Potluck at Adrienne's

We were invited tonight for an impromptu potluck dinner at Adrienne's house. People were already bringing lasagna, salad, roasted root vegetables, bread, and assorted other goodies, and we happened to have a little chicken in the fridge, as well as some big scallions, with which we made roasted scallions with romesco sauce. Carl simply roasted the chicken, but we first rubbed it inside and out with a spice rub (salt, pepper, chile powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander) and Carl slipped a bit of butter under the skin to moisten it. At around 375 degrees, the chicken took slightly longer to cook than expected, so we came to the party a bit late. Luckily, Adrienne had made an appetizer of fresh fava beans with dill, which tided everyone over until all the dishes were ready.

For dessert, Adrienne served her fabulous rendition of Bananas Fricke, which was sweet and caramelized and really quite lovely. We had tea and port to accompany this, as well as some apricot-ginger biscotti I had made a few nights earlier.

Biscotti

Note: I don't know where this recipe comes from, but my mom and brother have been using it for years. Because the recipe includes butter, it's not strictly traditional ("real" biscotti have no butter or oil); the addition of butter makes for a slightly more tender texture.

2 cups plus 2 Tb. four
1/2 stick butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 Tb. cognac or liquor of your choice
pinch salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. chunkies -- toasted nuts are traditional, but you can also add dried fruit, candied ginger or orange peel, or even chocolate if you're feeling feisty.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar, then add rest of ingredients. On a lightly floures surface, form into one or two flattish logs about 2 or 3 inches wide. Bake the logs for 25 minutes and let cool.
Once the logs are cool (this step is really important, otherwise they'll crumble when you try to cut them), use a sharp serrated knife to cut diagonal slices that look like biscotti. Bake these, cut side down, for 10-15 more minutes at 325.