Buttermilk Biscuits with Havarti and Dill

Buttermilk Biscuits with Havarti and Dill

Who doesn’t love a nice biscuit?  A good biscuit, one that is buttery, tender inside, and crisp outside makes a great addition to any meal (or snack).  Even better are biscuits made with buttermilk.  There is just something about the subtle twang of buttermilk and the tenderness that it brings to baked goods that make it indispensable in our kitchen.    

The Dry Ingredients and The Cheese

Fresh buttermilk is great to have around, but if you find it goes bad before you can use it, you can also buy good quality dried buttermilk.  The taste is pretty good and all you need to do is mix with the appropriate amount of water.  But I digress… these are your classic drop biscuits with the delicious addition of Havarti and dill.  The cheese and herbs bring lots of flavor to your biscuit and also keep everything nice and moist.  However, don’t feel you have to use this particular combination of cheese and herbage.  Use whatever is in your fridge, the combinations are endless.  For example, cheddar and chives would be tasty, or how about Gruyère and tarragon.  Any cheese you can grate will work well so use your imagination and make lots of different batches. 

Biscuits Ready for Baking

Buttermilk Biscuits with Harvarti and Dill 

Adapted from Gourmet Today 

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

3/4 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground (not coarsely ground) 

4 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt 

4 tbls (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into pieces 

6 oz (about 1 1/2 cups) shredded Havarti cheese 

1 tsp dried dill 

1 1/3 cups well-shaken buttermilk 

To Make: 

Put a rack into the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 450F.  Butter a large baking sheet. 

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and dried dill in a bowl.  Use a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the whole thing resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in cheese.  Add the buttermilk and stir until well combined. 

Drop dough in equal mounds about 2 inches apart on baking sheet.  Our dough mounds were about 3 inches in diameter and we made 9 biscuits.  Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.  If you make your biscuits smaller, make sure to keep an eye on the cooking time as they may bake faster.  Transfer to a rack and cool for about 10 minutes. 

To Serve: 

Serve warm with butter.  Yum.

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Smoky Peanuts

Smoky Peanuts

 

This Sunday is Easter Sunday (if you’re of a certain faith).  It’s a family day.  A day for Easter egg hunts, family brunches, and that sort of thing.  However, for those of us in Red Sox Nation, we know this day by its other name, Opening Day.  Not only is it Opening Day, we’re playing host to the Evil Empire.  Like Boston Mayor Menino said in 2004, “‘Much like a cookie, I predict the Yankee dynasty will crumble and the results will be delicious for Red Sox fans.”  (gotta love the food reference). 

Smoked Tea Leaves

 

Baseball has me thinking snack food for watching the game.  Want to put out something special for this special Sunday night game?  Try these quick and easy smoky peanuts.  Baseball and peanuts go hand and hand.  The sugar and salt make for an irresistible sweet and savory combination.  The hints of smoke from the tea leaves haunts your mind.  Personally, I’m a big fan of smoked foods and have almost become desensitized to most mildly smoked foods.  When I make this again (and there’s no question that I will make these again), I’ll double the amount of smoked tea leaves to enhance the smoke flavor. 

Peanuts and Peanuts Tossed in Goodness on the Baking Sheet

 

Smoky Peanuts 

Adapted from Gourmet Today 

Ingredients: 

1 tbls lightly beaten egg white 

1 tsp sugar 

3/4 tsp Lapsang Souchong tea leaves, crushed with the side of a large heavy knife if coarse 

1/4 tsp salt 

1 cup salted cocktail peanuts 

parchment paper 

To Make: 

Put a rack in the middle of oven and preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Whisk together egg white, sugar, tea, and salt in a small bowl.  Stir in peanuts and spread in one layer on baking sheet. 

Bake, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are dry, about 10 minutes.  Cool on baking sheet on a rack for about 20 minutes.  Nuts will crisp as they cool. 

To Serve: 

Do I really need to tell you how to serve peanuts?  I thought not.