Coconut Macadamia Biscotti | Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2014

It�s cookie swap time! This is my 3rd year participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. The first year I made my ma�s recipe for the most amazing maple waffle cookies, and last year I made insanely good peppermint mocha icebox cookies. And this year? 

This has been a really tough year for me, with lots of tears and heartache. I almost wasn�t able to participate in the swap this year due to my recent posting hiatus, but luckily the head gals in charge have super big, warm, fuzzy hearts! Participating in this event seriously gave me the motivation I needed to get in the holiday spirit and start recipe planning and blogging again! So, I wanted my cookie to be all about the big, warm, fuzzy, heart-shaped part of my life, which is� 

#PIROMAR! (PS. this is a combo of Evan and my last names� it�s clearly right up there with Brangelina, Beniffer and the like, but not with Kimye, because seriously NO ONE CARES ABOUT KIMYE). We got married in October and then went on our #piromoon to Kauai! So, these cookies (which are actually biscotti) are inspired by our honeymoon� full of coconut and macadamia nuts, just like Kauai. Not full of sand or roosters though� we left those on the island. 

I made several batches of these before I got it right. I wanted the coconut flavor to come through nice and strong, and in the end it meant using every kind of coconut imaginable. Desiccated, shredded, flaked, and coconut extract! Then I threw in some mac-nuts for crunch, and topped the whole thing with a drizzle of dark chocolate! These crunchy little goodies are made to be eaten alongside a cup of hot coffee, especially if you came back from Kauai with roughly $200 worth of beans. Yoiks!  

 

PS. Want to see some of the pics from #piromoon!? (Not those kind of pics� pervs!) I have a Kauai post in the works, stay tuned! 

Coconut Macadamia Biscotti with Chocolate Drizzle

Makes about 36-40 biscotti (a bit smaller than standard sized)

� cup coconut oil

� cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons coconut extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon spiced rum

� teaspoon salt

pinch nutmeg

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted and cooled to room temp

� cup large flake coconut

� cup roughly chopped salted macadamia nuts

1 cup dark chocolate chips/ chunks

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

With electric or stand mixer, mix together coconut oil through nutmeg until well combined. Add flour though macadamia nuts, and mix until a solid dough-ball forms. 

Separate dough into 3 equal sized balls, and roll each one into a log, about the length of your sheet pan. Arrange each long on pan so there�s plenty of space between, and flatten to about � inch thickness. 

Bake for ~25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool until you can handle them, then carefully slice each log into strips (about 12 pieces per log). 

Lay pieces cut side down/up on baking sheet, and bake for 6 minutes on each side. Cool on wire rack.

Once cool, melt chocolate (over double boiler or in microwave) and drizzle over biscotti.

Wait, there's more!

Looking for more recipes from the cookie swap? Check out the blogs of my random matches: the bloggers I sent these bad boys to, as well as the bloggers who sent cookies to me!

• All Things Libby
• Cooking Onions
• MOARfit
• Itz Linz 
• Palmer and Brown 
• Life Made Sweeter

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... Pumpkin pie!!

Read more �

Apron Project: Volunteers Needed

As many of you, our friends in food security, may know, Burnaby Food First volunteers have been sewing handmade aprons using donated fabric for the past couple of years.

These one-of-a-kind productions are being sold at the Burnaby Farmers' Market and at other local events around town. All of the monies raised from apron sales go right back into supporting our many food security activities, including workshops and events.



The project has really expanded recently, and we want to start selling aprons online here on our blog -- but to do that, we need pictures. Here is where you come in!



Volunteers Needed! Apron Project Photo Shoot



We need models -- no experience necessary -- to pose wearing our aprons, so that pictures can be taken for our online catalogue. Are you interested? We would love your help!



For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please email us.

