I've determined that biscotti are the "chicken soup" version of the dessert world. Is there anything more comforting than a good cup of coffee and a few freshly baked biscotti? I think not, and much like chicken soup, biscotti can heal all that ails you. Feeling feverish? Have a cup of tea with some biscotti! Feeling down? Cheer yourself up with some biscotti! Queasy stomach? Grab some biscotti, it will settle that right down! Sprained your ankle? The biscotti may not help here but they certainly will not make it worse! I kid, of course, but I've yet to come across a situation in which biscotti didn't improve it. Especially the freshly baked kind. ;)  

I like to think that I have a nice baking repertoire. I make a mean crostata, my anise pizzelle are raved about, and the butter balls? Everyone says that mines are the best they've had. I love baking and enjoy sharing just as much. I also love coffee and my coffee must always be accompanied by a treat. I've determined that my coffee gets lonely without a freshly baked treat next to it! Some desserts are more finicky than others and take a long time. But biscotti are so forgiving and easy, that they always love you right back with a delicious outcome. They can last for days in a cookie tin (if you are able to resist them, that is), they come in hundreds of varieties and are very adaptable. You can add nuts, fruits, chocolates or a combo of these. You can leave them all out and have a simple version. Scent them with citrus zest, anise, vanilla, rum. The combos are endless.

Here is a classic combo that I just adore: cherries, chocolate and orange. These are very flavorful, not overly sweets and because I do not double-bake this version, they are soft, and only slightly crunchy on the outside. The inside is very soft and crumbly. Comforting, cozy and scrumptious, be sure to make these for your next event, or just because. 

Soft-Bake Chocolate, Cherry and Orange Biscotti 
Yields 3 logs - each resulting in 14 - 16 biscotti

Ingredients
3 ½ tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3 cups flour + 1 extra tablespoon
1 ½ cups sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips  
3 eggs
3 egg yolks, divided
Zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons honey
 
 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set your oven rack to the second to last position from the bottom. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, pinch of salt and baking powder. Using a hand whisk or fork, mix the dry ingredients and set aside.
3.  In a medium bowl, add the cherries and chocolate chips and add the 1 remaining tablespoon of flour. Coat the fruit & chocolate pieces with the flour and set aside.
4. In a stand mixer, mix the three eggs and two egg yolks. Add the orange zest and honey and mix well.
5. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, alternating with the cooled melted butter, mix all the ingredients well until combined.
6. When the biscotti dough is well mixed and all ingredients have been combined, reduce the speed of the mixer to the lowest speed and carefully add the cherries and chocolate. It’s unlikely that all the cherries & chocolate will be added by the mixer so transfer the dough to a floured counter and continue mixing by hand until everything is well combined.
7. Divide the dough into three equal portions.
8. Shape the dough into 14-inch logs and place them on the prepared cookie sheets. Do not add more than 2 logs per cookie sheet, as they spread during baking. Slightly flatten the logs and shape so that they are as uniform in shape as possible.
9. With a fork, blend the remaining egg yolk and using a pastry brush, brush the logs with the egg. For added crunch, sprinkle some granulated sugar on top, if desired.
10. Bake biscotti for 25 minutes, until they are golden in color. 
11. Remove from the oven and allow baked logs to cool for 5 minutes. Using a serrated bread knife, slice the logs into 1-inch biscotti and transfer them back to the cookie sheet, cut side down.
12. Return the cookies to the oven, which has been turned off but is still warm. Keep cookies in the oven for an additional 5 - 8 minutes. Longer if you desire a crunchier biscotto. Store in an airtight container. Biscotti will last for several weeks. 

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Ready to make your 2020 Italian Travel Dreams come true? Consider joining us in one of our Culinary Adventures! 

