A New Biscuit

Yesterday, I was working on a recipe for a creamy chicken and rice soup. E had gotten some at the market one night this week when we were both too tired to cook or to clean up after ourselves. I haven't quite perfected my recipe yet, so I'll save that post for later this week, but what I do want to talk to you about is a new biscuit recipe.


You're probably going to say that recipes aren't really new, more variations or adaptations of something that's done before. And that's fair. This is really a new-to-me recipe: nothing that I've used before but certainly will in the future. One of the things I really like about the recipe is that it uses buttermilk powder. Until my mother introduced me to the pantry staple I was in the habit of using soured milk, which is a fine substitution. The only problem is that aside from generally not having buttermilk in my fridge, I don't have regular milk to sour. (I have powdered plain milk for emergencies.) Its easy to include the buttermilk powder in with the dry ingredients and then use water to bring the dough together.

The other thing that this biscuit adaptation allows is the use of any small pieces of cheese that may be lurking in your fridge, threatening to go bad if you don't use them sometime soon. In my cheese drawer there was a nutty aged gouda, some BeemsterLite, and Parmiggiano Reggiano. (I don't normally eat "lite" food, but the samples in the cheese department generally persuade me to make a purchase.) Each one was grated on the large holes of a box grater and tossed in after the butter had been cut into the flour. These biscuits are similiar to ones that my mother makes which are very delicate yet packed with cheddar flavor.

I had chosen to make biscuits along with the test soup for E at lunchtime. (Does that sound cruel? Serving a "test" to someone?) He had driven over 8 hours between yesterday and today, so thought I'd have one of his favorite things waiting for him. (Biscuits are among his favs, not trial recipes.) Upon entering he told me the house smelled wonderful and the biscuits looked great. He then he fell asleep on the couch, so the tasting had to wait, but he did enjoy them after all.

Butttermilk Powder Biscuits with Cheese

12 biscuits (unless you drop half of them on the floor taking the pan out of the oven, then you'll only have 6)

I chilled these for about an hour before I put them in the oven as I wanted them to be warm when E was getting home. If you would like the edges to be crisp, remove them from the cake pan with about 2 minutes left and place them on a quarter sheet pan spaced apart. E said these were the best biscuits he ever had, but he may have been delirious from lack of sleep and extended time in the car.

1 stick of butter, cold
3/4 cup water, cold
1 cup flour
1 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons buttermilk powder
2 teapoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 oz hard cheese, grated


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
Dice the butter and place in the freezer
Measure the water and put in the freezer
Place dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment
Pulse a few times to combine
Add butter to processor and gently toss with dry ingredients, being careful of the sharp blade
Pulse 10-12 times until the butter pieces are no larger than peas
Dump the mixture into a bowl, add the cheese and mix together
Add the water and stir to combine
Dump out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a loose ball
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces
Gently roll each piece into a ball and place in a 9" round baking pan
Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 12 minutes
Remove the pan and let biscuits cool slightly
Remove the biscuits from the pan and place on a cooling rack

Longer Nights

I've been meaning to try this farro recipe from 101 Cookbooks, but I just haven't gotten to it. Each night I look at the printed recipe and then decide I want to cook something else. So after a long day at work, I sat on the couch with a stack of books trying to make a last minute decision concerning dinner. Sometimes I ask E what he feels like, but his standard response is that I can make whatever I want and he'll be happy. Ah, so easy to please yet not so helpful in the decision making process when its concerning food.

As I was flicking through Vegetarian Suppers, I noticed a page that I must have tagged during the warmer days of summer thinking it would be a good fit when the nights were longer and the temperature dropped. Wine-braised lentils sounded warm and nourishing, and even better, we had all the ingredients on hand. With a few minor adjustments dinner was underway. The greens were meant to be stirred into the lentils, but since kale may be the only food on which E has a permanent boycott, I served them on the side and layered them on my toast before the lentils.

This will make an easy packed lunch. Unfortunately the lunch I brought today didn't get eaten as I persuaded E to take me out for Thai food, so roasted vegetable soup will be waiting for me in the work refrigerator tomorrow.

Pears with Blue Cheese and Pecans

Serves two

I tossed this together as the lentils were finishing up and it was a flavorful starter at a time when salad greens aren't widely available.

1 large ripe Bartlett Pear

1 teaspoon Champagne vinegar (I used a pear chardonnay vinegar)

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of pecans, chopped

1 ounce of blue cheese, crumbled

Salt and pepper to taste

Slice pear in half and core

Slice each half into thin pieces

Place in a bowl and toss with vinegar and olive oil

Add pecans and blue cheese and toss gently

Season with salt and pepper

Red Wine-Braised Lentils with Chard

Adapted from Vegetarian Suppers by Deborah Madison

Serves 4

3/4 cup French green lentils

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 large onion, half diced medium half sliced thinly

2 medium carrots, diced medium

2 garlic cloves, 1 chopped, 1 halved

1 generous tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

1 bunch of Tuscan kale

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (my favorite is O zinfandel)

2 tablespoons of chevre

4 slices country bread

Parboil the lentils for 5 minutes and drain

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a 3-quart sauce pan

Add the diced onion and carrot and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown

