Grilled Peaches With Vin Santo And Anise Biscotti Food

ITALIAN CONTUCCI (BISCOTTI)

Steps:

• Melt butter in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
• Mix in the lemon juice and rind, and almonds.
• Add the melted butter, beaten eggs (one at a time), and anise to this mixture.
• Blend all ingredients together well.
• Divide the dough into 3 to 4 batches.
• Roll each batch of dough into long strips/logs about 3 inches wide by 12 inches long.
• Place the strips/logs on a greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees until lightly colored, about 20 - 25 minutes.
• Cut diagonally into slices about 1" thick.
• If desired, bake again with the slices placed on their sides, for another 5 - 10 minutes. (My family likes contucci prepared both ways, so we bake half a second time for the drier (dipping) version, and leave the other half baked only once for the more moist version).

GRILLED PEACHES WITH CINNAMON SUGAR BUTTER

Steps:

• In a small bowl add the butter and stir until smooth. Add the cinnamon sugar, granulated sugar and salt and mix until combined.
• Heat grill to high. Brush peaches with oil and grill until golden brown and just cooked through. Top each with a few teaspoons of the butter and garnish with mint leaves.

ANISE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Beat the eggs well.
• Add sugar, oil, salt, and anise flavoring and beat well.
• Sift flour and baking powder together. Add to egg mixture.
• Grease 2 bread pans (12" X 3 1/2" X 2 1/2") and line them with waxed paper (or parchment paper) about 17" X 3 1/2 " wide. (The extra ends will provide a handle to remove the loaves later.)
• Ladle batter into prepared pans until about 1 inch deep.
• Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes. Remove loaves from pan and slice (about 1/2 inch thick).
• Place slices on cookie sheets and return to the hot oven to toast. (DO NOT use insulated pans!) Be careful as the bottom of the cookie browns first. Turn them over and toast the other side.
• Remove when both sides are toasty colored. Let cool.
• "These are not the industrial-strength biscotti that the coffee shops sell. They are fragile and need to be handled with TLC. But, hey, the broken cookies are so good that we put them in a little bowl with milk and eat them with a spoon! And they do freeze well! Just pop them in the toaster to freshen them up. They're fabulous dipped in coffee or milk.".

GRILLED HOT HONEY BISCUITS WITH THYME-ROASTED PEACHES

Steps:

• To make the Thyme-Roasted Peaches:.
• Cut the peaches in half and remove the pits. Cut the halves into 4 wedges each. Lay half of the peaches in two rows on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to fold over them on both sides.
• Scatter one tablespoon of the butter, half of the thyme and 1 tablespoon of honey over the peaches. Repeat this process with another piece of foil and the remaining peaches and ingredients.
• Lightly sprinkle salt over the prepared peaches. Bring the long ends of the foil to meet over the peaches and fold over to seal. Bring the short ends over and press together to seal. This will create two flat packets.
• Place the packets, seam-side down on a grill set to medium heat. Cook with the grill cover on for 5 minutes. Flip the packets and cook for another 5 minutes until the peaches are tender when pierced with a fork but not over cooked. Let rest.
• To make the Grilled Hot Honey Biscuits:.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and lemon zest. Add the butter and work it into the dry mixture with your fingers until the butter forms small pea-sized clumps. Stir in the buttermilk and gently knead the dough until it comes together.
• Roll into a 3-inch-thick log and cut into 8 even pieces. Press the biscuits into 1/2-inch thick disks. The biscuits should be flatter than normal to enable them to be cooked on the grill.
• Spray both sides of the biscuits with nonstick spray and place on the grill set to very low heat. Cook for 5 minutes on each side with the grill cover on. The biscuits are done when they are firm and not squishy in the middle. (NOTE: due to the inconsistent heat of grills, it's important to monitor the biscuit's cooking. If needed, flip the biscuits more than once to ensure they are cooked through without burning them.).
• Once the biscuits are done, remove from the grill and drizzle with the hot honey. Set aside to cool slightly.
• To assemble:.
• Top the biscuits with 3 or 4 pieces of peaches, making sure to include any delicious juices that seeped out and garnish with a dollop of crème fraiche or unsweetened whipped cream.

GRILLED FENNEL ON THE BBQ (ANISE IN FRENCH)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, and garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut off fennel stalks, quarter fennel bulb lengthwise (she said some remove the core, she doesn't bother). Brush each fennel quarter with marinade.
• Prepare grill and preheat to medium. Grill fennel, turning several times with tongs, until slightly charred and crisp-tender. Can also be done on a ridged grill panel.

GRILLED PEACHES

Steps:

• Right before cooking, slice the peaches along the seam and pit them. Coat them in oil for cooking, being sure to give them a thick, even coating. I prefer to toss them in a gallon size Ziplock bag along with the oil and gently rub the oil into the peach. This reduces mess, which is critical when you might be in the backyard, far from access to a sink. Don't use extra virgin olive oil, as the smoke point is lower and may cause the peaches to taste burnt and smoky. Grill the peaches skin side up for 5-6 minutes. When they begin to sizzle and shine, turn them over onto their skin and cook for another 6-7 minutes, or until they soften and lose a little bit of their shape. Serve immediately, with or without a garnish of whipped cream or ice cream. If you don't have room to eat all the peaches you've grilled, they can be reheated in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and they still taste great the second time around.

CANTUCCINI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, sugar, eggs, egg yolk, baking powder, and vanilla extract in a food processor. Blend until the mixture forms a ball, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Turn mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead in hazelnuts, almonds, and anise seeds.
• Beat egg yolk and water together in a bowl.
• Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll into logs about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place onto the prepared baking sheet at least 2 inches apart. Brush with egg yolk-water mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Cut logs diagonally into 1-inch slices and lay cut-sides down on the baking sheet. Return cantuccini to the oven until dry and firm, 30 to 40 minutes more.
• Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.

ANISE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk eggs and all remaining ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until moistened; gather dough together. Turn dough out onto baking sheet and shape into 12-inch-long by 3-inch-wide log.
• Bake log until golden brown and firm to touch, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool log on baking sheet 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F. Using long metal spatula, carefully transfer log to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place slices, cut side down, on 2 clean rimmed baking sheets.
• Bake 15 minutes. Turn slices over and bake 15 minutes longer or until just golden brown. Transfer biscotti to rack and cool completely.
• Do Ahead: Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks or freeze airtight up to 1 month.