CHIANTI: MAY 1 - MAY 8, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! 
AMALFI: MAY 10 - 17, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure!  
EMILIA ROMAGNA: MAY 19 - 26, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! 
SICILY: SEPTEMBER 1 - 8, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! 
CHRISTMAS in TUSCANY: DECEMBER 4 - 11, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! ​​

While growing up in Calabria, I was blessed that my mom was a stay-at-home mom. I didn't realize what a  privilege this was until we moved here to the States and she become a "working mother." Don't get me wrong, I love that my mother immediately adjusted to our new life in the US, and she had a nice job in banking, but I did miss having her home when I returned from school! Oh sigh..... 

I was spoiled, no doubt about it. My school was located directly across from our home (the town I grew up in was very small!), and school let out about 12:30, and I headed straight home to a nice home-cooked meal! No PB & J for this kid, it was a full meal, with dessert afterwards! What's a stay-at-home mom to do in Southern Italy? Cook and bake the day away! And she always did it with LOVE. 

I recall her "S" cookies very fondly because she made them very often, sometimes 2-3 times a week! We would have them for our morning snack in school, sometimes for breakfast, or even for dessert! These are ideal for breakfast because they are very plain, not overly sweet and very simple. Even her older parents loved them. As is typical in older Southern recipes, these call for oil instead of butter. Oil was (and still is) the fat of choice in the South so this isn't too shocking. Use the "extra light tasting" oil in this to avoid the strong scent and flavor typically found in EVOO. 

Ideal for afternoon tea or dunking in a nice cup of espresso in the morning, these simple cookies are sure to delight your palates. 

Mom's Italian "S" cookies
​Depending on the size, this recipe makes anywhere from 40 - 60 cookies!
​Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs, plus 1 additional egg for the topping 
1 cup granulated sugar plus extra for topping
3/4 cup light tasting olive oil
zest of one lemon or one orange (or both for extra flavor!) 

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2) Prepare several baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper and set aside. 
3) Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a large bowl and  set aside.
4) Using a stand mixer, combine 4 eggs, sugar, oil and zest. Mix just until all ingredients are blended. 
5) Add in the flour mix and beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms, about 2-3 minutes. Paying close attention that you do not over mix.  
6) Transfer the dough to a floured surface and give it one final mix by hand until flour is fully incorporated.
7) Pull pieces of dough and roll out ropes that are about 1 inch thick. Depending on the size of your desired cookies, dough pieces can be anywhere from 4 - 7 inches long. (Of course, depending on how much dough you use, you will end up with either a small, medium or large cookie)
8) Continue shaping the rest of the dough into Ss and place on cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. 
9) In a small bowl beat the remaining egg with a fork to make an egg wash, brush each cookie with the egg wash and sprinkle with a small pinch of additional sugar. 
​10) Depending on the size of the cookies, they will bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown on top and on the bottom. 
*For added sweetness, these can be glazed with a glaze made of confectionary sugar,  1 -2 teaspoons of milk and zest of one lemon or orange. Stored in an airtight container, these can last up to several weeks. 

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Ready to make your 2020 Italian Travel Dreams come true? Consider joining us in one of our Culinary Adventures! 

CHIANTI: MAY 1 - MAY 8, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! 
AMALFI: MAY 10 - 17, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure!  
EMILIA ROMAGNA: MAY 19 - 26, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! 
SICILY: SEPTEMBER 1 - 8, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! 
CHRISTMAS in TUSCANY: DECEMBER 4 - 11, 2020. Click here for all trip info on this great adventure! ​​

​Ok, I admit, I may be bias because yes, I was born in Calabria, but if you are looking to visit the “real Italy,” if you are done with mass tourism, overpriced “Made in China” souvenirs and waiting lines miles long, than your next Italian destination should be this undiscovered region. Why, you ask? Here are just a few of my favorite reasons:


The beaches – First and foremost on my own personal list are the beaches. If you love to swim or sunbathe, or just lay around and people watch, (oh admit it, we all do it, especially at the beach!) than Calabria is the place to be! Surrounded by over 500 miles of coastline, the azure waters will seduce you to no end. You can walk for miles on the sand, dunk in the Ionian water to cool off then enjoy a delicious, restaurant-quality meal right on the “lido,” or beach restaurants that offer incredible food, from grab and go to sit down meals. My favorite beaches include Tropea, Copanello, Caminia, Scilla and because my family lives in Soverato, I’ll add that one too!

