Avocado Dryfruits Nuts Biscotti

Recently, I came acroos with the tv show led by giada de laurentiis(food network star) making wonderful biscotti for holidays.Inspired by Nicky of Delicious days "cantuccicantuccinibiscotti".Thank You Nicky!
Then i decided to make biscotti by adding Avocado(who stares at me always for not using in any recipe.).Biscotti tastes great along with sweet and nutty flavour of avocado and looks colorful with studded gemstones which resembles citrine for apricots,garnet for dates,emerald for pistachio,ruby for cranberries.

INDREDIENTS:
All purpose flour - 3 cups,sifted
LAND O LAKES® Butter - 1 stick
Avocado medium size - 1 no, ripe
Sugar - ¾ th cup
Vanilla extract - ½ tspn
Eggs - 2 no
Baking powder - 1tspn
Salt - ¼tspn
Cranberries - ½ cup
NUTS:
Toasted Pistachio nuts - 1½ cups
Toasted Pecans - ¾ th cup
Dried fruit:
Turkish Apricot - ¾th cup
Dates - 7 no,deseeded and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 ° F.In a small bowl add sifted flour,baking powder,salt and mix well.
Toast Pistachios,Pecans on a lined baking sheet for 5 to 8 minutes.Remove from oven and cool completely.
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar, ripe avocado flesh,vanilla into light and fluffy.Add eggs, one at a time,until creamy.Add flour mixture and mix well.Stir in chopped turkish apricots,chopped dates,toasted nuts(Pecans,Pistachio).Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 parts.Shape each part into 9″ into 1½″ log.Place these logs on a lined baking sheet.Flatten the logs gently in this shape.

Bake for 30 minutes and check with toothpick.Transfer the logs on a wire rack and allow to cool for 25 minutes.Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F degrees.Place logs on a wooden board and cut diagonally with a knife to ½ ;thickness.Place the slices on lined baking sheet,cut side down.Bake 8 to 10 minutes until slightly brown at 300°F .Remove biscotti from the oven to wire racks.Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.Biscottis are ready to dunk in a hot cup of coffee.
Recipe Idea :My own experiment using " Avocado " in biscotti.



This is my entry to the event christmas cookies hosting by Dear Susan of Foodblogga.

White and Wild Rice Pilaf

Thanksgiving Meal

Ingredients:
Safeway wild rice - 1 packet
Bay leaf - 1
Cloves - 3
Cumin seeds - 1tspn
Onions - 1 large
Green chillies - 3
Vegetables - Bokchoy, Capsicum, Carrot
Almonds - 3 tspn slivered
Pepper - curshed ,1 tspn
Ghee - 2 tspn
oil - 1 tspn while boiling rice



Boil water in a vessel and add bay leaf,jeera ,a pinch of salt. Add wild rice, a tspn of oil to it and cook.

Take another pan: Fry onions,green chillies and add chopped vegetables to that.Add salt and stir for a while and sprinkle water and cover with the lid and cook in low flame until crisp-tender.

Mix this into the boiled rice and add enough salt ,pepper ,crushed cloves,sliverd almonds and toss well.

Remove from fire.Ready to serve.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Thanksgiving Meal

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 3 cups,sifted
Sugar - 1/2 tspn
a pinch of salt
Unsalted butter - 1 stick
Ice water - 5 to 6 tbspn
Take a large bowl and add salt ,suagr to the sifted flour.
Cut 1 stick of butter into slices and add to the flour and mix by using fingers.Mix together into coarse crumbs.Drizzle the ice water and make the dough into a smooth ball and make it into a disk.Wrap it in a plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove tHe pie dough and divide into 2 parts for the upper and lower crust. Sprinkle flour on the surface and roll the dough into a circle of 1/8 inch thickness.Place the pastry carefully on a pie
pan.Cover with plastic wrap and keep in fridge.Roll the rest of the dough into another 1/8 inch thick circle for upper crust.To make a Lattice :Cut the rolled dough into strips with pizza cutter and weave the strips by placing alternately.See here for how to weave lattice pie top .
See this Peach pie.
Pie filling:
Granny smith apples - 4 no,washed ,peeled and cut into slices
Fresh cranberry - 1/2 cup,washed
Corn starch - 4 tbspn
Lemon juice - 2 tspn
Cinnamon - 1 tbspn
Jaggery - 2 tspn, grated
Sugar - 3/4 th cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tspn
Salt - 1/4 tspn

Egg wash:
Egg yolk - 1
Water - 3tbspn
Optional / Use Milk instead of egg yolk.
Filling:
Mix sliced apples along with lemon juice. Take Sugar into an another bowl and add ground cinnamon,salt,corn strach,jaggery,fresh cranberries and mix well.
Add sliced apples to this and fill the pie pan by layering apples evenly.


Preheat the oven to 400
Place the lattice top carefully and crimp the edges.After crimping I made little flowers by using cookie cutter with the extra dough and placed it on the top of the lattice pie crust.Brush the lattice top lightly with the beaten egg.Cover the rim with aluminium foil to prevent the edges of pie from browning.
Note: Sprinkle granulaed sugar on the top.But i missed this step.
Bake at 375 for 1 hr 15 minutes .Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.Cut and serve with a scoop of icecream.




Recipe source:Martha stewart,Emeril Lagasse

Cranberry Pecan Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cake mix - 2 cups
Vegetable oil - ½ cup
Whole milk - ½ cup
Vanilla extract - ½ tspn
Egg whites - 2
Fresh Cranberries - ½ cup washed and curshed
Pecans - ½ cup toasted and crushed
Orange zest - 3 tspn
Method:
Take a large bowl add Whisked egg whites,Vanilla extract,milk,vegetable oil and beat until fluffy .Add crushed cranberries, crushed pecan,orange zest to this.Now add the mix to the egg whites and beat for a cake batter consistency. Pre heat oven to 350°F
Fill the muffin tray with paper baking liners.Place a tspn of into the bottom of each paper cups and add peacan ,cranberries above to that and fill with the batter upto ¾th in each .Top with the rest of the cranberries and pecan pieces..Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.Insert a tooth pick in the center of the cupcake.If it comes out clean then transfer the tray to the wire rack and allow cupcakes to cool.
If you like, fill with your favourite frosting.
This is my entry for the event cupcake-hero-november hosting by the hostess Laurie of quirky cupcake.

Kandipappu Beans koora

Ingredients:
Toor dal/Kandi pappu - 1 cup
Beans - 25 no,steamed
Onion - 1,medium size,chopped
Red chilli pwd - 1/2 tspn
Dhaniya pwd - 1/2 tspn
Turmeric pwd - pinch
Salt to taste
For seasoning:
Urad dal - 1 tspn
Jeera - 1/2tspn
Red chillies - 2 no
Curry leaves - 3 or 4 no
Oil - 1 tspn




Method:
Cook Toor dal in pressure cooker with less water.Dal should not and not be mushy.Steam the chopped beans too.Heat the pan by adding 1 tspn of oil fry urad dal,jeera,red chillies,curry leaves.Immediately ,add steamed beans to it anad stir well.Add salt ,red chilli pwd,dhaniya pwd and fry for 1 minute.Now add cooked Toor dal and mix well.Cover with lid and cook for another 2 minutes in medium heat.
Serve with a cup of hot rice by drizzling with a 1/2 tspn of ghee.



Recipe Source:Amma
Kandi pappu beans koora (curry)

This is my entry for the event "Jihva" for Toor dal hosting by Dear Linda of outofthegarden