Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

October 21, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Breakfast Party”

The Set-up: Ina has decided to reclaim breakfast as a time to entertain friends.

The Menu: Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits, Easy Strawberry Jam, Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Herbs, Juice of a Few Flowers

0:26 – I think Ina might be a morning person, whereas I am assuredly not, but even she doesn’t want to get up early to make Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits, so the baking will take place tomorrow morning.

1:13 – Pro Tip #1: Reeeeally cold ingredients – cold butter, cold buttermilk, cold eggs, cold cheese – make for light, flaky biscuits. It’s possible this might be the Pro Tip to rule them all.

2:40 – These biscuits also have baking powder in them to help with the fluff factor.

3:17 – Sharp cheddar is my all-time favorite cheese and the block Ina is grating has that dry, crumbly look aged cheddar gets. Pro Tip #2: Toss the shredded cheese with a little flour to help it distribute in the dough.

4:22 – I noticed that Ina just barely mixes the wet ingredients and cheese into the butter and flour. I wonder if it gets tough otherwise?

5:34 – It’s dough rolling time! A little patting, a little kneading and then the biscuits hang out on a sheet pan over night until it’s time to bake.

6:27 – Ina says she’s doing this breakfast party to demonstrate to her friend Frank how easy it is to entertain in the morning. #pointtoprove

9:09 – Okay, onto the Easy Strawberry Jam, which Ina is making in advance too. Is it any wonder she eventually would write a cookbook called Make it Ahead?

10:38 – First things first, a metric ton of strawberries plus superfine sugar, Grand Marnier, and surprisingly half of a peeled and diced Granny Smith apple. I’ve never made jam, but the pectin in the apple seems to be a necessary ingredient?

11:15 – More surprises, the strawberry jam will also have a small amount of blueberries for depth of flavor and color. Is that even legal!?

12:42 – Anywho, more to-do list items that Ina accomplishes the night before in order to make the next day run smoothly: set up the coffee, put out butter to soften, set the table. The jam is done, and now Ina is off to bed!

13:21 – The sun is up and so is Ina, off to the bakery to pick up some croissant for the jam. No need to make everything!

17:08 – Stephen has arrived on the scenes and has been set to grating cheddar for the biscuit topping.

18:46 – Ina demos egg wash and Stephen reveals that his mother never made biscuits, which makes the boozy cocktail they’re about to make all the more necessary. Self-medication you know.

19:50 – Juice of a Few Flowers involves orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime juice but I guess no vodka? What happen to that bottle of Grand Marnier?

20:54 – Ina is going to rim the edges in sugar, so I suppose that will have to do, and it certainly is more festive.

21:43 – Stephen channels his inner Tom Cruise with the cocktail shaker while Ina takes the biscuits out of the oven. Mmmm those cocktails look awesome.

25:35 – Onward to the Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Herbs and Stephen wisely asks Ina to show him how she likes herbs to be chopped before attempting the task for himself. I hear you man, I’d ask too!

26:49 – Ina says everyone should know how to make scrambled eggs and offers Pro Tip #3: keeping the liquid to a minimum so the eggs aren’t watery.

27:58 – Stephen wants to know if it’s possible to over beat scrambled eggs, I mean technically yes but I bet his arm gets tired before they’re even remotely close to the danger zone.

28:16 – Ina shares that she switched to scrambled eggs after a disastrous breakfast party when she tried to make individual omelets for 20 people. “How hard is that!?” Pro Tip #4: cook the eggs slowly over very low heat to keep them from getting tough.

29:51 – And just like that, breakfast is done! Stephen and Ina decide to drink first, eat later. Cheers!

Final Thoughts:
The trick to morning parties seems to be doing everything the night before. Noted.

I’d like to make my own jam some day, but even with Ina’s guidance it seems intimidating!

Pretty sure those cocktails could have been made breakfast-appropriate even with a little sparkling wine…

Lessons Learned:
This year I resolved to practice my pie crust – PS: there’s a reason your grandmother makes the best pies, it’s because she’s had 60+ years to perfect her technique! Since tarts, scones and biscuits are close relations I figure it’s all relevant to the process. Also, a batch of Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits sounded like an amazing addition to our dinner, especially one that involves short ribs (watch this spot for next week’s installment.) Here’s what I learned…

Cold Ingredients – Cold ingredients are essential to a light and flaky biscuit. I’ve made the mistake in the past of not respecting this cardinal rule, but this time I was determined to do it right! I even put the rolled and cut biscuits on a sheet pan in the refrigerator while I mixed the egg wash and did a little tidying. I’d recommend working quickly, keeping the ingredients in the refrigerator in between steps, and resisting the urge to overwork or handle the dough too much. Making these on a cooler day will also help.

Dough Mixing – I skipped the stand mixer altogether and just used a pastry cutter to combine the butter with the flour, and then a regular table fork to fold the liquid ingredients and cheese into the butter mixture. Mixing this relatively small amount of dough doesn’t take a lot of effort and made it easier for me to prevent over-mixing.

Cheese – Ina’s trick of tossing the shreds in a little flour works perfectly. The strands don’t stick together and each bite of biscuit gets that sharp, tangy flavor. Don’t skip this step!

