Best Buttermilk Biscuits Ever

Hello again!

Like I promised, I'm back to post my recipe for the Best Buttermilk Biscuits Ever.

I had this recipe emailed to me about a year ago; the original recipe didn't contain any yeast, so I worked with it for a while. Now, it's a full-rising biscuit recipe. I really love good biscuits, and I love yeast breads, too. I've incorporated the best of both worlds here, I think.

Best Buttermilk Biscuits Ever

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk (please use the kind that contains "active cultures")
12 TBS unsalted butter (that's 1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature
2 TBS white sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp salt
.5 tsp baking soda
1 packet of regular dry yeast, OR 1.5 tsp bread machine yeast

(NOTE: I use a Kitchenaid stand mixer for this, and for all of my doughs & batters. An electric mixer is highly recommended)

Warm up the buttermilk in the microwave (do NOT add yeast at this point). You can use the measuring cup. The temperature should be between 100-110 degrees; depending on your microwave, 30 to 40 seconds on "high" should do it. If you don't have a thermometer, just stick your finger in the warmed buttermilk--it should be fairly warm, but not hot.

Add the buttermilk to your mixer bowl, and whisk in the sugar. When the sugar's dissolved, whisk in the yeast. Cover the bowl with a damp towel (plastic wrap will work, too, but poke a couple of holes in it). Place the bowl in the oven, but don't turn the oven on*. Allow the mixture to rest for about 60-90 minutes.

(*if it's wintertime, and your kitchen is chilly, warm the oven a little bit first. Set it to the lowest "Keep Warm" setting---about 200-225 degrees---and let the oven pre-heat. When it's up to temperature, turn the oven off, put the bowl in, and leave the oven door open a few inches for the first 20 minutes)

After the mixture has rested (and the yeast has activated), remove the bowl from the oven. The mixture should have foam on top of it, almost like shave cream.

Attach the bowl to the mixer stand (if that's what you're using). Add the flour, baking powder, salt and butter. Using the dough attachment, mix the dough at low speed for about 2 minutes (the ingredients will incorporate very quickly). When the dough looks thoroughly mixed, and it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, it's ready.

Remove the dough attachment from the mixer. Roll the dough (by hand) into golfball-sized blobs (about 1/3 cup each). Place one blob into each section of a muffin pan. There's no need to grease the muffin pans--too much butter for that! Press down on each blob, to flatten it. The muffin pans will not appear very full, but the dough will rise quite a bit during baking.

At this point, preheat the oven to 425. Allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, while the oven heats up. When the oven is ready, bake (in batches, if necessary) for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on things; if the biscuits are rising too quickly, the tops may get too brown. If this seems to be happening, remove the muffin pans and rotate them, front-to-back.

Allow the finished biscuits to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the pans should be cool enough to handle---simply flip them over, and the biscuits will drop right out. Makes about 18-20 biscuits.

Link to Printable Version:

http://209.245.59.194/Gimme/65832736/770004363/69818279/B33581A9-CD08-40D7-9275-24ED694A5EC5/0.83799/2/Best_Biscuits.doc

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Hi everyone!

I had another busy week, last week (I know...excuses, excuses). We've been preparing the restaurant for the Return of the College Students (I know, that sounds like a B-grade horror movie). In addition, on Friday, August 19th, my Grandma celebrated her 90th birthday! Naturally, that's rather a big deal, so my family threw her a party. It was a rather subdued party---only about 15 people---but everyone had a great time, especially Grandma. The friends and relatives who couldn't attend sent cards, flowers, and gifts. She received gifts from as far away as Australia (we have good friends who live there), and she must have received at least 300 cards!

Among the guests were my two nephews, Jesse (almost 5) and Justin (2). I ALWAYS look forward to spending time hanging out & playing with them. They, too, had lots of fun at Grandma's party (Justin was mostly interested in the balloons, actually!). They're very lucky little boys, to have a Great-Grandma.

