Cranberry Orange Biscotti

I didn't realize Thanksgiving was so close!  I saw some kind of Taste of Home post on Facebook and I had to actually run to the calendar to see for myself.  No shit!!!

The work week this week is only 3 (2 by the time this is published) days, but short weeks tend to drag on, and the kids are totally gone.  Adults too.

But in a few days it will be Thanksgiving, and that gives me something to look forward to.  Its not just the break from work.  I love Thanksgiving food.  I love all the white meat from the turkey and all that you can do with the leftovers. The other big deal about Thanksgiving is cranberry sauce.  I love cranberry sauce, and I think Williams-Sonoma makes the best.  I need to check the pantry to see if I have any left.  One year, I made my own cranberry sauce, and it was unreal sour.  Since then, I've left the cranberry sauce to the experts.

It doesn't seem right to have cranberry sauce outside of the holiday season, so I don't make anything with cranberry sauce beyond the holidays, however dried cranberries are fair game year-round.  I keep a Costco-sized bag of dried cranberries on hand.  The Ds sprinkle li hing mui powder on it and eat it as a snack.  I love to use dried cranberries in recipes as a substitute for raisins.

While cranberry orange biscotti recipes abound, the recipes I tried lacked orange flavor.  Bummer.  In my experiments with biscotti making, I came across a recipe which included a topping.  After tinkering with the ingredients, I came up with a recipe which has the pronounced orange flavor I was looking for - its in both the biscotti and the topping.  In addition to cranberries and orange flavor, this biscotti gets its crunch from chopped marcona almonds. 

This biscotti is a little trickier to make than my previous biscotti recipe because of the baked-on topping.  This biscotti needs to be sliced very carefully with a serrated knife.  Using too much pressure will cause the topping to pop off.   I suppose you could leave the topping off, but the orange flavor would be less prominent.

just after the first bake

slicing biscotti using a serrated knife

getting ready for the second bake

 click on recipe title for printable recipe.
Cranberry Orange Biscotti

     1/4 + 2/3 c sugar, divided

     2 tbsp + 1 tsp orange juice, divided

     6 tbsp butter, softened

     zest of 1 orange

     2 eggs

     1/2 tsp almond extract

     1/2 tsp vanilla extract

     2 c flour

     1 tsp baking powder

     1/2 c dried cranberries, chopped

     1/2 c marcona almonds, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine 1/4 c sugar and 1 tsp orange juice.  Mixture will be rather dry.  Set aside.  Grease 2 biscotti pans or line a flat cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Cream butter and remaining 2/3 c sugar.  Add 2 tbsp orange juice, zest, eggs, almond extract, and vanilla extract.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Add cranberries and nuts.  Shape dough into 2 2" wide rectangles in/on prepared pan(s).  Using half of sugar/orange juice mixture for each loaf, pat onto top of each rectangle, taking care not to spill any on baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Using a serrated knife, slice 1/2" on the diagonal.  Place on a cut side and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.  Flip over to other side and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE:  Cranberry Orange Biscotti would make an excellent snack for Black Friday shopping, that is, if you choose to indulge in that sport.  After the stampeding sounds in Wal-Mart last year, I will be staying home.  There is no need for me to be in the throng of people.  I'm sure the Ds will be home too.  I know neither were happy last year.  I just hope Kikukat Mom's curiosity about Black Friday shopping was cured last year too. 

Toaster Oven Food: Thyme Roasted Almonds

This summer has been anything but quiet.  I have been busy trying to develop my pacing guides.  Luckily, of the three classes I'll be teaching, two of them are also taught by someone else.  I was glad that she was willing to collaborate on the pacing guides with me.  I was even more astounded that she trusted my judgment.  It will be difficult for me to ever turn my back on her, as she helped me without promise of any gain.  I have gained a deep respect for her, and she has gained my trust and loyalty.

I've also spent tons of time (and money) on my classroom.  I managed to secure the use of an lcd projector, and thanks to Kikukat Mom, I have 2 laptops and a desktop for my classroom.  The former DH gave me a new (still-in-box) desktop computer for me to use, and he even found a monitor for me (all 15" of it).  I may need to swap out my monitor from home because the last time I used a 15" monitor I was under 30!

