Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Makes 10 Biscotti or 20 Mini Biscotti

2 Cups Almonds, Sliced and or Slivered
3/4 Cup and 1 TBSP Sugar
1 TSP Baking Powder
1/2 TSP Salt
3 Eggs
1 TSP Vanilla Extract
2 C Flour
12 OZ Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat over at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. On cookie sheet, spread out the almonds across the pan and bake for 10 minutes. At the 5 minute mark, flip the almonds. Then let it cool for 10 minutes.

 

3. In food processor, add 1/2 of the almonds with a tablespoon of the sugar and pulse until the almonds are finely ground, mix in the salt and baking powder.

3. In mixing bowl at medium-low speed, cream the sugar by adding an egg at a time, next add the vanilla extract. Once the wet ingredients are all mixed, add the almond mixture and sift the flour into the mixture.

4. When the dough is completely mix, take the bowl off the stand and fold in the remaining almonds.

5. On the cleaned off cookie sheet, cover it in parchment paper and spray oil on it. Next separate the dough in half, and make two 10"x2"x2" sheets of dough. Bake for 25 minutes.

6. Remove cookie sheet from oven, reduce the temperature to 325, and cut each dough lengthwise into 1/2" strips. It makes about 5 each if you want smaller versions cut in the center of all of the strips to make 10 in each of the two pieces of dough.

7. Bake for 20 more minutes until they are crispy.

8. While they are baking, making a double boiler over the stove by putting a metal bowl over boiling water in a pot. (Make sure the bottom bowl can touches the water, but it is not small enough where it is floating and water is splashing into the bowl.) Add half the bag of chips into the bowl and lower the heat to medium, mix the chips until it is all melted, then turn off the heat and add the remainder of the chips, and finally mix until all melted.

9. Once the chocolate is all melted, you can start to dip the bottom of the cookies into the chocolate, smooth the bottom of the chocolate so it does not drip, and then lay the cookies on the rack chocolate side up to dry. (To increase the drying process, you can put the rack in the freezer to dry the chocolate.)

10. Then it is ready to enjoy with hot coffee or tea.

Cooking and Money Saving Tip

If you have fruits and vegetables that are about to go bad, do not throw them away unless they are rotten. Instead, cut them up and or peel them, and add them to a dish.

For example, had some bruised zucchini and mushroom that were about to go bad in the fridge. Sauteed them in a pan with garlic and olive oil. Next the chicken breast was cut up and added. Then the milk, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and salt were added. Finally serve over cooked pasta and enjoy!

Teriyaki Salmon with Siracha Sauce

Serves 4

1 TBSP Cornstarch
1 1/2 C Water

1/4 C Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 TSP Ground Ginger
1/4 TSP Garlic Powder
2 TBSP Honey
4 4 OZ Salmon Fillets

1/2 C Mayonnaise
3-4 TBSP Siracha
1 1/2 TBSP Cream

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees fahrenheit.

2. In small bowl, mix the cornstarch in 1/2 cup of water and set aside.

3. In a pan on medium heat, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, powder, and honey. Bring it to a simmer and then add the cornstarch slurry, and let it thicken until sauce sticks to the back of the spoon.

4. Once the sauce in ready, pour it over the salmon fillets and bake for 15- 20 minutes.

5. While the salmon cooks, make the Siracha sauce by mixing mayonnaise, Siracha, and cream together. Then refrigerate until ready to serve.

6. Once the salmon is done, serve the salmon over a starch or vegetables and drizzle the Siracha sauce.

Low Fat Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

2 Loaves / 24 Muffins

2 C Sugar
1 15 Oz Can of Pumpkin
1 C Unsweetened Cinnamon Apple Sauce
2 Eggs
3 1/3 C All Purpose Flour
2 TSP Cinnamon
2 TSP Baking Soda
1 TSP Baking Powder
1 TSP Nutmeg
1/4 TSP Pumpkin Spice
1/2 TSP Salt
1 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Optional)

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour two 8 x 4 loaf pans.

2. In large bowl, combined sugar, pumpkin, apple sauce, eggs.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, and salt.

4. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and fold in the chocolate chips. Lightly shake the pan back and forth a couple of times, so the batter is evenly set in the bread pans. If making muffins, evenly scoop mixture into all 24 cups.

5. Then bake for 50 to 60 minutes. If making muffins, it takes 16-18 minutes to bake. Double check with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean before pulling it out of the oven.

6. Before pulling the bread out of the pan, let it set for about 5 minutes to cool. Finally you can pull it out, slice, and enjoy.

Sauteed Tomato and Basil Pasta

Serves 4

4 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, Smashed
6/7 Leaves of Basil, Chiffonade
6 Roma Tomatoes, Stemmed and Cut in Eighths
1/2 TSP Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese

Angel Hair Pasta, Cooked Al Dente

1. In a pot, boil salt water for the pasta.  In a medium heat pan, add olive oil to the pan with the garlic and cook for a couple minutes.

