Biscotti "Bisoni"

I knew that I couldn’t pull this recipe off and make it all today unless I pulled “Laurie” time. Laurie is another one of our girlfriends who regularly starts her days at 4:45am and I refer to rising before the roosters “Laurie” time. The recipe calls for a 2 hour chill time and I didn’t have that kind of time unless I canceled plans. I wasn’t waking with Laurie so I prepared the recipe last night and let it chill overnight with the best hopes that it didn’t matter. Is that cheating? This recipe calls for blanching almonds, so I thought I better get to reading all the pages in the front of the cookbook if my recipe was going to be a success. You should read this ~ good stuff in there! If I would have read it before my last recipe I would have already known about the lovely Grandma Zaccari. Sharon politely reiterated her background for me but ITS IN THE BOOK! Best lesson learned, not only read the entire recipe through, read the beginning of the cookbook too! I have a bit of an advantage with Biscotti “Bisioni” because Shelly led us with the first biscotti recipe! Surprisingly, blanching almonds went very well and was easier than anticipated. It was actually fun to slip the skins off and roast them, really! Great snack too! Good, good directions IN THE FRONT OF THE BOOK! Of course, I knew what almonds were but before this venture I didn’t know what “blanched” almonds were. The authors are teaching me a ton! I think my mother in law would be proud of me with this step as she normally chops her nuts by hand for her recipes but wonder if she has ever blanched almonds? Almond paste was a first for me. Yummy smell with a very interesting texture, perhaps comparable to play-doh or sugar cookie dough. It was easy to work with. I bought it in a can from Kroger. Sharon where do you get yours? This recipe also calls for some lemon zest. The authors also explain how much zest you can expect from a lemon or an orange IN THE FRONT OF THE BOOK. I am delighted to use my new zester thanks to my Sur La Table personal shopper extraordinaire, Angie! I owe you one! It was fun to zest. I zested the whole lemon just for kicks. Shelly shared with me lots of ways she uses her zester. Don’t let her fool you she can cook really well! Apparently, I have been living a deprived life without this miraculous kitchen tool and eating bland tasting food! I prepared the rest of the dough and chilled it overnight. This morning, following the directions, I prepared my two logs on my stoneware and baked accordingly. They turned out great. While they were cooling we went ice skating to work off all of my extra taste testing. This afternoon, I melted my chocolate in a double broiler and drizzled over the tops of the biscotti after slicing. What a delectable dessert! Can’t wait to share with my husband!