Fancy Tuna Melts from Sheet Pan Suppers

Do you follow the blog Dunk & Crumble? If not, you should! Molly�s writing is cute and personable, and her recipes are always fun and approachable. And she and I are the same age, we both live in Seattle, and we both got married this October. #soulmates. And guess what? She wrote a cookbook (so, I guess this is where our paths diverge) which is every bit as cute, fun, and approachable as her blog! I can already tell you this book going to be a weeknight staple in my house! 

Sheet Pan Suppers is full of dinners, desserts, sandwiches, appetizers, and brunch things, all made on a trusty sheet pan! Her sheet pan style makes things simple and easy, even for some serious show-stoppers, like lemony fish baked on top of crispy potatoes, a pork tenderloin recipe with squash, apples, and onions that looks amazing for fall, a giant sheet pan-sized dutch baby with meyer lemon sugar, and a thin chocolate chip cake rolled with cannoli filling that I�m dying to make. She also has a lot of recipes for quick weeknight meals or weekend lunches, like these Fancy Tuna Melts.

Tuna melts are one of Evan and my go-to weekend lunches. They�re easy and delicious, but also a little bit fancier than your average weekday sandwich (for us office folk, anyway...especially since I don't eat tuna at work, out of coworker respect...amiright!?). We usually go with a classic chunky and not too creamy (because I hate overly mushy tuna) tuna-pickle-mayo mix on toast or bagels, topped with cheddar or swiss. 

This recipe ups the ante in every way. The tuna is full of sweet, tangy, crispy, fresh additions like apples, shallot, capers, and fresh dill. Instead of standard bread, we�re using naan, which gets a little bit crispy in the oven, and we�re topping the whole thing with marinated mozzarella. Extra flavor in every element of this sandwich! And it doesn�t stop there. Once everything�s warm and the cheese is all melty, Molly offers two topping suggestions: sun-dried tomatoes and fresh greens, or salt & vinegar potato chips! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? This is a like the his and hers sandwich combo of Evan and my dreams. I try to health things up if I can, with greens or fresh veggies, and he tries to trash things up (and I mean that in the best way possible), with chips, hot sauce, and all manner of pre-packaged foods. From my experience though, I can tell you that the perfect topping for these melts is actually a combination of all three: sun-dried tomatoes, peppery arugula, and salt & vinegar chips.    

Things you won�t regret this holiday season: making these tuna melts, visiting Molly�s blog, buying a copy of Sheet Pan Suppers (for yourself or for a gift!), eating a few extra potato chips. 

Fancy Tuna Melts 

Adapted slightly from Sheet Pan Suppers by Molly Gilbert

Makes 4 sandwiches

Molly uses Armenian braided string cheese, which is marinated in oil and spices. My grocery store, which has the fanciest of all fancy cheese sections didn�t have this, so per her suggestion, I went with marinated mini mozzarella balls, which you can find in most grocery stores, including Trader Joe�s. This recipe makes 4 enclosed sandwiches. If you prefer open face, just use 2 naan pieces, each cut in half (making 4 open face sandwiches). 

4 pieces of naan bread, each cut in half 

1 12-ounce can chunk light tuna in water, drained

1/2 large shallot, finely diced

1/2 cup diced, unpeeled apple (something crunchy like Pink Ladies)

1/4 cup capers, drained, plus 1 tablespoon caper brine

1 heaping tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1.5 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Fresh ground pepper

1 container small marinated mozzarella balls, drained

Topping

sun dried tomatoes (drained if in oil)

Arugula 

Salt & vinegar potato chips

Preheat oven to 375, with rack in the center. Line sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. Arrange 4 of the naan halves on the sheet pan. 

Mix together tuna through pepper, and scoop evenly onto 4 naan halves. Top each one with about 4-5 balls of the marinated mozzarella, broken in half. Arrange 4 remaining naan prices on the sides of the pan (not on top of the tuna).

Bake for about 10 minutes, until everything is warm and cheese is melty (a bit longer for crispier bread). 

