It's the inevitable that certain customs, practices, even things become archaic with time. Take, for example my kitchen phone that hangs on the wall. It has one of those over sized cords, that you can stretch clear into another room when you are talking. However, with remote madness, and cell phone frenzy, I never use this phone anymore. It's become more of a decoration that I paint around every few years!
How about record albums...I have a whole shelf of these! I can't seem to part with them. I don't play them anymore, but I save them because they contain all of those great posters and pictures in their big, square covers! It would be a shame to lose all of that memorabilia!
Let's forget about some of these "ancient things", and talk about chores! Hats off to the parents who still designate chores...or even a chore...to their kids for the simple reason of teaching responsibility! Responsibility...good work ethic...or even just contributing to the family seem like the intangibles of the past!
I must say, Mama Melisi was real good about teaching responsibility...and designating the chores! Somehow, it was decided that I would be the "dusting girl"! That meant, every Saturday morning, I had to dust the whole house. I HATED this chore! It hung over me like a guillotine! It was the inevitable that I had to dig into that skinny closet, and pull out those old dust cloths...we called them rags! And then I would dust, until every surface in the house was dust-free! It took so long, that new dust accumulated! As if the task wasn't torturous enough, she only supplied me with four rags...it took at least twenty to finish the job! Hence, I would dust, and shake out, dust and shake out. The only thing to look forward to was passing the white glove test!
Honestly, I would have enjoyed doing other chores, like washing the dishes, vacuuming, even cleaning the bathroom...but dusting was the dreadful Saturday morning ritual. Luckily, once that hideous job was done, life went on, and I could enjoy some of the simple pleasures, like watching "Abbott and Costello", or bowling at the Garden State Plaza! Best of all, at rare times there was a wonderful reward awaiting...Saturday afternoon comfort food! I know I've said that Mama Melisi was a healthy cook, but when you needed it most, she made fun food that was quick, delicious, and a real treat!
This week, we're going to reward our bloggers with two easy, but satisfying recipes...Baked Macaroni (Macaroni and Cheese), and Sloppy Joes. The next time you do your least favorite chore, have someone make this for you!
Again, we offer this to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Baked Macaroni
Ingredients:
1 lb macaroni (elbows, wide egg noodles, shells or rotini pasta)
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese cut into pieces
If you have any leftover yellow or white (American) cheese, you can add to the cheddar
1 cup milk
4 oz butter or margarine
Italian flavored bread crumbs
Extra pats of butter or margarine for the top
Cooking Directions:
Cook the pasta of your liking according to the directions on the box
While the pasta is cooking mix the milk, cheese and butter in sauce pan
When the milk is hot, and cheese somewhat melted, mix this into the drained pasta
Spray a 9 x 12 pan (approximate) with pam
Pour the pasta mixed with the milk, butter and cheese into the pan
Spread this in the pan
Sprinkle with some bread crumbs
Place extra pats of butter on the top
Cover with foil, and bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees for about 20 minutes
Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes
Sloppy Joes
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef (can use ground chicken or turkey)
1 onion (chopped)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 jar Hamburger Relish (comes in 8 or 10 oz jar)
Hamburger rolls or hard rolls
1/4 cup lite oil
Cooking Directions:
Add the oil to a saute pan
Heat and then add the chopped onion
Saute until golden in color
Add the minced garlic
Again saute a few minutes until golden in color
Add the chopped meat and toss with the onions and garlic
Once the chopped meat is thoroughly cooked, add the jar of hamburger relish
Mix together and heat well
Spoon mixture onto the rolls and enjoy!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
An Acquired Taste
Have you ever noticed that there are two types of foods? The first type is instantly appealing, desirable, pleasant to the taste buds, and just wonderfully satisfying. It doesn't matter whether you're a kid or an adult...they just taste good! Think of the first time you had a slice of pizza...macaroni and cheese...a juicy hamburger with a side of fries! Simply delicious!
Then there is type two! These foods are otherwise known as healthy choices! Most of the time, kids don't want to look at these, let alone try them! Have you ever seen a kid's eyes light up if you say they're having fish...lean meat...a tossed salad... or how about fresh vegetables???
