ROASTED POTATO SLICES WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

This would be a perfect appetizer for any occasions or parties. I make this dish for my Christmas Eve Party and all my friends were so delighted with it. You could make the Romesco Sauce up to 3 days ahead and just before using, bring it to room temperature and stir well. Romesco is a tomato-based sauce featuring nuts and spices that's ground smooth. Since the NFL Football season is coming to the end, I would recommend you'll to try this appetizer to serve your friends and family.

Recipe Courtesy from The Best of Fine Cooking-Appetizers

This recipe yields about 48 hors d'oeuvres

INGREDIENTS :

1 medium plum tomato (about 1/4 lb), cored and quartered
16 whole almonds, toasted
1 tbsp coarsely chopped jarred roasted red pepper
2 small cloves garlic
1/8 tsp cayenne
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb small red potatoes (1 to 2 inches in diameter), rinsed and dried
Finely grated zest of 2 medium lemons, for garnish
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish


METHODS :

1. Position rack in the upper third of the oven and heat the oven to 450 degree Fahrenheit.

2. In a food processor, combine the tomato, almonds, roasted red pepper, garlic, cayenne, 1/4 tsp salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process, scraping the bowl as needed, until the mixture is somewhat smooth, about 1 minute. Add the vinegar and 1 tbsp of the olive oil and process until well incorporated. Taste and more salt if needed.

3. Trim the ends off of each potato and cut the potatoes crosswise into 1/8 to 1/4-inch slices. In a bowl, toss the potatoes with the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt to coat well.

4. Lay the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet that been sprayed with a non-stick oil spray. Roast the potatoes, turning the slices with spatula and rotating the baking sheet halfway through roasting, until golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.

5. To serve, arrange the potato slices on a serving platter; blot with a paper towel if they look oily. Top each slice with a generous 1/4 tsp of romesco sauce. Garnish each with a tiny pinch of lemon zest and a parsley leaf.

MACADAMIA NUTS WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS COOKIES

Back to my blogging again after my camera been repaired. Now I can post my daily recipe without any trouble.

Anyway...this recipe that I'm going to post today is the best cookies I ever had. One day my hubby came back from work and asked if I can make the Macadamia nuts cookies with white chocolate. And so I told him...well...it should not be a problem if I could go to the internet and searched for the best recipe. So...I got this special recipe from the internet by Whipped The Blog and her recipe really really makes my hubby and even my friends want me to bake more to share :)

INGREDIENTS :

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar ( I only used 1/2 cup coz I dun like too sweet )
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp good vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
10 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped into chunks



DIRECTIONS :

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. In a electric mixing bowl, with a paddle attachment beat and cream the butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Then add eggs, one at a time and mix it well.

3. In another bowl, stir the flour and baking soda until incorporated. Then gradually add into the butter mixture and beat until well blended.

4. Stir in the white chocolate chips and the macadamia nuts.

5. On the ungreased cookie sheet pans, drop by rounded teaspoon and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool it completely at the wire rack and store it in an airtight containers.

CRANBERRY WITH PECAN BISCOTTI

I am a lover to biscotti with a glass of milk or a cup of fresh coffee. I always make myself to go to Starbuck and get some from there although they are kinda plain. Anyway....the last time when I was in San Francisco, I went to this Italian bakery and they sell all kinds of biscotti. I brought some dried fruits biscotti and they were so chewy and delicious.

So ever since I came back from there, I've been missing the biscotti I had before and so I decided to make it by myself. I make this biscotti with some dried cranberry for the fruity taste and pecan for the crunchinest. Hereby I would like to share the recipe with you'll and Happy Baking!!!

INGREDIENTS :

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted pecans
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk from large egg
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract


METHODS :

1. Position the oven rack on the center and preheat the oven to 325 F. Line the baking sheet with a parcement paper.

2. In a large bowl on a stand mixer with paddle hook or with hand, stir together the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and salt until well blend.

3. Add the pecans and dried cranberries. Beat on low speed or with wooden spoon briefly.

4. Meanwhile in a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs, egg yolk, lemon juice and vanilla with a whisk.

5. With the mixer on low speed or while stirring with the spoon, slowly pour in the egg mixture. Continuing beating or stirring with the spoon or your hands until the dough is well blended and begins to form moist clumps, about 2 minutes.

6. Scrape the dough onto an unfloured work surface and lightly dust your hands with flour. Knead the dough briefly and shape the dough into 2 equal section.



7. Shape each section into a 2-inch by 10-inch log. The dough will be sticky so you may need to add more flour to your hand as you go along to accomplish this.

8. Carefully transfer the logs onto your prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3.5-inches apart.

9. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top of the logs are cracked and the dough inside the cracks are no longer looks wet.


10. Place the baking sheet on the wire rack and allow the logs to cool about 15 minutes. Leave the oven set for 325 F for second baking process.

11. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on slight diagonal into 1/2-inch sliced. Use a gentle sawing motion to cut through the top crust. Place the slices with the cutting sides down on the baking sheet.

12. Bake for another 10-20 minutes, or until they are dried to your taste. At 10 minutes, they are still chewy.


13. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and allow to cool completely on the sheet before storing.