Denny comes home today! I am anxiously awaiting his arrival. I am going to go fetch him from the Cedar Rapids airport around lunchtime today. Why Cedar Rapids, you ask? Since he’s not flying in? It’s a long story that involves a rental car that can only be returned to the airport.

Luckily, the Cedar Rapids airport is very easy to get to. It’s actually several miles out of town, right off the highway, and on the side closer to Iowa City. It’s quicker to get to the airport than to Coralville, depending on the time of day.

Ken is having an Olympics party tomorrow, and the theme is, of course, Italian. I think I might make these biscotti, slightly altered from a recipe at epicurious.com. Their recipe says to use raspberries and white chocolate, but I prefer cherries, and Ken is a huge dark chocolate fan, so I thought I’d use that for his benefit. I saw an amazing-looking recipe for a marsala millefoglie, but that seemed like it would be a pain to assemble on-site, and it didn’t look like it would travel very well. Maybe I’ll try that at home some time soon.

Pistachio, Dried Cherry, and Dark Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teapsoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 3/4 cup shelled raw unsalted natural pistachios
• 1 cup dried cherries (about 5 ounces)
• 1/2 cup + 8 ounces chopped high-quality dark chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend.
2. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs, oil, and almond extract in large bowl until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth.
3. Stir in pistachios, dried cherries, and 1/2 cup chopped chocolate.
4. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls in two 12-inch-long strips on prepared baking sheet, spacing strips 3 inches apart.
5. Using wet fingertips, shape each strip into 3-inch-wide log, pressing evenly (logs may look slightly lumpy).
6. Bake logs until lightly browned and almost firm to touch, about 30 minutes. Cool logs on sheet 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
7. Carefully transfer logs to cutting board. Line same baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Cut each log crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Stand biscotti upright, spacing about 1/4 inch apart, in 3 rows on prepared baking sheet.
9. Bake until pale golden (biscotti may be soft but will firm as they cool), about 20 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet.
10. Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place 8 ounces chopped dark chocolate in medium glass bowl. Place 8 ounces chopped white chocolate in another medium glass bowl, if desired for contrast.
11. Microwave separately on medium in 20-second intervals just until chocolate is soft to touch, about 40 seconds total (do not overheat or chocolate will burn or seize). Stir chocolate until smooth.
12. Dip 1 end or 1 side of each biscotti in chocolate; place on baking sheet. Chill until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. (Can be made ahead. Arrange in single layer in airtight container and chill up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.)