Honey Buttermilk Biscuits

I'm going to go on record that these are one of the most delicious things to come out of my kitchen. Well, they didn't make it too far out of the kitchen. A little sweet, a little salty, a little bit herby. Crusty outside and soft and flaky on the inside. Gah, they pretty much melt in your mouth. And they were a cinch to put together.

I halved this recipe and it made 4 big biscuits. I will be making these for the next big family dinner.

Oh, and grated frozen butter is a beautiful thing. I wanted to stop and take a picture but I was in the moment and didn't want to stop.

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits
Source: Saveur Magazine

5 cups flour

1 tbsp. kosher salt

5 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

16 tbsp. unsalted butter, frozen

1¾ cups buttermilk

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped

Heat oven to 400°. Whisk flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Using a box grater, grate 10 tbsp. butter into flour mixture, and gently mix with your hands. Add buttermilk, and gently fold to combine to form a soft dough - DO NOT OVER MIX!.

Turn dough onto a floured surface; pat into an 8" x 6" square (about 2" thick). Cut into 6 squares; place 3" apart on a parchment paper—lined baking sheet. Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Melt remaining butter in a small pan; mix with the honey and rosemary. Brush over hot biscuits; return to oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.

Pulled Pork Panini

Last week I took a day off work to spend with my best friend. She is the same age as me - early 30s - and owns three restaurants in the town of Belfast, Maine (a pub, an Italian place, and a Mexican place). She is pretty amazing.

So of course I had to make her an awesome lunch. Every time we go to visit her she treats us to lunch at whichever restaurant of hers that we want to go. Believe me, the good life is eating at a nice restaurant with the owner at your table.

I decided on pulled pork paninis and a curried carrot soup. We had recently had pulled pork and coleslaw (cabbage and carrots came in the winter CSA) for supper and I had made some bread just for this. I've been wanting to make a cake and decided this was a good opportunity. I'll include the pulled pork, coleslaw and panini recipes here and the cake one will be separate.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Source: Pioneer Woman

1 medium sized pork butt/shoulder
1 large onion, quartered
1 bottle soda (I used Dr. Pepper)
1/2 small can chipolte peppers
4 tablespoons brown sugar

Season the pork with salt and pepper. Lay the onion quarters on the bottle of the crock pot. Put the pork on top of them and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the pork and pull, removing the fat from the meat. (Pioneer Woman suggests adding the pulled pork to the sauce in the crock pot but I think it would have been too spicy for my toddler so I left it as is and loved it.)

Creamy Coleslaw
Source: Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I did half mayo and half yogurt)

1/4 cup sour cream

1 small green cabbage, finely shredded

2 medium carrots, coarsely grated

Whisk together mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a small bowl. Refrigerate dressing, covered, until ready to use, or up to 2 days.

Put cabbage, carrots, and onion (if desired) in a large bowl. Pour in dressing, and toss thoroughly. Refrigerate, covered, until slaw begins to soften, 1 to 2 hours. If not using immediately, refrigerate, covered, up to 2 days. Just before serving, toss coleslaw again.

Pulled Pork Panini
Source: ME!

Sour dough bread or focaccia

Salted butter

Pulled pork

Coleslaw

BBQ sauce (I used an awesome maple sauce made in VT)

Cheddar cheese, shredded

**I wanted to add caramelized onion but I forgot to make them ahead of time**

Heat panini press or grill pan on medium. Butter the bread and then layer all the ingredients on one slice, putting cheese on top and bottom. Top with the other piece of bread and panini press it! YUM.

Smashed Caprese

I made this up on the fly!! I wanted a quick side to go with my veggie and tofu stack and I thought a cold salad would offset the hot veggies nicely. I chose to smash the mozzarella so it was more distributed and easier to eat on bread. This was awesome.

Smashed Caprese Salad
Source: ME!
Yield: 2 servings

1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 ball of fresh mozzarella
8 basil leaves, sliced into strips
Olive Oil
S&P

Combine the tomatoes and basil, smash the mozzarella in your fingers and sprinkle over the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and season with S&P. Serve as a side salad or on grilled bread.

Roasted Gahlic.

Garlic. How I love you so. Let me count the ways.

1. Some how...you are good for me.

2. I love that slight burn of you when you're fresh.

3. I adore the mellow, almost sweet flavor of you roasted.

4. You're beautiful.

It is so easy to make roasted garlic. And it is like getting an extra gift...garlic flavored olive oil!!