2. Add the basil to infuse the oil.

3. Then, add the pasta to the boiling water and add the tomatoes and pepper flakes to the pan.Turn the pans heat to medium low and cook the tomatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Once the past is done, mix it into the tomato mixture. Finally serve the pasta and top it off with Parmesan cheese and remaining basil and enjoy.

Creamy Mediterranean Cucumber Salad

Serves 4

2 Cucumbers, Peeled and Sliced
2 Slices of Red Onion, Thin Cut
1/2 C Greek Yogurt
3 TSP Lemon Juice
1/2 TSP Dried Dill
1/4 TSP Salt
1/2 TSP Ground Pepper

1. First in a small bowl make the sauce, mix the yogurt, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Then let it set when you cut and peel the cucumber and onion.

2. Once you ready to serve you meal, mix in the sauce with the cucumbers. Serve and enjoy!

Egg White Vegetable Frittata

Serves 4

1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5/6 Baby Portabellos/White Mushrooms, Washed and Stemmed
1 TSP Basil
1/4 TSP Ionized Sea Salt
1 TSP Red Pepper Flakes/Ground Black Pepper
1/4 TSP Garlic Powder
2 C Baby Spinach
4/5 Egg Whites
Romesco Sauce, Optional

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

2. On medium heat add olive oil, mushrooms, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the skillet and cook for 5 to 8 minutes.

3. Next add the spinach.

4. Once the spinach starts to wilt, pour into greased square pan and bake for 10-15 minutes until the egg is cooked.

5. Cut and serve, add the romesco sauce, and enjoy!

Light Romesco Sauce

Serves 4

3 Large Red Bell Peppers
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
1 TSP Basil, Dried
1 TSP Cider Vinegar
1/2 TSP Sea Salt
1/8 TSP Ground Black Pepper
1/8 TSP Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)

1. Turn oven temperature to broil. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and broil the peppers for 15 minutes. Half way through the process flip the peppers.

2. Once the pepper skin is broiled, put them in a zip lock bag, and let them sweat and blister in the bag for about 15 minutes or until you can handle them.

3. Then peel the skin, remove the stem and seeds, and then blend the peppers until smooth.

4. In pan on medium heat, add the olive oil and garlic and cooks until the garlic is golden brown. Then turn down the heat to simmer and add the red pepper sauce, basil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

5. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, and then serve with pasta, chicken, or spaghetti squash. Enjoy!

Crab House: A San Francisco Must-Do

Crab House

203 C Pier 39

San Francisco, California 94113

http://www.crabhouse39.com/

When you visit San Francisco, the Crab House is the one restaurant that you have to eat at. It is located on Pier 39 which is one of the popular piers with lots of shops, infamous seal watching, and view of Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate Bridge. 

If you are a seafood lover, the Crab House is the place to go when visiting Pier 39. They are known for their "Killer Crabs" which is dungenous crabs covered in their secret garlic sauce. The restaurant not only has great food, but a very fitting atmosphere. It is right off the water in a white looking house. The inside of the restaurant is covered in white tile and crab figurines on the walls. The restaurant fumes with the smell of the pipping hot seafood, and when the windows are open you can feel the cool breeze of the bay. 

We started the lunch off with some creamy, mouth watering crab chowder. It was loaded with crab, and they gave you french bread which was great way to sop up the remaining chowder. The cesar salad  is also another light starter which is lightly dressed with dressing and parmesan cheese.

Next came the main crab, it was sizzling, hot on a skillet with the shrimp we order. On the skillet, they had a butter and lemon sauce for the shrimps, and a butter, garlic, and horseradish for the crab legs. The crab and shrimp were pipping hot, but it smelled so good, and you had to dig in. The shrimp might of been a little small, but the crab legs were nice and meaty. To keep with the garlic in everything, we order the garlic noodles. It was a rich, buttery fettuccine which pairs well with the seafood.

The last seafood dish was the mussels in a white wine and garlic sauce. September is mussel season, so they were nice and sweet. To pair with all this seafood, we selected a white wine, Honig Sauvignon Blanc, that was recommended by the waiter. It was a nice,crisp wine to pair with the meal.

If we were not full enough, the waiter topped it off with their tiramisu. It was light and creamy from the mascapone cheese filling, and the lady fingers nice and moist. It was a great ending to a loaded garlic seafood meal.

Phyllo Peach Coconut Cobbler

Serves 2

2 Peaches, Diced
1/2 TBSP Honey or Maple Syrup
1 TBSP Shredded Coconut

1 TBSP Coconut Oil
1 TBSP Honey or Maple Syrup
A Pinch of Salt
1 Sheet of Phyllo

1. Preheat oven at 325 degrees fahrenheit.

2. In a microwave and oven safe bowl, mix peaches with honey and coconut.

3. Next heat in microwave for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. In a separate bowl, melt coconut oil, honey, and salt together.

5. Top bowl with phyllo dough and top off with coconut oil mixture.

6. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

7. Serve up by itself or with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream and enjoy!