Having grown up on type two, I guess I just didn't know the difference! Mama Melisi generally cooked a healthy meal. It included the main serving, more than one fresh vegetable, and a salad. There was no such thing as a separate meal for the kids...no chicken nuggets, and definitely no McDonalds! We ate what was on our plate...and we liked it!
Of course, my mom always nudged us a little with her persuasive phrase, "Just try it...How do you know you won't like it if you don't try it!" Hence, at a very young age, I was turned on to fresh broccoli, zucchini, spinach, even brussels sprouts! But...there was one vegetable that I just couldn't bring myself to eat...ESCAROLE!
Now there was definitely a reason for my strong resistance. Mama Melisi didn't call it escarole. She used the Italian pronunciation of "SCAROLE"! I'll try to give this to you phonetically, so you have an idea of how strange a word this is: First the "SH" sound followed by a "K" followed by a short vowel "O" followed by a very long vowel "O" and an "L" sound at the end. Ready...
"SHKO-OLE"! You have to make a strange face just to say it!
As a young kid, I couldn't even pronounce it. As a teenager, I was too embarrassed to pronounce it. Can you imagine having friends over for dinner, and having to say, "Pass the "SHKO-OLE"!
It was just easier to never even try this odd, little Italian vegetable!
It wasn't until I turned 40...that ever-confident age for women...that I ventured into new culinary territory, and tried "scarole". I did, however, refer to it as escarole, and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it tasted! Wonderfully flavored with good olive oil, and sauteed garlic, it was a new and fabulous acquired taste!
You, too can broaden your culinary horizons. Put on your best, fake Italian accent (use your hands if you have to), go to the store, and ask for, "SHKO-OLE"! If you're brave enough to buy it, we'll tell you how to cook it, and even spruce it up with beans or pasta!
Again, we offer this recipe to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Escarole
Ingredients:
1 head of escarole
1 or 2 cans of low salt/fat free chicken broth as needed
1 can of cannellini beans rinsed and drained (optional)
garlic cloves
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
Preparation:
Rinse and drain a can of cannellini beans and set aside
Put about 1/4 cup olive oil in a sauce pan and heat
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic
Saute until golden in color
Add the beans and some black pepper and toss into the oil
If this is dry, add about 1/2 can of the chicken broth and set aside
Take a head of escarole and cut in half; then cut each half in half again
Cut each quarter into medium size pieces and rinse thoroughly
(Rinsing can be done in the sink or in a good size pot or bowl - escarole could be sandy)
(You can even add baking soda to the first rinse, as it helps in removing the grit)
Take a 6 qt pot or large saute pan, and add 1/4 cup of olive oil
Heat and add 4 cloves of garlic (sliced or whole)
Carefully add the rinsed escarole (moist leaves can spit up a bit when added to hot oil)
Add the other 1/2 of the chicken broth
Cover and steam for about a half hour
Taste test the leaves. If you want them softer, cook another 10 minutes
If more liquid is needed, add more of the chicken broth
When the escarole is cooked, add the cannellini beans
Suggested Serving Methods
Escarole can be served with or without the beans
Escarole can also be served with a small pasta (elbow macaroni, ditalini)
It can also be served with wide egg noodles. Hint - the beans enhance the flavor
When you are ready to serve, add a little of the extra virgin olive oil to mixture
Then there is type two! These foods are otherwise known as healthy choices! Most of the time, kids don't want to look at these, let alone try them! Have you ever seen a kid's eyes light up if you say they're having fish...lean meat...a tossed salad... or how about fresh vegetables???
Having grown up on type two, I guess I just didn't know the difference! Mama Melisi generally cooked a healthy meal. It included the main serving, more than one fresh vegetable, and a salad. There was no such thing as a separate meal for the kids...no chicken nuggets, and definitely no McDonalds! We ate what was on our plate...and we liked it!
Of course, my mom always nudged us a little with her persuasive phrase, "Just try it...How do you know you won't like it if you don't try it!" Hence, at a very young age, I was turned on to fresh broccoli, zucchini, spinach, even brussels sprouts! But...there was one vegetable that I just couldn't bring myself to eat...ESCAROLE!
Now there was definitely a reason for my strong resistance. Mama Melisi didn't call it escarole. She used the Italian pronunciation of "SCAROLE"! I'll try to give this to you phonetically, so you have an idea of how strange a word this is: First the "SH" sound followed by a "K" followed by a short vowel "O" followed by a very long vowel "O" and an "L" sound at the end. Ready...
