Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo!
Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! — Horace
Biscotti has become one of our family staples for two reasons: first Biscottis can be manipulated to be reasonable on a calorie basis; secondly, they go great with our preferred beverage, coffee; lastly, making Biscottis isn’t as challenging as one might think and offers an opportunity to experiment. So, I added two favorite items Brazil Nuts and Macadamia nuts and this equals a buttery heaven.
enjoy, I did!
Roger
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I have always enjoyed cooking; however, outside of cutlery, I have seldom paid the ticket for the more expensive kitchen equipment. In fact, I have received a lot of good natured ribbing about some of the antiques that can be found in my kitchen, like the 1800’s meat grinder and the 1940’s KitchenAid mixer. So, it was finally time to upgrade.
Years ago, I wanted a better oven and opted for a KitchenAid gas with a convection oven. As most who bake know, gas convection ovens are best. I decided to take a jump and look at what was available on the KitchenAid site. I had no prejudice against buying a refurbished mixer, but it had to be heavy duty and have steel gears.
What’s nice is that it will be here soon.
Roger Freberg
Yes, Karen, Karla and Kristin, I had to have the ice cream maker!
One of the nicest traditions I have observed is serving the person with a birthday the meal they most desire. It is nice to go out to dine, but something made at home has always been my favorite. Well, my birthday is coming up in a week or so, and since I could have anything I wanted, I wanted to make it myself. Some of you may not think that is a real good birthday present, but for me, preparing something special is fun…. even if it is on my birthday. Besides, much of what I am thinking about can be made the day before and so the actual preparation on the birthday is minimized.
So, I thought that I’d prepare some Scandinavian Meatballs, a nice salad and my Tiramisu for dessert. I am still thinking about the wine at this point.
I always enjoy the simple meal on my birthday, I hope yours is as pleasant.
Roger Freberg
I love to tinker on many things. I find great solace in trying to solve the secrets of the universe… like how to make the perfect Biscotti? I have found using vanilla extract makes a biscotti have a ‘funny’ after taste… while using an entire vanilla bean — or two — is wonderful, but indulgent.I really don’t like plain Biscottis and those dipped in various chocolates are more of a dessert than something light with coffee. My preference is for nuts and Pistachios and Brazil nuts seems the most fun.
Here is my Biscotti recipe with some of the tweaks noted.
enjoy,
Roger Freberg
My daughter Karen told me that a friend from Puerto Rico loves this common and delicious snack of salted ‘twice-fried’ Plantains. They are called “Tostones.” I thought I’d try it myself and I am glad I did.
Slicing Plantains can be a little tricky for those who expect to be pealing a version of a banana. The fact is that Plantains are often referred to as a vegetable and prepared in much a similar fashion. Plantains are roughly 97% carbohydrate, 2% protein and 1 % fat.
The ‘twice fried” Tostones is a simple process: 1) peal the plantain, 2) slice the plantain 3) fry the slices 4) remove the slices and mash them 5) fry again and 6) remove, place on a paper towel and salt!
Enjoy!
Roger