I like to keep a dish of roasted garlic in the fridge so I can smear it on whatever my heart desires. In the mornings I will put it on my English muffin before adding a fried egg and thick slices of tomato. When I make potatoes I will add a big spoonful for a little kick. For a snack I like to spread it on fresh bread with a big slice of mozzarella.

Divine. I feel so fancy.

Roasted Garlic

Source: ME!

Yield: I dunno. Enough for a few different things?

1 head garlic

Olive oil

Cut a little less than a quarter of the top off the garlic, just enough to expose all the cloves. Put that in some sort of dish, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Cover with foil and roast at 350 degrees for a little under an hour. Cloves will become golden and soft. Let it cool and then the cloves pop right out of their shell.

Save the olive oil for bread dipping or anything you would normally use olive oil for.

Sweet Cheeks Guac

This is my own version of guacamole. It is chunky, flavorful, and versatile. I like to scoop it with chips but I also like to put it on my veggie burger. It is great in a burrito and the last time I served it I used it as a side with chips next to Cajun shrimp.

You can make this to your liking. My sister likes hers extra limey. I like mine with extra cumin. You could also had some hot sauce or chopped jalapeno for a bit of heat. I'm guessing on the measurements for the recipe below. I usually eyeball it and taste here and there. I'll do my best!


Sweet Cheeks Guac
Source: ME!
Yield: 2 servings

1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 T olive oil
Juice of half a lime
4-5 shakes cumin
Salt
5 sprigs cilantro, torn

Cube the avocado and mash slightly leaving large chunks. Add the onion and chopped tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Stir. Add cumin and salt. Add cilantro last so it is nice and fresh.

Baked Onion Rings

Onion rings are a treat that I love but EVERY TIME I have them I feel so sick to my stomach after. The same with anything fried. My stomach just can't handle it. I had to make a rule that no matter how much I want something fried...I just can't do it.

I could, however, enjoy onion rings if they are baked! And boy are baked onion rings amazing. I tried two recipes and have decided on a favorite. It isn't the healthier option although that one was great.

The picture below is of the healthier version using flax seed. You can find her recipe here. I thought they were really good but it was a bit of a process to make them.

A few nights later I made a Martha Stewart version that I really loved. It wasn't complicated. Just straight up delicious. And I didn't have a belly ache after!! I served these with homemade chipotle ketchup. If you have never made homemade ketchup....DO IT!

Baked Onion Rings
Source: Martha Stewart
Yield: 4 servings (that is what she claims but that served me and Seth)

1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Rose's Vinaigrette

Martha. You may be a jail bird but I adore you. Yeah, you come off real snotty sometimes...but so do I. Plus I think your daughter is a riot. So, we're cool.

I like to make my own salad dressing. It allows me to control the amount of fat but more importantly, the amount of garlic. I believe I've mentioned how much I like garlic...yes? Well it is true. I like things garlicky and salty.

I had been making an ordinary dressing of EVOO, white wine vinegar, garlic, dry mustard, any herbs I had kicking around, and S&P. Then I saw this recipe in Martha's holiday issue. Very similar to what I was doing but it has a bit more flavor. I make this full recipe and keep it in the fridge. Yum.

Rose's Vinaigrette
Source: adapted from Martha Stewart
Yield: 1 cup

1 tablespoon minced shallot or garlic (sometimes I use both or just double the garlic)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon light-brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a clean jar, mash together the shallot, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour in the vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil. Cover tightly and shake well to combine and emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Garlicky Roasties

Do you like french fries but not the "fry"? How about garlic?

I've made oven fries before but they always end up limp and lifeless. I happened upon this recipe and loved that she added so much garlic to the recipe. I was excited to try it and thought Seth might like it since the potatoes are baked...not fried.

I love these and have made them many times since this first try. They are easy to make (although I warped a plastic bowl in the microwave...use glass...but be careful because it gets hot!) and are wonderfully crispy and flavorful.

Seth wanted to change the name from Garlicky Oven Fries to Garlicky Roasties. He didn't even want FRY in the title. I think the name garlicky roasties is cute and it stuck. We love these!

Garlicky Roasties
Source: Purple Foodie

Yield: 3-4 servings

8 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges
3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 225°C/440° F.

2. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl, warming it until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to the baking dish, coating it well.

4. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the garlic mixture and toss to coat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, 3 to 6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.

5. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat.

6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.

7. Serve with ketchup, mayo or sour cream.

Blistered Cannelli Beans

I went through a phase where I ate these A LOT! Do you do that? Find something easy to whip up and then end up eating it for a week straight? It just tasted so good and gourmet but it is was a cinch to make. Love dishes like that!

