A Little Bit Of Magic or Culinary Alchemy

"I never get tired of the magic," I thought, as I touched the branches of the trees that hung within easy reach of my back deck. Just a few days ago they were quite bare...in spite of the 70-degree weather. Today, it's a sunny but chilly 50, as the leaves now unfolding from their cocoons, appearing a bit tired but hanging in there...as if the effort it took to emerge was somehow worth the fight. I notice how wrinkled they are--like any new born usually is. Still they hang on, blowing in the soft wind, ready to sprout in a moment. And then the blue sky is colored with a new green. Ah... the beginning of spring...and I am a witness to it.

"It's the same magic that seems to color my life these days," I realize.
And it has always been there, in front of me, displayed all around me--on the canvas of Life itself. It has been calling me all along, as if to say, " Look at me. Notice me. All you need to know is right here."

"Pocket the magic and bring me with you," it suggests...

I listen. Now filled up, and being the alchemist that I am, I go to the kitchen.

I grab a large mixing bowl--two actually--one for the dry ingredients, another for the wet and I begin to make a batch of biscotti. I haven't made biscotti in over two years, when at that time I went on a biscotti marathon and baked batches of them for neighbors and construction crew, wrapped in festive dressings, a holiday gift, in gratitude for tolerance during the building of my home. This time the urge for making biscotti was far less a gracious endeavor and much more primal. I just wanted a wonderful dunking cookie for my morning coffee--a delicious daily indulgence. Stella Dora cookies keep my cookie jar filled on a day-to-day basis but then there's the urge for the real thing...so I get to work...

All biscotti follow a basic recipe. The variations come with ingredients you add from there; the nuts, seeds, spice but most importantly, a particular flavor extract. If made by hand, no two biscotti are exactly alike. Oh no...I can't be thinking this...can I? Can humanity be compared to cookie dough? Have I taken food metaphor too far? Hey, it was just a thought. It might be somewhat off-putting but I personally think that a little more humility would do us all much good. I'm not the least offended to think of myself as something delicious that anyone can use to start off each day on the right foot! In fact, I'm honored. I know that at our core, we are all the same. Our individual flavor...is expressed in the details...kind of like...a biscotti cookie.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to grab a bite of a delicious, crunchy cookie... even if I have to make it myself...especially if I make it myself...

So I reach deep into my pocket and I pull out the little bit of magic I kept safe there--the light dust from the leaves--and rub it into my hands. I sprinkle it in with the flour, eggs, sugar, seeds and extract and begin to knead the dough, infusing it with the most important extract of all...my own essence. That's the magic. Try it. We all have it...you'll see.

Chef Silvia

Sometimes we have to be open to realizations from wherever they come...even if they come from the most unlikely source; a rock, a tree, new leaves or even a cookie...

Mini Biscotti Cookies

Biscotti Cookies

Dry Ingredients
3 cups unbleached white flour + 1/4 cup (reserved for dusting on yourboard)
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients
4 eggs
6 oz canola or vegetable. oil (or you can use butter if you prefer)
2 teaspoons extract

Additions
Nuts: 1/2 cup of any of the following or any other nut you may happen to like: almonds, pine nuts (omit salt if using these) pistachios or walnuts

Seeds: 2-4 tablespoons of anise seeds, sesame, poppy or any other seed you may think of

And then there’s: raisins or cranberries or even chocolate chips

You can even make this recipe a savory one by cutting back the sugar to about 1/4 cup and adding crushed red pepper or course black pepper--play around with your favorite ingredients. Making biscotti looks kindly on individual expression…

Fold dry into wet ingredients, add nuts or other ingredient and knead into a smooth dough.

Divide dough into 4 parts and roll each part into a log that's approximately 1.5 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick (the wider and thicker the log, the larger the individual biscotti.

Dust your surface with reserved flour to prevent from sticking (if dough is too sticky, just add a bit more flour)

Place on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper and bake in a pre- heated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until firm and golden.

Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes.

With a sharp knife, cut each log on the diagonal, every 1/2 inch or so to form individual cookies. It helps a great deal if you have a large chef knife and make each cut in one push--don't go back and forth with your knife and "saw” or the log will break.

Place cookies back on the cookie sheet, upright, with both cut sides facing out and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Stocking Your Pantry for Cookie Making

When it comes to making cookies on a whim or an urge, it's all about being well stocked in certain basics: flour, eggs, sugar (preferably light brown) baking powder and certain extras: walnuts or almonds or even pistachios and finally the extracts: almond, anise, lemon, vanilla...

And then fill your cookie jar with these precious gems...anytime you feel like it.