Making homemade crackers is one of the little culinary secrets I love so much.  It never occurs to most people that making your own is something that can or would be done.  But it is easy to do and pretty impressive when you serve homemade crackers.  It took me awhile to get where I wanted to go with making my own crackers.  I read and sampled a lot of recipes.  Some were too complicated, some just weren’t good, most were fine, but plain.  I fiddled around until I had a base recipe that worked with a lot of different flavor additions – herbs and spices and cheese.  But this version literally hit me like a lightning bolt.  I was serving myself a bowl of soup one night, and doling out some (store-bought) plain crackers and I suddenly thought – bacon crackers.  Could it be possible?  I went to work immediately, and here is where I landed.

These crispy, salty little gems are the perfect sidecar for a bowl of soup, particularly with Pimento Cheese Soup.  That being said, they also take pimento cheese spread to a whole new level.  These are excellent on a cheese platter, with a creamy brie, a salty goat or a tangy blue.  Or smeared with a little butter.  Frankly, they are good all on their own.

If you have a fancy-edged pastry roller this is a great place to use it.  Personally, I like the rough and rustic look.  Not all my crackers are even or perfect, but if I actually make my own crackers, I want them to look homemade!  The crackers do need to be roughly the same size on the same baking sheet for even cooking.

Bacon Crackers

4 strips of bacon, cooked very crispy

1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

1 Tablespoon solidified bacon fat

5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes

1/2 to 2/3 cup very cold water

1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with a silicone liner or parchment paper.

Pat the cooled bacon with paper towels to remove as much grease as possible.  Break the bacon into pieces into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.  Pulse several times to chop the bacon very finely.  Scrape the bacon out of the bowl and set aside.  Do not worry of there is some bacon residue left on the sides of the bowl.

Place the flour, baking soda, salt and one Tablespoon of the chopped bacon in the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Add the bacon grease and the butter pieces.  Pulse several times until the mixture looks like sand, with a few larger lumps throughout.  Turn on the food processor and drizzle in the ice cold water until the dough starts to come together.  Check the dough by pinching a bit between your fingers.  If it sticks together, you’re done.  You may use slightly less water, but you may need a touch more.  Add another tablespoon of chopped bacon bits and pulse a few times to mix through the dough. You may not use all the bacon.

Lightly flour a work surface.  Divide the cracker dough in half and place one half on the work surface.  Knead a little to bring the dough together and pat it into a nice square.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough until it is as thin as a dime, trying your best to keep it in an even rectangle.  Trim off the rough edges and set aside*.  Cut the dough into crackers, about 1 inch by 1 inch.  I find a pizza wheel a very handy tool for this. You can cut them into smaller crackers if you prefer, but you’ll adjust the cooking time.  Carefully transfer the crackers to the prepared baking sheets. The crackers puff up rather than out, so you can place them close together.  Prick the top of the crackers with a fork, then very lightly brush the tops with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the second half of the dough.  Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 12 – 15 minutes until lightly puffed, golden brown and firm. Cool on the baking sheets.

The crackers will keep in a completely airtight container for several days.  I find a flat, sturdy container works best as a zippered bag doesn’t protect the crackers from breakage very well.

* I like to gather all the scraps and knead them together, then roll them out as sort of a third batch.  They may be not as pretty as the rest, but taste just as good.

Makes about 3 dozen

You are going to want a loaf of this around the house during the Thanksgiving holiday.  It is beautiful, autumnal and something of an achievement to show your friends and family.  It is great spread with butter.  Fig, Bourbon and Vanilla Bean Jam is a real treat.  It is gorgeous toasted, and makes amazing leftover turkey sandwiches.

Let me assure you, I am not an expert bread maker, but I can do this.  It is not difficult or time-consuming, but it does take a little effort and some time – if that makes sense.  After the initial mixing, it is relatively hands-off, but it takes some time for the rising and the chilling.  The bread is not some neon orange color, but has a lovely amber tinge.  The flavor is not overwhelming, just a nice subtle flavor of fall.

Butternut Brioche

1packet active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

3 Tablespoons warm water (around 120 degrees, hot to the touch, but not burning your fingers)

1 cup pureed butternut squash*

2 teaspoons rubbed dried sage

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon nutmeg

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature

Put the yeast and sugar in a small bowl or 1-cup measure.  Add the warm water and gently stir to mix.  Leave the yeast for 10 minutes until it is puffed up and foamy.

In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butternut puree, sage, salt nutmeg and 1 cup of the flour on medium low until blended.  Scrape in the foamy yeast mixture in, scraping out as much as possible from the bowl into the mixer.  Beat until well blended.

