You Say Biscotti, I Say Mandel Bread

Are you wondering what the heck Mandel Bread is?  It's a biscotti cookie with a fancy name! And in Yiddish it literally means almond bread.  I haven't posted a recipe for nearly a year.  Shocking. This time last year I was in Hawaii and working through the grief of losing my mother.  This year, as we approach fall....coming soon...I hope...., I was thinking about something you could arrange on a platter with other beautiful sweet treats for the Jewish New Year.  I found my mother's recipe, in her handwriting, and with a few tweaks here and there, I'm going to share it with you.  Now, you don't have to celebrate the Jewish New Year or any other Jewish holiday to enjoy Mandel Bread.  After all, it's just like a biscotti.  And if you've ever dug into your pocket at Starbucks or another coffee shop to pay $1.75 for one lousy, little biscotti to dunk into your coffee, then you might be interested in trying this really easy, really yummy recipe.  I'm just getting started folks.  Today Chocolate Chip and Almond.  Tomorrow....I already know!  But it's a secret until my next post.  Try this soon and let me know in the comment section how it tastes with your morning cup of coffee or tea.

CHOCOLATE CHIP AND ALMOND MANDEL BREAD
3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup oil*
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat three eggs until light and fluffy.  Gradually add the sugar.  Add the oil in a slow steady stream, continuing to beat well with the mixer.  Add the extracts.

Mix the rest of this dough by hand by adding the sifted dry ingredients, the chopped almonds and lastly the chocolate chips.  The mixture should be looking very shiny and should be coming together very nicely.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.  Divide the dough in half and form each half into a log approximately 12 inches long or so,  and 3 inches wide, and no more than an inch or so high.  Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven, and bake for about 25 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and allow the breads to cool right in the pan for at least 20 minutes.  When they're cool enough to handle, carefully remove each bread from the waxed paper and place onto a cutting board.  Using a serrated edged knife, slice into approximately 14 to 15 slices.  Do one loaf at a time.  Let the other one just sit there.  Place these slices cut side down onto the same cookie sheet, no waxed paper.  And bake for another 15 minutes or so, turning the slices over half way through.  This second baking dries the cookie out beautifully.  It may still seem sort of soft when you remove them from the pan, but they become crumbly and delicious as they cool.  Repeat this second baking process with the other loaf.

Some of my pictures leave much to be desired, but I wanted to include them anyway so you can see for yourself what these things look like in the preparation stage.

*A note on oil - I've been into using Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil lately.  Delicious aroma aside, its ability to be substituted just about anywhere you would use oil makes it a perfect choice for a heart healthy oil with its cholesterol lowering properties.  So, eat your coconut oil!!!  I'm pretty sure my mother didn't use coconut oil, but we can.

Cauliflower Quiche

Does the sound of cauliflower just not thrill or excite you very much? Give it a chance!  I decided to experiment tonight. I had a whole head of cauliflower in my refrigerator just begging to be used for something or throw it out!  Here's what I came up with:

CAULIFLOWER QUICHE

2 cups cauliflower florets, broken up into small florets

1/3 cup of sliced or slivered almonds

1 Tbs. butter

2 green onions, tops and greens sliced thinly

1 small clove garlic

2 cups of cheddar cheese

1/4 cup Asiago cheese OR Parmesan

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk (try not to use skim in a quiche)

1 tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 tsp. of oregano

2 Tbs. flour

1 big spoonful Dijon mustard

1 nicely frozen, ready to use, why make your own, deep dish frozen pie crust!! lol

 

• Steam the cauliflower florets in the microwave for about 4 minutes until soft. Drain well and set aside. 
• Melt the butter and brown the almonds, remove them from the pan to a small dish and set aside.
• Add a bit of olive oil to the same pan and saute the green onions and garlic for a minute or two to soften.

Assemble all of this on a baking sheet on your counter.

• Using a pastry brush, spread about a Tbs. of Dijon mustard around the bottom and sides of the crust.
• Layer the cauliflower in the bottom of the pan.
• Top with your sauteed onion/garlic mixture, and then distribute the shredded cheddar over the vegetables.
• Sprinkle half the toasted almonds over the top of the cheese.
• Whisk together the 3 eggs, milk, salt and pepper, oregano, and flour and pour over the top.
• Sprinkle with the Asiago or Parmesan and sprinkle with the remaining almonds.

Carry it over to your oven which has been preheating at 375 degrees. If some of the filling does not fit, don't stress.  Bake for about 55 minutes, maybe a few minutes less. The top will be beautifully browned, puffy, and delicious looking! I am serving this with a combination salad of romaine, fresh spinach, tomatoes and fresh blueberries with raspberry vinaigrette. But if blueberries are not in season, switch that out for diced pears or apple.

Have you tried my Broccoli and Swiss Cheese Quiche ???  It is delicious!  This recipe and a hundred pages of great recipes, stories and photos are included in my cookbook, "Singingirl Cooks!" It's for sale.  If you don't own a copy and would like to, ask me!

Very, very good!

Candied Cardamom and Orange Mixed Nuts

I've got a great new recipe for your nut dish this holiday season. Don't buy Planters or any other kind of store bought nuts this time. Get yourself some oversized bags of nuts at Costco or Sam's Club or whichever store of that type is popular in your area, and make your own! Perfect for gift giving, if you can manage to put any aside before devouring them all yourself. And great news.... I've found yet another use for that expensive jar of cardamom that I bought a while back!  These are sweet, crunchy and downright addictive.

CANDIED CARDAMOM 
AND ORANGE MIXED NUTS

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup plus 3 Tbs. sugar, divided
1 cup unsalted pecans
1 cup unsalted walnuts
1 cup unsalted almonds
2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. or more orange peel       

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the 1/2 cup of sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Meanwhile, mix the remaining 3 Tbs. of sugar with the cardamom and orange peel and set aside. As you can see, I took the easy way out and used a jar of Spice Islands orange peel. But if you like grating, by all means grate away! When the sugar is dissolved, still over the medium to medium high heat add the 3 cups of nuts, cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes until toasted and well coated with the butter/sugar mixture. Don't allow the nuts to burn. Pour the nuts into a large bowl and add the reserved sugar and spice mixture. Stir well to coat evenly.  Dump this mixture onto a foil lined cookie sheet and break apart with the back of your spoon or spatula to, well, to break them apart.... duh me.  When they are cooled, they will separate, yeah, that's the word I was looking for... they will separate easily and be ready to fill a nut dish or add to a container for gift giving. Yum.... wait till you taste these!