Biscotti

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup almonds

Cookie sheet with parchment paper or just lightly greased.

Preheat over to 300 F. Lightly toast almonds on either a cookie sheet in the oven or in a skillet. Make sure not to burn. This should take between 5 and 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. After cooling, crush with rolling pin or blender/food processor. Do not 'mince' or 'pulverize'.

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately. Add half of wet ingredients to flour mixture and mix. Stir in almonds then add rest of wet ingredients.

Divide mixture into two parts and roll each into a 'log'. Place on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on rack for 10 minutes. Slice, using a bread knife, into 1 inch slices. Place back on cookie sheet and back each side for 10 minutes. Remove from the cookie sheet to let cool on the cookie rack.

Notes: The original recipe came from ilovetocookalot, a youtube site featuring 'Maria'.

I like my biscotti crunchy because every biscotti I've ever had has been crunchy. This one came out a little more soft like a cookie. The taste is fine but to make it crunchier it might be advisable to either do the second baking longer or slice the pieces a little thinner.

Rack of Lamb

1 Costco rack of lamb
10 to 12 inch iron skillet
salt
pepper
optional: red wine

Heat skillet to medium heat with light vegetable oil.
Cut lamb between bones. Lightly salt and pepper each side.
Place in pan, put heat medium. A couple of dashes of red wine can be added.
Let cook covered covered for about 5-7 minutes. Turn and cook another 5 minutes.
Remove and let set a few minutes before serving. As with any meat dish it can be a little bloody when not well done. I prefer mine medium to medium well.

This is an easy recipe. The main inconvenience is pre-slicing the lamb. The 'rack' can be cooked as one but then has to be cut while relatively hot. It also takes longer to cook. If I'm barbecuing I prefer to cook the 'rack' whole with just salt and pepper. Depending on the heat of the bbq it make take 15 minutes.

stuffed cabbage rolls

Recipe: Stuffed cabbage rolls
The original recipe came from a Pillsbury cookbook.

32 oz tomato sauce (not puree)
16 oz tomato sauce
1 large cabbage
1 brown onion
1 lb hamburger or ground turkey meat
asst veggie leftovers (today I used leftover mushrooms)
1 large casserole pan

Preheat oven 400 degrees F (duh...like 400 C would screw things up pretty bad)
Remove cabbage heart and put aside
Remove stem from cabbage leaves and put aside
Boil cabbage leaves 4 or 5 at a time until soft and put aside on a large plate
Fry meat until well done and put aside
Using food processor, shred cabbage heart, stems, onion and leftover veggies (eg: mushroom...okay, I know technically it's a Bryophyte) and set aside.
Mix meat and shredded veggies together in a bowl. This will be the filling.

Take a leaf of cabbage (or several small ones), place it on a plate, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling (I use about 1 1/2 golf balls worth).
Wrap as best as possible the cabbage leaf around the filling. Some recipes say use a toothpick to secure the cabbage leaf. I'm too lazy for that and my pan is such that it fills up pretty nicely and everything stays in place.

Continue making the cabbage rolls and placing them into the pan. When you are all done, open the large can of tomato sauce and spread the entire contents over the cabbage rolls.

Place in oven for 45 minutes. When done, remove and let sit for 10 minutes then serve. Open the 16 oz can of tomato sauce, place in gravy dish (or something pourable) and microwave for 1 minute. This will serve as additional sauce for the dish.

Issues: This dish tends to get watery and it would seem to come from the cabbage. Next time I make it I may try to 'wring' out the cabbage leaves before building the cabbage rolls. Either that and/or reduce the amount of cabbage in the filling. Another option may be to parboil instead of boil the cabbage leaves. This may reduce the water absorption. One recipe I saw said to use Minute Rice as a filling. This could help absorb the water as well but my experience with the dish is that the inside of the cabbage roll doesn't really absorb much moisture.

Eating lighter, but...

This will be a short entry. I'm wondering if talking to myself about recipes will motivate me to either cook more or organize my kitchen time to be more efficient and therefore...uhhhh...cook more. My driving doesn't make any sense either.