"SHKO-OLE"! You have to make a strange face just to say it!
As a young kid, I couldn't even pronounce it. As a teenager, I was too embarrassed to pronounce it. Can you imagine having friends over for dinner, and having to say, "Pass the "SHKO-OLE"!
It was just easier to never even try this odd, little Italian vegetable!
It wasn't until I turned 40...that ever-confident age for women...that I ventured into new culinary territory, and tried "scarole". I did, however, refer to it as escarole, and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it tasted! Wonderfully flavored with good olive oil, and sauteed garlic, it was a new and fabulous acquired taste!
You, too can broaden your culinary horizons. Put on your best, fake Italian accent (use your hands if you have to), go to the store, and ask for, "SHKO-OLE"! If you're brave enough to buy it, we'll tell you how to cook it, and even spruce it up with beans or pasta!
Again, we offer this recipe to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Escarole
Ingredients:
1 head of escarole
1 or 2 cans of low salt/fat free chicken broth as needed
1 can of cannellini beans rinsed and drained (optional)
garlic cloves
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
Preparation:
Rinse and drain a can of cannellini beans and set aside
Put about 1/4 cup olive oil in a sauce pan and heat
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic
Saute until golden in color
Add the beans and some black pepper and toss into the oil
If this is dry, add about 1/2 can of the chicken broth and set aside
Take a head of escarole and cut in half; then cut each half in half again
Cut each quarter into medium size pieces and rinse thoroughly
(Rinsing can be done in the sink or in a good size pot or bowl - escarole could be sandy)
(You can even add baking soda to the first rinse, as it helps in removing the grit)
Take a 6 qt pot or large saute pan, and add 1/4 cup of olive oil
Heat and add 4 cloves of garlic (sliced or whole)
Carefully add the rinsed escarole (moist leaves can spit up a bit when added to hot oil)
Add the other 1/2 of the chicken broth
Cover and steam for about a half hour
Taste test the leaves. If you want them softer, cook another 10 minutes
If more liquid is needed, add more of the chicken broth
When the escarole is cooked, add the cannellini beans
Suggested Serving Methods
Escarole can be served with or without the beans
Escarole can also be served with a small pasta (elbow macaroni, ditalini)
It can also be served with wide egg noodles. Hint - the beans enhance the flavor
When you are ready to serve, add a little of the extra virgin olive oil to mixture
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Little Bait Girl
Sometimes, certain moments that do not have characteristics of being fancy or expensive, evolve into the most precious of memories! I find that my fondest memories are those stemming from the big, yearly family vacation at the Jersey Shore!
Every year, my family hunted for the perfect little bungalow existing on the bay side of one of the private beaches in Jersey. If I dig into my memory bank, I must say the amenities were slim to none! The tiny rental cottage of our choice never had a TV or a phone. In fact, sometimes there weren't enough bedrooms, so my brother had to sleep on the pullout couch! Oddly, we didn't seem to care. Spending very little time indoors, we were busy enjoying the beach and the activities surrounding it.
On those precious sunny days, beach time included digging five foot holes in the sand, basking in the sun, and body surfing with our rafts in the Atlantic. Evenings were spent go-carting, playing miniature golf, or walking the magnificent seaside boardwalk! There were always wonderful smells permeating the air...sea salt, suntan lotion, cotton candy, or fried calamari! In the distance, you could hear the buzzing swirl of the lucky wheels, making some happy child walk away with an enormous stuffed animal!
The highlight of the vacation occurred either at the crack of dawn, or in the dead of night. Let's start with night...Gathering our gear, we ventured off to the fishing dock, determined to bring back a big bucket of crabs! These crustaceans would not be babies...they were big, blue-claw crabs, stuffed with sweet, white meat! All you needed was a long net, and a high-powered flashlight. What a thrill walking along the wooden slats of the dock , with the bay water lapping below, and carefully choosing the ideal spot to crab! It took a little patience, but after shining the flashlight onto the pitch black water, the crabs would begin to surface. One by one, we would skillfully scoop them into the net, decide if they passed the size inspection, and plop the big ones into the bucket. As hard has they tried, there was no escape!