I just wanted to "touch base" with everybody. In a little while, I'll be posting my recipe for the Best Buttermilk Biscuits Ever (seriously!).

Buttermilk Beef Ribs

Hi everyone!

Well, another week is almost over, and AGAIN I've neglected my "blogging" responsibilities. Sorry about that.

I can't even use "we're too busy at work" as an excuse; the fact is, we've had about as "dead" a week as we've ever had. The Penn State students aren't in classes right now, and many of the Summer Term kids have gone home for the couple of remaining weeks until Fall Semester begins (the 30th of August). Really, the only reason I've been at work so much is that I'M THE ONLY PERSON LEFT. Lots of our staff are students. Most of our staff will be back in town next week; and the following week, all "heck" ought to break loose!

Tonight, I'm preparing a chef's salad using some leftover (grilled) London Broil, along with some sliced baby mushrooms and assorted greens. I'll probably crumble up my leftover Roquefort (from the sauce I made the other night) and sprinkle it on top. As for the dressing, it'll most likely be a balsamic vinaigrette (I seem to have lots of that on hand, anyway).

The other evening, I made (again) a favorite "grill thing": Buttermilk Beef Ribs. I don't know why I didn't think to post this one before; it's incredibly simple to prepare, and it tastes just awesome. I came up with it about a year ago, after sampling an Indonesian dish where the beef (cut into very thin strips) had been soaked in buttermilk, then grilled briefly.

This is even simpler...no cutting.

I've tried the same basic recipe with pork ribs, as well, but they do require some pre-cooking (I used a 325-degree oven; it has to be dry heat, after marinating). The beauty of beef ribs is that you don't have to cook them nearly as long, because they're beef....if they're a little rare on the inside, no problem! And the buttermilk is a delicious complement to the flavor of beef. The enormous size of the beef ribs also makes for a "heartier"-looking meal.



Buttermilk Beef Ribs

About 1 1/2 pounds of beef ribs, per person (a rack of ribs at the grocery store may weigh anywhere from 3 to 7 or 8 pounds, or more. Adjust as necessary). I use a 4-pound rack of ribs for this recipe. That amount may be easily multiplied. As for the coffee: I just use the leftover coffee from the pot I brewed in the morning!

4-5 pound rack of beef ribs, cut into "half-racks"1 pint (16 ounces) buttermilk. Please make sure to use the kind that has "active cultures".

3 TBS dark brown sugar

2 TBS cider vinegar

1/4 cup of whiskey (optional)

1 TBS kosher salt

1 tsp whole peppercorns

several cups of brewed coffee, as necessary, cooled to room temperature (de-caf can be used, if desired)

In a blender or processor, combine the buttermilk, brown sugar, vinegar, whiskey, salt and peppercorns. Mix on high speed until the peppercorns are broken up somewhat (maybe 2 minutes).

Place the rib "half-racks" in a high-sided roasting pan, or something similar. It doesn't matter if they overlap each other a little. If desired, a couple of gallon-sized zipper-lock bags can be used instead. Pour the buttermilk mixture (half of the mixture per bag, if you're using the zip bag method) over the ribs. Add enough of the coffee to the pan (or bags) to increase the volume of liquid so that the ribs are saturated. Don't worry about completely submerging the ribs in the liquid; that's next to impossible!

If using the pan method, cover the pan with plastic wrap, or foil. The bags can simply be zipped shut. Refrigerate the ribs for anywhere from 1 to 12 hours. Flip the ribs in the pan every couple of hours (or simply shake the zipper bag).

Use paper towels to dry the ribs, and allow them to rest on a platter until you're ready to grill.

Light the grill, and allow it to come to medium-high heat. Liberally coat the ribs (both sides) with your favorite Rub Mix, or simply salt & pepper.

Grill for about 20-25 minutes, flipping the ribs every 5 minutes or so. If desired, your favorite barbecue sauce can be brushed on during the last 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

link to printable version:

http://209.245.59.195/Gimme/65832736/1571101525/69069876/B33581A9-CD08-40D7-9275-24ED694A5EC5/0.973643/2/buttermilk.doc

Grilled Steaks with Roquefort Topping

Good evening everybody!

