Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

These biscotti are really easy to make, which is a problem. For a recipe this simple, the biscotti are remarkably refined and flavorful. The fact that they’re easy to make means I make them all the time, which is great if you have people to give cookies to but bad when you live alone and can’t find any takers on short notice. It’s impossible to eat just one. I went through about 10 today so far. Thank goodness I was able to pass half the batch on to some enthusiastic friends, so crisis averted. This time..

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Adapted from marthastewart.com

Yields about 44

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, leveled
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shelled salted pistachios (the original recipe calls for unsalted pistachios, but where's the fun in that?)
• 4 ounces dark chocolate chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 (ie 2, since I always pretty much double vanilla) teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ¾ of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in pistachios and chocolate.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, butter, vanilla, and cocoa (oh man does this mixture smell good.)

3. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined. The dough is really stiff, so knead it like you would bread dough until it’s fully mixed together.

4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (NOT wax paper, I learned this the hard way. Wax paper works well enough without burning the dough, but the biscotti end up getting stuck to it and crumble when you try to remove them.) Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Divide dough in half and shape into two 2 ½-by-12-inch logs. Place logs on baking sheet and sprinkle the top of each with 1 tablespoon of sugar (per log.)

5. Bake until risen and firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Let logs cool completely on sheet, about 30 minutes.

6. Reduce oven to 300 degrees. Using a serrated knife, cut logs crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake until biscotti are mostly dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

The original recipe can be found here.

MoMa Noodle Soup

The café on the second floor of the Museum of Modern Art is one of my favorite restaurants in the city, mainly because of their cappuccino and this soup. Though not technically listed as a soup (it's described on the menu as a pasta with a touch of broth), during colder weather I think extra broth is an excellent way to be cozy and warm. It's really really tasty, and good for you, which was my excuse to eat half a pot of the soup before forcing myself to put the rest in the fridge, where it lasted another two hours before I ate the rest of it. As far as I know there's no official published recipe from MoMa, and thus the measurements are guesstimated. I think the trick with the soup is the pepper. It gives it that edge that makes putting down your spoon really difficult.

MoMa Cavatelli Noodle Soup

Recipe guessed at by Annie and her Mom

Yields about 8 large servings

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 1 1/2 cups cavatelli pasta
• 5 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shiitake or portabello mushrooms, sliced, stems removed
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes, more to taste
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, or more to taste
• 1 cup arugula

In a large pot, add the red pepper flakes and fresh ground pepper to the chicken broth.

Bring the broth to a boil. Add cavatelli and cook according to directions (about 12 minutes).

In a separate pot, cook celery until softened, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Refill celery pot with water and bring to a boil. Add chicken and boil until fully cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken to cavatelli and broth. Add celery and mushrooms. Leave at low heat for a minute or so, stirring. Serve into bowls. Add a substantial amount of arugula as a garnish, and maybe a bit of shaved parmesan.

Eat.

This is how I felt in the kitchen while I was guessing at everything:

Ray LaMontagne

Last night I went to see Ray LaMontagne at the Beacon Theater, and the concert was amazing. He played a solo show with no backup band, which wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still better than great.

Forever 21 faux leather jacket

H&M dress

Thrifted leather belt

Hue tights

Diba Boots

Hair bow I used to wear in kindergarten

Opera capelet with bunnies

I went to see "La Damnation de Faust" at the Metropolitan Opera and wore my "opera capelet," which I never have enough excuses to wear. I call it an opera capelet because it ties at the neck with a ribbon and has an old-fashioned vibe that reminds me of classic opera costumes.

Click photo to enlarge.

What I wore underneath

The inside of the capelet is lined with ridiculously cute rabbits. I think maybe next time I'll wear it inside out (without the tag showing, of course.)

Anthropologie capelet

Forever 21 tank

American Apparel skirt

DKNY tights

Target black ballet flats

Vintage pearl necklace

Urban Outfitters feather hairclip

Chocolate Wafers

I love chocolate (who doesn’t?), but really, I LOVE chocolate. Even if a dessert recipe doesn’t call for chocolate, I’ll usually find a way to sneak some cocoa powder or chocolate chips in. I’m eating chocolate chips out of a bag as I type this. So when I was browsing Gourmet’s Favorite Cookie Recipes: 1941-2008 and I saw this recipe for Chocolate Wafers, I couldn’t resist. These are simple, easy to make, and dangerously yummy. The recipe calls for rum extract, and after an unsuccessful search for rum in my parent's cabinets, let alone extract, I gave up and used a dash of sherry for some sort of alcoholic/tangy component and replaced the rum extract with vanilla extract, which worked out well.

Chocolate Wafers, adapted from Gourmet Magazine (February 1950)

Yields about six dozen

• ¾ cup butter
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon rum extract (I used a dash of sherry and a tablespoon of vanilla extract)
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ cups sifted flour
• ¾ cups cocoa (I added an extra tablespoon…or two…of cocoa)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (I used only a teaspoon since I feel like baking powder occasionally adds a metallic taste to cookies)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar together gradually, until light and fluffy. Add rum extract (or vanilla extract) to the mixture and beat thoroughly.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add the sifted dry ingredients gradually, mixing well after each addition to make a light dough (as I added more and more of the dry ingredients, the dough got increasingly fudge-like and not particularly “light.” Not a problem as it turns out, as it still yielded an awesome, lightly crispy cookie).