Some mornings began especially early, when our alarm clocks would be set to hop Uncle Jim's boat! Soon we would be swept out into the middle of the bay, drop anchor, and carefully submerge our triangular crab traps into the water below. My role was extremely important during this excursion. I was the Little Bait Girl...constantly casting my fishing rod, to catch the bait for the crab traps! Each time I reeled one in, we would tie it to the trap, and drop it down to entice some more blue claws! And they just kept coming! Our successful teamwork would undoubtedly come to an end at the first wave of hunger...or seasickness! But, our bucket would always be full!
Back at the bungalow, Mama Melisi would boil up the crabs, melt a little butter, and we would all indulge in cracking open that fresh crab meat! As delicious as they were, it was quite the guilty meal...I could never stand watching the crabs boil up till they were red, dead, and delicious! What a fate!
I feel a lot less guilty making lobster tail...buying them frozen eases the conscience! Follow this simple recipe for lobster tails from Mama Melisi...it's a special dinner for a special occasion!
As usual, we offer it to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Ingredients:
4 frozen lobster tails (4 or 5 ounce in size)
4 large cloves of fresh garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white wine of your choice
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian leaf parsley
black pepper
Preparation:
Place frozen lobster tails in a large bowl filled with cold water. This helps to defrost.
Remove tails from shell (I find this easier to handle in the cooking process.)
Use shears to cut off the cellophane-like covering on the belly part of the tail along side the rough pinchers
Once this is removed, you gently use your fingers to pull meat from the top of the shell
Just ease the tail from the shell, and it will stay intact
Rinse the lobster tails and make sure the waste sack is already removed (black sack)
Dry with paper toweling
Now you are ready to cook this luscious seafood
Cooking Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and then add the garlic
Saute the garlic until golden in color
Add the lobster tails, and sprinkle with black pepper
Keep turning the tails until all sides have been sauteed.
Raise the heat a bit and add the white wine
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes
Make sure the fish is opaque in color
Shut off the heat
Sprinkle with fresh parsley and cover again until ready to serve
* I choose the smaller (4-5 oz) tails because they seem to be more moist and easy to work with. The super markets or fish markets sell these lobster tails in the frozen department. It is very helpful having seafood shears. Naturally you can increase the quantity used, but also increase all the other ingredients. Also, overcooking lobster tails makes the meat chewy and tough. I like to prepare this about a half hour or more before dinner. You can then gently reheat this before serving...it's truly simple but very delicious!
Every year, my family hunted for the perfect little bungalow existing on the bay side of one of the private beaches in Jersey. If I dig into my memory bank, I must say the amenities were slim to none! The tiny rental cottage of our choice never had a TV or a phone. In fact, sometimes there weren't enough bedrooms, so my brother had to sleep on the pullout couch! Oddly, we didn't seem to care. Spending very little time indoors, we were busy enjoying the beach and the activities surrounding it.
On those precious sunny days, beach time included digging five foot holes in the sand, basking in the sun, and body surfing with our rafts in the Atlantic. Evenings were spent go-carting, playing miniature golf, or walking the magnificent seaside boardwalk! There were always wonderful smells permeating the air...sea salt, suntan lotion, cotton candy, or fried calamari! In the distance, you could hear the buzzing swirl of the lucky wheels, making some happy child walk away with an enormous stuffed animal!
The highlight of the vacation occurred either at the crack of dawn, or in the dead of night. Let's start with night...Gathering our gear, we ventured off to the fishing dock, determined to bring back a big bucket of crabs! These crustaceans would not be babies...they were big, blue-claw crabs, stuffed with sweet, white meat! All you needed was a long net, and a high-powered flashlight. What a thrill walking along the wooden slats of the dock , with the bay water lapping below, and carefully choosing the ideal spot to crab! It took a little patience, but after shining the flashlight onto the pitch black water, the crabs would begin to surface. One by one, we would skillfully scoop them into the net, decide if they passed the size inspection, and plop the big ones into the bucket. As hard has they tried, there was no escape!
