Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits


This biscuit is versatile. It pairs nicely with sweet pastries, but its also great with a hearty chili. Its the kind of recipe you can get creative with by adding different herbs or spices. Have fun.

13/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal (preferably stone-ground; not coarse)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6oz extra-sharp Cheddar, coarsely grated (2 cups)
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp black pepper
1 1/3 cups well-shaken buttermilk

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Butter 1 large baking sheet.

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheeses, scallions, herbs and pepper with a wooden spoon, then add buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Drop dough in 1 tablespoon mounds about 1 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool to warm, about 10 minutes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

A perfect brunch is all about the combination of savory and sweet. As a child I loved brunch at Papa Haydn because we always got pastries and something yummy with hollandaise. The table was set with crisp white linens and a collection of petite muffins, mini scones, palmiers and madeleines. As an adult I still love this collection, but I enjoy it even more with a glass of champagne. Mini Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins perfectly captures the essence of a sunny brunch.


Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1tsp baking powder
½ tsp coarse kosher salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
zest of two lemons
2 large eggs
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour three mini muffin pans or line with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk and lemon juice in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions. Mix just until blended. Mix in poppy seeds. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups by generous tablespoonfuls.

Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and cool on rack.

Quivering Breasts in Anticipation of Oscar

In the world of pastry a deep well of inspiration has sprung from the supple cleavage of a bountiful bosom. Just look to the many cream puffs, cakes and custards in honor of Marie Antoinette. The Italians, even more erotic celebrate the virgin’s breast in cookies like, Seni di Vergine and Menni di Vergini.

In tribute to the Oscars I present:

The Gilded Boob
Or for the more modest: Crème Brulee Cookies

Orange Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
¾ cup Heavy Cream
½ Vanilla bean, split and scraped
Zest of Half and Orange
2 egg yolks
1/8th cup sugar
Splash of Cointreau or triple sec

Bring cream, vanilla and orange zest to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, whisk eggs with sugar until thick and pale. Temper eggs with a little of the cream. Stir in the remaining cream. Stir in the Cointreau and let mixture sit for 10 minutes. Skim off foam and discard. Gently stir and pour into silicone 1/2 “ spheres. Bake on a sheet pan with a shallow bain marie in a low oven until set. Approximately 300F for 12 minutes. The cream will jiggle slightly in the center (like a virgin’s boob, so I’m told) when baking is finished but will firm up as it cools. Place in freezer.

Pate Sucree
2 yolks
2Tbsp cream
½ tspn vanilla extract
2-1/3 cup flour
¼ tspn. Salt
1-1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, cold

Whisk together yolks, cream and vanilla and set aside. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt on low speed in a Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment. When mixture becomes sandy, add the wet ingredients. Mix just until dough comes together. Chill.

Roll cold dough out and cut circles with a 1-1/4 in round cutter. Bake at 350 untill edges just start to brown. (5-7 minutes)

Assembly:
Unmold crème brulee domes and place on cookie. Sprinkle tops with sugar and torch. Finish with gold leaf or what every you like.

This recipe for Pate sucree is perfect for MANY things and it freezes great. You can make tarts, sugar cookies, crackers for cheese plates. I keep several disks of this dough in my freezer at all times and I whip them out whenever I need a great dessert at a moment’s notice. Enjoy…

Happy Birthday to Me!

A 36th Birthday Celebration for

Keith Falkenberg

Hosted by Lisa Naito

The Ken Wright Pinot Dinner

Gougeres and Oysters

French Onion Soup

Charcuterie

Foie Gras

Chicken Liver Mousse

Country pate

Duck Salad

Duck Confit and Seared Duck Breast on Winter Greens

Golden Raisin Vinaigrette

Crème Fresh Potato galette

Red Wine Sorbet

Cheese Course

A selection of Cheeses from Foster and Dobbs

Dessert

Chocolate Emalie

Kumamoto Oysters

Foie Gras, Chicken Liver Mousse and Country Pate

Duck Salad with Golden Raisin Vinaigrette and Potato Galette

 

Casatica di Bufala, Bleu Mont Extra Aged Cheddar, Roccolo and Pleasant Ridge Reserve

* a special thanks to Luan at Foster and Dobbs for this beautiful cheese selection

I am loved.

Thank you to the best friends in the whole world, and

a HUGE thanks to Peter for all of the great food.

Chinese New Year at Cabin 3

 LOP CHEUNG WITH RICE AND POTSTICKERS

 OYSTER SAUCE CHICKEN WINGS

BEEF WITH ASPARAGAS 

BLACK BEAN SPARERIBS

Thanks Terri

Lobster Squash Bisque

One of my favorite scenes in Annie Hall is when Woody Allen and Diane Keaton prepare lobsters at their beach house in the Hamptons. This soup always makes me think of that scene.


This soup is smooth, sumptuous and rich. The sweetness of the butternut squash pairs well with the lobster. You can get creative with the soup, it has a great base and it’s just begging for interpretation.

Lobster Squash Bisque

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 large onion, diced
6 cups fish stock
2 lobsters
1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 tbsp fresh thyme
11/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp orange juice concentrate
Salt and Pepper

In a large pan heat the olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic. Add the stock and bring to a boil. While the stock is coming to boil, prepare the lobsters. (I prefer putting them in the freezer for twenty minutes. This numbs them like hypothermia. It seems less painful then driving a knife through their heads. There is less flopping. ) Place the lobsters in the boiling stock and place the lid on the pot. Cook the lobsters for 8 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the broth and let them cool. Add the squash and cook over medium heat until tender. Once the lobsters are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the claws and tail and set aside. Add the shells back into the soup, then add the fresh thyme and cream, and simmer for about 20 minutes. After removing the shells use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Add the soy sauce, orange juice concentrate and season to taste with salt and pepper. This soup can take quite a bit of salt. Dice the cooked lobster meat, divide it among the serving bowls and ladle the hot soup over the lobster meat. Garnish with crème fraiche and croutons.