Dough Rolling – I did technically use a rolling pin, but since biscuit are rustic by nature, and you have to do a little folding and kneading anyway, you could easily get away with just patting the dough out into a rough disk or rectangle with your hands.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, absolutely. I used a medium mixing bowl, pastry cutter, bench scraper (great for cutting the biscuits and for cleaning off the counter), a fork, a knife, measuring cups, a rolling pin, and a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

The Verdict:
I made Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits to accompany a beef short rib dinner - more on that next week - and I’m pretty sure they stole the show from the main course. Light and fluffy inside with a buttery, (obviously) crisp crust they are amazingly good. I was initially worried that the finishing sprinkle of sea salt on top of the cheddar would push them over the edge into salty territory, but it was perfect. The fact that these can be made in a single bowl and bake up in less than 30 minutes means that they could make an appearance at anytime. Dangerous and awesome news…

Granny Smith Cheddar Handpies

December 30, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

You know I'm a fan of simple recipes, but no more so than when I'm expecting guests and as our annual holiday party approached I was racking my brain for ideas that would be easy, something I could make ahead of time, and would offer some variety to the menu.

As I was scanning through old posts I remembered this Ham and Cheese in Puff Pastry from a few weeks ago and if it's good enough for Ina it's good enough for me, but I wanted to try something new... It's a New England tradition to pair a slice of sharp Cheddar cheese with apple pie - something my grandfather used to love - so when I decided make my own version I knew the bite of the Cheddar would pair beautifully with the tart sweetness of Granny Smith apples.

My original version used Maille Old Style Whole Grain Dijon, which is delicious, but the finishing touch came when I visited the Maille boutique (more on that later…) and tasted their Mustard with White Wine, Apricots & Curry Spices. I was excited to branch out and try something new and since curry, apples and cheddar are a classic combination I was confident that this would be a great alternate.

I decided to make these in individual servings, but if you don't have the patience or extra time to make the hand pies I can attest that it still works beautifully in the original form.

Granny Smith and Cheddar Hand Pies with Spicy Mustard (yield: 8 hand pies)

Ingredients:
1 package puff pastry (2 sheets), defrosted
1 medium granny smith apple, thinly sliced
1/4 cup spicy mustard (I used Maille Mustard with White Wine, Apricots & Curry Spices)
4-6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 cup flour
1 egg

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Quarter, core, and thinly slice the apple into approximately 20 pieces. Next, slice the block of sharp white cheddar cheese into 1/8 inch pieces. Set both the apples and cheddar aside while you prepare the puff pastry.

Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and unfold the defrosted puff pastry onto it. Roll out the puff pastry from the center about 1 inch in each direction. Using a sharp knife, cut the puff pastry into 4 evenly sized squares.

Spread 1 teaspoon of mustard onto the lower triangle of each square of puff pastry leaving a 1/3 inch border. Layer 3-4 pieces of cheddar, followed by 2-3 slices of apple on top of the mustard. Brush the border of the pastry with egg wash.

Fold the top corner of the puff pastry diagonally across to the lower corner so that it covers the apples and cheese. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a 1/2 teaspoon of water to make the egg wash. Use a fork to press the edges together and seal the filling into the triangle. Brush the tops with egg wash and cut 2-3 steam vents in the top of each pie.

Once all the hand pies have been assembled shift the parchment paper to a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the tops have turned golden brown.

Cool for 3-5 minutes before serving. Serve warm with extra mustard.

Make Ahead:
If you want to make this ahead of time, assemble the hand pies and refrigerate on a baking sheet wrapped in plastic. Wait to brush the tops with egg wash until just before baking and cut the steam vents. Bake as directed above.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes! I used one baking sheet, a small cutting board, a chef’s knife, small bowl, pastry brush, rolling pin, measuring spoon, and fork. Parchment paper will make life much easier - I highly recommend it for this recipe.

The Verdict
I made this for my family while I was home for the holidays and it made a perfect addition to our late afternoon cocktail hour snack options. My sister has declared it her new favorite thing to bring to parties or make when she has guests and I have a feeling you’ll agree.

Cheddar Chive Cornbread

September 29, 2014 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

This recipe comes from my desire for balance in my meals. As I was watching Ina for this week I noticed that she was serving Mexican Chicken Soup (spoiler alert: more on that Wednesday) with Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread, which to my way of thinking doesn’t make a ton of sense. For me cornbread is the break my taste buds take in between bites of something spicy and if the cornbread is also spicy well then where will I be?

I felt it was my responsibility to re-work her recipe and create a version for my fellow spice-lightweights. I wanted to take down the spiciness without eliminating the flavor. I started thinking about other cornmeal-related dishes like biscuits and grits and took the recipe in a more Southern direction with the addition of buttermilk and chives to create a milder cornbread. The result: Cheddar Chive Cornbread is a welcome respite for a mouth on fire and might just steal the show from the flashier dishes at your next tailgate or Chili Cook-off.... Fighting words!

Cheddar Chive Cornbread (serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
4 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/4 cup minced chives
Non-stick spray

Instructions:

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate small bowl, gently whisk the eggs then incorporate the buttermilk and slowly stir in the melted butter.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Some lumps might remain, but don’t over mix!

Next fold in 1 cup of the grated Cheddar and the minced chives. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9” glass pie plate or an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and any extra minced chives. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Small Kitchen Friendly?

Yes, no electric mixer required! I used two mixing bowls one medium, one small; one small microwave-safe bowl, measuring cups and spoons (dry and liquid), and a box grater. I also used a medium cutting board, a chef’s knife, rubber spatula and a 9” pie plate.

The Verdict

I don’t mean to toot my own horn here, but this Cheddar Chive Cornbread is pretty killer and Mike said he thinks it’s the best cornbread he’s ever had. High praise indeed. The sprinkled cheddar makes the top crunchy and golden, the crumb is deliciously moist and has a little tangy edge thanks to the buttermilk and cheddar. I have a feeling that this cornbread will make a lot of appearances on our dinner table this fall.