Month: January 2011

Biscotti

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Don’t these just look fabulous?

I recently joined the Women’s Culinary Network (WCN) and we had our first event of the year – The Network & Nibble Event – last week. I brought biscotti to the event and it was a huge hit!

I always thought biscotti was an extremely difficult thing to make, but after learning how to make it at school I realized that it’s not so tough at all. There are just a lot of steps.

I can’t share the recipe with you, but I will offer you some tips on how to make a perfect biscotti:

  1. Almonds are great in biscotti – a combination of coarse (about 1/3) and fine (2/3) will taste best.
  2. If the dough is too crumbly and you are having a tough time rolling it, which happened to me, add a little bit of warm water to the dough until you reach the right consistency.
  3. My biscotti took slightly longer to bake than the recipe suggested. Keep a careful eye on the biscotti’s progress at all times. Although my first batch turned out excellent, my second batch was slightly over baked.
  4. Cut the biscotti on a bias to achieve the greatest length.
  5. Decorate! It’s really easy to do, all you need is some chocolate, a plastic bag, and a little bit of patience.

If you have any tips for biscotti or questions, please leave a comment.

Yours edibly,

Elana

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Healthy Carrot Muffins

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First things first, I have to give credit where it’s due so I am letting you know now that this is NOT my recipe. I found it on Google, but it actually was created by the Food Network (see link below). I was searching for a healthier muffin recipe that I could prepare and eat on-the-go on mornings that I don’t have time to prepare breakfast (i.e. mornings that I wake up at 6:30 — Geez! Culinary school is rough!).

As an avid watcher of the FN, I trusted that the recipe would be a good one. Unfortunately, I am not the biggest fan of the muffins and would recommend a few changes. I am posting the pictures and recipe anyways. Changes I would recommend are:

  1. Omit the pineapple, or, if you choose to keep it, puree it before adding it to the mix.
  2. If you do choose to omit pineapple, try substituting it with a cup of mashed bananas — for some reason I think this would taste excellent! Carrots and bananas, why not!?
  3. Add 1 cup of skim milk and omit 1/3 cup vegetable oil — a substitution I am planning to try.

  1. Muffin Batter

I recommend using a spring-action ice cream scoop for uniform muffins.

Ready to eat - tasty and nutritious 🙂

Healthy Carrot Muffins

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/healthy-carrot-muffin-recipe/index.htm

Ingredients

  • 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 & 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 8 medium carrots, grated (about 4 cups)
  • 1cup canned crushed pineapple, drained

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line twenty-four 1/2-cup muffin cups with paper muffin liners.

Whisk flours with the brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl lightly whisk the egg, then whisk in the vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.

Quickly and lightly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula. Stir in the carrots and pineapple just until evenly moist; the batter will be very thick. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Turn muffins out of the tins and cool on a rack. Serve warm.

Makes 24 tasty and nutritious muffins!

If you try out the recipe make sure to let me know what you think of it!

Yours edibly,

Elana