Bottega - Michael Chiarello [84]
¾ teaspoon almond extract
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (62 to 82 percent cacao), coarsely chopped
12/3 cups (7 ounces) unsalted pistachios toasted
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and ground
Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the yolk. Beat for 2 minutes after the yolk is added. Beat in the extracts, then stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour mixture just until combined. This is a sticky dough, so it won’t pull away from the side of the bowl. Mix in the chocolate chunks, nuts, and fennel seeds just until evenly distributed. If you like you can refrigerate the dough at this point, but it isn’t necessary.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with vegetable-oil spray, line it with parchment paper, and give it another light spritz.
Divide the dough in half. Dust your hands with flour so the dough won’t stick to your fingers. Shape each piece of dough into a log about half the length of the baking sheet. Using your hands, lightly flatten the logs so they’ll be less likely to break when you cut them.
Bake the logs until golden and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven but leave the oven on, reducing the temperature to 300°F. Let the logs cool on the parchment paper on the pan until slightly warm. Using a serrated knife, gently cut the logs on the bias into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the pan, laying them on their sides. Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until crisp and crunchy. Remove from the oven and transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
CHEF’S NOTE: To toast and grind fennel seeds, stir the fennel seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, no more than 3 minutes. Don’t let them brown. After toasting, let the fennel seeds cool, then grind them in a clean, dry spice grinder or a coffee grinder that’s devoted to spices.
Restaurant Work and Charity
I feel blessed to work in an industry that lets me lend a hand to those with few advantages. On occasion, when I get kind of snarky about how often people ask me to donate (someone asks me to donate a table for six every single day that I’m in the restaurant), I have my old friend Sister Katie O’Shea to serve as my reality check.
Sister Katie is the director of hospitality for St. Vincent de Paul in San Francisco, which means that every single day she feeds the hungry. She used to live and work here in the Napa Valley, and, like me, she has a great fondness for causes involving the valley’s farmworkers. Every time I hear Sister Katie on the other end of the phone saying, “Michael, me good lad,” I know that I will do my best to get her what she needs, whether it’s warm coats or box lunches or signed cookbooks. For her, I will drop what I’m doing, because I know when she asks me that the cause is urgent and I’m helping meet a need. I also know that every time I help her, I get a feeling of euphoria that lasts for the rest of the day.
Semolina Almond Torte with Limoncello Figs
SERVES 10 TO 12
Cakes like this were classic desserts for Italian families like mine, and they still number among my very favorite dolci. This beautiful old-world cake can be adorned any way you like. Here, we poach Mission figs to serve alongside the cake with mascarpone crème and sugared almonds. The mascarpone crème has the flavor of cheesecake without the work. You could also serve this cake with fresh fruit, a spread of great preserves, or a simple dusting of powdered sugar.
This cake works best if you let all the ingredients come to room temperature before you make the batter. For an extra hit of almond, I like to make the batter with almond flour. If you can’t locate almond flour, use standard all-purpose flour instead. By all means, purchase limoncello from your local liquor purveyor if you don’t have the