Hazelnut Biscotti

Have you been wondering what I've been doing these last couple of Tuesdays? 

Well.... 

A. I've been busy

B. I've been lazy

C. I forgot to bake for Tuesdays with Dorie!

I missed the month of June! How oh how did I do that? I missed making French Strawberry Cake & Oasis Naan. I still plan on making both of these recipes....I'll just be a little late. 

Fear not, I'm back in action for July! Hazelnut Biscotti was first up for the month! A lot of the bloggers in the group were chatting about their dislike for hazelnut. I thought they were nuts! I love me some Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread). I love me a nice Hazelnut latte from La Colombe. I thought I loved hazelnut then I made these biscotti and I guess I thought wrong? I wasn't a huge fan. It was a big let down. I didn't have any hazelnut liquor on hand BUT I did have brandy (from my sangria recipe) on hand. The recipe states that brandy can substitute the hazelnut liquor. I think this was my mistake. I really tasted the brandy... a bit too much.

 (right before going in oven for the first baking)

I liked to try this recipe again and use hazelnut liquor OR use a different nut (almond or pistachio is what I'm thinking). 

 (after first baking. prior to cutting for second baking)

Even though I wasn't a fan of the recipe, I brought them into work and they went over well. So maybe it was just my taste buds? Regardless, this was my first time making biscotti and it was a fun experience that was well worth the learning! 

(Finished Product)

For the recipe visit Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome and/or Katrina of Baking and Boys.

Thanks for hosting this week! Hope everyone has a fun and save 4th of July! 

** Tuesdays with Dorie is an online baking group. We're baking our way through Baking with Julia. Visit Tuesdays with Dorie if you'd like to join in the fun! **

Hungarian Shortbread with Rhubarb Jam

I've been curious about rhubarb for quite sometime. I've also been intimidated by it. I only learned about rhubarb a few years ago. I usually see it paired with strawberries over ice cream or in a pie. Every year when it's in season I tell myself that I'm going to buy it and make something with it and then I usually don't BUT this year I did (thanks to Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking with Julia)! This week's recipe for Hungarian shortbread called for rhubarb jam but don't worry if you're not a rhubarb fan or if you're having trouble finding it (there seems to be a shortage this year) you can use your favorite preserves. I'm thinking Nutella might even be a good edition for the next batch I make.

 (Making the rhubarb jam)

Believe it or not this was my first time making shortbread. This was a very unique way to make it too! Once you make the dough, you freeze it until firm and then grate the dough with a cheese grater. While I was grating away, I kept thinking about my friend, Sara, who has a horrible fear of cheese graters! 

 

(Right out of the oven) 

The shortbread and the rhubarb jam came together very nicely. Some other bloggers were having trouble with the bottom layer baking all the way through, luckily I didn't run into that problem.  The tartness of the rhubarb jam paired so nicely with the sweetness of the shortbread. All in all, I think this recipe turned out to be a success! 

(The finished product)

Thanks to Lynette of 1SmallKitchen  & Cher of The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler for hosting this week! Visit their blogs for the Hungarian Shortbread recipe! 

** Tuesdays with Dorie is an online baking group. We're baking our way through Baking with Julia. Visit Tuesdays with Dorie if you'd like to join in the fun! **

Lemon Loaf

Last Sunday was Easter. Last Saturday our local bar was giving away opening day Phillies tickets.....

I hosted a nice little Easter brunch for our two close friends, Melissa and Jack. I prepared as much as I could on Saturday so it would be easy breezy on Sunday morning. The lemon loaf from this week's Tuesday with Dorie made it to my Easter menu. I thought it was a perfect complement to the overall meal. It was really easy to put together. The hardest part was probably zesting the lemons and of course waiting for the loaf to bake. Waiting wasn't hard for me...but it was hard for somebody else (somebody who thought they were going to win Phillies tickets)! That certain someone (cough, cough, Nadya) pulled the loaf out of the oven about 8 minutes too soon. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until Easter morning when the center of the loaf looked rather moist. I tried to save it by heating it back up but that didn't help. I'll have to make the lemon loaf again. The pictures from all the other bloggers look amazing! If I had more lemons on my hand Easter morning I would have started all over. I'll be sure to blog about my lemon loaf success. Until then, check out my fellow Tuesday with Dorie Bloggers and their lemon loaves. 

Lemon loaf failure, topped with glaze

For those of you wondering, we did NOT win the opening day Phillies tickets but we did have a fun time. 

Thanks so much to Truc of Treats and Michelle of The Beauty of Life for hosting this week! I'll be sure to make again soon! You can find the recipe here

Pizza Rustica

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. This is one of those recipes that makes me so happy to be included in the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group. If it wasn't for this group, I would think pizza rustica was just something that was ordered at the corner pizza shop and ready for pick up in about 20 minutes. Do you know what pizza rustica is? Did you imagine it to be bake in a pie dish? Did you know it's the perfect combination of sweet and savory?

Pizza rustica is an Italian savory pie with ricotta base that is traditionally filled with meat. Since I'm not a huge meat eater I replaced the prosciutto, that the recipe called for, with roasted red peppers. This takes the name "pizza pie" to a whole new level! 

A lot of the bloggers thought the crust was too sweet. I didn't find that to be a  problem. I honestly thought the sweet, savory combination was perfect! The dough was really easy to work with and didn't shrink up at all.


If you're hosting Easter and don't have your menu planned out, add this! It's perfect for a crowd (or just a few). It could be served as a first course (yes, something sweet for the first course) or it can be served as the main course with a nice salad. 


The recipe can be found on our host's blogs. Emily of Capitol Region Dining and Raelynn of The Place They Call Home. Thanks Emily and Raelynn for hosting this week.

Irish Soda Bread

 Another great bread from Baking with Julia and a perfect one for St. Patrick's Day, Irish Soda Bread! Who knew it would be so easy? Honestly, this takes about 8 minutes to put together and 50 minutes to bake and about 5 minutes to eat! OK, I'm kidding it didn't take 5 minutes to eat but it's so tasty that I'm sure it can be done. The buttermilk adds a great amount of sweetness. 

I decided to bake it plain (you can add dried fruit or even make it savory with herbs) and it was simply delicious! I love a nice easy and delicious bread! I'll be making this again!

Thanks to Cathy of My Culinary Mission  & Carla of Chocolate Moosey for hosting this week! You can find this week's recipe by visiting their blogs!