Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!
Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! — Horace
Biscotti has become one of our family staples for two reasons: first Biscottis can be manipulated to be reasonable on a calorie basis; secondly, they go great with our preferred beverage, coffee; lastly, making Biscottis isn’t as challenging as one might think and offers an opportunity to experiment. So, I added two favorite items Brazil Nuts and Macadamia nuts and this equals a buttery heaven.
enjoy, I did!
Roger
One of the nicest traditions I have observed is serving the person with a birthday the meal they most desire. It is nice to go out to dine, but something made at home has always been my favorite. Well, my birthday is coming up in a week or so, and since I could have anything I wanted, I wanted to make it myself. Some of you may not think that is a real good birthday present, but for me, preparing something special is fun…. even if it is on my birthday. Besides, much of what I am thinking about can be made the day before and so the actual preparation on the birthday is minimized.
So, I thought that I’d prepare some Scandinavian Meatballs, a nice salad and my Tiramisu for dessert. I am still thinking about the wine at this point.
I always enjoy the simple meal on my birthday, I hope yours is as pleasant.
Roger Freberg
I love to tinker on many things. I find great solace in trying to solve the secrets of the universe… like how to make the perfect Biscotti? I have found using vanilla extract makes a biscotti have a ‘funny’ after taste… while using an entire vanilla bean — or two — is wonderful, but indulgent.I really don’t like plain Biscottis and those dipped in various chocolates are more of a dessert than something light with coffee. My preference is for nuts and Pistachios and Brazil nuts seems the most fun.
Here is my Biscotti recipe with some of the tweaks noted.
enjoy,
Roger Freberg
One of my facebook friends and one of my daughter Karen’s good friends is from Puerto Rico and in their honor , I tried to produce one of their national dishes called ‘Carne Guisada.’ There is much that is unique to Puerto Rico and their cuisine. But , as is true in many lands, much that has been gained through the fusion of the many cultures on the island. Spain, South America, Great Britain, Africa and the United States has all left an influence.
Some of the spices of the island of Puerto Rico are stronger than what many are familiar. For example, Cilantro from Puerto Rico is about 10 times more flavorful. Obviously, if you can find some , it is worth it!
Although I tried to stay true to the basic recipe, I wanted to make a slightly more extravagant version. I started with my best ‘sofrito’, the best meat and a singularly delicious gravy crowned the meal complete. I hope you love it too.
Like many ‘spicy’ recipes, I have included a way you can ‘save’ the dish if it gets away from you!
bon appetite! or “buen apetito”
Roger
Creating a Biscotti recipe isn’t like a normal recipe because it is one of those wonderful things that was designed not to ‘stand alone.’ I don’t know about you, but I would never eat a Biscotti by itself as it would be somewhat drab and way too dry…. but let’s not dwell. When you dip a good Biscotti in coffee , it comes alive!
My daughters have been asking me to bake up some Biscotti with Brazil Nuts ( which tastes interestingly enough like other wonderfully caloric nuts — Cashews and Macadamia nuts, for example — when baked). But I was looking for more than just another buttery Biscotti. I wanted something with a little bit more ‘zing’ and Pistachios — I thought — might just do the trick. This worked. So, I also made a bit more ‘sticky’ batter ( with a little more corn starch and a potato flour mixture) that seemed to hold it all together. Oh yes, it was good in the ‘test kitchen.’
Ah, now to coffee!
Roger Freberg
PS. click for the basic recipe on the picture above.
