With practically the entire world on some sort of social distancing and shelter in place, many of us are adjusting to a new (hopefully temporary) way of working and connecting.  While I have to admit, similar to a lot of people, I am struggling. I don’t like working from home every day and I dearly miss my social life of dining out, traveling and simply just hugging a friend. I am heartbroken over the fact that I can’t just go home to my family in the UK and just wrap my arms around my sister, nieces and nephews and I can’t bear the thought of perhaps not seeing my dad again who is in a dementia care home and on full lockdown. As surreal as it is for all of us, I am choosing to #Stayathome with some ‘socially distanced’ walking around the neighborhood daily to keep connecting to fresh air.  A choice I hope all of us make soon to get back to our normal lives quickly.

Baking with Stacey, NYC

There is some good stuff here… I am choosing a whole new world of connection with FaceTime and Zoom and in just a little over 2 weeks it has changed my life. Whenever I received an invite at work that involved any sort of video connection, I called in with a blocked camera never wanting people to see me on video, now its second nature.  With working from home my day begins and ends on zoom and I love it. I have formed even stronger bonds with my work colleagues, which I am grateful for.  I regularly cook dinner while talking to a friend on FaceTime. Friends who I have not actually seen in years and only text with, I am suddenly doing zoom catch ups and wine nights with. Groups of us are getting together for happy hours and while this is no replacement for a physical connection, its been a re-awakening of friendships and connections and I feel lucky to have all of them back in my life beyond a text here and there.

Stacey in NYC

Last weekend, my friend Stacey who lives in NYC and I decided to do a zoom baking afternoon.  Our recipe was for Joanne Chang’s Flour Cookbook recipe for Almond & Anise Biscotti with an adaption of no anise (neither of us are fans of it) and less almonds. It was a fabulous afternoon of chatting about our lives, Netflix and baking.  I shared my Biscotti with the super team that continues to work in my apartment building to keep it going. I hope every tenant takes a moment to thank them daily. The rest of these fabulous cookies, I have enjoyed with coffee every day this week.

Almond Biscotti

Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time4 hours

Ingredients

  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Âź cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup whole natural almonds toasted

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 - toast halved almonds for 8-11 minutes or until golden brown all the way through the middle (will be fragrant). Leave oven pre-heated at 350 for biscotti.
  • Using stand or hand-mixer with whip attachment on med-high speed beat together eggs, sugar, and vanilla for 5-6 minutes or until thick and lemon colored.
  • In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and toasted almonds. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon for approximately 2-3 minutes until thoroughly combined (mixture will be fairly stiff).
  • Turn dough onto parchment lined baking sheet, forming a log about 5 inches wide and 12 inches long. If you dampen your hands it'll be easier to pat the form into shape without it sticking to your hands.
  • Bake log(s) for 50-60 minutes on center rack until a bit past golden brown and firm. (Test by pressing a fingertip it should not yield to pressure). Cool on a rack about 15 minutes, then at a diagonal slice into 1-inch wide biscotti.
  • (At this point it can be frozen for up to a month prior to baking and can be baked directly from freezer)
  • Return biscotti cut side down to the oven for 3-4 hours or until completely baked through. To test for doneness, poke-- it should be rock hard. Let cool. Can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Adapted from Joanne Chang's Flour Cookbook