Holiday Biscotti (a 2-for-1 recipe post!)

Tomorrow night is my last shift in the ICU!

I'll be sad to leave but happy to regain free time and be closer to the holidays.

Yesterday I was finally "abused" by a client - I use quotations because it really wasn't abuse at all and I say finally only because I've been waiting for a hilarious moment like this.

The patient was confused and disoriented and trying to climb out of the bed. Not a great idea when you have a central venus access device in your jugular vein, IVs and arterial lines, and you're receiving dialysis from a machine at the bedside. We had to keep him loosely restrained so that he wouldn't escape from the bed.

He was becoming more and more agitated and I tried to reorient him to where he was. He told me he had to go to a dentist appt and that I needed to let him loose. I apologized and tried to explain as best I could why he had the restraints on (believe me, there's a policy of least restraint that is followed so people aren't just tied to beds for fun). He responded with, "ahhh let me loose you dickhead".

I had to turn and walk away to keep from laughing.

It might be the best name I've ever been called. Ever.

I wouldn't let just anyone call me a dickhead but this man endeared himself to me by doing so. The poor guy just wanted to get to that dentist appointment!

Anyway, the year is now officially winding down and free time is on the horizon.

John's work crew are taking turns bringing in baked goods every day for the next two weeks and John's turn is tomorrow. He said he was going to bring in his camping stove and make hot chocolate for everyone. I volunteered to bake. We decided biscotti would go nicely with hot chocolate as it's perfect for dunking.

I looked up a holiday biscotti recipe and went with gingerbread. I halved the recipe because in the comments section someone said it made 5 dozen (it didn't) and I was left with one measley cookie per person. So I made another batch. I was going to do double chocolate but I ran out of chocolate chips. I did however have some raspberries. So in they went.

Gingerbread Biscotti

(Taken from www.christmas-cookies.com)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup molasses, and 1/4 cup fresh ginger until smooth. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. 
• In a bowl, stir 3 cups flour, 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp nutmeg, 1/2 tbsp cloves, and 1/2 tbsp allspice. Add to egg mixture; stir to blend.
• On two greased 12x15 inch baking sheets, use well-floured hands to pat dough into 2 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on sheets. Bake in a 350 F. oven until browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes.
• Let loaves stand on baking sheets until cool to touch, then cut into long, 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices. On baking sheets, arrange slices close together with a cut side down. Return to oven and bake at 350 F. until cookies are brown, 15 to 18 minutes longer. Let cool and enjoy!

Raspberry Chocolate Biscotti

(Taken from Martha's Double Dark-Chocolate & Ginger Biscotti Recipe)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 tsp  baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt until well combined; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy; beat in 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 cup oil until well combined.
• With the mixer on low, beat in dry ingredients until combined. Mix in 1 cup fresh raspberries and use a spatula to mix well.
• With moistened hands shape the dough into 2 logs, each about 9 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. Bake until set on top, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• Transfer logs to a cutting board and, with a serrated knife, cut each log on the diagonal into 16 slices, each 1/2 inch thick. Bake until crisp, about 20 minutes, turning the biscotti over midway through. Cool 5 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week

Hey!

My LCBO gift basket came!

Not too shabby for a losing blog entry!

It's not a great picture what with the cellophane and all but there are 4 wine glasses, a tray, a bowl, kitchen towels, bread dipper, crackers, olives, a spread, a cheese board, cheese plates, and more that I can't see from where I'm sitting.

Pretty nice.

Thanks, LCBO!

Triple-Chocolate-Covered-Espresso Bean Biscotti

Before I forget : Robin's finished Dirt Cake!

After setting up a lovely (if I do say so myself) antipasto platter (several, actually) and getting this cake all put together all of those girls went out for dinner and no one was hungry!

Oh well....all that left-over food is probably one of the reasons I've been so successful at putting on my winter weight.

You know, that extra layering of 'padding' you need to keep you warm during the winter? No? Does anyone else tell themselves this?

Plus Robin will be gone to Australia very very soon and I'm going to miss her so I can't stay mad at her.

Now on to a recipe!

I posted a similar recipe I think in August but rather than biscotti I used the white, milk, and dark chocolate covered espresso beans in a cookie bar. I love chocolate covered espresso beans and I loved it in place of the standar chocolate chip in the cookie but I thought since biscotti are typically eaten with a coffee beverage of some type then the espresso beans in the biscotti would tie in nicely.

Triple-Chocolate-Covered-Espresso Bean Biscotti

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. Sift together 3 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt into a medium bowl; set aside.
3. In another bowl beat 4 tbsp butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in 2 tsp vanilla. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. Mix espresso beans.

4. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape each piece into a 16-by-2-inch log, and transfer to prepared baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly. Brush beaten egg over surface of the dough logs, and sprinkle generously with sugar.

5. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until logs are slightly firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer logs on parchment paper to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

6. Place logs on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place a wire rack on a large rimmed baking sheet. Arrange slices, cut sides down, on rack. Bake until firm to touch, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven; let biscotti cool completely on rack. Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

It's voting day in Toronto! If you are a citizen, go out and do your citizenly (?) duty and vote for our next mayor!

Chocolate-covered-Cranberry Cornmeal Biscotti

The second of the two promised recipes has arrived!

These are REALLY good - potentially my all time favourite biscotti recipe - and if you think the word 'cornmeal' in their name means the biscotti aren't as delectable then you would be wrong.

The cornmeal really compliments the cranberries and also gives the cookie a really nice texture as well as making it taste delicious.

This is a Martha recipe I adapted to fit my dietary restriction (meaning the pistachio's were nixed) and also to satisfy my curiosity of experimenting.

Chocolate-Cranberry Cornmeal Biscotti

(Recipe taken from Marthastewart.com with slight changes)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/4 cups cornmeal, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
2. Put 6 tbsp butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth. Add 1 cup sugar and mix until pale and fluffy. Mix in 2 eggs one at a time, until well combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture all at once; mix until just combined. Add 1 tbsp lemon zest, and 1 cup dried chocolate covered (optional) cranberries, and mix until combined.
3. Transfer dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pat into a log that is roughly 14 by 3 1/2 inches. Bake until firm, lightly browned, and slightly cracked on top, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack, about 15 minutes.
4. Transfer log to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake cookies, rotating sheet halfway through, until they begin to brown at edges, 15 to 18 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Another week of work....bah humbug. But I have all day Thursday off this week - very excited! I don't even know what all to do!

Target Practice - and the promised biscotti recipe

"...now that Jamie(sic)'s got a gun, she ain't never gonna be the same....Jamie'(sic)s got a gun"

-Aerosmith

Holy mother.

Today I crossed another "to-do" off my list of things to do before I die.

I fired a handgun.

A 9 mm Heckler & Koch to be exact. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but the moment I walked onto the range and stepped up to hold the gun, my heart jumped into my throat and I started to shake. I mean, my gosh, this is a gun. Guns kill people! I fired off the first clip of 10 bullets by taking slow deep breaths between each pull of the trigger. All in all I shot 30 bullets at that poor unfortunate target:

(There should be closer to 50 bullet holes on this one as John shot the remaining 20...but I think I missed a few. Though to be fair I wasn't aiming to kill, I was repeatedly telling myself not to kill someone)

So there you have it. I have successfully fired a gun. And I may even do it again. John fired the 9 mm, a Sig Sauer P-229 0.40 calibre handgun and a Smith & Wesson 0.223 calibre. His were both much louder than mine and they kind of frightened me. I caught myself jumping a few times.

If I learned any lesson today it would be this:

Guns are intense. It's a crazy empowering feeling to fire one but THEY ARE VERY REAL WEAPONS. So respect their power, be cautiousand responsible, and enjoy the experience.

Now from guns to biscotti.

Would Martha be proud? I like to think so. She's a multi-faceted woman, I'm sure she's used a gun before.

Mini Egg Biscotti

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease with butter)
2. In a bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with 2/3 cup packed brown sugar. Beat in 1/2 cup liquid honey and 2 tbsp canola oil. Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time, and add 1 egg yolk (save the white for later). Beat in 1 tbsp vanilla extract.
3. In a seperate bowl, mix together 3 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients in 2 additions to form a slightly sticky dough. Add in mini eggs (as much or as little as you want).
4. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, shape each half into a log. Place each log onto the baking sheet, leaving some room between them (anything more than 10 cm is plenty). Press each to slightly flatten the top.
5. Add 2 tsp of water to the reserved egg white and beat; brush this on the tops and sides of the logs.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 325, then remove and let cool. Cut the logs into slices about 2 cm thick (or as thick or as thin as you'd like). Stand the slices up, spaced apart, and bake again for another 20 minutes or so until dry.
***Biscotti are very hard and crunchy so if you don't like the typical biscotti texture don't put them back in the oven for that second round. They'll be softer.

Well pardners, that's it for now.

I have ONE exam left (!!!!!) and then I'm officially on summer vacation.

I'm also headed to Montreal this weekend for a girl's trip It's going to be a lot of fun.