Posted by Lucy Baker, August 25, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Biscotti are one of my favorite kinds of cookie to bake. First, the results are a bit more impressive-looking than drop varieties. Second, they last forever (well, up to two weeks) when wrapped tightly. Third, and most importantly, it’s perfectly acceptable to eat them for breakfast.
While today's Cook the Book recipe for chocolate-nut biscotti sounds simple, in fact it is anything but ordinary. Chocolate Epiphany author François Payard adds orange zest, aniseed, pistachios, and hazelnuts to create a truly unique cookie. Enjoy them with strong espresso, tea, or dessert wine such as Vin Santo.
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Posted by Robin Bellinger, July 22, 2008 at 1:00 PM
I was interested in Ed’s take on peanut butter and its role in weight loss, since the spread has a similar presence in my pregnancy. Peanut butter is a virtue and a vice. When I am good, I am very good; for dessert or a snack, I am satisfied with a single stalk of celery studded with raisins and a tablespoon of peanut butter. But when I am bad, I am wicked; I treat a peanut butter honey sandwich as a snack, even though it easily clocks in at 500 calories—and eating one peanut butter honey sandwich only makes me want another. Right away.
Last week’s throw-your-hands-up study in the Los Angeles Times about what pregnant women should and shouldn't eat involved peanut butter (and nuts in general). A long-term, large-scale study by the Dutch government reported that children whose mothers ate nuts, or nut products, on a daily basis while pregnant are 50% more likely to develop asthma than those whose mothers never or rarely did.
The first account of the study suggested exactly what my doctor had said months ago: nuts and peanuts are fine in moderation. But what defines "moderate consumption"? Is my idea of a little bit daily excessive? Since meat only hits my table a few times a week, I eat a spoonful of peanut butter or handful of nuts most days for a protein fix. As long as I’m not slathering it on that second peanut butter and honey sandwich, I feel pretty good about this.
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Posted by Ed Levine, December 30, 2007 at 8:37 AM
This Mario Batali pasta recipe for Linguini alle Noce (with Walnut Sauce) is so delicious, so simple, and so inexpensive it is the perfect Sunday dinner (or brunch for that matter) for everyone, from college students looking to rustle up a little grub to avoid eating at the dining hall, to harried urbanites like me looking to produce a satisfying meal for their family quickly and easily, Of course most college students are home now for the holidays, so I told my 20 year-old son Will that he should make this for his friends on New Year's Eve. The walnuts and the bread crumbs are an inspired combination. Mario says in the headnote in Holiday Food that when the noodles are cooked and then dressed just right they taste great even at room temperature.
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