegetables to start any dish. My roommate called it some fancy Italian or French word, but I forgot.

I based my risotto of the general procedure for "Our Favorite Risotto" from Cooking Light that was made with mushrooms and mascarpone cheese. Instead, I added my own vegetables, herbs, meat, and cheese. Below you will find the recipe. It came out very creamy and delicious, but must be served warm-hot to really enjoy it to its full extent. Before making the risotto, I made some banana muffins modified from a recipe my mom used. My mom baked for the first time last night!!! She made these banana muffins and added too many bananas and less butter, but it came out amazing. But she's back at home home and I'm in my college home, so I didn't get any. So I craved and made some myself - with my usual changes of course (cinnamon, spices, wheat). The recipe for the banana muffins follow the risotto recipe. (Picture to be added tomorrow).

(Pardon the messy pot. It's the starch and cheese.)

Scallop Risotto (serves 4-5)
Ingredients
1 medium-large red bell pepper, large diced
1/4 large red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, including leaves, diced
1/2 lb small-medium bay scallops, patted dry
Various herbs (I used dried oregano, basil, thyme, and parsley, freely added)
3/4-1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/4-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil for sauteing
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Heat stock in saucepan to a simmer but do not boil. Keep warm.
2. Saute the red onions till limp. Add garlic and Arborio rice. Saute for 5 min. Add 1/2 cup white wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.
3. Add 1 cup of stock and cook, stirring until most of it is absorbed. Meanwhile, begin to saute the carrot and celery (reserve the celery leaves). Add the red bell peppers and continue sauteing. Remove from heat once cooked. Add stock to rice 1/2 cup a time, stirring constantly, until absorbed each time.
4. Season the scallops with salt, black pepper, oregano, and basil. On a hot pan with olive oil, sear scallops till cooked through on each side. Kinda stir-fry it. Add in vegetables to reheat, then remove from heat.
5. Once rice is thick and starchy, and fold in scallop-vegetable mix. Add in rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste. Add in Parmesan cheese, and fold through rice.
6. Spoon into bowls and top with chopped celery leaves. Enjoy!

Double Banana Muffins (14 normal muffins, or 12 muffins + 6 mini muffins)
Ingredients
4-5 ripe, medium bananas, mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar (mix white and brown)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 TBS canola oil
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, to taste
1/4 cup chopped banana chips, toasted in oven

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins with grease of liners.
2. Beat bananas, egg, sugar, vanilla, butter, and oil.
3. Mix dry ingredients. Add to wet ingredients. Fold in banana chips.
4. Pour into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note: Make sure to check on the mini ones just to make sure they don't cook too much before the big ones.

Corned Beef Pasta

This was just an experimental dish due to food that needed to be used and hunger. I had a bag of corned beef that I only ate 4 slices from, and I had some cauliflower and bell peppers, plus this grated Parmesan-Romano cheese, so I figured I might as well make pasta.

I just sauteed garlic, then the cauliflower and sliced red bell peppers, throwing in some dried oregano and basil in for good measure. Added some of the cheese and chive cream cheese until it had some sauce on it and came out with this!

To be honest, it was light and good on the tongue, but not necessarily delicious. Next time, I will make a white sauce first, then add the cheese and cream cheese to get more flavor, but, hey, lets just say this is healthier.

Nov 9 Birthday Dinner at Milanese Caffe

Hi ya'll. I decided to finally get my lazy butt on this blog and actually post something up. I always go on blogger, but I just browse other people's blogs and never want to write up my own.

In that time, though, a lot has happened.

My birthday was on November 9, and my housemates threw a surprise birthday party for me! I came home early from dance practice and stumbled in upon them still decorating! My roommate baked this cute cake for me! She's so good at decorating cakes! It was X's birthday yesterday, and she made the cake look like a basketball.

The next day, we went out to eat, restaurant of my choice. I didn't want to force them to spend a lot to eat and I wanted to try this cheap Italian place just up the street called Milanese Caffe. General price range is around $8 for entrees. Pizza though is only about $4, and they an interesting one called Egghead Pizza, which is just a pizza with a fried egg on top. My friend got it, but she threw most of it away when it got cold. I would say that fried eggs taste good on almost anything, so I think I would've liked it. We came in at 8:30pm, and they close at 9pm, so the guy told us we could only get to-go. I wanted to have a sit-down dinner for my birthday, so we ordered to-go and sat there. What's really stupid is that they force you to leave when they close. That is not at all like other restaurant courtesy. Other real restaurants let customers stay till they finish eating. But nope, not Milanese. When it's nine, it's out! So, we packed up our half-finished to-go boxes and headed home at closing...

 

I got the Spinach Fettuccine Smoked Chicken. It was tasty, but had too much creamy sauce, if you can tell by the picture below. If they toned down the creaminess and sauciness a little, it would've been just perfect. They also serve pastas with their garlic bread and pizza bread.

 

It's like green and red islands floating in a sea of cream...

 

Left is pizza bread, right is garlic bread. I didn't like the garlic

bread and the pizza bread was decent.

Overall I'll give Milanese Caffe: 3/5

Decent food, good price, but poor service

The next few posts will be the food I've made since my last post: a simple pasta dish, recreating Mom's comfort food, and sweets.

