-
Chocolate Almond Biscotti
I love biscotti. Although I am often tempted to pick up a few at my local bakery when I want something sweet, they are even more delicious when baked fresh at home and once you master the technique, they are easy and quick to bake. There is an almost endless variety of variations and flavors you can choose from, but per usual I am always drawn to anything chocolate. I have made biscotti before with much success (see my Pecan Pie Biscotti), so I didn’t hesitate to give a chocolate one a try. My husband and I cooked a steak dinner this past weekend, so I wanted to bake something light to have as dessert along with an espresso and this was the perfect choice. Most biscotti is made without butter or oil, so it is a healthier choice than
-
Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers
Here is my grandmother’s tried-and-true recipe for the best Italian-style stuffed peppers. Although I have made a few modern variations on stuffed peppers recently (some unsuccessful, I must admit), I wanted to take it back and make the *real* stuffed peppers my family and I have enjoyed for years so I asked my grandmother for her recipe.
The peppers are stuffed with a tasty mixture of ground beef, pork and veal, along with onions, cooked rice, bread, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley and garlic. It’s full of traditional Italian flavors and almost tastes like a meatball. The cooked rice adds texture and heartiness, and the mixture of meats adds a ton more flavor and richness than if you only used ground beef. We have a special way of cooking it that doesn’t dry out the filling, but still allows the stuffed peppers to retain their shape. These stuffed peppers make for a lovely meal. Enjoy!
-
Osso Buco
Last weekend we visited my family in America and I was delighted to help my mom and grandmother cook up a Milanese classic, veal Osso Buco. A traditional Osso Buco consists of thick-cut, bone-in veal shanks that are braised for several hours in a white wine, tomato and herb sauce, and finished with a piquant gremolata topping.
“Osso Buco” translates in Italian to “bone’s hole,” – you can see how this dish got its name once the veal is cooked up to perfection and all of the marrow has seeped from the bones, thus creating a rich, decadent sauce, and, yes, leaving a “bone’s hole” in the center of the shanks. Because the veal is slow-cooked in this sauce, the meat becomes tender and succulent and falls easily off the bone.
This is a timeless and classic
-
Easy Pumpkin Rum Bread Pudding
Halloween may be over, but pumpkin desserts are still in full swing. Here is a recipe for Pumpkin Rum Bread Pudding that is surprisingly easy to make and perfect to whip up as a fall desert. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use regular sliced whole wheat bread, something many of us often have on hand at home. The bread pudding comes out hearty and custardy, with plenty of spiciness from the cinnamon and nutmeg, and an extra kick courtesy of 1/4 cup of rum. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Delicious!
-
Decadent Double Chocolate Cookies
It can take several days, weeks, even years, to find the ultimate chocolate cookie recipe. The kind of cookies I wanted to find are of the shamelessly rich, not-too-sweet, dark chocolate variety. In my search, I came across a recipe from cookbook-author Dorie Greenspan for “Sablés Korova,” which were named after the Paris restaurant where famed pastry chef Pierre Hermé created them. Dorie dubbed her sablés “Word Peace Cookies,” because a friend of hers, upon tasting them, believed that if everyone in the world ate one of these cookies everyday there would be no more violence and only peace in the world. With an introduction like that I had to give these indulgent chocolate cookies a try immediately.
-
Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts
I have been on a bit of a doughnut kick lately (see my Frosted Chocolate Cake Doughnuts), so I decided to continue the fun and bake up a batch of baked pumpkin cake doughnuts. Since they are not deep fried, these doughnuts are (a little) healthier and have more of a cupcake-like texture rather than a traditional doughnut texture. The result is very moist and chewy due to the pumpkin in the batter, along with lots of spiciness from pumpkin pie spice and cloves. For this recipe, you’ll need
