Chez Panisse Biscotti to celebrate the 40th Anniversary!

It is not a secret that I love Alice and all that she has brought to our table. She is a true visionary and been unwavering in her quest for good, clean, fair and delicious food for first her friends and then those who could afford to eat at her legendary restaurant Chez Panisse, and now for us all and especially our children.

It is really hard to believe that it has been 40 years since she wanted to bring her friends around the table to cook for them and support herself doing it. I can relate.

As it happens, my Husband's job was eliminated at the end of July, so we really cannot afford to participate in any meaningful way in all the events going on this month in benefit for The Edible Schoolyard Foundation, but I decided this afternoon, we would do my small bit to join in, and I think that it is so simple and delicious, that Alice would really approve.

I decided to bake the famed Chez Panisse biscotti from Alice and Lindsey Shere's book to celebrate on our own. Published in 1985, Chez Panisse Desserts is a classic, but not dated. The recipes are timeless and the results delicious. See for yourself. THe recipe says that it makes 4 1/2 dozen biscotti, but all said I had three dozen when I was done. I didn't have any grappa in the house, so I used up the tiny bit of madeira left in the bottle from V. Sattui Winery. The original recipe calls for anise extract and anise seed....both of which I did not have on hand, so I added 2 tsp of almond extract to enhance the almond flavor. I also only had salted butter in the house, so I used it. The recipe below reflects my substitutions, but it maintains the integrity of the original recipe "Aunt Victoria's Biscotti" on page 199. I think that Alice and Lindsey would approve and agree that the results are delicious.

Almond Biscotti

1/2 cup whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely
1/2 cup Strauss Family salted butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 free range, organic eggs
2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp maderia, V. Sattui makes an excellent local one
2 cups organic white wheat flour
1 1/2 baking powder

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the softened butter by hand until lightened. Add the sugar, a little at
a time beating well after each addition. Add the eggs, one at a time until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the madeira and almond extract, beating well.

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add into the wet ingredients a little at a time until just mixed. Stir in the chopped, toasted almonds.

On a lightly floured board, make two logs of dough equal size and approximately the length of the cookie sheet that you have lined with parchment. Lay each long log carefully onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake about 25 minutes, until just barely browned on the bottom and the logs just set.

Cool the logs on a rack for 5 minutes and then with a bread knife, slice the logs diagonally about 1/2 inch thick, carefully laying each slice back onto the baking sheet.

Return the sliced biscotti back to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes to continue to bake until very lightly browned. Turn the slices, then turn off the oven and let the slices dry for another 5 minutes before removing the sheet to a rack to cool completely.

Store in a tightly covered container if you can keep from eating them all immediately!

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies

It is a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon here in Berkeley. We have just returned from our Sunday routine, broken only for really rainy weather. Lucia and I get up, lounge around for a couple of hours, we both are notoriously early risers. Me with my Four Barrel coffee and her with her warm chocolate milk....watching Curious George or Olivia, reading the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times. This am, the dappled sun shining warmly in the window of our West Berkeley home, we were more inspired that others.

We awoke Troy finally at about 8am and by 9am we were out of the house and on our way to Mama's Royal Cafe on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland for breakfast. The kitchen was a little slow this am, but we had little to complain about with the temps in the mid 60s (yes....it is January folks!) and (gasp!) no line at all out front. True, we had to wait nearly 20 minutes for our food to arrive, but the wonderfully diverse, tatood servers were in amazingly friendly form and the coffee strong and good. We also, never go out to breakfast without Lucia's bag of tricks. For those of you without little folks in your everyday life, this is kid-code for color books, reams of drawing paper and several sets of washable markers. I ordered a version of eggs benedict (their hollandaise is light and lovely tarty lemony creamy goodness) with smoked salmon in place of the ham. Perfect eggs, really nicely brown and crisp potatoes with caramelized onions and of course the light yellow heaven on top.

As is our Sunday am tradition, we always go for a long, brisk walk after our Sunday breakfast out, and today, we found our way up to Lake Temescal in the hills approaching the Caldecott Tunnel. We parked the car in the shade, got our dog Bella out of the car and headed up the gentle rolling hills around the lake. It seemed that everyone was smiling today, happy for the sunshine and mild temperatures, bicyclists, kids, dogs, families playing soccer. It was lovely. After a stop at a playground for Lucia to cavort and burn off some energy and Bella to stare longingly at a handsome chocolate nosed would be boyfriend canine across the way, we headed home.

Daddy and daughter landed at the computer to play games and I.....who had been craving chocolate like crazy for several days on end, headed into the kitchen.

Having bookmarked several appealing recipes for chocolate cookies lately, I quickly read over several and landed on David Lebovitz's version of Cotilde's Very Chocolate Cookies. As I am a chef, and not a pastry person, I never (NEVER) follow a recipe to the letter. I should (sometimes) but alas, I don't. Today was no different. But in keeping with one of my vows for the new year, I actually wrote down the changes that I made.

The cookies, are delicious and as David plainly posts, you may not get to the baking of the cookies as the dough is soooo dense and chocolaty. The texture is slightly dry, but the lack of eggs in the formula quickly made me think that this recipe would easily and deliciously be made vegan by subbing out vegan chocolate and vegan margarine.

