Chocolate Dipped Almond Amaretto Biscotti

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 tablespoons Amaretto

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole almonds, chopped into medium chunks

6 oz. milk chocolate chips {melted for dipping or drizzling}

 

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Line 2 baking sheets with wax paper or silpat mats.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, amaretto, almond extract and vanilla until well blended.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients. Mix until blended.

Dough should be thick and sticky at this point. Use a spatula to transfer the sticky dough onto your baking sheets. Flour your hands and shape into a long flat loaf about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide. Bake for about 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool 10 minute. Use a long bread knife and cut the loaf into 1 inch slices. Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and bake another 20 minutes.Turn the slices over and bake 20 minutes more, or until the cookies are a light golden brown.

Cool the biscotti on a rack while you use a double boiler to melt your chocolate. Dip half of each biscotti into the milk chocolate or drizzle the chocolate on top.

 

 

 

enjoy.



Hilarious! Drive Thru Invisible Driver Prank

My neighbor posted this the other day...absolutely hilarious.

 

Ladurée Cream of Pumpkin Soup {Crème de potimarron}

 

Crème de potimarron {Cream of Pumpkin}

{An adapted Recipe from Ladurée}

I bought myself some French Cookbooks when we came home from our European honeymoon. All that traveling inspired me to cook (or at least attempt to cook) new fancy things! Here is an adapted recipe from my Ladurée Cookbook. I made it slightly easier for your convenience. Ladurée recommends making your own chicken stock from scratch of course…but who has time for that? I know the French would gasp, but I used a can of chicken broth. This soup is phenomenal and husband approved.

Ingredients:

14 oz. chicken broth

1 leek roughly chopped

1 sprig parsley

1 sprig thyme

¾ cup or 180ml heavy (double) cream

Salt and white pepper to taste

1 lb or 500g organic pumpkin

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

1 small onion chopped

Fleur de sel (sea salt crystals) sprinkled

Nutmeg (finely grated) sprinkled (optional)

Directions:

1.      Peel, seed and coarsely chop pumpkin. Set aside

2.      Add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil in a saucepan over low to medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook for a few minutes. Add Pumpkin and cook for 2 minutes. Incorporate the chicken broth, leek, parsley, thyme, cream, salt and pepper into the saucepan. Cook over low heat for 1 hour.

3.      Sift out Pumpkin and puree it in a food processor until smooth. If necessary, thin the pumpkin puree with a little of the reserved cooking liquid.

4.      Sprinkle with fleur de sel and nutmeg.

 

Recipe: Adaptation of recipe from Ladurée

 

Cute Wedding Gift

My Maid of Honor made us this beautiful ornament for our first Christmas. She cut up a copy of our wedding invitation and put it in a glass bulb. She even arranged the pieces so that specific sections of the invite would be visible...Brittany & Daniel, as they join hands in marriage, the date and time etc. And then she attached our stamp too!

I can see Mo now, sitting there at the table delicately maneuvering little swirls of paper into place. You are amazing Mo and this is truly a very special gift that we will treasure forever.

 

Girls Lunch

The girls and I had an impromptu lunch the other day... I finally got to use our wedding china! It's so refreshing to catch up on some quality friend time. We need to do this more often.

P.S. Shan brought mini Ben and Jerry's for dessert! YES! What a great idea.

 

 

 

 

New Years Eve

 A New Years Kiss with my Hubby.

 Friends.

 Mon and I found a Polaroid camera.

Hornsby's Cider. Yum.

Feeling very blessed to have such amazing friends and family. Life is good. Cheers to a new year and all the adventures that await!

My New Addiction

White Rabbit

Creamy chewy candies from China.

We stopped off at an Asian market on the way home from our glorious Dim Sum feast. Dany told me I must get a bag. They are AMAZING! They taste like sweet condensed milk in Tootsie Roll form. Oh my gosh....so good.