SAVORY BISCOTTI

Our Food Matters Project group  made Biscotti this week. Margarita from Let's Cook and Be Friends chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Walnut Biscotti. In Mark's recipe he has removed the eggs and butter for a heathier version. Since I don't eat sweets often I decided to try a savory biscotti recipe. I had never made biscotti before so I followed a recipe by Giada De Laurentis. The biscotti batter is made with goat cheese and herbes de Provence. The flavors are amazing!

I never knew biscotti was so EASY to make. It just takes a few minutes to make the dough. You form it into a 13x 3 1/2 inch loaf. Bake it for 30 minutes, let it cool, slice it, and bake it again. The next time I make this (and that will be soon) I will try to adapt this recipe using Mark's recipe and leave out the butter and eggs. I think it will work.

I served the biscotti with French Lentil Soup and fresh greens from the garden.

For all the delicious takes on the recipe click here.

SAVORY BISCOTTI

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons herbes de Provence

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons sugar (I would use 2)

2 eggs, beaten, at room temperature

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, herbes de Provence, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and goat cheese together until smooth. Beat in the sugar and eggs. In batches, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. With damp hands, form the dough into a 13-inch-long, 3 1/2-inch-wide loaf. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Transfer the loaf to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Recipe by Giada De Laurentis

TUSCAN STYLE PORK TENDERLOIN IN A WHOLE WHEAT BAGUETTE

It's FOOD MATTERS PROJECT Monday! Week twelve of cooking from Mark Bittman's Cookbook. This week Melissa from The Faux Martha chose our recipes, Mostly Whole Wheat Baguettes or Real Whole Wheat Bread. I decided on making baguettes. This was a first for me and not only was it easy but tasty as well. When the baguette was finished I let it cool and then stuffed it with fresh herbs, mustard, and a pork tenderloin. Another 25 minutes in the oven and dinner was ready to go.

 I started by following Mark Bittman's recipe for mostly whole wheat baguettes. I like the addition of some all-purpose flour to the whole wheat flour, it makes the bread more flavorful and less dense. The dough takes a couple of minutes to make and then you let it rise until it doubles in size. It took about 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough has doubled in size you roll them out and shape them into baguettes. They need another rest to double in size again.

I sprinkled the top with fennel seeds and put them in the oven to cook.

After the baguettes had cooled I cut them in half, hollowed them out and put my tenderloin inside. The meat was browned first and then spread with a mustard-herb mixture.

Tied it together (I tried to tie it the way a butcher would but gave up) and back in the oven to finish cooking the tenderloin.

 

Our meat is more on the rare side which is how we like it but all you need to do is brown it a little longer and cook it in the oven a little longer if you like it medium.

There were so many yummy flavors going on in every bite. Sage, rosemary, fennel, garlic, and the delicious homemade baguette.

These made great sandwiches the next day, we sliced them and had them cold but heated would be even better.

For Mark Bittman's original whole wheat baguette recipe go to  Melissa's blog

and for all the other creative takes on his recipe check out The Food Matters Project

TUSCAN PORK IN A BAGUETTE

2 tsp. fresh chopped sage

2 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp fennel pollen or ground fennel seed

1 TBSP. Dijon mustard

4 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of any fat

1 loaf crusty baguette

In a small bowl combine the minced sage, rosemary, pepper, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, fennel, and Dijon mustard.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add 1 TBSP. of the oil. Cook the pork, turning occasionally, until golden on all sides, 8-10 minutes. Spread the herb mixture all over the pork and set aside.

Cut the baguette in half the long way and scoop out the soft insides. Brush the inside of the baguette with the remaining 3 TBSP. olive oil. Place the pork on the inside of the baguette so that the pork in completely enclosed. Trim off the excess ends on the bread. Tie at 1-2 inch intervals, with kitchen string.

Preheat an oven to 375~. Place the pork on a baking sheet and roast until done, 155 to 160~ when an instant read thermometer is inserted into the thickest part, 25 to 35 minutes.

Remove from oven, and let rest 10 minutes. Remove strings and cut into slices. Serve.

Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Joanne Weir 

Next week is Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup with Parmesan

Check out this invite!