Top each melt with sun dried tomatoes, salt & vinegar chips, and a handful of arugula, then place extra naan half on top for an enclosed sandwich. 

Saturday on CBC's Weekend Morning Show - Brandied Farmer's Sausage with honeyed apples

 I will be presenting the following recipe tomorrow on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.  This isn't your Dad's Farmer's Sausage.  It is, a take on a Spanish Tapa.  Great for holiday entertaining.

Enjoy!

Brandied Farmer�s Sausage with apples

1-2 Farmer�s sausages, sliced on the bias ~ 1�  ( I used Pioneer sausage, low salt easy peel)
2-3 apples, cut into thin wedges  (I used Granny Smith)
2 tbs butter (Local Notre Dame butter!)
� cup honey
� tsp cinnamon
good pinch black pepper
Brandy, to deglaze (or your favourite non-cream liquor)  I used a Polish, Old Krupnik honey liquor

Heat skillet and add Farmer�s sausage and butter and brown.  Half way through cooking, add apples, honey and cinnamon.  Cook until meat is fully cooked.  Add Brandy or favourite liquor.

To serve, skewer or lay out on platter with toothpicks.

Later, I will be demonstrating Tajine cooking at D.A. Niels with the following recipes;

Moroccan Squash Tajine

1 small butternut, hubbard or winter squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped black olives
1/4 cup chopped dates
1 medium onion, chopped
1 head garlic (loose cloves)
2 tbs olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 tbs turmeric
1 heaping tablespoon Ras El Hanout *
Splash of Rosewater**
1/2 chopped pickled lemon (just the peel)***
Pinch of salt
Optional: eggplant, zucchini

Place all ingredients together in a casserole dish (traditional cooking vessel is a tajine). Cover and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes. If cooking on the stovetop, cook covered at medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender. Serve with rice or couscous or bulgur.

Enjoy!

Osso Bucco

 
 1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pieces Beef shank (call for fresh at Millad's Grocery Mart on Notre Dame)

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1-3 tbs butter

1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bottle dry red wine (use an Amarone related wine for fullest flavour)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth (I had homemade chicken broth on hand instead)
1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed

Put the flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour and then tap off the excess (extra flour will burn and make the dish off-tasting).

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and hit it with a 3-count drizzle of oil. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan to melt. Sear the meat, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown caramel color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned meat to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You're going to use that to create your sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using the same pot, saut� the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color and develop a deep, rich aroma. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Nestle the meat back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 20 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth and tomatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Braise for 1 and a 1/2 hours. Then remove the cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be thick and the meat tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Remove bay leaves.

Enjoy!

Greater Vancouver Food Bank at Rogers Santa Claus Parade

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is BC's largest food bank. As we head into the holidays, they have seen a significant decrease in food supply and donations this year. On average, over half of the food donations the Food Bank receives in a year come in during the holiday period.

Source: Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society

The holiday season sees an increase in usage at the food bank, but many people throughout the year continue to use food banks to make up for household food shortfalls. Did you know? Almost a third of food bank users in BC are actually children.



So, what is the Greater Vancouver Food Bank looking for? Items include canned fish or beans, natural peanut butter, canned fruits or veggies, whole-wheat pasta, and rice.



Tomorrow (Sunday, December 7, 2014) is the 11th Annual Rogers' Santa Claus Parade, which also fundraises for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.



Rogers' Santa Claus Parade



Date: Sunday, December 7, 2014

Location: Downtown Vancouver (route information)

Cost: FREE



The Rogers' Santa Claus Parade is one of the largest events organized to raise food and money for the Food Bank. The parade starts at 1:00 pm and other event festivities start from 10:30 am.



Participants are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food or money donation on parade day for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Donations can also be made online.



For more information on the event or find out more about the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, visit the Santa Claus Parade website: http://rogerssantaclausparade.com/

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... Pizza Hut Doritos Crunchy Crust Pizza!

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