Garlic and crushed red pepper...you know we are off to a good start!


I'm honestly drooling just looking at these!

Blistered Cannellini Beans

Source: The Kitchy Kitchen

Yield: 2 servings

3 15 oz cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chili flakes
about 3 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper
Zest of one lemon

Add the garlic and chili to the oil over a medium flame. Once it starts crackling a little add the rosemary and stir for about 10-15 seconds, careful to not burn the garlic. Add the beans and gently stir to combine everything. Bring the heat up a little, and let the beans sit, getting browned and crisp on the outside. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir, and let them rest for another minute. Pour them onto a serving dish and sprinkle the zest over.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Do you ever get horned tomato worms? Those are nasty little buggers! They started attacking my crop so I picked any large tomatoes that I thought they may get to, including the green tomatoes. Of course the options are so varied as to what to do with ripe tomatoes. I had a whole bowl of green tomatoes. I saw that some people make cakes with them (eww) and some made a sauce. I decided to go with the standard, fried green tomatoes! Let's review why fried green tomatoes are so wonderful:

1. They are so easy to make.
2. They are so delicious to eat.
3. They remind me of the south. (I've never even been to the south!)
4. They are the perfect balance of soft tomato and crunchy outside.
5. They are the perfect balance of salty and tangy.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Source: ME!
Yield: As many as you want!!

Green tomatoes
Flour
Egg(s), beaten
Milk
Cornmeal
Salt
Vegetable oil for frying

Add a bit of milk to the beaten egg, for one egg I'd say maybe a tablespoon. Combine the cornmeal with a teaspoon or so of salt. I dip my tomato slices in flour followed by the egg mixture and then the cornmeal. Then fry them until golden in the hot oil. Sprinkle with more salt if you'd like...I do!

Very Vegan Part I

For Christmas I received a cookbook called "The Candle Cafe Cookbook". All of the recipes are vegan and to a traditional cook (more of a traditional baker than anything) the thought of vegan cooking can be scary. Nonetheless I was going to forge ahead and try it out. My husband and I picked out a couple things to try on New Year's Day.

My first pick was Roasted Vegetable Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing. I'm a big fan of garlic. The salad intrigued me because of the various root veggies that were in it, most of all fennel which I've never had other than in a soup.

Let me just say that if we were to actually go vegan we would be living on rice and oatmeal because three bags of groceries for one vegan meal cost me $35 and I didn't even include some of the ingredients!

Anyway, I first roasted the garlic which is killing two ducks with one stone (who kills a duck with a stone?). You roast the garlic in olive oil but only use the roasted cloves so you have this wonderfully flavored oil to use over pasta or as a dipping oil with focaccia. Brilliant!

The dressing was awesome. Very garlicky flavored and light. My variation on the recipe excluded balsamic vinegar (didn't have any) and white miso (it was $6 at the store).

I enjoyed this salad but have a few thoughts. 1. Everything was tinted pink from the beets which doesn't really matter but...kind of annoyed me. 2. My husband was a little weirded out by a warm salad. He liked it and ate it (had seconds actually) but didn't think it should be called a salad.

Raw veggies ready to go into the oven:

Baked and dressed:

Roasted Vegetable Salad
The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Serves 4

1 fennel bulb trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces

2 medium red bell peppers cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 pound fingerling potatoes cut into bite sized pieces

1/4 pound baby turnips cut into bite sized pieces (I used a rutabaga)

2 medium beets peels and cut

5 T EVOO

S&P

2 bunches arugula (I skipped this part)

1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts OPTIONAL (I did walnuts and liked it)

1/2 cup dried cranberries or currants OPTIONAL (I did cranberries and liked it)

Preheat oven to 400 (I had to lower the temp because the veggies were putting out some steam and smoke).

In mixing bowl toss veggies with salt, pepper and EVOO. Spread on cookie sheet and bake until tender (40 min). Toss veggies with about 2 T of the dressing (below). Serve on bed of arugula (again, I skipped this part). Sprinkle with walnuts and cranberries.

Roasted Garlic Dressing

The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Yield 2 cups

1 cup peeled garlic cloves

1 cup EVOO

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (skipped)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 T white miso (skipped)

2 T fresh thyme or 1 t dried oregano

S&P

Preheat oven to 350.

Put garlic cloves in baking dish and cover with EVOO. Cover with foil and roast for 25 minutes or until brown. Remove garlic cloves with slotted spoon and save oil for other yumminess. Blend garlic, 1/2 cup water, vinegars, miso, herb, S&P in blender.

Delish.