"Biscot"

Around this time of year [Christmas] my family anxiously awaits the most glorious package from Pittsburgh, PA....a package of my Grandma Venneri's fresh baked cookies!  Pizelles, almond cookies, chocolate cookies, snowballs, biscotti, chocolate covered pretzels....the list goes on and on.  Seriously, the best package EVER-second to the package she sends at Easter...don't even get me started!

 Isn't she just the cutest lil' grandma you ever did see?

Here are the cookies she baked for our wedding.  Love!

The past few years, we haven't had a package from Grandma since it's been harder and harder for her to crank out dozens of different types of cookies for all of her five kids and their families.  So, she has passed the recipe along to us kids and grandkids and we have made them for ourselves.  Obviously, they taste quite similar, but lack the extra love (and crisco) that Grandma Venneri adds to her cookies : )

When Ryan and I headed north to King City this Christmas, we made a pit stop in SLO for some Black Horse coffee and a snack to fuel us the rest of the way.  Little did I know that our innocent little pit stop would awaken a slumbering beast inside of me!

We bought a "Carmello" (delicious espresso mixed with caramel and a little milk) and a biscotti as big as your arm.  Seriously, I was in awe of how they baked one that big.

Let me just pause and say:

I          LOVE          BISCOTTI!

Besides Grandma Venneri's "biscot" (biscotti), I have never tasted any biscotti as good as the one at Black Horse.

So, of course on the rest of our drive up to King City I googled the crap out of their biscotti, searching relentlessly for their recipe so I could make it myself and take a bath in biscotti cookies every morning....ok, maybe not that extreme, but I definitely put my researching skills to the test!

And, to my disappointment, the biscotti recipe is nowhere to be found.  It comes from a hipster bakery, OF COURSE!  Hipster recipes don't exist outside of the shop...unless they're on Pinterest.

So, even though Ryan and I are ready to fast from bread, carbs and anything that has grease on it so we can lose the Christmas lb's, I am baking my grandma's biscotti recipe and enjoying it with a piping hot cup of coffee....because I said so!

Want the family recipe?  Sorry, can't share it! : )  However, I will share the two recipes I mashed together from allrecipes.com.

The original recipe, another recipe I used


ALMOND ANISETTE BISCOTTI

Ingredients:

12 ounces butter (room temperature)
1 3/4 c white sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp anise extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 1/2 c all-purpose flower
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c chopped almonds

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.  In a large bowl, mix cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time; beat until fluffy.  Stir in the anise and vanilla extracts.

3.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add them to the egg mixture along with the chopped almonds.  (you might need to switch to a dough hook on your mixer halfway through)

4.  Divide the dough into two parts (or 4, if you want smaller cookies)  Roll the pieces into logs about 15 inches log.  If you have parchment paper, line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Flatten the logs out until they are about 3 inches wide with a slight hump going down the middle.

5.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Loaves should come out firm.

6.  Cut the loaves into diagonal slices, about 1/2 inch wide each.  Place the slices on their sides back on to the cookie sheets.  Toast each side for 5-8 minutes each, depending on how crunchy or soft you want them to be.

Careful!  You might discover your dough is soft in the middle and not completely cooked if you only do 2 loaves.  That happened to me my first time!  So, just toast them a little longer on each side and it will cook through while toasting the rest of the cookie.

7. Enjoy with a cup of your favorite coffee, tea or milk!

Cheers!,
Nat

8 things women should never do at the gym...

As the new year approaches and I think about the weight I have gained from my "Christmas Culinary Adventures," I started to think of all the people I would have to start dodging at the gym due to "New Years Resolutions."  


In light of the upcoming crowds I will be dodging, here is a list I put together of the things that I see and annoy me most at the gym...of course, this is meant to be mostly funny with a twinge (or two) of truth.  My apologies if this offends you...


8 things women should never do at the gym:

8)  Bend over in front of the pervs in the weight area.  All you'll do for yourself is attract this guy...

7)Wear only a sports bra and bottoms.  90% of the women who do this have no business doing it in the first place!  However, I will say...if you've worked hard and have the body for it, more power to you!

6) Make weird grunting noises while lifting weights.  If you should choose to go after it on the weights, find a way to breath lady-like…i's already weird enough when men grunt loudly while lifting heavy weights.

5) DO NOT! I repeat, DO NOT wear jeans, jean shorts, kahkis or converse to work out in.  Running shorts, basketball shorts or spandex are a better option.  Until you're in the shape you want to be in, they will at least help you look more athletic. You could always just print this handy dandy pocket guide if you ever question if what you're wearing is "gym-appropriate."

4) Not wearing your hair in a ponytail.  Really?  This isn’t Baywatch, and it's definitely not a slow motion scene for a romantic movie….so where is your hair tie and why is it not in your hair keeping it out of your face?

3) A freshly painted make up face.  Yep,  you know who you are.  You're that girl who  puts eyeliner, foundation, eye shadow and uses about a can of hairspray on their hairdo before stepping foot in the gym. Save yourself time, money and effort...you're gonna sweat it off anyways!

2)Your boobs are not a place for your electronics to be stored.  Period.  Invest in an arm band.

1) and last but definitely not least…TALKING ON THE PHONE WHILE WORKING OUT! Are you kidding me?  I especially dislike getting calls from friends when they are at the gym.  If I wanted to talk to you during this time, I would be there with you. I love you dearly, but I prefer not to hear your pants and grunts on the other side of the phone.  Please don't be offended if I find a reason to get off the phone at that moment.

With that being said...HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!  Here's to making resolutions and being smart about it!


xo,
nat