Sunday, August 31, 2008

rewind

yeah yeah, it's been forever since my last post. that would be because alex and i went to the delaware beaches monday-thursday and then i had to move in. it took waaay longer than i thought it would and i just finished last night. granted, i was in senior fellow meetings from 9-4 on friday, but still. that's a lot of moving in.

and the worst part is that i cannot find a kitchen in our building! i don't think it has one and now i'm sad :[. thank goodness alex has a house. i saw it for the first time the other day and man oh man, you can definitely tell four guys live there. looks like i'm going to have to play maid before i can play chef.

ok, let's rewind. remember how i did that post about paciugo gelato? well they saw it! elyse and i went in there last saturday and they started calling us their "favorite bloggers". i have no idea how they found it, but i'm really excited that they did :] we got to talk to brittny, the manager [who is totally sweet, but also delightfully spunky], and her mom and when they found out i was leaving for school, they hooked it up and gave me a paciugo t-shirt [which i am currently wearing]. they also let me special request a flavor for the next day! [i chose s'mores, and they also made my favorite: mediterranean sea salt caramel].

on our way out, we saw alonzo bodden, the winner of last comic standing season 3. i introduced myself and offered to buy him a gelato and he accepted! so we went back in to paciugo for the 3rd time that night and bought him a coffee. he hung out for a little and we talked with the lovely paciugo ladies. then we took some pictures and i got an autograph. it was a really great night :]

so as a "thank you" to paciugo for all their generosity, i baked some cappuccino biscotti and brought it in along with some jam. in return, i got a free gelato. yay!


cappuccino biscotti
[from joy of baking]

ingredients:
3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely chopped
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Toast hazelnuts for 10 - 15 minutes or until the skins start to blister. Remove from oven and place hazelnuts in a clean towel and let steam for about 5 minutes. Then briskly rub the towel back and forth to remove the skins of the hazelnuts. Let cool and then coarsely chop. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract. Set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, spices, and espresso powder until combined. Gradually add the egg mixture and beat until a dough forms, adding the chopped nuts and chocolate chips about halfway through. With floured hands divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll each half of dough into a log about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Transfer logs to the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 3 inches apart, and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until firm to the touch (logs will spread during baking). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.

On a cutting board, with a serrated knife, cut each log crosswise, on the diagonal, into 3/4 inch slices. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 24 biscotti.

we ended up going back again that same day and i got the cioccolata con gelato ["rich and silky, italian-style hot chocolate infused with your favorite gelato flavors"] with the peanut butter chocolate swirl. it was amaaaazing and a perfect end to my last night in california.