PB and C

I don't particularly love peanut butter with chocolate, but my brother does! In fact he adores this combo. I love peanut butter shakes (from Sonic) and I love crunchy PB by itself and with jelly on soft oat-nut bread, but I'm not a fan of it together, with one exception- Chex Mummy Mix. I love that stuff!

Anyway, my brother had a birthday a few weeks ago and I made these for him. He is not only a PB and chocolate fan, but he loves biscotti too. I gave him the entire batch and let me tell you, it made a ton! He was one happy camper. His one suggestion for me (because he's full of them!) when I made the holiday biscotti, was to coat the entire bottom side with chocolate, instead of just the tip so you get the chocolate with every bite. So I did just that. My husband loved them too!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscotti from Food Network

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
• 1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chunks
• plus chocolate for dipping, optional

Position racks evenly in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Continue to cook until the butter browns and gets a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar while beating. Then slowly add the butter and vanilla until evenly mixed, about 30 seconds more. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined. While mixing slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet, in 2 additions, mixing just until absorbed. Fold in the peanuts and chocolate pieces.

Divide the dough evenly into thirds, and put each portion in the center of a baking sheet. Shape the dough with slightly wet hands into logs about 2-inches wide and 15 inches long. Bake until set and brown around the edges, about 25 to 30 minutes. (For even baking take care to rotate the pans-- top to bottom and front to back--about half way though.) Cool logs on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board. Cut logs crosswise, with a long serrated knife at about a 45 degree angle, into 1/2-inch thick cookies. Place cookies cut side down on the baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip the cookies over and bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes more. Cool biscotti on the baking sheets. Serve.

Makes 5 dozen.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

NOTE: I divided the dough into 2 logs, instead of three. They took a few minutes longer to brown up, but I wanted them bigger and longer (DON'T WE ALL!). They fit on one pan, but they grew together, so I'd advise baking each log of dough on it's own pan lined with parchment, just to make your life a little easier.

Enjoy!

Wonder Bread and Kitchen Towels

I found a recipe for no-knead bread in the Food section of my local paper. I clipped it and stuck it in a box that contained a thousand other clippings. Weeks passed. Months passed. I was finally ready to make the bread but I didn't read the instructions prior to deciding I wanted to make it. So I was a bit bummed when I realized it was going to take s.e.v.e.r.a.l hours before I actually had an edible loaf. I threw it back in the box.

Then a few weeks ago, while searching the Williams-Sonoma (I love them!) website I came a cross the recipe for no-knead bread again. It was a sign. I set out to make it. Only this version was scented with rosemary and lemon zest. Even better.

I prepared well in advance for this bread. I was nervous about the proofing/rising time of the dough. I didn't want it to "over proof" if that's such a thing. I allowed approximately 20-22 hours from start to finish to make this bread and let it rise overnight for a full 18 hours. Finally when the time was right, I pulled my dutch oven out from the cabinet and placed it into the 450 degree oven for well over 30 minutes. Then I went and took a short nap...

When I came back into the kitchen it smelled a little burnt. I thought it was because my oven is dirty and it was turned up pretty high. I blamed the smell on the burning grease. I went to take the pot out of the oven and I saw smoke coming out from under the lid. I pulled the top off and there was a stack of white kitchen towels in the pot that had been baking in the oven for 40 minutes! I'm surprised I didn't burn the house done. Because the lid was on the pot, they only got a little toasty. Let's just say they are no longer white-more like toasted marshmallow. You may want to skip this step :-)

My husband and in-laws loved it, especially slathered with salted butter. I wasn't sure if my hubby would though, because he doesn't like really crusty bread. But he ate most of this loaf by himself and he requested it with every meal. I sliced it all up and put it in the freezer and reheated a couple slices at a time. It's crusty and cornmeal-y on the outside but chewy and airy on the inside- much like ciabatta bread. And the lemon zest and rosemary give it a nice perfume without being overwhelming. The only alteration I would make next time would be to add a bit more salt. Other than that, it was WONDERful.

Rosemary-Lemon No-Knead Bread from Williams-Sonoma*

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp. chopped lemon zest
• 1 5/8 c. water, room temp
• Cornmeal as needed

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, rosemary and zest. Add 1 5/8 cups water and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and very sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at warm room temperature (about 70°F) until the surface is dotted with bubbles, 12 to 18 hours.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and fold the dough over onto itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel, preferably a flour sack towel (not terry cloth), with cornmeal. Put the dough, seam side down, on the towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise until the dough is more than double in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.

At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, put a 2 3/4-quart cast-iron pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F.

Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over, seam side up, into the pot; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the loaf is browned, 15 to 30 minutes more.

Transfer the pot to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Using oven mitts, turn the pot on its side and gently turn the bread; it will release easily. Makes one 1 1/2-lb. loaf.

*Adapted from Sullivan Street Bakery (New York City) and Mark Bittman, "The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work," The New York Times.

Honest Scrap

I was tagged by Virginia last week for this meme. So here you go.

The rules of the award:

• Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
• Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
• List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. I like chocolate and I like peanut butter, but I don't like them together.
2. I like reality TV, though I didn't always. What did I watch before Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, Project Runway, The Apprentice and Momma's Boy? I'm just kidding on the last one :-)
3. I LOVE the color red, though I don't wear it.
4. I rarely wear makeup, maybe once a week. I used to wear it everyday.
5. I'm obsessed with checking my email. So email me already!
6. I'm a perfectionist, if you haven't figured that out already.
7. My husband does all the laundry. I sit and watch. Thanks hon!
8. I asked my husband to give me a few ideas for "honest things" about myself. And he gave me a list of explicit things that I'm quite sure you don't want to know about me. Although Donna would be proud :-) Nasty man.
9. "I know what I like and I like Fritos." I am currently eating Fritos! Does anyone remember the Fritos commercial starring Reba? That hair. That outfit.
10. Today (the 3rd) is our 10th dating anniversary and Friday (the 6th) is our 4th wedding anniversary! Happy anniversary to me!

I tag Rachel of Five Year Plan, Dawn of Vanilla Sugar, Michel Lee of Gotta Luv Them Sweets, Ingrid of 3B's, Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod, Sara of Sara's Kitchen, Lissaloo of One Step at a Time, Sophie of Flour Arrangements, and Selby of Selby's Food Corner.

Have fun ladies!