Italian Threesome

I am always extremely impressed with how many different delicious treats can be made from the same base. Sugar, eggs, butter, flour. Four things that make all of the fabulous treats in the world. Today the quartet decided to go Italian. Biscotti cookies are in the oven. I used the base recipe of Anne Burrell. It was super easy. All though, the first time I made it, I truly fucked it up.

I misread the directions and added an extra egg. Plus, I thought that her instructions to put the dough in the oven as two logs was more of a suggestion. It wasn't. the dough expanded so much it looked like a white version of Slimer as it came out of the oven. I learned my lesson. This time the dough is in two perfectly shaped logs and the correct amount of eggs have been mixed into the batter.  In addition to not recklessly ignoring directions from famous a chef, I changed the flavors a little.

I used pistachios since apparently bags of them are now an acceptable Christmas gift. After the holiday, our cabinets are full of them. As if shucking the pistachios wasn't a pain in the ass enough, my beagle taste tester ate just as many as I put in the batter. I'll accept his tail wagging compliments since right now he is my only critic. Pistachios and citrus go really well together, so some orange zest made an appearance. Finally, in addition to the vanilla, I added some anise. Anise and orange are a classic couple. Yes, this does appear to be a love triangle but trust me, it's a threesome. I picture anise and orange as the old married couple and the pistachios as the tramp. The raw batter I ingested was delightful and so was the first bake (biscotti cookies bake twice). Cutting them into their shape after the first bake is always a little difficult. However, it is worth it. You get to eat the ends of the logs, the ones that crack, and so on.

Final thought: long live carbs.