Come for a Delta Asparagus Tasting

California Delta Asparagus Tasting Slow Food Santa Barbara & Market Forays WHEN: Sunday April 29, 2012 TIME: 3 to 5 pm LOCATION: 814 San Roque Road, Santa Barbara WHAT: An afternoon tasting of the best asparagus in the country, served with suitable accoutrements from prosciutto to Hollandaise, in the enjoyable company of fun-loving folks.  There will be wine and beer - I will serve Sauvignon Blanc and wheat beer, feel free to bring whatever label you think will go best. WHY: Because asparagus from the California Delta is the very best and sweetest. (Honestly, it puts our local SB asparagus to shame.) Also, because Delta asparagus is under severe pressure from cheaper imports, and I feel that it deserves to be better known. DETAILS: Asparagus is a perennial plant. In spring, the mother plant sends up shoots, the asparagus spears. Depending on the strength of the plant, the spears are either thick or thin. The thickest spears, "jumbo", are the juiciest, sweetest, and most highly prized. A few weeks ago I had my first taste of this spring delicacy, and resolved to share it with my friends at the first opportunity. I have been in Northern California at the orchard this past week, and made contact with Roscoe Zuckerman, Stockton asparagus farmer. I will be picking up jumbo asparagus from Roscoe's farm on my way back to Santa Barbara, and look forward to sharing it with you on Sunday. Event Cost: $25 per person. Reserve Now If you can't join us Sunday but would like to order asparagus, please e-mail me. $10 a share.

ROSEMARY GARLIC PARMESAN BISCUITS

It was raining on Sunday and I didn't feel like shopping. We were having chili for dinner but I wanted a little something with it. I had a box of Heart Smart Bisquick in the pantry and I remembered a recipe I had saved to try.

These were great. I love this biscuit recipe. **Quick and Easy** You can change it around to use whatever you have handy. Don't have fresh garlic? Use powdered or granulated. No rosemary? Use any herb you like. No Parmesan? Any cheese will work and I think a cheddar cheese would be even better.

ROSEMARY GARLIC PARMESAN BISCUITS

2 TBSP. salted butter, melted

1 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 TBSP. fresh chopped rosemary

2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick

3 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup fat free milk (or regular milk)

Preheat oven to 400~. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Melt butter in a small pan, add oil and half the garlic. Saute on low heat about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add chopped rosemary.

In a large bowl, combine Bisquick mix, Parmesan cheese, and remaining garlic. Stir in milk and mix (do not over mix). Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Brush or drizzle biscuits with melted butter. Bake for 5 minutes more, or until lightly browned on bottom.

Makes 14 biscuits.

Recipe from http://www.skinnytaste.com/

OLIVE AND TOMATO FOCACCIA

No, I haven't started baking bread. I may give it a try someday... but probably not. This is sort of a cheater Focaccia, and more like a doughy pizza but it was really good.

I started with a ball of Trader Joe's Garlic Herb fresh pizza dough. You let it rest on the counter for 20 minutes and then stretch it out with your fingers. It gets spread into a glass baking dish and then topped with tapenade and tomatoes and baked until puffy and golden.

This is one of those recipes that you can top with anything you want and it will be delish.  Artichoke hearts and sliced olives would be good as would any kind of cheese. Think of this as a garlic and herb blank canvas. You can also use the plain pizza dough from TJ's and spice it up any way you like.

                                                

                                                              OLIVE AND TOMATO FOCACCIA

Pizza dough, at room temperature

1 TBSP. olive oil (more if needed, I used more)

3-4 TBSP. Olive Tapenade

2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Open the pizza dough and place it on a floured surface for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400~. Coat a 8 x 12" glass baking dish with a bit of olive oil and spread around the dish. Season the dish with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Gently knead the dough a few times then stretch the dough out with your fingers and place it into the baking dish, pressing the dough down into the bottom of the dish. Use your fingers to punch tiny indentations into the top of the dough. Drizzle more olive oil on top of the dough then spread the tapenade evenly over the top, next layer the tomato slices on top. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Bake until the focaccia is puffy and golden, 25-30 minutes.

Cut into pieces and serve.

Recipe from www.fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

We had Yorkshire Pudding to go with the Prime Rib on Christmas Day. I used the recipe that Cooks Illustrated published and then adapted by http://www.steamykitchen.com/.

Ashley and Brittany made them for the first time and WOW, they did a great job.

                                        
                                              YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Do this recipe by hand, you want a light touch as you're mixing the flour.

3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature
3/4 tsp. table salt (or 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt)
1 1/2 cups UNBLEACHED flour (7 1/2 oz), sifted
3 TBSP. beef fat (from your Prime Rib Roast)

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and salt. Sift in the flour in three stages, each time whisking until flour disappears before adding in more flour. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

When the Prime Rib is finished, spoon out 3 TBSP. of beef fat. Turn oven to 450~.

Stir 1 TBSP. of the beef fat into the batter.
In a muffin pan, fill each cup with 1/2 tsp. of the remaining beef fat. When oven has reached temperature, place muffin pan with fat into oven for 3 minutes until smoking hot.

Carefully take out the pan and pour batter into each cup, filling to 2/3 full. Immediately return to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Do NOT open oven door during baking, or the Yorkshire Puddings will collapse. Reduce heat to 350~ and bake and additional 10 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven, pierce each Yorkshire Pudding with toothpick to allow steam to escape and prevent them from collapsing.