I stumbled on this recipe by accident and boy, am I glad I did! While grocery shopping I saw the tall gorgeously red stalks of rhubarb and couldn't resist grabbing a handful. My hubby was out of town for a while and I decided to send him a rhubarb and strawberry crumble (also delicious but alas I forgot to take pictures of the process! Another time...). Afterward I had leftover rhubarb and with an upcoming beach picnic lunch with a friend, searched for a new recipe, settling on this one.
My honey is taking courses to get his master's degree and had a huge paper he was working on all day one weekend. He had a sudden craving for biscotti to go along with his tea, so instead of going to the nearby (and overpriced) grocery store, I decided to make my own! Turns out, it is quite easy and quick. I used this recipe, which is a nice foundation. In the future, I would add chocolate or almonds or some other kind of flair to increase the flavor. I used my mixer for this, but you could beat by hand if you'd rather. Start off with the eggs, oil and sugar. Add anise flavoring (I used Amaretto since I did not have anise). Beat until blended.
Jodye and I have an aunt who was lovingly called "Aunt Boo" growing up. I think it the nickname got started when Jodye (the oldest grandchild on that side) couldn't pronounce her true name so "Boo" was born. She sounds like an Aunt who loves Halloween, huh?
(And if you think that's a unique name, we've got a couple other non-traditional names, like GG, which is a story for another time.) This is her classic celebratory dessert and I looked forward to it every birthday that was thrown at her house! It's easy (kid-friendly!) and delicious, the only catch is that you need the have time to let it freeze. My current youngest's 1st birthday was a few weeks back. She loves to make a mess in real dirt and seems to find it tasty as well. So playing off that important activity of hers, I opted to make muddy dirt pudding. Popping a silk flower into $1 tin pots from Target, we prettified it.
Inevitably when we have guests over for dinner, I like to experiment and try fun new recipes. Occasionally, the dishes do not turn out as well as planned and I have to make my apologies, but this time, it was delicious! We had a lot of fresh strawberries on hand, so when planning the menu for our dear friends A & K, I immediately thought to make an angel food cake. I never had before so it was a challenge I was thrilled to accept! Honestly, I just searched the internet for a recipe, and when I found this by Alton Brown (who is one of our favorite chefs- his creations are almost always right on the money), I knew I had a winner!
I frequently add my own spin onto a recipe, but this is a delicate cake so I carefully followed the instructions as written. Because of this, I will share the pictures of how certain parts should look, but will leave the steps and details to Alton! |