Add the eggs one at a time, alternating with 2 cups of flour, beating on medium low after each addition.  Stop between eggs to scrape down the sides of the bowl.  When the eggs are all blended in, increase the speed to medium and drop in the butter cubes one at a time.  Continue beating until the butter is completely mixed in. Add the remaining flour with the mixer on low until combined.

Grease a large bowl. I prefer glass because you can see how much the dough has risen.  I use the wrapper the butter was in to grease the bowl, but cooking spray works.  Scrape the dough into the bowl and mound it evenly in the center.  At this point, it will be very soft and may seem more like batter than dough.  That is as it should be.  Grease a piece of plastic wrap and cover the bowl.  Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.  I use my friend Holly’s trick to create a warm, moist dough-rising environment.  Place a 2-cup measure with ¾ cup water in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Place the dough bowl in the microwave with the hot water and steam, close the door and leave to rise.

When the dough has risen, spray a sturdy spatula with cooking spray and use it to gently stir down the dough, scraping the sides of the bowl and moving it all into the center.  Cover the bowl with a clean piece of greased plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, deflate the dough by pressing down on it.   Shape the dough into a loaf and place it in a standard size 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and spread it out to the corners.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubled again, about 40 minutes to 1 hour.  The microwave trick works again.

Preheat the oven to 375°.  When the bread has risen, bake it for 30 to 40 minutes until it is firm, puffed and golden and sounds hollow when tapped.  Gently run a thin knife around the edge of the bread and turn it out of the pan.  Make sure the bottom sounds hollow when knocked, then cool on a wire rack.

Makes on loaf

*For the butternut puree, there are several options.  From a whole butternut squash, cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and place on the rack of an oven and bake until soft, 20 – 30 minutes.  You can also place the halves on a microwave safe plate and microwave until soft, 5 – 8  mintues. Scoop out the flesh and place in a small food processor and blend until smooth.  Add a few tablespoons water if needed

For pre-cut quash pieces, place in a the pieces in a microwave safe bowl with a bit of water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave until soft, 5 – 8 minutes. Puree as above.

I also find canned butternut squash puree in my local stores, and I am completely fine with that.  Just scoop it out of the can.

I love cooking with pumpkin, so Halloween and the dawn of autumn present all sorts of opportunities in the kitchen.  I have always been obsessed with sweet pumpkin dishes, but I have been expanding my repertoire to savory ideas as well.

Working with fresh pumpkin is not difficult, you just need to be careful and use a good, sturdy knife.  The texture of freshly grated pumpkin is a world away from the standard canned puree.  If you have a half or a wedge of pumpkin leftover, brush it with olive oil and roast it after you’ve made the cornbread.  Scoop out the soft puree and use it to make soup or jazz up mashed potatoes.  You can even freeze it for later.  I love the garlic notes in this, but if it is not your thing, leave it out.  And a generous grinding of black pepper adds real pep.  This cornbread is delicious with a bowl of soup or chili, toasted and spread with butter.

Pumpkin Cornbread

2 -3 pound pie pumpkin, to make 11 ounces grated flesh

5 Tablespoons butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cups yellow cornmeal

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup milk

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 clove garlic, pressed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using a big, sturdy, sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out all the seeds and fibrous center. Cut one pumpkin half into wedges and carefully cut away the skin.  Cut the flesh into chunks and grate it in the food processor or using a large box grater.  If you use a food processor and the grated strands are very long, run a knife through them to cutthe strands down to size. Weigh out the flesh, and cut and grate more pieces to reach 11 ounces.

Place one Tablespoon butter in a 9-inch round baking dish and place it in the oven.

In a large bowl, toss the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper and nutmeg together with a fork.  Add the grated pumpkin and tossto coat. Make a well in the center and add the milk, butter and eggs.  Stir with fork to mix well.  Put the garlic clove through a garlic press, then stir the batter to make sure it is evenly distributed.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter up and around the sides of the pan.  Quickly scrape the batter into the dish and return to the oven.  Cook for 20 – 25 minutes until puffed, firm and golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm from baking or toasted.

Serves 6 – 8

As October begins, I start to think about the farmers market season wrapping up.  I’ve got a few weeks left, when I can buy beautiful apples, as well as pumpkins, winter squash, pears and greens, but I know things are moving into fall and winter. Smaller versions of the market continue, which is a boon, but not quite the same.  My Saturday ritual is wrapping up for the hibernating season.