The Gourmet recipe calls for rolling out the dough on a floured surface and cutting with a 2 ½ inch diameter cookie cutter. I found a much easier solution, thanks to a commenter on Gourmet’s site; roll the dough into two small logs, and chill for at least an hour until firm enough to slice into 1/8 inch thick discs.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place rounds on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes. Watch verrrryy carefully, as the cookies burn quickly. One cookie sheet I baked was a bit burnt, and still tasted excellent, but the ones I didn’t allow to bake as long ended up tasting better as they hardened naturally in Tupperware containers in the kitchen at room temp. Though they weren’t there long…

Original recipe can be found here.

Marimekko Dress

This is probably my favorite dress, though I rarely have occasion to wear it.

I found it hiding on the sale rack at Anthropologie (surprise, surprise - my whole wardrobe seems to be from there), the only one in the store. It was three sizes too small, but it was also 70% off and I thought it was a sign. It's tie-able in lots of different ways, which is my favorite part. Marimekko's prints are hard to resist.

I dream of the day when my kitchen will look this cool and my bed will be dressed in polar bear awesomeness.

Swirls & pearls

I have a major weakness for nightgowns, which, if I can get away with it, I wear as dresses. I think my obsession with nightgowns stems from Amelie (seen at a formative age), particularly Audrey Tautou's wardrobe. My apartment too looks like an orange version of Amelie's, but more on that later.

Jcrew cashmere sweater

Vintage pearl necklace

Anthropologie nightgown worn as a dress

Hue tights

Target leopard print ballet flats

Strawberries & Stripes

I got this dress a few weeks ago from a flea market for a mere $5

Vintage wool sweater, once my grandmother's

Vintage pearl necklace

Urban Outfitters striped dress

Hue tights

Target leopard print ballet flats

Charley Harper dress

I wore this to a benefit dinner in Philadelphia, and it was actually warm enough that I didn't need tights. The dress (technically a nightgown) seems to be directly influenced by Charley Harper, one of my favorite artists, so of course I couldn't resist buying it.

I'm without footwear because I have a no shoe policy in my apartment. I originally wore this with boots, and would've photographed it in Philly but I was too busy dealing with technical computer problems to photograph anything (argh.)

Forever 21 blazer

Anthropologie nightgown worn as dress

Honey Oatmeal Bread

I attempted to take full advantage of my parents’ kitchen whilst in Philadelphia (it is probably 8x the size of mine,) and opted to try my hand at bread. My sister suggested a Honey Oatmeal Bread from the (hilarious) cookbook Breaking Bread with Father Dominic. Excellent suggestion, Katie.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

Yields 2 loaves

• 1 cup instant oats, uncooked
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• About 5 cups whole wheat flour
• Additional instant oats, for coating

1. Put the oats in a large bowl. Bring 2 cups hot water to a boil, pour over the oats and let stand for at least 20 minutes

2. Sprinkle yeast over ¼ cup warm water in a small bowl, stir to mix. Let stand 5 minutes to dissolve.

3. Feel the oats at the bottom of the bowl to be sure they’re lukewarm. Add honey, butter, salt and yeast mixture. For an extra-rich dough, add egg (I did, and the dough was excellent.) Mix well. Work in enough of the flour so the dough can be handled, but the dough should remain pretty sticky because of the honey.

4. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Knead until dough is elastic but still rather sticky, adding flour as needed; don’t add too much flour at a time.

5. Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

6. Punch down dough and divide into two equal pieces. Knead out any air bubbles, but don’t use flour on the kneading surface; you want the dough to remain sticky.

7. Form each piece into a loaf. Roll each loaf in additional oats until completely covered. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes, or until doubled.

8. While dough is rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaves about 45 minutes, or until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from baking sheets and let cool on wire racks.

Bedazzled folk art chickens enjoying a snack..

(New) Vintage dress

I recently received this awesome vintage dress from lovely Etsy seller TapouillonVintage. It came all the way from Saint Tropez (!), and I'm more than happy with it. I wore one of my berets to match.

H&M knit beret

Paul Masner-Paris vintage dress

Thrifted belt

Target loafers

Phillies

I was in Philadelphia for the past week, and Phillies fever was everywhere. We're going to the world series!

American Eagle men's flannel shirt

American Apparel leggings

Diba boots

New Scarf

I own many scarves, but had yet to get a gray one. I found the perfect scarf for only $5 from a street vendor on 5th Ave

As Tyra says, "Smize"

Gray scarf from NYC street vendor

Vintage dress from Topshop Vintage UK

Topshop belt

Target ballet flats

Some days you wanna be Audrey

I wore this out to dinner.

I don't know why I look so sad. Whoops.

American Apparel top

Zara pants

Target ballet flats

Vintage pearl necklace

The Met

Today I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the Robert Frank photography exhibit, which was excellent. It was FREEZING outside and I regret not wearing warmer layers, but it was raining and thus a trench was required.

Gap red trench coat

Anthropologie sweater

Gap button up shirt

Uniqlo brown corduroy pants

Minnetonka Moccasins

Watch from flea market