Some mornings began especially early, when our alarm clocks would be set to hop Uncle Jim's boat! Soon we would be swept out into the middle of the bay, drop anchor, and carefully submerge our triangular crab traps into the water below. My role was extremely important during this excursion. I was the Little Bait Girl...constantly casting my fishing rod, to catch the bait for the crab traps! Each time I reeled one in, we would tie it to the trap, and drop it down to entice some more blue claws! And they just kept coming! Our successful teamwork would undoubtedly come to an end at the first wave of hunger...or seasickness! But, our bucket would always be full!
Back at the bungalow, Mama Melisi would boil up the crabs, melt a little butter, and we would all indulge in cracking open that fresh crab meat! As delicious as they were, it was quite the guilty meal...I could never stand watching the crabs boil up till they were red, dead, and delicious! What a fate!
I feel a lot less guilty making lobster tail...buying them frozen eases the conscience! Follow this simple recipe for lobster tails from Mama Melisi...it's a special dinner for a special occasion!
As usual, we offer it to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Ingredients:
4 frozen lobster tails (4 or 5 ounce in size)
4 large cloves of fresh garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white wine of your choice
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian leaf parsley
black pepper
Preparation:
Place frozen lobster tails in a large bowl filled with cold water. This helps to defrost.
Remove tails from shell (I find this easier to handle in the cooking process.)
Use shears to cut off the cellophane-like covering on the belly part of the tail along side the rough pinchers
Once this is removed, you gently use your fingers to pull meat from the top of the shell
Just ease the tail from the shell, and it will stay intact
Rinse the lobster tails and make sure the waste sack is already removed (black sack)
Dry with paper toweling
Now you are ready to cook this luscious seafood
Cooking Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and then add the garlic
Saute the garlic until golden in color
Add the lobster tails, and sprinkle with black pepper
Keep turning the tails until all sides have been sauteed.
Raise the heat a bit and add the white wine
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes
Make sure the fish is opaque in color
Shut off the heat
Sprinkle with fresh parsley and cover again until ready to serve
* I choose the smaller (4-5 oz) tails because they seem to be more moist and easy to work with. The super markets or fish markets sell these lobster tails in the frozen department. It is very helpful having seafood shears. Naturally you can increase the quantity used, but also increase all the other ingredients. Also, overcooking lobster tails makes the meat chewy and tough. I like to prepare this about a half hour or more before dinner. You can then gently reheat this before serving...it's truly simple but very delicious!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Attic Door
Isn't it odd how as a child, you could be in your home in daylight, and it was the most welcoming and safe environment. At night, however, it was a whole different ballgame! Cheery, well-lit rooms became dark, mysterious places. Playful noises during the day, became heart-pounding bumps in the night! When things got too intense, a run to the parents' bedroom was necessary!
As a kid, I never really considered Mama Melisi's home to be a considerably scary place. The house was a very small ranch, with each room connected. In other words, the master bedroom was off of the dining room, and the two tiny bedrooms were off of the living room. We had a large kitchen in the back of the house, and a large bathroom directly off of the kitchen. Most of the time, you could hear other people's voices, even when you were at the opposite end of the house!
We did, however, have...the attic door! The ominous, attic door was located directly opposite the toilet in the bathroom! Open that door, and there was a steep, dark staircase leading up to either an icy cold, or steamy hot walk-in attic. In the dark of the night, there was something so frightening, so terrifying about sitting on the toilet, and facing the attic door!
I can give you endless accounts from friends and relatives who feel the same way! Douglas, the little boy who lived next door, was convinced that the blow-up Halloween skeleton, housed in the attic, would come to life and scuttle down those stairs, the minute he used the toilet!
And...cousins Cindy and Stephanie, who are now grown and living in California, still talk about how they refused to pee alone, each time they came for a family visit, out of fear of the attic door suddenly flinging open! Hence, one person does her business, the other guards the door!
I hate to admit it, but I still get the creeps every time I stay at Mama Melisi's when I'm visiting from Florida. As a 47 year old, I tend to need one bathroom break in the middle of the night. I blindly manage to find my way to the bathroom, and flip on the light...but once I sit on that toilet, and face that door...the hair stands up on my neck, goosebumps form on my arms, and I shudder at the thought of what could be behind...the attic door!
Surprisingly, the only thing stashed behind the attic door were freshly baked cookies! Neatly stowed in large Tupperware bowls, were countless kinds of cookies...especially around the holidays...all perfectly preserved by the cool temperature of the stairway! Look up, and you could see bowls lining every step of the steep staircase! No one dared dip into the cookies, because no one dared open the door!
