Dinner Club With a Reading Problem strikes again xoxo (and a biscotti recipe)

This past Saturday night our famous little Oklahoma book club, affectionately known as Dinner Club With a Reading Problem, gathered again for food, fellowship, and more fun than a small group of women might legally be allowed to enjoy. It was technically not a book discussion dinner, as we are between titles; we were just in withdrawal from not seeing each other over the holidays. We missed lots of pretty faces, but those of us who were available all met at Seri’s house, which is not too far from the farm. (Bonus for me!) She served us a really luxurious shrimp boil dinner complete with potatoes, smoked sausage, and corn on the cob. The rest of us brought appetizers or desserts, keeping well to our chosen moniker.

We never go home hungry.

We also never go home sad or bored or feeling alone. This is a really special group of friends, and we are increasingly grateful for each other. Also? We are increasingly grateful for each other’s strict discretion. RIGHT, LADIES?

We also enjoyed thick cucumber slices topped with creamy cheese and tomatoes from Kerri (pictured above kissing the elk with me). Homemade peanut brittle from Tracy. Pillowy soft banana bread DeLana brought from a church fundraiser, and a massive veggie tray provided by Steph, which included a weirdly spicy (and addictive) roasted-something veggie dip. Who brought the crab meat dip? And those cashew clusters? Oh man! I am hungry again.

I took two edibles with me Saturday night. One was an appetizer inspired by Smitten Kitchen. It was basically sweet grapes and salty olives roasted together with some spicy stuff then served with plain ricotta cheese and stale sourdough slices. It was pretty good! but I overcooked it all just a bit and really preferred the combination raw. Dressed with good olive oil and a few spices, the salty-sweet grape-olive bites were super delish, juicier.

Okay, the second edible I contributed to our fun dinner party was an accidental biscotti worth repeating. It’s not like that little cranberry-almond number from November (the base is different) but is, I guess, true enough by definition in that it was baked twice. So, close enough? Anyway here  it is, in all its three-recipes-mashed-together glory:

“Fancy Chewy Dark-Chocolate Browned-Butter Oatmeal Pecan Biscotti”
chewy, crunchy, sweet, & filling
also healthy… because of the oats, nuts, & dark chocolate? : )

What you need:

1/2 cup shortening
1 stick butter (melted & browned)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
big splash of vanilla
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup pecan halves
1 bag of dark chocolate chips

What you do:

This is easy! It’s basically just cookie dough, baked twice, with a couple of extra steps in the middle.

• First, brown the stick of butter in a small skillet. (Don’t cheat and use the microwave! You’ll need this buttery skillet again soon.) Let the butter cook till bubbly and brown then remove skillet from heat. Let it cool while you gather everything else and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• In one large bowl, cream together the shortening and butter then mix with one cup of the flour plus all the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. This is the nice, thick beginning of your dough. Add to that the quick oats and the last half cup of flour, mix well.
• In that buttery skillet from a few minutes ago? Pour the pecan halves and toast them a little bit. Just scoot them around long enough to become fragrant and glossy, not change color. Add these pecans along with the bag of dark chocolate chips to the cookie dough and stir to mix well.
• Okay, as with any biscotti, just form the dough into a flat, even rectangle on a cookie sheet. No greasing is necessary since the dough is so buttery. The thickness is up to you; just remember that it spreads out a little in the hot oven. Bake for about 20 minutes then allow it to set up a bit at room temperature. It needs to be firm enough to cut.
• Now using a large, serrated knife, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise then into maybe half-inch strips. Or however you want! I like to plan on dipping my finished biscotti in a cup of perfect coffee or glass of icy cold milk.
• Flip the once-baked strips onto their cut sides and put the pan back into the oven for another fifteen minutes or so, or long enough for all the edges to become crispy. Not burned, just cooked and crunchy. Don’t worry; it will still have a nice tenderness and chewiness, thanks to all that butter and oatmeal.
• Once the twice-baked slices are out of the oven, let them cool completely. Done! See? Easy. And so delicious. The next morning I may or may not have eaten two of these with perfect coffee, despite having sworn off further carb indiscretions after our fun Saturday night.

Incidentally, the most recent book we discussed was a true crime story, Stranger in My Bed by Michael Fleeman. Our group gave it mixed reviews. The next title we’re working on is a relatively new release, Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. This one is long, so we are happy to have a little extra time to have read around the holiday season. I’m really enjoying it so far! Feel free to read along and share your thoughts here when I post a review late in January. We’d love that!

How about you? What have you been cooking lately? What is on your book shelf? What does your little tribe of friends do to stay connected? I bet it involves food…

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking
if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. “
~Voltaire
XOXOXO