I brought in my own swivel chair from home, and I took advantage of a great sale (and free shipping) at OfficeMax.com.  I'm $200 poorer, but I have a cart for my lcd projector and a locking file cabinet.  $230 got me a nice fridge/freezer which is made by a brand that normal people buy.  And for about that same price, I indulged in a document camera by HoverCam.  Now I normally wouldn't be so quick to shell out my own $, but given that it was immensely difficult to get the custodians to remove the unwanted (junk) furniture I inherited and to have the school provide me with an lcd projector, I decided it would be best if I took care of myself (and not wait for the school to kick in the $).  The only thing I'm missing now are students!

I'm realizing that although I've been complaining about the pacing guides taking up a lot of my time, the outfitting of my room has taken up a lot of my time as well.  While I feel I've been terribly busy, I think D1 has been even busier.  Last week she attended a student leadership conference at UH-Manoa.  A few days after she returned, she participated in two-and-a-half days of intense jumping, kicking, and screaming at cheer camp.  And although she fulfilled all her required time for her internship, she has continued to volunteer her time at the lab, extracting DNA from various fly species.

D1s internship this summer has been a totally different experience from her internship last summer.  Last summer she was at Gemini Telescope in the HR department.  She was too young to go up to the mountain, so HR was the only option.  She enjoyed Auntie Carolyn, but the experience convinced her that HR was not something she wanted to pursue as a career.  In spite of the disgusting media (flies in all stages of the life cycle), D1 loves the work in the lab.  Without flinching, she talks about handling fly larvae and pupae.  Early on, I got to look around at the lab, and I was led into a room full of fly cages.  The room reeked.  I cannot even describe the smell, but I was told it was fly pheromones.  I can say with certainty that I am NOT attracted to the smell of horny flies who want to get it on! 

D2 hasn't been as busy as D1 or myself, but I've been cracking the whip about her keeping her room tidy.  My efforts have produced very little results, but soon I'll just give up and stop yelling.  The Japanese guests who will be here in two weeks will need to tiptoe and stay on the narrow path through the mess in order to get to the futon.  She has been keeping tabs on all the school supplies we've purchased so far.  I'm glad to see her at least taking an interest in that.  It tells me that she is looking forward to school, and that IS a good thing.

Earlier this summer, when D2 was in summer school, her class maintained a small garden.  She brought home a beet and a small tomato.  She must've enjoyed gardening because she has been bugging me to start a garden.  I guess she didn't realize that I attempted to start a garden too, but it didn't work out the way I wanted it.  I tried growing lettuce hydroponically.  I did it before with success, but this time, the lettuce just didn't grow.  The seeds sprouted, but the plants never got big.  When work starts up, I'll ask my colleague how he does it.  He always posts pics on Facebook of huge mustard cabbages and cucumbers.

I also tried planting kale and basil (twice), and that didn't work out well either.  The bugs loved it!  They completely overlooked the sage, tarragon and thyme which I had growing in the same area.  All three of these herbs can be chopped up alone or solo and mixed into softened butter.  A pat of herb butter on a grilled steak does wonders.  I love to use sage when I roast poultry.  It also tastes great in a grilled cheese sandwich (honest!).  I use tarragon in a chicken salad and also in hunter-style chicken.  Thyme is one of my most favorite herbs because it is so versatile.  Turkey brine needs thyme, and I'll throw a sprig of it in soups.  And I love it as a seasoning for roasted marcona almonds!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Thyme-Roasted Almonds

     1 lb marcona almonds, roasted and lightly salted
     2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
     2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
     1/2 tsp salt

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.  In a flat pan with a low rim, toss ingredients together.  Roast for 10 minutes, stirring twice.  Remove from oven, and place almonds in another pan.  Toss for 1 minute.  Cool.  Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

In two weeks, my vacation will be over.  I feel like I haven't even started my vacation.  A little break would be nice.