After a spring and summer of early morning marketing and weekends filled with putting my bounty by, I know the shorter days have a little less to keep me busy. One way I fill the Saturday morning void is with baking and preparing breakfast treats. And this is one of my fall favorites.  A moist morning cake topped with maple-sweetened apples and salty, crispy bacon.  It is a perfect warm treat for a crisp autumn morning.  You can
easily make the apple and bacon topping up to a day before, and whip up the cake in the morning.  A spicy cup of hot tea would be great with this kuchen.  And I will say, I consider this a coffee cake, but it would also be nice as a dessert with some ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Apple and Bacon Kuchen

For the topping:

8 strips of bacon

2 Tablespoons butter

¼ cup light brown sugar, packed

1 Tablespoon maple syrup (grade B amber)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

2 granny smith apples

For the Kuchen:

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten, room temperature

1 Tablespoon maple syrup (grade B amber)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

For the filling:

Cook the bacon in large skillet until nice and crispy.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  Pour the bacon fat out of the skillet and reserve. Wipe out the skillet to remove any bits and pieces.  Add back one Tablespoon of bacon grease and the butter and melt over medium heat.  Stir in the brown sugar and maple syrup.  While the buttery brown sugar is melting together, peel and core the apples and cut them into small chunks.  Drop the apple pieces into the butter as soon as you chop them to prevent discoloration and stir to coat well.  Sprinkle over the cinnamon and stir to combine.  Cook until the apples are soft and the syrupy brown sugar is reduced and just coating the apples.  Cut the bacon into small pieces and stir into the apples. Set aside to cool.  The topping can be made a day ahead and stored covered in the fridge until ready to cook.

For the kuchen:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and beat until combined.  Beat in the maple syrup. Mix in the flour, baking powder and baking soda alternately with the sour cream.  Beat until well combined.  Spread the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it out to the corners.  Spread the apple-bacon topping over the batter to evenly cover the top.  Press the filling in a little bit with a spatula.

Bake the kuchen for 25 – 30 minutes, until the kuchen is puffed and brown on the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm cut into squares.

Serves 8 – 10

The combination of peaches and ginger is a favorite of mine, and in these muffins, it really shines.  These muffins are not too sweet, but burst with flavor and texture.  Fresh, in-season peaches are such a summer treat, make the most of the season.

Use real ginger ale for this – the kind you find at natural food stores or specialty markets.  Fortunately, it is frequently sold by the bottle in the refrigerated drinks section, so you won’t have to buy a whole six-pack.  I like Blenheim’s and Reid’s, but make sure you don’t buy the spicy or hot variety for this recipe.  I find crystaliized ginger already chopped into little chunks pretty easily, but if all you find are big pieces, use scissors to cut it into small bites.

 Peach and Ginger Muffins

 2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

2 fresh peaches

3 Tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

6 Tablespoons real ginger ale

turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 12 muffin cups.

 In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and ginger lightly with a whisk to break up lumps of sugar. Add the melted butter, sour cream and eggs and stir just until mixed – do not overwork.

Cut the peaches, with the skin on, into small chunks.  Drop peaches and crystallized ginger into batter and lightly stir just to mix.  Lightly stir in the ginger ale.  Muffins need to be just mixed, the batter will still be a bit lumpy.  Spoon into muffin cups, they will be nice and full. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins

This also works well with plums.

I like books about people who do things.  This summer I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie series, and boy do they do things.  Make their own clothes, their own food – even their own housee.  I have a list of books I have enjoyed that detail the work of women in the kitchen, baking bread, tending gardens, canning produce, collecting their own honey.  Now let me be clear, for the most part, I don’t want to do these things.  I can’t sew or build or grow.  I have a new found canning obsession, but it’s for fun, not survival.  I just like the idea of doing all these things.  I like the imagery of our foremothers carefully tending their corn crop, gratefully harvesting its bounty, shucking all those silky ears and turning them into delicious meals.  These are the women who can crank out biscuits and breads in mass quantities, by touch and feel and eye.  Again, I am not one of these women, but this recipe harks to that literary longing in me.  The combination of freshly shucked corn and old-fashioned buttermilk biscuits.

These biscuits have the loveliest buttery yellow color, with the gorgeous flecks of fresh corn shining through. Serve these warm with some fresh, rich butter with a summer dinner and your friends will swoon.  The breakfast possibilities are endless. Serve one with a slice of fresh tomato for a burst of summer flavor.  And a buttered biscuit with a slice of bacon is a real treat. I think Ma Ingalls would approve.

Fresh Corn Buttermilk Biscuits

These biscuits are best served warm to bring out the fresh corn flavor.  If you don’t eat them right out of the oven, wrap lightly in foil and heat for a few minutes in a low oven.

