Cheddar Biscuits

I love biscuits. They are versatile, good for any meal, and the perfect comfort food. This batch came out particularly flaky which was nice. I found this recipe on the blog, Laura's Recipe Collection and made some changes to create a slightly healthier version. I cut the butter and used olive oil instead. This makes the biscuit keep it's moistness and it's much better for you. Each layer was like moist biscuit goodness. My good friend, Soma, was visiting and we decided to prepare a Southern comfort feast which included cheddar biscuits, potato salad, deviled eggs, tomato soup and a chocolate mess cake for dessert. In the way that grilled cheese is a lovely accompaniment to tomato soup, these biscuits work the same magic. Any leftovers can be frozen and reheated to provide for the same warm, flaky, fresh taste. I'm sure these would be good with fresh cracked pepper, chili flakes or fresh dill. Happy Biscuiting!

Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup cold buttermilk, plus a little more

1/4 cup fake eggs

1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the butter, olive oil, buttermilk, and fake eggs. Whisk well, until everything is incorporated. Fold in cheddar cheese, adding more if you think necessary just until combined
3. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle that is 2/3" thick.
4. Using a sharp knife that is dusted with flour, cut the dough into triangular wedges. Lightly brush the top of the biscuits with buttermilk. Bake the biscuits for 20-25 or until they are slightly golden brown on top.

Blue Corn Muffins

On a recent date to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, I was inspired to: 1.) cook Southwestern food, 2.) do something with chutneys, and 3.) bake experimental breads. We went for brunch and it all began with a basket of freshly baked muffins. These were not just any kind of muffins; they included jalapeno cornbread muffins, coffee cake, cornbread with raisins, and a blue corn bread muffin. The basket came accompanied by a little tray of a delicious sweet and spicy mango chutney that both my boyfriend and I agreed was one of the best parts of the meal. Did I mention the bread basket was bottomless? Yes, we finished our first basket and they replenished it before our main entrees arrived! So my first Mesa-inspired cooking experiment were these blue corn muffins. I couldn't find blue cornmeal in Whole Foods, our local health food store, or Gristede's! Finally I found it in Kalustyan's, officially making that place my favorite store. I also picked up a small jar of Roland's spicy mango chutney which is not as tasty as Bobby Flay's but it will suffice until I learn how to make that too. Blue cornmeal has a slightly sweeter taste than yellow cornmeal and I felt like the texture was a little softer too, but I could be wrong about that. I tried to research the difference between blue and yellow cornmeal but I couldn't find anything useful so if any of you know, please share!

Blue Corn Muffins

(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:
1 cup blue cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup fake eggs (or two real eggs)
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup corn kernels

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir in the eggs, milk and olive oil. Add in the corn kernels.
2. Pour batter evenly into muffin baking tray. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins cool for 10 minutes on a rack before serving with mango chutney. Enjoy!

Flaky Dill Biscuits

For a Valentine's dinner, my boyfriend and I decided to make a comfort food meal of flaky biscuits, chicken salad and mushroom barley soup. Left over cupcakes for dessert. I love biscuits and feel like I am always trying to improve them, trying to get them a tad flakier or a little more puffy and airy. In my biscuit baking experience thus far, these were the best I've made. We decided to incorporate a lot of dill and it tasted fantastic! These are easy to make and very delicious. We ended up making sandwiches with the chicken salad and some mustard and lettuce. I came across this recipe for biscuits on the food blog, Feast Your Eyes and changed it up to make the biscuits whole wheat and dill. Just because it was Valentine's Day I used the heart shape cookie cutter, but we also made some guitar shaped biscuits which came out looking more like wine bottles, but it's the thought that counts!

Flaky Dill Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick, plus 2 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, plus more for brushing
1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter until your mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Add the buttermilk and dill and use your hands or a spatula to move it around the bowl in a circular motion to mix it in with the flour.
3. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it until it is about 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick. Using cookie or biscuit cutters or a jar, make the biscuits.

4. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with buttermilk and sprinkle the ground pepper on top. Bake the biscuits for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Pumpkin Biscuits

I love biscuits. I didn't realize this love until I had ham biscuits at my boyfriend's home. Then I had the renowned biscuits of bliss from Clinton Street Baking Company. So my love for biscuits has been proven. I'm ready to try any sort of biscuit and put anything on it, which is what sort of happened with these. I had a can of canned pumpkin and I wanted to use it up while it's still chilly weather. I ended up serving these biscuits with pecan crusted salmon and green beans. Later I shared them as a late night snack with Swiss cheese, mustard and roasted chicken, yum yum YUM! These biscuits are easy and fun to make and slightly addictive. For the first time I used a Paula Deen recipe from the Food Network and made my own little changes. Unfortunately due to my camera and lack of natural lighting when I made these, they look like overly orange cheese puffs. My apologies, pictures are hit or miss.

Pumpkin Biscuits
Adapted from Paula Deen's Sweet Potato Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 heaping tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup softened butter

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add in the pumpkin puree and butter and mix to make the dough soft (you may need to add more flour if it's too moist or 1 tablespoon of milk if it's not moist enough).
3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter or a mason jar. Place the biscuits on a creased pan and lightly brush with melted butter.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops turn a light golden brown. Enjoy warm!

Olive Oil Rolls with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola

Wow! All hail the dinner roll, this is a whole new take and it's absolutely delicious. While searching for Thanksgiving recipes for a group, I came across this recipe on the White on Rice cooking blog. These are surprisingly easy to make and over the course of dinner they acquired the name "Super Rolls," because they are pretty much super. Also, after a few glasses of wine, it's a lot easy to ask for a super roll rather than a caramelized onion and gorgonzola roll. Eaten alone, dipped in soup, sauce, gravy, sliced open and stuffed with some turkey and cranberry, there is no wrong way to eat these! My boyfriend takes to drizzling them with Sriracha sauce - so take my word, they are very versatile! Also, the recipe makes 36-40 so I froze some of the already cooked rolls and I have been heating a few up for dinner and lunch daily! I made the dough the night before which really helped. It was a million times easier to work with and form into small rolls when it was chilled over night. The dough can actually be kept chilled for up to a week. The original recipe calls for regular milk but I decided to use soy milk and if anything it added to the richness. Also, be generous with the toppings, it's divine and your eaters will love it. I will for sure be making these again and for every family/friend function to come.

Olive Oil Rolls with Caramelized Onions and Gorgonzola

(Makes about 36)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 cups soy milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 tablespoon kosher salt

6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

For topping:

2 lbs onions (about 7 medium) thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 lb gorgonzola, crumbled

Directions:

1. Pour the water in a large bowl. Warm the milk slightly and add it to the water. Add the olive oil, yeast and salt. Whisk gently to dissolve

2. Mix in the flour just until everything is evenly moist. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise, about two hours. Then chill for a couple hours, preferably over night or a few days

3. Melt the butter with olive oil over medium-low heat in a large pan. Add the onions and gently saute until caramelized, about 40 minutes. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar on the onions at the end, set aside to cool

                                                                                    Before

                               

                                                                     40 minutes later

                               

4. Line a few pans with parchment paper and sprinkle some flour on them. Dust your hands and the dough mass with a bit of flour. Gently pull a little chunk of dough and roll it into a golf ball size mound on the paper. One helpful trick for smooth rolls is to form a little disk in the palm of your hand and then bunch all the edges together so you have one smooth rounded side and one side where all the edges meet.  Place them twelve rolls per a pan and set them in a warm part of your kitchen for about 45 minutes.          

                               

5. Pre heat the over to 425 degrees. Gently top your rolls with the caramelized onions and the gorgonzola.

                               

6. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls start to brown and the onions start to singe. If you have more than one sheet in the oven at the same time, you will want to switch the sheets half way through cooking. Remove and place on a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. (You can freeze any left over cooked rolls and bake them for 7 minutes at 425 to re-heat)