Buttermilk Cheddar Jack Biscuits

Cheesy Buttermilk biscuits are the perfect winter comfort food. Even if you didn't grow up with them, they somehow still remind you of home. 

The last few days have reminded me of a scene from a D Movie with Woody Harrelson. He plays a bank teller, who after five long years at a pointless job, is offered twelve new responsibilities, a fifty-five cent an hour raise and the realization: After five years, this is his life. He proceeds to spend odd amounts of time in the desert being bitten by lizards with poor palettes, and in seeming insanity robs the bank and quits.

I went home that night, walked through my bright red front door, up the stairs that lean to the right, and into my room the size of a chihuahua’s doghouse. Then it hits me: After three years, this is my home. The sinking hardwood floors, the cabinets hanging lopsidedly due to a top bracket that has given up on holding on for dear life, the peeling deck, decaying trees that fall and shatter my white picket fence are my home, and I haven’t even so much as decorated. I haven’t even unpacked all my boxes.

I’ve been living like a college kid but with none of the perks. No sleeping in late, no skipping classes, or ignoring your homework to tan by the pool. No 2 am snowball fights, or sliding down the hill by the library on the trays from the cafeteria. Undoubtedly most of you studied in college, worked for a grade and other things I can’t even think to name because I didn’t do them. I was studious in my own way, I had notes on cassette tapes that I would fall asleep listening to in the afternoons. I got amazing grades for the amount of effort that I rarely put in.  

How I could live in a place for three years and not accumulate more decoration than the pair of Ed Hardy glitter tights hanging from a broken mirror? I have helped Butchie move and decorate twice in the last three years, yet it hadn’t crossed my mind to do the same in any of the eight places I have lived in the last nine years.

Instead of robbing the bank I’ve raided the basement. The perks of the revolving door of roommates is that your basement becomes a treasure trove of forgotten ages.  Crawling around an unfinished basement of spider webs and boxes I found two items, a desk IKEA looks down upon, and a secretariat desk straight from the 1970s still smelling of orange shag carpet, which I coveted all the more for it. After a half hearted attempt to see if it belonged to anyone currently living in our home, I stole it.

I discovered who the patrons of a Home Depot are in a city known for hiring out such work. Mainly construction workers clearly pleased to be on an outing instead of painting while some rich stay at home socialite tells them the color of paint is too beige, instead of focusing on petting her lap dog and planning a garden party as she ought to be doing. I like the Thursday morning Home Depot crowd. I know I don’t belong to them, but for a moment I’d like to fancy that I have a real project to do in my home, instead of buying spray paint to give my new desk a color to match it’s 1970s scent.

After three years, I have stolen a piece of furniture with drawers. My clothes are not in IKEA boxes, and I have my pathetic old paintings hanging on my walls, and a bedspread that matches a stolen secretariat desk, now wearing granny apple green spray paint.  I have officially moved in to my home. I probably should have robbed a bank and bought a new home, but it’s hard to muster that kind of energy in the Winter. 

Buttermilk Cheddar Jack Biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded cheddar jack cheese

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Using a pastry blender cut  3/4 cup chilled butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add buttermilk, and cheese. Stir until evenly moistened.

Using 1/4 cup dough for each biscuit, drop biscuits onto baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart, or roll out on a floured surface until ½ inch thick  and cut with a biscuit cutter.

Bake until biscuits are golden brown on top, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

Apple Cider Buttermilk Pancakes with Apple Caramel Syrup

The combination of sweet apple cider and tangy buttermilk make these golden pancakes an addictive treat. Topped with homemade apple caramel syrup that can be canned for future use. 

Happy 2011! As promised this year is "condiments" year and I'm starting out with my little brain child: apple cider caramel syrup...but what's syrup without a pancake right? 

I've never been much for following a recipe. I see the recipe and think, "To heck with that. This sounds so much better!" That's how both these little recipes came about! I love it.

I started out to make Apple Caramel Jelly, and ended up with Apple Caramel Syrup instead. I'm not particularly sad. It just means a second attempt will be made, and until then my pancakes are going to be very tasty! I also canned the syrup, so I have a nice stock pile for the remainder of the year! Delightful!  

In case the idea of canning just scared you, don't worry! You don't have to can the syrup. I just did because it was supposed to be jelly. (And since I was trying to go old school without fruit pectin and cook it by hand, and am not as of yet particularly adept as understanding the "set tests" I failed and stopped the cooking a good bit too soon). Canning is actually beautifully easy, none of those water baths and boiling jars are actually necessary. Thank you modern sciences for improving canning so wonderfully! If you have a dishwasher and an oven you are ready to go....well and jars, and lids, and something to can! 

But I have something for you to can right here! 