Add the crushed garlic and tomato paste and stir

Pour in the wine and stir in the mustard

Add 1 1/2 cups water, drained lentils and 1 teaspoon salt

Simmer, covered until the lentils and vegetables are tender, 40-50 minutes

Wash kale and slice thinly, leaving water on the leaves

Add 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat

Add sliced onion and saute for 10 minutes

Add kale and cook until wilted, 7-9 minutes

Add red wine vinegar and cook for a minute until evaporated

Right before the lentils are done, toast the country bread and rub with the garlic halves

Divide the kale evenly among the toasts and add the lentils over the kale

Top each with chevre and serve

This New Year

Since the New Year, I've been busy at work resuming my weekly travel all over the US and I haven't had much time to cook. Well, I've barely even been home to cook. I have been waiting on the purchase of a new computer to load pictures from my new camera as I didn't want to have to setup the software twice! Although the camera's features far exceed my talent and knowledge, I'm really excited to get a chance to learn how to use this spectacular gift. So these pictures will be better than the others by the sheer fact that my camera is nicer, although I've got a long way to go in terms of my photography.

Yesterday was the first time that I had baked since Christmas. What I made was a blueberry buckle which is a moist cake with a crumbly topping that can be eaten for either breakfast or dessert..or throughout the day every time you pass it by sitting on the counter. Since its not blueberry season, I was able to use some of the frozen berries that I had set aside from last summer's farm share. The frozen berries are an easy substituion in the recipe as long as you don't defrost them prior to adding them into the batter. I like this recipe which is based on the one from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion as it adds lemon zest to the crumb topping and the batter as well. It can keep on the counter wrapped tightly, but I wouldn't recommend freezing it.

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions as I prefer to spend the entire year resolving what I'd like to do and change. One thing I did promise myself however, was to take a sabbatical from purchasing cookbooks. I have a large cookbook collection composed of many books that I've purchased and received as gifts and a large portion that my mother donated to me as she was trimming down her library. My last cookbook purchase of 2008 was Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley. Kelley is an editor for Bon Appetit and I have enjoyed many of her recipes that I've previously tried. (This summer I made this quinoa recipe of hers and since have used it repeatedly with many variations.) The one recipe I have tried from the cookbook is Roast Chicken with Olives and Potatoes. This sounded like a unique combination to me and the recipe also included a traditional Midddle Eastern ingredient (did I ever mention I'm of Lebanese descent?) of dried sumac, so I tried it with the roast chicken that was planned for dinner.

Nothing like a one dish supper, but I did saute some onions and throw some spinach on top to wilt for a side dish. The rub for the chicken was tart and clean with the sumac, lemon zest, and oregano and some flat leaf parsley I added. The chicken was moist and flavorful and went well with the pleasant combination of olives and potatoes bathed in olive oil and the leftover rub from the chicken.

Although its only the 18th day of the first month since my cookbook resolution, it has alerady been a struggle to deter myself from adding another volume to my reference library. (Yes, I know I'm not a doctor or anyone who needs a library to references, however I do enjoy parousing all of the books and seeing the many different ways to prepare the same dish. I like pictures, too.) I hope somehow I'll find a way to persevere and stay away from bookstores and Amazon.com. For now I'm trying to satisfy my cravings by adding items to my wish list. We'll see.

Blueberry Buckle

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Copmanion

This is absolutely one of my favorite, stand-by coffee cake recipes which I began making in an attempt replicate the huckle-buckle (huckleberry coffee cake) that E's mom makes. Its great packed in a lunch and I had a piece this morning for breakfast with a cup of tea.

Batter

3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 large egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teasponn cinnnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, unthawed

Streusel

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 1/2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 375F degrees

Butter and flour a 9" square baking pan

For the batter, cream together the sugar and butter

Add the egg and mix on medium for 1 minute

Stir together the dry ingredients

Add the vanilla to the milk and stir alternately with the dry ingredients, until just combined

Gently fold in the blueberries and spread batter into the prepared pan

For the streusel, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon and salt in a small bowl

Add the butter and mix in with your hands to form medium-sized crumbs

Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter

Bake the buckle for 45-50 minutes (sometimes longer with frozen berries) or until a cake tester coes out clean

Remove from oven and cool in pan on a rack

Goes well with coffee or tea in the morning and whipped cream or ice cream for dessert

Lemon Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Olives and Oregano

Adapted from Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes by Jeanne Kelley

Serves2-3

1 lemon

1 tablespoons dried oregano

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan

1 3-pound chicken

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon sumac

1/2 pound new potatoes

1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted

Preheat oven to 400F degrees

Pour enough olive oil into the bottom of a 12" cast iron skillet to cover lightly

Zest the lemon, cut in half and juice

Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken and place the lemon halves inside as well

Combine the oregano, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl and mix well

Place the chicken in the skillet and slide your hand under the skin over the breast to losen it

Leaving about 1 tablespoon of the mixture aside, split the remaining mixture under the skin of the two breasts

Press down on the skin to distribute evenly

Season the chicken with sumac, salt and pepper

Tie the legs together and roast for 20 minutes

Reduce the temperature to 350 and add the potatoes to the pan and stir with the drippings to coat

Raost for 30 minutes

Add olives and sprinkle with the remaining mixture, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and extra olive oil if needed

Continue roasting until the internal temperative of the chicken is 155F degrees, next to the thigh

Transfer chicken to a cutting board

Place potatoes, olives and pan drippings in a large platter

Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes

Carve the roast and place atop the the potatoes and olives on the platter