I know, I know...where have I been for a week? I've been working a whole lot, to put it plainly; I'm trying to make up for lost time, after a brief (unintentional) vacation while my car was being repaired.

It took 6 days for my car to actually get fixed; the first mechanic I brought it to couldn't figure out what was wrong with it! So, I had to take it to the local Volvo dealership. They did figure out what was wrong, and after 5 more days (and about $1000), they had it fixed. (FYI: it was the Fuel Pump and the Fuel Sending Unit...apparently that's some computerized part)

But the Brick is up & running again, and that's what matters the most!

Now, down to business...

A friend of mine (she knows that I love to grill, AND that I love bleu cheese) found this recipe and sent it to me. It was originally designed for the stovetop, but I worked with it a little bit to modify it for the grill (it was the sauce that required the most modification).

The recipe was originally designed for 6- to 10-ounce NY Strip Steaks (like I can afford THOSE!), but it works wonderfully with ribeyes, porterhouse, round steak, etc. And it works equally well with whole cuts like london broil or flank steak (if the piece of meat you're using is larger than one-and-a-half pounds, you'll probably want to double the sauce recipe)

Roquefort Topping for Grilled Steak

4 (6 to 10 ounce) NY Strip steaks
1TBS garlic powder
Kosher salt
freshly-ground pepper
2 TBS unsalted butter
(up to) 1 TBS olive oil
3 TBS (1/4 cup) brandy or whiskey (I used Jim Beam Black Label, but suit yourself!)
1 cup heavy cream
3 ounces Roquefort (or bleu) cheese, crumbled
about 3 TBS fresh chopped cilantro

Place steaks on a platter. Season each steak with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, liberally on all sides. 1 TBS of garlic powder ought to cover 4 steaks, but you can adjust to taste. Cover platter with plastic wrap, and keep it somewhere safe for about 30 minutes (if it's going to be longer than 30 minutes until you cook it, please keep it in the fridge!).

Prepare your grill as usual; you'll want medium-high heat for cooking steaks (or london broil or flank steak). After the grill has heated up (ashed-over coals, if you're using charcoal--which I highly recommend), place the meat onto the grill (all at once). Depending on the thickness/cut of the steak, allow anywhere from 4-8 minutes per side for cooking. Assuming you have steaks that are about 1-and-a-half inches thick, figure on 5-6 minutes per side for rare. You'll have to adjust according to your needs.

When the meat is done, remove it to a (clean) platter; cover loosely with foil, and keep it somewhere safe (like a cold oven) while you prepare the sauce.

Set your stovetop for medium heat. Allow a skillet to warm up on the stovetop, then add the butter. When the butter has melted (it may begin to sizzle slightly), add the cream. Allow the mixture to heat through, whisking frequently. Add a small amount of the olive oil---perhaps 1 teaspoon at first---to add some shine to the sauce. Be prepared to add more olive oil if necessary.

When the mixture has blended together, remove the skillet from the stovetop, then whisk in the whiskey. After about 30 seconds, when the alcohol has evaporated, it's safe to put the skillet back onto the stove.

Increase heat slightly, to medium-high. Add the crumbled Roquefort (or bleu) cheese, and whisk until the the cheese melts, and the mixture is smooth. During this time, the sauce will reduce in volume somewhat. That's good! If necessary, gradually add additional olive oil, to thin the sauce. At the VERY LAST MINUTE before serving, toss in the cilantro, and stir briefly.

Plate the steaks, and drizzle the sauce generously over each one. This recipe is designed to produce four servings of sauce, but it can be multiplied easily.

Link to Printable Version
http://209.245.59.199/Gimme/65832736/1340802149/68254774/B33581A9-CD08-40D7-9275-24ED694A5EC5/0.986175/2/steakRoque.doc


Hope you like!