Almond Orange Biscotti

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds (toasted)
2 teaspoons milk

1 TBS Orange Zest (optional)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Stir in almonds. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease foil. Divide dough in half; spread into two 12-in. x 3-in. rectangles on foil. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees F. Lift rectangles with foil onto wire rack; cool for 15 minutes. Place on a cutting board; slice diagonally 1/2 in. thick. Place slices with cut side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake 10 minutes more. Turn oven off, leaving cookies in oven with door open to cool. Store in airtight container.

Optional: Melt some chocolate chips over a double boiler and dip cookie in on one side or the whole bottom of the cookie to make it look fancy.

Pizzelle (stuffed pockets with Escarole and Sausage)

Ingredients:

2 1 1b bags prepared pizza dough
(can also use pastry dough)
1 large head fresh Escarole (washed and chopped)
1 package sweet sausage (8 links)
1 package hot sausage (8 links)
3 TBS chopped fresh garlic
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 egg
½ cup water
Dash of salt

Remove casings from Sausage, set aside. In a large sauce pan, sauté Garlic until lightly browned. Add the sausage, breaking it up in your hand as you add it. Break up the sausage into small pieces as you are cooking, until it is in reasonable chunks and browned well. Add in the water, and then the Escarole, stir to coat in the water. Let sit until the Escarole is completely wilted, and the water is evaporated, mix all together. Drain mixture and set aside to cool.

Roll out your pizza (or pastry) dough into a large sheet as if you were making pizza, and cut out circles about 6-7 inches round (I used one of Kaitlyn’s cereal bowls). Keep gathering up left over dough and re-rolling it out into to form more circles until dough is all used up. Put the sausage and escarole mixture onto a large cutting board and chop it all up well. Coat large cookie sheets with EVOO and lay out the circles, fill with 2TBS of the filling, fold over to form moon shapes, and crimp edges with a fork. In a small bowl mix the egg and a splash of water and the salt, and brush the whole Pizzelle with the egg wash. Bake at 375 for about a half an hour or until light to medium brown in color.

Mangiare il suo delizioso!

STUFFED SHELLS WITH CRISPY PANCETTA AND SPINACH

Ingredients:

Shells:

1 (12-ounce) package jumbo shells pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound thick-cut pancetta, cut into 3/4-inch cubes

2 pounds frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta

1 cup grated asiago cheese

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup cream

2 cups grated asiago cheese, plus 1/4 cup

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. For the shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta. Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a large bowl. Add the spinach, ricotta cheese, asiago cheese, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Stuff the shells with about 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture each and place the stuffed shells in a large, buttered baking dish. For the sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to very low and add the 2 cups asiago cheese, parsley, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is dissolved. Pour the sauce over the shells. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup asiago cheese. Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.