Baking and Cooking Today!

Today I made  three batches of chocolate biscotti, one with Splenda for a diabetic friend, the rest followed the recipe from David Lebovitz found here : http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/01/chocolate-biscotti/

For the Splenda version, I did not use the chocolate chips and had to add at least 1/4 cup milk to get the biscotti dough to come together.  I also baked them for only 20 minutes instead of 25 like the others. 

The biscotti are very decadent and chocolatey.  I would, however, like to try them without the chocolate chips - the chips seem to make the biscotti very fragile. 

After baking all that biscotti, it was time for dinner, shepherd's pie -

Shepherd's Pie (Coward's Edition - no organ meats)

2 TBSP olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 TBSP. flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. dried parsley
2 cups chicken or beef broth
2 large carrots diced
1 cup frozen green peas, defrosted
3 cups mashed potatoes

Microwave the carrots in 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes.  Mix with the green peas and set aside. 
Heat 2 TBSP oil in a saute pan.  Add the ground beef and cook until all red is gone from the meat.  Add the onions, garlic and seasonings. Cook until onions are transparent.  Add the flour and stir, cook for 2-3 minutes stirring to avoid burning the flour.  Add the broth and stir well, working any flour off the bottom of the saute pan.  Cook until the broth has thickened.  Place in an 8 or 9 inch baking dish.  Top with carrots and peas.  Top the carrots and peas with the mashed potatoes.  Bake in 350F oven for 30-40 minutes until bubbly.  Serve.