The cookware business can be as trendy as the fashion industry.
Recently, we have been inundated with heat resistant silicone
spatulas, stirring spoons, hot pads, trivets and even bakeware,
such as cake pans, baking sheets and more.
The cookware business can be as trendy as the fashion industry. Recently, we have been inundated with heat resistant silicone spatulas, stirring spoons, hot pads, trivets and even bakeware, such as cake pans, baking sheets and more.

The claim to fame for these space-age plastic pro-ducts is that they can withstand temperatures of more than 500 degrees even though the material is soft and flexible. And, they are basically non-stick without having to add a finish. It is a joy to use these new kitchen accessories.

They also come in bright colors that are permanent (no fading), and, because of their softness and flexibility, the stirring spoons and spatulas will not scratch our high-tech, new-age shiny stainless steel pots and pans.

This category of silicone kitchen cookware is quickly becoming one of the hottest-selling items around the country.

Unlike many other similar items, they are lightweight and can easily be tucked into a saddle bag or backpack for the trip home.

One of the biggest question we had to answer during the rally was, “Is their more silicone out on the street this weekend or in your store?”

It was hard to compete with the street-scene silicone. Not even with colorful silicone muffin cups or bright blue baker’s buddy.

Elvira Lanini of Hollister has been a long-time county resident and is a fabulous baker of biscotti. She does not need the silicone baking mats, the silicone baker’s buddy or any other new fangled cooking gadgets.

She just bakes her fabulous cookies the same way she has been doing for years, and all her family and friends beg for more.

Recently, she brought her recipe along with samples of the biscotti so that we could give it out to everyone. That is the kind of person Elvira is, so generous and kind.

Before I divulge her secret recipe, however, let me tell you a little about this 86-year-old Swiss-Italian woman.

Talk about family ties. Her parents were married in a double-wedding ceremony as the grooms were brothers and the brides were sisters. Then Elvira and her cousin married two brothers. There are bunches of people living in and around here who are of the Guerra and Lanini clans and hundreds of recipes that were used for years at family gatherings are being passed around today.

This is what food and fun for family and friends is all about, and lucky for the rest of us that we get Elvira’s recipe.

If you are a beginner at making biscotti, bake these on a colorful silicone mat inside your baking sheet for great results every time.

BISCOTTI

1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking

powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup nuts

1 teaspoon anise seed

1 teaspoon anise flavoring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and then add the eggs one at a time.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture along with the anise seed and flavoring.

On baking sheet, pat the dough into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1-1/2 inches wide, and 14 inches long, spacing about 2 inches apart, dusting with flour as necessary if it is too sticky for your hands.

Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Transfer to a cutting board. With a serrated knife, slice at a 45-degree angle about 1/2 inch thick.

Place the slices on a baking sheet and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes longer to dry slightly, turning the slices so they crispen on both sides.

Let cool on a rack.

~ Elvira Lanini of Hollister

BISCOTTI AND COFFEE

One of life’s simple pleasures is to take 1-2 crispy biscotti (the word means double baked biscuit) and while conversing with a friend or family member dunk it into hot coffee. Enjoy.

Dorothy McNett is the owner of Dorothy McNett’s Place, 800 San Benito St. Phone: 637-6444 or fax 637-5274. Visit the store’s Web site at happycookers.com. Her food column appears weekly in the Free Lance.

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A staff member wrote, edited or posted this article, which may include information provided by one or more third parties.

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