Citrus Salad with Goat Cheese and Almonds

One the great joys of cold dark December is the arrival of beautiful bright grapefruit and oranges. Bursting with sweet juice and full of life, these citrus remind us somewhere it is warm and the sun is drenching the soil. When you dig your fingernails into the fleshy peel the spritz of fragrant oil can awaken you out of the deepest of winter doldrums.


Citrus salad pairs beautifully with the rich warm dishes of winter.

Citrus Salad
1 head green leaf lettuce
2 Pink Grapefruit
2 Blood Oranges
1 lemon
3 oz. goat cheese
2 shallots
½ cup toasted sliced almonds
½ cup olive oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt

Wash, tear and dry the lettuce.

Supreme the grapefruit, oranges and lemon into a bowl. Reserve the segmented center of the fruit for making the vinaigrette. Slice the shallot very fine and add it to the citrus segments.

To make the vinaigrette squeeze the segmented citrus centers into a bowl. whisk in the olive oil, fish sauce, pepper and salt.

Dress the salad with the vinaigrette, add the supremed citrus, crumble with goat cheese and garnish with the almonds.

Mid-Winter Mussels

A mid-winter’s meal. Mussels are one of my favorite dishes. There is nothing more sumptuous than a large pot full mussels; fragrant, creamy and full of the sea. These are best served with crusty bread and a rich aioli.

Mussels
4 strips of bacon, diced
1 onion sliced
1 fennel bulb sliced
½ tsp chili flake
1 tsp salt
2 cups white wine
2 cups fish stock
2lb mussels, cleaned
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Clean and de-beard the mussels. Throw out any mussels with cracks or any that seem especially lifeless. Over medium heat render the bacon. Once the bacon is beginning to crisp add the onion, fennel, chili flake and salt. Sauté the onions and fennel until soft and translucent, add the white wine and fish stock. Once the liquid is simmering add the mussels and steam them until they open, about 5-10 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and a large dollop of aioli.

Rosalee Hodge's Vanilla Cheese Cake

One of the themes of this blog is the joy that comes from sharing recipes and traditions. Food has a magical way of connecting us to the ones we love, so I’d like to thank all who’ve shared with me.


This is my favorite cheese cake recipe. This cheese cake has won Best in Show at the Clackamas County Fair, and one year Peter and I made all the birthday cakes for Nick’s firm and this was the office favorite.

Vanilla Cheese Cake
Crust
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
½ cup butter softened

Filling
4-8oz pkg Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 eggs

Topping
2 cups sour cream (do not use reduced fat)
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease the bottom of 10” spring form pan. Combine together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and softened butter. Press the crust into the pan. Bake for five minutes at 350. Let the crust cool on a rack while you mix together the filling. Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla and mix on medium speed for one minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each. Pour the filling over the crust. Wrap the bottom of the pan with two layers aluminum foil and set it in a roasting pan. The double layer of aluminum foil will protect against any water seeping into your pan. Pour ½ inch of hot water into the roasting pan to create a water bath to keep the cheese cake from cracking while baking. Bake for 40 minutes. Discard the water bath and cool the cake for 15 minutes. Make the topping by mixing together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla and pour it carefully over the cake. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Chill 12 to 24 hours. Remove the sides of the spring form pan. Serve with fresh fruit. I highly recommend serving this with raspberry sauce.

In memory of Marlene Thornburg

Hazelnut Toffee Bites

Mae Copenhagen’s Toffee is famous in many circles. Rich and crunch with a rich deep nut flavor. There are many holiday confections, but very few stands up to Mae’s toffee.


The making of toffee in my family is a long held tradition and great care and pride is taken in passing on the tradition. If anyone would like to learn, I’m happy to share the recipe/ techniques and tips; in fact I’m sure any of my aunts, uncles, cousins or siblings would be happy to share their secrets in making delicious hazelnut toffee. Or, if you are lucky you can place an order for a delicious batch.  With that said, I’ve been inspired to branch out.

This year I decided to try a different version of hazelnut toffee. This recipe is for individually coated hazelnuts in toffee, coated in chocolate and rolled in grated nuts.

Hazelnut Toffee Bites

1lb whole raw hazelnuts
1lb butter
3 tbsp. water
2 cups sugar
4oz. bitter sweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350. Toast the hazelnuts until fragrant. As a general rule, once you smell the nuts they are just about ready to burn. Now is not the time to go start the laundry, you’ll burn them.

Take one ¼ cup of the toasted whole hazelnuts and grate them in a food processor. Set aside for coating the toffee later.

In a heavy pan over medium heat add the butter, water and sugar. Stir the mixture continuously until it takes on the color of finished toffee. When the toffee takes on a dark rich color and whiffs of smoke start to lift from the toffee add the whole hazelnuts.

Pour the mixture through a course strainer onto a silpat or sheet pan. Use a wooden spoon to push the toffee through the mesh. After a major portion of the toffee has passed through the strainer , empty the toffee coated nuts onto another silpat. Working quickly, pull the nuts into individual pieces. I recommend pulling on a pair of latex gloves and going to work.

In a large glass bowl melt the chocolate for coating the toffee coated hazelnuts. I recommend breaking the chocolate into pieces and microwaving the chocolate for 25 seconds. Stir the chocolate and microwave again for 25 seconds if it is not fully melted. Don’t over microwave the chocolate or it will seize up and become grainy.

Working in small batches coat the toffee coated hazelnuts in chocolate and then roll them in the grated toasted hazelnuts. Let the toffee nuts cool before packaging.