½ cup (1 stick) butter, divided

3 ears fresh yellow corn, husks and silks removed

1 cup buttermilk (preferably whole)

4 cups all-purpose flour (preferably White Lily), plus more for dusting

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line an 8 by 11 inch baking pan with parchment paper.

Melt 1/3 cup of the butter and set aside to cool. Cut the kernels off two ears of corn and place in a blender.  Puree until very smooth (you can add a drop of buttermilk to get things going if needed).  Pour the puree into a 2-cup measuring jug.  You should have about 1 cup puree.  Add buttermilk to measure 2 cups of liquid.  Return the liquid to the blender, add the melted butter and blend until smooth.

Cut the kernels off of the third ear of corn, picking out as much silk as you can, and set aside.

In a large, wide bowl, mix 3 ½ cups flour, the baking powder and salt with a fork until blended.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the wet ingredients.  Using the fork, blend everything together, pulling the flour into the wet ingredients until everything is incorporated.  Lightly flour your hands and work in up to another ½ cup of flour until you have a soft, cohesive dough.  Drop in the corn kernels and knead a few times until they are distributed throughout the dough. Don’t be mean to this dough or it won’t be sweet to you.

Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it.  Lightly knead the dough a few times, then pat it out into a circle 1-inch thick.  Using a floured 2- inch biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits by just pressing down and lifting out – don’t twist the cutter.  Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet almost touching.  You can pat out the dough scraps to cut more biscuits, but they are never quite as pretty.  Bake the biscuits for 8 minutes.

While they biscuits are baking melt the remaining butter.  After 8 minutes in the oven, remove the biscuits and brush the tops with the melted butter.  Return to the oven for another 2 or three minutes until the biscuits are done.  They won’t brown on top, but when they are firm to the touch they are ready.

Makes 12 – 14 biscuits

If classic Southern buttermilk biscuits are country music, cathead biscuits are the blues.  Not Hank Williams, but Howlin’ Wolf.  Not Sunday go-to-meeting food, but the manna of hardworking folks using whatever they can lay their hands on to fill the belly.

Cathead biscuits are a feature of the Mississippi Delta.  The name comes, apparently, from the size of these biscuits – the size of a cat’s head – and that they are often misshapen and rough. You’ll find them in soul food joints and meat-and-three restaurants, places where the waitress calls you hon’, and you’re glad you’re can’t see into the kitchen.  The places you are drawn to by the smell of frying chicken, and leave saturated with that smell yourself. Catheads are not precious, but big and raggedy.  Not passed in a napkin-lined basket, but dropped on the table on a big plate.  Maybe served with rich, creamy, sausage-flecked gravy.  A meal for a champion eater.  Or maybe they come with eggs fried in bacon grease, the crispy strips of smoky bacon and a side of grits.  Or later in the day with fried chicken, greens and field peas.

The recipe for these is different from my classic buttermilk biscuits only in the use of lard, and the method is the same. All lard, and whole buttermilk if you please.  This makes them rich and flaky and full of flavor.  Lard is really the classic fat in biscuits, but shortening and butter have largely replaced it.  But you’ve got to eat a real lard biscuit at least once.  You may never go back again.  I luckily find fantastic delicious lard from a local pork farmer and suggest you be on the lookout locally as well, but it is readily available in the grocery baking aisle. Check out my biscuit primer for some detailed advice on making biscuits.

Cathead Biscuits

4 cups flour all-purpose soft wheat flour (I use White Lily)

2 Tablespoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

½ cup cold lard

1 to 1 ½ cups cold well-shaken buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Line a baking pan (about 13” by 9” with 1-inch sides) with parchment paper or grease it well with shortening.

Measure out the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl that gives you lots of room to work.  Mix gently with a fork to combine and aerate the flour.

Cut the lard into pieces and sprinkle over the top of the flour mixture.  Use the fork to toss the cubes lightly in the flour to coat.  Then dip your clean fingers into some flour and mix everything together, squishing and rubbing the mixture together to combine the fats and the flour.  Don’t spend too long doing this, gentle handling is the key to a tender biscuit.  It’s okay if there are some visible bits of lard left.  When you pinch a bit of flour between your fingers, from anywhere in the bowl, it should stick together.

Measure out the shaken buttermilk, then pour about ¾ cup of it over the mixture.  Use the fork to fold the buttermilk into the dough, carefully incorporating the liquid.  Keep adding the buttermilk a bit at a time until you have a cohesive dough.  You may not need all the buttermilk.  Again, you don’t want to work the dough too much, but don’t leave much loose, dry flour in the bottom of the bowl.  You can use your hands to get that last bit of dry flour into the dough.