So, the next time the chocolate bug strikes, try these little gems. Use the best butter and the best chocolate that you can afford, and even if you think a little salt is weird with your chocolate, try a few sprinkled with Fleur de Sel. I am absolutely addicted to the combination. Also, make sure to cool the little disks completely before moving them as the dry texture firms up quite a bit when cool and they crumble easily when warm.

½ cup (70 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (55 g) whole-wheat flour
¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened Ghiradelli cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
5 ounces (140 g) Guittard 60% dark chocolate chips
1/8 cup (30 g) espresso powder
½ cup, plus 1 tablespoon (125 g) salted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (100 g) (packed) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional: fleur de sel

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

1. In a small bowl, sift both flours, cocoa powder and baking soda together.

2. In a clean, dry bowl, microwave melt of the chocolate (2½ oz, 70g) to melt, then let cool to room temperature, (in my microwave it was 1 minute).

3. Beat the butter with a standing electric mixer just until smooth. Beat in the sugar and vanilla extract. Stir to incorporate.

4. Stir in the melted chocolate, then the flour-cocoa mixture. Then finally the chocolate chunks and espresso.

5. Scoop the dough with a teaspoon and roll into little balls. Place evenly-spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten into disks with the palm of your hand. Sprinkle with fleur de sel, if desired, then bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies take on a slightly dry sheen to the top. Tap each cookie lightly with the flat part of a spatula about 2 minutes before removing from the oven. Cool completely before removing from the parchment.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Recipe adapted from:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/

Back to San Francisco Values!

Good Sunday Morning!

A sunny morning here in the North Bay following a cool night. Perfect weather for many winter crops. As my almost three year old watches "toons" on NOGGIN, I drink my Costa Riccan coffee and reflect on the events of this quickly waning year.

In April this year, we moved our little family back to the Bay from Arizona, where two years ago, we thought the grass might be cheaper (if not greener!) with a new home and a new start.

We were on the edge of a dot com layoff, the birth of our daughter, and the deaths of both of my parents. It felt like the world as we knew it was caving in and we needed a fresh start. Life in Arizona was like living in the old wild west, with lots of silicone and spray on tans thrown in.....being from the culturally diverse Bay Area, we soon found it wasn't for us no matter how nice the new house was!

So we traded our new dream home and affordable mortgage in Arizona for our nearly hundred year old, everything needs updating or repair, double the price, city home here in the North Bay. But we are counting our blessings and embracing the San Francisco Values that we took for granted before!

I am overwhelmed as I look around at the cracked plaster, the old carpet, the 50's ugly brown and green electric kitchen and two bath house with no insulation and only one toilet that works, the plumbing that is largely cast iron and the non-grounded two to a room electrical outlets and wonder how we will ever afford to do all this....but somehow, we will. We are not newbies to old houses after all.

And for a Chef to have to deal with an electric stove and just one outlet in the kitchen is a real experiment in patience! I unplug the microwave who's main function is to heat my daughter's "gok-o-witz" (chocolate milk) in the morning...to plug in the coffee maker (a real must for a 5am daily rise) and unplug that to plug in my fancy toaster! Never mind that I have a garbage disposal but no under sink electric to support it.....and even if I did, do I really want to risk adding to the sludge coating the cast iron pipes before we can afford to re-pipe?

As Thanksgiving is past, I am starting to think about the nightmare of trying to do my annual holiday bake with such an arrangement....but somehow, I will manage....I always do. I close my eyes and remember my dual fuel range that I gave up with our new home; and wonder if I will live to regret leaving it. Will my Quarsemali, Christmas Crescents, Date Pinwheels, Mincemeat Stars, Sprtiz and Giandulia Truffles be edible if forged from only electricity? I will let you know.

Every week here, I will update you on seasonal recipes, menus and food related goings on in the Bay Area and Napa Valley. I will also include one or more recipes and will welcome feedback about your thoughts and recipe results. I am also happy to post benefits and happenings for you.

One of my real fortes is to research and find great ingredients and really, I attribute that skill to much of my success in all things culinary. I use mainly organic ingredients and local products whenever possible and will site these products by name and places they have been available to me.

Date Pinwheels

Date Filling:
1# pitted and chopped dates
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Cook and stir first three ingredients until boiling and thickened slightly. Cool, stir in walnuts.

Cookie Dough:
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, slightly softened
1/2 cup brown Sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, superfine
2 cups all purposed flour, sifted
1 whole egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Cream together butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla, beating well. Sift together flour and salt and stir into creamed mixture. Chill well.
Divide dough in half.

On a lightly floured surface, roll one part of the dough into 12x8" rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Spread half of the cooled date filling over the surface, being patient and careful not to tear the dough....it is helpful to use your clean fingers.
Beginning at the long edge, roll up like a jelly roll. Wrap in waxed paper and chill in freezer overnight. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Slice each chilled roll into 1/4" thick slices. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Cool cookies on a wire rack and store in a tightly lidded tin or cookie jar.

Makes 5 dozen cookies