The food – As a culinary instructor and leader of culinary tours, I would say that reason number one and two are pretty equal. While living in Calabria, I grew up eating delicious meals every day, never reserved for “special occasions.” Calabrian cuisine is spicy and known for their peperoncino, it's also authentic, uncomplicated and laid back. Not big on extra heavy sauces or butter infused anything, in Calabria, olive oil is the condiment of choice. Homemade pasta is made without eggs and served with a large variety of fresh produce or simple tomato sauce, and the meat of choice in Calabria? My own favorite – pork. I especially like the cured kind! And don’t leave Calabria without trying their ricotta, the best from all over Italy!

Authenticity – Still undiscovered by mass tourism, Calabria is mostly visited by other Calabrians, who migrated to northern Italy or other parts of the world for work. As such, the region remains authentic and unspoiled. Shop keepers speak the Southern dialect, English is relatively unheard off, and small shops do close in the afternoon for their nap. While this may at times seem like a nuisance if you are traveling, it speaks to Calabria maintaining its roots and not changing for anyone!

La Dolce Vita – If there is ever a region in Italy that enjoys the sweetness of life, it’s definitely Calabria. The pace is slow and because Calabria refuses to change for anyone, least of all tourists, you will be forced to relax yourself. Enjoy the slower pace, relax over a two-hour lunch, take an afternoon nap and linger all evening over dinner. Calabria’s motto in life? “Piano, piano” – Everything is done “piano, piano” or slow, slow. After a vacation here, you will soon forget all about stress. Stress? What stress? 

Souvenirs - Looking to bring back real authentic souvenir from Italy? Step away from the wobbly-headed gladiator from Rome or the little gondola from Venice and bring back some of the most beautiful handmade crafts you will ever find from all over Italy. Whether it’s pottery from Squillace, clay pots, or hand weaved baskets, Calabrians are crafty! Support a local small vendor and pick up a handmade gift or two. Or better yet, purchase some foodie gifts such vegetables cured in olive oil, cured anchovies, dry herbs or mostaccioli biscuits. Just be sure your foodie gift is compliant with customs. You don’t want to buy the delicious ‘nduja sausage and have it confiscated by customs. That’s just a sad occurrence waiting to happen. Trust me when I say it's heartbreaking! But I do suggest buying this version of spreadable pork and enjoying it while there. A specialty of Calabria, of course! 

As I said, because I am a native of this undiscovered region, I admit to being bias but it's not because I am a native that I love this region, but because I believe it deserves to be discovered. More so if you want to see a part of Italy that remains unspoiled and unshaken by droves of tourists. The scenery is beautiful the people are friendly, they food is delicious and you will not find a more authentic region in Italy.  Of that, I can be sure. Plus, your hard-earned US dollar will go that much further in Calabria! 

Ready to make your own Calabria dreams come true? Join me in September where we will stay in a beautiful B&B in the seaside town of Tropea. We will explore the area, enjoy lunch with locals, learn a few culinary tricks, picnic in one of the best wineries of the region, perhaps Italy, and of course, swim in seas like the above. If not now, when? 

Click here for trip info! But in keeping with the spirit of Calabria, only a small selected group of travelers will be able to participate in this trip, because I want to let people know of my beautiful region, but that's not to say I believe in mass tourism! Small groups permit us to travel like a family, enter small shops and avoid standing out like sore thumbs. No flag-waiving tourist guide here!   

We've been busy at Lazy Italian Culinary Adventures lately and the year is kicking off at full steam ahead. We're finalizing our culinary tours, which are fast approaching (If Calabria, Puglia or Bologna are calling your name, be sure to answer that calling by joining us on a tour), we're participant at Mahoney's Winter Market selling some of our delicious treats, and will be there for several Saturdays over the next few months, (stop by if you are in the neighborhood!), we're guest blogging for several sites, we're contributing to several culinary outlets and even writing queries for future publications. Pheeew.... we're exhausted! But we never comprise a home cooked meal! Restaurants? No thanks! At Lazy Italian, we love home cooking! 

