DOUBLE CHOCOLATE WALNUT BISCOTTI

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet – December 1994.
The number it makes depends on how big you make the logs and how thick you slice the biscotti. Of course you can swap in different nuts, chocolate or dried fruit.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet. In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer (use paddle attachment) beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. (Stir by hand, or use a heavy stand mixer, but be careful – the dough is stiff.)On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. (I angle both ends because I slice the logs on an angle.)

Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes. On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.

Peppermint Puffs

1 cup confectioners sugar ½ cup butter
¼ tsp salt ½ tsp peppermint extract
2 cups flour ½ tsp vanilla extract
4 oz melted white chocolate 1 egg
1 tsp shortening 6 crushed candy canes

Cream butte and sugar. Beat in egg and extracts. Add salt and flour. Form in to a ball and refrigerate 1 hour. Shape into balls and bake 10 minutes at 350’ When cool, brush with chocolate melted with shortening and sprinkle with candy.

Cauliflower and Mushroom Pot Pie With Black Olive Crust

Notes (of course!): I made several adaption to the recipe below, which I found on recipezaar. The recipe appears to be sourced to Isa Moskowitz's "Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook." I used butter instead of margarine, milk instead of soy milk, I did not have a bay leaf and forgot to add the thyme to the black olive crust. Also the recipe I used did not provide instructions on when the mushrooms or the vinegar come into play, so I made some assumptions and the recipe below reflects those assumptions. I hope you enjoy this variation of a pot pie! It is rich with herbs!

Serves 4-6.

INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
3 Tablespoons margarine
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
ground pepper

Vegetables:
1 lb cauliflower, trimmed, washed, and cut
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 lb cremini mushroom, washed, trimmed, and sliced into large chunks
1 teaspoon sherry wine or white wine vinegar

Black olive biscuit crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons margarine, chilled
4-5 tablespoons cold water
1/3 cup pitted black olives, chopped coarsely (kalamata recommended)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Use a large, oven-to-table Dutch oven. If you don't have one, use a large, heavy-bottomed pot to prepare the filling and a large, deep casserole dish to bake the finished potpie.

Sauce:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan (not the Dutch oven) over medium heat, melt the margarine and sprinkle in the flour. Stir to form a thick paste. Cook the mixture until fragrant, bubbling, and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Temporarily turn off the heat. Slowly pour in the soy milk, using a wire whisk to stir until smooth. Whisk in the dried herbs, mustard powder, salt, and bay leaf. Turn on the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly with whisk, for 8 to 10 minutes, until a thick sauce forms. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetables:
Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks, carrots and mushrooms and saute for 6 to 8 minutes until most of the excess liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add white wine vinegar and allow to evaporate excess liquid. Add the cauliflower, stir briefly, cover partially, and steam for about 8 minutes, until the cauliflower has just begun to soften. Remove the lid, turn off the heat, and set aside.

Crust:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and thyme in a small bowl. With a pastry cutter or two knives held together cut the cold margarine until crumbs form, then drizzle in tablespoons of cold water and mix. Drizzle in additional tablespoons of cold water, one at a time, until a soft dough forms (but careful not to overwork it). Fold in the olives.

Pat out the dough on a lightly floured surface or give it a few rolls with a rolling pin, to form a circle or appropriate shape slightly smaller than the Dutch oven. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into diamonds (you'll be placing small squares of dough over the casserole, rather than one big disc of dough).

Assemble and Bake:
Give the sauce a good whisking (no worries if a skin has formed over it), pour into the cauliflower mixture, and stir completely to blend the veggie juices and sauce. Arrange the diamonds of dough over the mixture and brush with soy milk. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and the biscuits are cooked. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving, as the filling will be boiling hot straight out of the oven.

Donna's Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
3 large boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 box stove top stuffing mix

Mix all ingredients except chicken and stuffing mix. Coat chicken and refrigerate overnight. Crush stuffing and coat chicken. Melt 2 tbs butter and pour over chicken. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 F.

Ranger Cookies

Ranger Cookies

1 c shortening
(I used unsalted butter – Yum!)
1 c sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c all purpose flour
1tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 c quick cooking oats
2 c Rice Krispies
1 c flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats, cereal, and coconut. Drop by rounded tbsp's 2” apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 7-9 min's or until golden brown.
Yield approx 6 dozen.

Enjoy!
Dina Jamieson
12/08 Cookie Swap

Baked Manicotti

We prefer Barilla no-boil lasagna noodles for their delicate texture resembling fresh pasta. Note that Pasta Defino and Ronzoni brands contain only 12 no-boil noodles per package; the recipe requires 16 noodles. The manicotti can be prepared through step 5, covered with a sheet of parchment paper, wrapped in aluminum foil, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. (If frozen, thaw the manicotti in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.) To bake, remove the parchment, replace the aluminum foil, and increase baking time to 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Serves 6 to 8

Tomato Sauce

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice (I used crushed tomatoes)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)

1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes , optional (I omitted this)

Table salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil


Cheese Filling and Pasta

3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)

2 large eggs , lightly beaten

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

16 no-boil lasagna noodles (see note above)

1. For the Sauce: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pulse 1 can tomatoes with their juice in food processor until coarsely chopped, 3 or 4 pulses. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining can tomatoes.

2. Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes (if using) in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil; adjust seasoning with salt.

3. For the cheese filling: Combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs in medium bowl; set aside.

4. To assemble: Pour 1 inch boiling water into 13 by 9-inch broilersafe baking dish, then add noodles one at a time. Let noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating noodles with tip of sharp knife to prevent sticking. Remove noodles from water and place in single layer on clean kitchen towels; discard water in baking dish and dry baking dish.

5. Spread bottom of baking dish evenly with 1 1/2 cups sauce. Using soupspoon, spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture evenly onto bottom three-quarters of each noodle (with short side facing you), leaving top quarter of noodle exposed. Roll into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. Top evenly with remaining sauce, making certain that pasta is completely covered.

6. Cover manicotti with aluminum foil. Bake until bubbling, about 40 minutes, then remove foil. Remove baking dish, adjust oven rack to uppermost position (about 6 inches from heating element), and heat broiler. Sprinkle manicotti evenly with remaining 1 cup Parmesan. Broil until cheese is spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, then serve.

Note: I added all the parmesan to the ricotta mixture (and omitted the salt). Then, in step 6, I sprinkled mozzarella over the top of the manicotti and broiled it for a few minutes at the end until the cheese was spotty brown. I also used dried herbs and found it came out just as tasty! An easy and delicious recipe!