Today, we give you a favorite cookie recipe...Italian Biscotti. Bake it, hide it in a cool, spooky spot of your own, and spring it on your family when they least expect it! Don't be frightened...even if you've never baked, you can do this!
Again, we offer it to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks margarine or butter (You can use Promise heart healthy margarine)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Anise Seed
Directions:
Beat the margarine and sugar together
Add the eggs
Continue to mix well
Add the flour one cup at a time until well incorporated in the butter or margarine mixture
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
There are a few versions of biscotti:
1. Plain Biscotti - use the batter as above or
2. Add 1/2 cup chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans to the above batter
3. Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries with or without the nuts, or chocolate chips
After mixing all the ingredients, let the batter sit for 1/2 hour
Line 2 cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper - spray with pam
Make loaves with the dough - I don't make them too large - I usually get 5 or 6 loaves from the above batter
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden in color
Cool for 5-10 minutes and slice each loaf
The slices should be about 1/2 inch in width
Place the slices back onto the cookie sheets and return to oven till the sides are golden brown
You can turn them over to toast the other side
This procedure takes about 5 minutes on each side
Enjoy!
As a kid, I never really considered Mama Melisi's home to be a considerably scary place. The house was a very small ranch, with each room connected. In other words, the master bedroom was off of the dining room, and the two tiny bedrooms were off of the living room. We had a large kitchen in the back of the house, and a large bathroom directly off of the kitchen. Most of the time, you could hear other people's voices, even when you were at the opposite end of the house!
We did, however, have...the attic door! The ominous, attic door was located directly opposite the toilet in the bathroom! Open that door, and there was a steep, dark staircase leading up to either an icy cold, or steamy hot walk-in attic. In the dark of the night, there was something so frightening, so terrifying about sitting on the toilet, and facing the attic door!
I can give you endless accounts from friends and relatives who feel the same way! Douglas, the little boy who lived next door, was convinced that the blow-up Halloween skeleton, housed in the attic, would come to life and scuttle down those stairs, the minute he used the toilet!
And...cousins Cindy and Stephanie, who are now grown and living in California, still talk about how they refused to pee alone, each time they came for a family visit, out of fear of the attic door suddenly flinging open! Hence, one person does her business, the other guards the door!
I hate to admit it, but I still get the creeps every time I stay at Mama Melisi's when I'm visiting from Florida. As a 47 year old, I tend to need one bathroom break in the middle of the night. I blindly manage to find my way to the bathroom, and flip on the light...but once I sit on that toilet, and face that door...the hair stands up on my neck, goosebumps form on my arms, and I shudder at the thought of what could be behind...the attic door!
Surprisingly, the only thing stashed behind the attic door were freshly baked cookies! Neatly stowed in large Tupperware bowls, were countless kinds of cookies...especially around the holidays...all perfectly preserved by the cool temperature of the stairway! Look up, and you could see bowls lining every step of the steep staircase! No one dared dip into the cookies, because no one dared open the door!
Today, we give you a favorite cookie recipe...Italian Biscotti. Bake it, hide it in a cool, spooky spot of your own, and spring it on your family when they least expect it! Don't be frightened...even if you've never baked, you can do this!
Again, we offer it to you with love,
From Mama Melisi and Me
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks margarine or butter (You can use Promise heart healthy margarine)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Anise Seed
Directions:
Beat the margarine and sugar together
Add the eggs
Continue to mix well
Add the flour one cup at a time until well incorporated in the butter or margarine mixture
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
There are a few versions of biscotti:
1. Plain Biscotti - use the batter as above or
2. Add 1/2 cup chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans to the above batter
3. Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries with or without the nuts, or chocolate chips
After mixing all the ingredients, let the batter sit for 1/2 hour
Line 2 cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper - spray with pam
Make loaves with the dough - I don't make them too large - I usually get 5 or 6 loaves from the above batter
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden in color
Cool for 5-10 minutes and slice each loaf
The slices should be about 1/2 inch in width
Place the slices back onto the cookie sheets and return to oven till the sides are golden brown
You can turn them over to toast the other side
This procedure takes about 5 minutes on each side
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
