Best of Bridge Recipe of the Month

• 2 ½ cups (625 ml) Chicken broth
• 1 cup (250 ml) Uncooked rice
• 1 Garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp. (5 ml) Lemon ZESTO
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) Dill
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) Butter

Mix broth, rice and garlic in saucepan. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat. Cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Add Lemon Zesto, dill and butter. Serve with chicken or fish.

Serves 6.

Per apple:

• 1 date chopped
• 1/4 tsp. Orange ZESTO
• 1/8 cup Orange juice
• 1/4 oz. Finely chopped walnuts
• 1/8 tsp. Cinnamon

Mix and stuff cavity of cored apples. Microwave on high 4 minutes.

ORANGE AND CINNAMON BISCOTTI

The popularity of biscotti doesn't seem to end. These crunchy Italian cookies, which are not too sweet or too rich, are the perfect finale to a contemporary meal. Serve them with sliced pears, espresso and Vin Santo, an Italian dessert wine, for a real treat. Enjoy leftovers with afternoon tea.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. orange Zesto
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 2 baking sheets. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat in Orange Zesto and vanilla. Stir flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into medium bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture; mix just until incorporated.

Divide dough in half. Place each half on preheated sheet. With lightly floured hands, form each half into 3-inch wide by 3/4-inch-high log. Bake until dough logs are firm to touch, about 35 minutes. Remove dough logs from oven and cool 10 minutes.

Transfer logs to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange cut side down on baking sheets. Bake until bottoms are golden, about 12 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until bottoms are golden, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer to racks and cool. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in airtight container).

Makes about 2 dozen

HASELNUSSMAKROONEN

Hazelnut Macaroons

• 2 tsp. butter, softened
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups shelled hazelnuts (preferably blanched), pulverized in an electric blender or with a nut grinder or mortar and pestle
• 6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. Lemon ZESTO
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

With a pastry brush or paper towel, coat a large baking sheet with 2 teaspoons of soft butter and set it aside. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a wire whisk or a rotary or electric beater until they foam and thicken slightly. Sprinkle the sugar over them and continue to beat until the whites form stiff, unwavering peaks on the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. Combine the ground hazelnuts, cocoa, Lemon Zesto, salt and vanilla in a small bowl and, with a rubber spatula, gently but thoroughly fold the mixture into the whites, using an over-under cutting motion rather than a stirring motion. To make the cookies, drop the dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about an inch apart. Let the cookies rest at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake cookies in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, or until they are firm. With a spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a cake rack to cool. Haselnussmakronen can be stored for several weeks in tightly sealed jars or tins.

To make about 20 cookies

ARLENE'S HINT FOR JANUARY

For reduced sodium diets decrease salt in recipes and increase amount of LEMON or ORANGE ZESTO.