Apple Cider Caramel Syrup

1 quart apple cider

5-1/2 cups sugar

7 half pint jars and lids

If canning, heat your oven to 200 degrees. On a cookie sheet place your clean jars and lid pieces.  Put in oven until ready to use.

Place a small plate in your freezer.

Start with an even layer of 3 cups of sugar in a heavy-duty pan, such as a deep skillet. Heat the sugar over moderate heat, until it begins to melt.  Continue cooking over very low heat, stirring as little as possible, until the entire mixture has becomes a dark amber liquid. Meanwhile begin the apple cider mixture.

In a large stock pot, combine the apple cider and remaining sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Add in caramel sauce. The caramel will seize up.  Return the juice to a low boil and continue to stir until the seized caramel liquefies into the sauce.  Continue to cook until the sauce feels slightly thickened. Pour a teaspoon of sauce onto the small plate in your freezer. If, after a minute, the apple caramel mixture feels like a syrup to the touch and appears decently thick, you are ready to can it. If not, continue to cook testing every few minutes.

When ready remove the tray of jars and lids from the oven.  Ladle or pour the syrup into the jars leaving only a ¼ inch gap at the top. Put on lids tightly, and carefully, and then place, lid side down on the counter to cool (this is seal the jar and sterilize the air left inside). Allow to cool completely before turning right side up and storing.

If using immediately put into a storage container and allow cooling slightly before eating.

Store opened unused syrup in the refrigerator.  

Apple Cider Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons powdered buttermilk**

¾ cup apple cider

1 egg

½ cup butter, melted

In a bowl combine the flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, salt and buttermilk. Combine cider, egg, and melted butter in a separate bowl.  Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour batter by ¼ cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot skillet, griddle or pan. Flip when bubbles appear on top of pancakes and finish cooking. 

** I use buttermilk powder in the pancakes, which is something I highly recommend owning, as buttermilk will often go bad before used fully, and the powder has a higher variety of uses! I bought mine in the baking section of my local grocery store. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake Donuts

Dark chocolate buttermilk donuts with a chocolate glaze, moist and mouthwatering. 

(special thanks to Brandon for buying me a tripod so I could taker primp-ier photos)

I've had a "busy" day off. Busy enjoying GOOD food.

The last two weeks around here have been CRAZY. Between wedding catering, my birthday, conferences, and a work week I don't care to discuss anymore I. Am. Fried. I have next to nothing left to give. So, this weekend is my weekend off. Aparently, however, not off from blogging or baking. But that's just because this is what I actually enjoy out of all of this busy work.

Step one on the weekend off was shopping. I headed down to my "happy place" and did some cooking supply shopping.....I went in for a donut cutter for raised donuts. A purchase that should have only been four dollars total....fifty dollars and a few impulse purchases later, I also had cake donut pans, cannoli molds, and a few more porcelain dishes. So, of course that meant step two was breaking it all in.

And so this morning I made some chocolate buttermilk cake donuts before heading off to Taste of Georgetown.  So, basically, in the past four hours, I've eaten my caloric intake for the next week...and a half.....and it was worth it.

Clockwise: Farmers & Fishers Long Roasted Pork Taco, Patisserie Poupon Macarons, Filomena Pumpkin Cheesecake,  Tony & Joe's Macademia Crusted Shrimp,  Patisserie Poupon Pear Tart, J. Paul's Crab Cake and Cheeseburger Sliders, Chadwicks Baby Back Ribs, and the stilt walking ticket man. 

I think the photos speak for themselves. I quite literally will not be needing to eat for a week (and yet I am polishing off the macarons as I write this post). But WOW was it crowded! Long lines for good food is not surprise to me, luckily there were three of us. We could split tickets and lines and make it through in no time.....okay, so maybe Marie and I made it through about three lines before Hugh was able to get to the front of the Farmers & Fishers line....but, hey, we got our food and life was good. No. Life. Was. Great. My personal favorites were the macarons, and the ribs. I highly recommend Filomena (get the cannelloni frutti di mare) and would like to tell Farmers & Fishers that they had one of the worst corn tortillas I have ever had. Sad day. It was the only disappointment. The tacos did not deliver. But hey, only one less than stellar dish? Not too shabby.

So now I'm home. Back from a fun day and continuing to polish off the chocolate donuts relax and enjoy a lovely Saturday in DC.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake Donuts

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup dutch process cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 T. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 425. Spray donut pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl (or stand mixer), soft together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add buttermilk. Stir. Add butter and vanilla. Stir.  Add eggs one at a time, stirring in between each egg. Beat until just combined. Fill each donut mold about 2/3 full.

Bake for roughly seven minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool, and decorate accordingly. I dipped mine in chocolate glaze and sprinkles.

Satiny Chocolate Glaze

Adapted from Satiny Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup semisweet chocoalte chips

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each time until smooth. Do not overcook.