Today is Sunday and as is everyone else, we're getting ready for the week ahead. Tonight, I decided to make a pressure cooker soup. We admit that Italians aren't generally big on pressure cookers but if the name of this blog is any indication, it surprises me that I haven't discovered pressure cookers before. I mean, you plug it in, hit one button and on you go with your life.  Do everything else that needs to be done while dinner is cooking on its on! No stirring, no standing by the stove, no thinking required. Press one button and that's it. Now, if that's not lazy, I don't know what is! Today, we're using the Harvest Direct, Cooper Tech Pressure Pro.  This thing is beautiful, easy to use, (one button people!), large for family meals and just looks fancy smancy on my counter! 

I run to my cupboards and fridge to see what I can throw in the pressure cooker to make a meal. Shall it be sauce, roast a chicken (yup, it really does that), a stew? I decide on bean soup because it requires little effort and I have some chicken sausages in the fridge that are eager to be turned into a meal. Plus, soup means plenty of leftovers for lunch over the next few days. ​

Here are the basic ingredients that will be turned into tonight's dinner plus lunch for tomorrow and likely the next day. As with all soups, it always starts with carrots, celery, onion and parsley. When making soups with legumes, I always add garlic, they go very well together. 

I'm using sodium-free flavoring today. I have been using bullion cubes for years in soups but they do tend to add a lot of sodium so I switched to the sodium free, which gives the flavors without the salt. I just add a teaspoon of salt to the soup, this gives me full sodium control. If sodium isn't a concern for you, feel free to add a half of the regular bullion cube, chicken of vegetable will work wonderfully.  

This is less a recipe and just a matter of adding ingredients together. Adept and change this as you see fit. Don't have red beans, use, cannellini, use chickpeas too, the food police is not looking. I use the precooked chicken sausages because, well, I really like these. I use these a lot actually for many dishes because they are healthy (reasonably), easy, quick and less messy than the raw pork sausages. But again, you can use whatever sausage you wish.

Add all the ingredients in the inner pot of the pressure cooker, add the water (or you can use vegetable stock) and off it goes. Turn it on and I can go on to work on something else, such as workout, do housework and simply prepare for the week ahead. So far, the absolute best part of using a pressure cooker has been the clean up. With soups, my stove gets a workout. OMG! Soups generally spill a bit on the stove and unless you clean it up immediately, that's going to get hard and difficult to remove. With the pressure cooker, I just have to wash the inner pot! No spilling, no "is it boiling yet?" no, "did it spill?" no "should I remove the lid?" If you're new to cooking, I highly recommend getting a pressure cooker! 

Ingredients

1 small or half a medium onion, finely diced
1 garlic glove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cans beans of your choice, drained and rinsed
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 packed sodium free bullion packed or half regular bullion cube
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 - 4 sausages of your choice (cooked or uncooked, chicken or pork, sweet or hot)
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
1) Add all of the ingredients in the inner pot of the pressure cooker
2) Add enough water to cover all the ingredients, plus 1 - 2 inches above. (Be sure to not over fill, follow the directions on the instruction booklet)
3) Lock the lid and hit the "soup/stew" button on the pressure cooker
4) Cook for 25 minutes and serve immediately. Top with grated cheese, if desired. 

Ready to jump on the pressure cooker bandwagon? Get your own by clicking here. 

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Ready to make your 2018 Italian Travel Dreams come true? Consider joining us in one of our Culinary Adventures! We have three planned!
​
CALABRIA: August 31 - September 7, 2018 Click here for more info!
PUGLIA: September 9 - 16, 2018 Click her for more info! 
BOLOGNA: October 1 - 8, 2018 Click here for info! ​​​​