Rosti Casserole with Baked Eggs

Yesterday was an exciting day.  A day I had been anticipating for weeks.  It was the start of the CSA I signed up for.  All day, all I could think about was what was going to be in that box. Most ingeniously, I received an e-mail a couple days ago letting me know what might be in the box, so at least I was somewhat prepared.  With baited anticipation, I prepared by searching through recipe books to figure out what I was going to do with turnips, a heaping pile of potatoes, and another dozen eggs I wasn’t expecting.  Fate brought me to my Cooking Light cookbook where in the first few pages I discovered a recipe for Rosti Casserole with Baked Eggs.  Turnips?  Check.  Potatoes?  Check.  Eggs?  Check.  It was a match made in heaven for this CSA box.

Rosti Casserole with Baked Eggs

1 1/4 cups fat free Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups grated, peeled turnips (2-3 small)
1 1/4 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup onion (the original recipe called for 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and grated (the original recipe called for 1 30 oz package of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed)
Cooking Spray
8 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine yogurt and flour in a large bowl, stirring well.  Add turnip and next 7 ingredients to yogurt mixture.  Spread potato mixture evenly into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and brown around the edges.  Remove from oven.  With the back of a spoon, make 8 indentations in the top of the potato mixture.  Crack 1 egg into each of the 8 indentations.  Return dish to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until egg whites are firm and egg yolks barely move when the pan is touched.  Garnish with chives and additional black pepper, if desired.

Spiced Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Biscotti is one of those things that once you’ve made it yourself, you will never buy it ever again.  We’ve been led to believe that it’s the cookie you have to soak to enjoy, something that can’t be enjoyed on it’s own.  It does not have to be this way.

This biscotti is crunchy, but not “I’m going to chip a tooth” crunchy.  But it won’t fall apart in your cup of tea either.  It’s nothing like the stuff you find by the cash register at Starbucks.

Spiced Cranberry Orange Biscotti
Adapted from a recipe posted at Vanilla Garlic

3/4 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries
Zest from 1 orange

To Make:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.  Let the butter and eggs come to room temperature.  Cream together butter and sugar until the mixture is light in color.  Add the eggs and extract and beat until combined well.  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.  Slowly add the flour mixture into the egg mixture until combined.  Fold in the cranberries and orange zest.

On the baking sheet, shape the dough into 2 logs, approximately 12 inches long.  Flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.  The dough will be very sticky.  Try to make the logs into perfect rectangles to ensure even baking.

Bake the logs for about 30 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and the centers are firm.  Remove the pans from the oven and allow the loaves to cool for approximately 10 minutes.  When the loaves are cool enough to handle, use a serrated knife to slice them into 1/2 inch slices.

Turn the slices on their side and bake for 5 minutes.  Turn over the biscotti and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container.  For crispier biscotti,  leave them in an uncovered container for a day or so.