Grilled Peaches With Vin Santo And Anise Biscotti Recipes

GRILLED PEACHES

Steps:

• Right before cooking, slice the peaches along the seam and pit them. Coat them in oil for cooking, being sure to give them a thick, even coating. I prefer to toss them in a gallon size Ziplock bag along with the oil and gently rub the oil into the peach. This reduces mess, which is critical when you might be in the backyard, far from access to a sink. Don't use extra virgin olive oil, as the smoke point is lower and may cause the peaches to taste burnt and smoky. Grill the peaches skin side up for 5-6 minutes. When they begin to sizzle and shine, turn them over onto their skin and cook for another 6-7 minutes, or until they soften and lose a little bit of their shape. Serve immediately, with or without a garnish of whipped cream or ice cream. If you don't have room to eat all the peaches you've grilled, they can be reheated in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and they still taste great the second time around.

ITALIAN CONTUCCI (BISCOTTI)

Steps:

• Melt butter in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
• Mix in the lemon juice and rind, and almonds.
• Add the melted butter, beaten eggs (one at a time), and anise to this mixture.
• Blend all ingredients together well.
• Divide the dough into 3 to 4 batches.
• Roll each batch of dough into long strips/logs about 3 inches wide by 12 inches long.
• Place the strips/logs on a greased cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees until lightly colored, about 20 - 25 minutes.
• Cut diagonally into slices about 1" thick.
• If desired, bake again with the slices placed on their sides, for another 5 - 10 minutes. (My family likes contucci prepared both ways, so we bake half a second time for the drier (dipping) version, and leave the other half baked only once for the more moist version).

GRILLED PEACHES WITH VIN SANTO AND ANISE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Place sugar in small bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; stir to blend. (Reserve bean for another use.) Place mascarpone cheese in another small bowl; stir in 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar.
• Do Ahead: Vanilla sugar and mascarpone mixture can be made ahead. Store vanilla sugar airtight at room temperature up to 1 month. Cover and refrigerate mascarpone mixture up to 2 days.
• Prepare barbecue (medium heat) and preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly brush cut sides of peach halves with oil. Grill peach halves, cut side down, until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes. Place peach halves, cut side up, in 13x9-inch glass baking dish.
• Bring Vin Santo to boil in small saucepan. Spoon 1/2 cup Vin Santo over peaches, then sprinkle with 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar. Bake peaches until tender, about 15 minutes. Boil remaining 3/4 cup Vin Santo in pan until reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted.
• Transfer 1 peach half to each of 4 plates. Spoon dollop of mascarpone mixture alongside. Drizzle reduced Vin Santo over and serve warm or at room temperature with Anise Biscottiepi:recipelink.
• *Italian cream cheese; available at many supermarkets and Italian markets.

ANISE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Line a baking pan with foil; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, aniseed, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside., In a large bowl, cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Stir in almonds and reserved flour mixture. , Divide dough in half. Shape each into a 12-in. x 2-in. rectangle on the prepared baking pan. Smooth the surface of each rectangle; brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar., Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and reduce heat to 300°., Transfer rectangles with foil to a wire racks; cool for 15 minutes. Place rectangles on a cutting board; cut diagonally into 1/2-in. slices. Place slices, cut side down, on baking pans. , Bake 10-12 minutes longer. Turn oven off, leaving cookies in oven to cool with door ajar. Store cookies in airtight containers.