A Chai Tea and Biscotti Kind Of Day...

I finally got around to organizing all my recipes!  Ok, that is actually a HUGE overstatement, since I have recipes lying all over my house...stuck in books or folders, under the couch, underneath my keyboard, on my bed stand...so, when I say organize all my recipes, I just mean the ones that were falling chaotically out of the old manila folders I stuck them in years ago in my cookbook cabinet.  My pack rat tendencies have allowed me to amass a great number of loose leaf recipes, most of them printed out (many without titles, so I have to guess what the recipe even is), and many scrawled on the back of envelopes or torn off notebook covers.  And most of those are sticky or crusty with the remnants of my last experiment.  As embarrassing as my "organizational skills" are, the upside is that I have a million recipes from which I can draw inspiration.  I have a great number of wonderful recipes from my World Cuisine class that are from the Mediterranean, India, and Africa.  That class, in particular, opened my eyes to the world of spices.  Then, I have all the recipes from my breads class...enough to fill a large cookbook...where many nearly illegible notes from class are written.  I also have a huge stack of Epicurious.com recipes that I printed out before I went to culinary school, though in that stack, I have about 12 different recipes for lasagna.  Who knows why.  I'm not sure I even made any of them.  So, organizing all of these pieces of paper was a bit of a chore.  And there are still more, like I said, floating around the house, but those will have to wait.  I have several folders in my cabinet now containing recipes labeled "entrees," "breads,""desserts," and "apps/sides/salads."  Not very specific, I know, but half the fun is looking through the folders to see what gems you can find.  This week, I found some really yummy recipes that I've combined to create my weekly meal plan.  I have some Asian, Mediterranean, Tibetan influences...and yes, I even included one of those lasagnas! 

Weekly Menu:

Tibetan Chai
Dark Chocolate Biscotti
Asian Chicken Noodle Salad
Roasted Veggie Lasagna (though I'll probably add some meat to that)
Mediterranean Braised Chicken
Tunisian Tomato Soup OR Curried Carrot Soup

Well, those are the recipes I wanted to make anyway.  We'll see how the actual week turns out!  However, the Chai and Biscotti are already made and they should last us at least a couple days.  And I am going to make that chicken salad tonight...yum. :)

So, on to my Chai and Biscotti afternoon!  The chai recipe is passed on to me by my husband's aunt.  One Thanksgiving, we were all at her house for dinner, and she made the most delicious homemade chai I had ever had.  I had to get my hands on that recipe, but to be completely honest, I don't remember making it until now.  One of the reasons for this is that I didn't know what cardamom was, let alone where to find it....and I didn't end up looking very hard for it.  It wasn't until culinary school that I was introduced to many spices and what to do with them.  I have since fallen in love with cardamom, buy it in bulk in pod form, and use it whenever I can.  I have already posted about making chai before, but that one wasn't very successful.  Now, that I have followed an actual recipe, I feel I have a better understand about how to make chai.  I would change the recipe in some ways, but only because I'm very picky about my chai tea.  And I didn't make it as well as that perfect Thanksgiving batch.  Well, I guess I just have to keep trying!

Tibetan-Style Chai
(adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates)
7 1/2 cups

5 cups water
1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh ginger (peeled or not)
1 tsp cardamom seeds
3 cinnamon sticks
4 tea bags or 4 tsp loose leaf tea (such as orange pekoe or darjeeling)
4 cups milk 
1/2 cup sugar

In a large covered pot, bring water, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and tea to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 mins.  Add milk and sugar, return to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 5 more minutes. Strain and serve.  Can be refrigerated in a sealed container.  Reheat as necessary.

What I would or have changed:
1. I used English Breakfast Tea, which worked just fine.  I might use decaf tea in the future since I like to have this tea in the evenings, too.  
2. I used almond milk because...well, that's what we drink.
3. I did not peel my ginger, but I washed it well!
4.  This tea was not spicy enough for my liking.  I think I would have added in more spices like whole cloves, or even some black peppercorns.
5.  This tea was also too sweet for me.  I added a little less than 1/2 cup of sugar, but I used brown sugar which could have made a difference.  Almond milk, too, is naturally sweet.  I would have probably reduced the sugar by half, or less.  But again, that is just my preference.

Otherwise, I deem this recipe a success!  It does have the depth of flavor and creaminess that makes chai great!  I wholeheartedly recommend it!

And what better to go along with some sweet and spicy chai, than dark chocolate biscotti?  I found this recipe among my pile while organizing.  It actually is a ripped out page from Cooking Light, and is a reader recipe. I followed this recipe to the letter, and to be honest, I'm not sure I would change much.  It seems to be a tested and successful recipe!  Those are always nice to find, and this one is a keeper!

Deep Dark Chocolate Biscotti
From Cooking Light, By Linda Rogers

9.5 oz whole wheat flour (about 2 cups)
2 TB flaxseed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar 
1/3 cup dark brown sugar 
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup unsalted whole almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Add flour, flaxseeds, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Combine sugars and egg in a bowl and beat on high with a mixer.  Stir in vanilla.

4. Add in flour mixture to egg mixture (see my note about this below!).  Fold in chocolate and almonds.

5. Divide dough into three equal portions and roll each portion into a 6" roll.  Arrange rolls 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Pat to 1" thickness.  Bake at 350F for 28 minutes or until firm.

6. Remove rolls from sheet and cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  Cut rolls diagonally into 30 1/2" slices.  Place, cut sides down, on baking sheet.  Reduce oven to 325F and bake another 7 minutes. Take slices out, turn them over, and bake another 7 minutes.  Cool slices on a wire rack.  Slices will harden as they cool.

What I changed:
1. I used whole wheat pastry flour.  I use this all the time because it is light enough to make successful pastries without being too tough or dense.
2. I used ALL light brown sugar.  
3. I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips that are 60% cocoa, though I might have gone even darker.
4. I did not use a mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar; I just whisked it for a few minutes until it was smooth and bubbly.
5.  When it said to add the flour into the egg mix, I mixed in the flour a little bit at a time.  I actually didn't use all the flour and was left with about 1/2 cup.  I think this is because I measured with a dry measuring cup instead of weighing it out.  It seems that 9.5 oz is a little less than two cups, so I would add just enough flour to make your dough.  My dough was very stiff, but still slightly sticky and it came out well.  
6. Oh, and I didn't use flaxseeds, though I would have if I had them.  But my husband doesn't like them, so I guess not having them is for the best!

These recipes made for a warm, relaxing afternoon!  Enjoy! :)