Sauceless, Yeastless, but Delicious Pizza

Again and again, the predicament in my home is an over-abundance of food that needs to be eaten before they expire or mold. The case this week consisted of a Costco pack of Provolone cheese, a couple of tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggs. The back of the BelGioiso cheese pack had a recipe for Provolone, Tomato, and Basil pizza, so I decided to try my hand at that. I never have yeast in the house (yeast breads are really daunting, as many of you would agree!), so I looked up a no-yeast pizza dough recipe online. I adjusted the recipe slightly to include 25% whole wheat flour, which turned out well. We have a jar of pesto spread in the refrigerator, which I thought of using, but I felt too lazy to get it out yesterday morning. I was also too lazy to slice and cook the mushrooms and onions to put on the pizza as well, so it just became Margherita-style for all my laziness. ;-P My aunt and parents liked it, so I'm pretty proud of this, especially since it's healthy.

(Pacman Pizza?)

Tomato White Pizza (serves 8)
Dough: (adapted from here)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
1/2 olive oil
Toppings:
3-4 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
Italian seasoning, bay leaves, oregano, or thyme (your choice!)
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
7-9 slices mild Provolone cheese

1. Mix together flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and olive oil. Stir thoroughly until mixture leaves the sides of the bowl. Roll into a ball, then knead 10 times. Divide into 2 balls.
2. Preheat oven 420°F. Roll out dough to a 13" round on a lightly floured surface. Move to a baking pan (I used parchment paper so the edges wouldn't burn). Brush with olive oil. Pinch up edges to create a crust so the cheese doesn't run over. Sprinkle grated Parmesan or Romano cheese on top. Layer Provolone slices on top, then place tomato slices cocentrically. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and your choice of seasonings to taste.
3. Bake about 15 minutes in the center of the oven, until the crust is brown but not burnt. Make sure the dough is baked through. Cut into 8 slices, 2 slices per person. Then do the same for the other dough ball and enjoy!

French, Italian, and Family

I absolutely love breakfast foods, so when I had french toast at the dining commons in college, I fell in love with it! So, as with all things that I come to love, I want to learn how it's done so I can replicate it at home. This week, my mom and I went to Costco and bought this cinnamon swirl bread. They are some THICK slices of bread. Perfect for French toast, I thought! Two days ago, I finally made myself some French toast, and it was absolutely amazing! I personally like to tone down the sugar in the things I make, which turned out perfectly fine, since I think that's how it was originally meant to be: savory rather than sweet. On the side, I added some cinnamon apples cooked on the skillet. The apple was a tiny little organic gala apple - the perfect size for one thick slice of French toast.

Simple French Toast with Cinnamon Apples
1 slice Cinnamon Swirl Bread (or any thick toast)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Vanilla extract
Small apple, sliced thin or however you like them
Cinnamon

1. Beat egg, milk, and vanilla extract together. Sprinkle cinnamon over sliced apples.
2. Place bread slice in large plate or bowl and pour the egg mixture over. Let sit for 10 minutes to soak in. Then flip to the other side and let soak again. I spooned the liquid over the bread to help it along.
3. Lightly butter a pan over medium heat. Cook bread on each side until browned and the egg inside is sufficiently cooked. Remove from pan.
4. Add a little more butter and cook the apple until a little brown and soft.
5. Plate, add any other toppings if not sweet enough to your liking. You can add powdered sugar or maple syrup, or cook the apples with some brown sugar.

Restaurant Review: Piatti Ristorante & Bar 5/5

Today, my aunt wanted to go eat out with me and my sister. First, my aunt wanted Cheesecake Factory, but my sister suggested that we try out the better selections around the town. She jumped on Yelp and looked at some nice restaurants nearby and found an Italian place called Piatti Ristorante & Bar. I have been deprived of real good Italian food since going to college. Oh man, the dining common pastas are simply distasteful: unloved pastas with watery sauces. This was definite heaven here.

We went inside at 6 pm and the place was packed! The hostess said we wouldn't be able to get a table, but we could have a seat at the bar. So we decided to wait at the bar and have some appetizers first. We ordered the Fritto Misto, which came with lemon aioli and mariana dipping sauces. Very good. The texture of the shrimp was really nice and juicy and the lemon aioli hit the spot. Even the water that they gave us was delicious. My sister kept raving over it and tried to drink as much as she could because the bartender kept passing by and refilling. He said something about the water being filtered; I couldn't hear him too well.

Anyways, we decided just to eat at the bar then since it seemed like we wouldn't be able to get a table. The bartender set us up and brought us some french bread. We got to dip it in this mix of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Really good. I love garlic!


I ordered the ravioli filled with ricotta and butternut squash, topped with a basil (and lemon?) cream sauce and walnuts. I was first thrown off by the sweetness of the butternut squash inside, but once I realized what it was, it was delicious. I also liked how the ravioli was green-colored, which meant it was probably made of spinach or some green.


My aunt and sister both got the Orechiette: shell-shaped pasta with chicken, sundried tomatoes, and asparagus in a gorgonzola sauce. My sister and aunt really liked it.


As we were driving back home, my sister continued to rave over everything about Piatti. So much better than Cheesecake Factory. A definite recommend in La Jolla.