Lightly flour a work surface. You do want to use a light hand to flour the surface, because too much will leave an unpleasant floury coating on the biscuits.  Sprinkling flour through a wire sieve is a great way to do this.

Turn the dough out onto the surface, and turn it over on itself once or twice to bring the dough together.  I do not say knead, because you don’t want to work the dough that hard.  Press the dough into a rectangle about ½ inch thick.  Just press it out lightly with your hands to an even thickness. 

Cut the biscuits with a large round cutter or the ring of a quart mason jar, always cutting as close to the edge of the dough and as close together as possible to get as many biscuits as possible. Don’t be too precious about this, these babies are meant to be rough-and-ready.  Just press the cutter down and pull back up; don’t twist or the sides won’t rise up as nice.  Gently pull the dough scraps together, pat out and cut a few more biscuits.

Place the biscuits very close together on the prepared pan, just touching each other. This helps them rise while cooking. Brush the tops with a little buttermilk.  What’s clinging to the sides of the measuring cup should be enough.

Bake the biscuits in the hot oven for 8 – 9 minutes. Watch the biscuits carefully so they do not over-brown.

Eat your biscuits now.  But if you have a few leftovers, wrap them in foil and reheat them gently.

Makes about 12 biscuits

Soda bread is really a recipe to have in your pocket.  Serving a nice, warm loaf of homemade bread at a moment’s notice is serious kitchen magic.  And I’ve made the process for making Irish soda bread even easier by letting the mixer do the work.  Soda bread is substantial and hearty – the perfect partner for soup or stew, or corned beef and cabbage.  Good butter melting into its nooks and crannies, or a thick layer of jam holding its crumb together, or a leftover slice spread with chutney and a slice of tangy cheddar is a memorable afternoon snack.

At first, I imagined that a traditional Irish farm wife would have considered my method sacrilege – using the mixer, not carefully forming the loaf by hand.  But then I had another thought.  Soda bread was born of necessity, a quick way to satisfy the family with the staple ingredients to hand.  I have read in many cookbooks and novels over the years about women who made a loaf of soda bread every single morning.  They could do it by feel, no measuring, no thinking; just churning out delicious loafs of hearty bread day after day after day.  So maybe the option of making the process a little quicker would have appealed greatly, anything to make the long day a little less trouble.  After all, it’s still only one bowl to clean.

Simple Soda Bread

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 ¼ cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick spray.

Drop the flours, soda and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix briefly.  Cut the butter into small pieces and drop into the flour.  Mix briefly until the butter is distributed and the flour is slightly sticky.  Stop the mixer and dump in all the buttermilk.  Turn the mixer on medium and mix until the dough is just combined.  It will be a very wet dough.

Turn the dough out into the prepared cake pan.  Don’t worry about it fitting to the edges of the pan, it will spread if it wants to.  Just make a nice even round in the center.  This is a bread meant to be a little rough and tumble.  Sprinkle a bit of flour over the top of the loaf, and then with a sharp knife, cut a cross in the center of the loaf.  The dough is wet, so it may take a few passes with the blade to get the slashes to stay.  This step is said to let the fairies out of the loaf.

Bake the bread for 15 – 20 minutes, until it is golden brown, risen and has a hollow sound when tapped.  Remove the loaf from the oven and immediately turn it out onto a large, clean tea towel.  Tap the bottom to double-check for the hollow sound.  Wrap the loaf in the tea towel and leave to cool for ten minutes.  Wrapping the loaf will keep the crust of the bread tender.

Slice and serve the warm bread.  Leftovers will keep for a day tightly wrapped.

This may well be my favorite meal.  At least, it has all the components of a few of my favorite things.  A creamy, rich tomato soup and a biscuit, packed with the flavors of pimento cheese.  A match made in heaven, a pairing perfect for the gloomy cold of January.

First off, the combination of two Southern favorites – the buttermilk biscuit and pimento cheese – is ingenious.  It truly came to me in the most obvious of ways, like those old peanut butter cup commercials.  Standing in front of the open fridge door the night of a holiday brunch party years ago, I spread some pimento cheese on a leftover biscuit, and it hit me that I could save that pesky spreading step and create a one-bite wonder.  So I went to work. I doubt I was the first person to think of this, but that’s how I got here.  These gems are the perfect pairing for a bowl of soup, but it doesn’t end there.  A dab of butter and a little country ham.  A dab of butter and some crispy bacon.  Make that candied bacon and you are on your way to heaven.  I sometimes make these in little cocktail size bites and serve them at parties, either with butter alone, or something yummy tucked inside.  I am sure you will find all sorts of ways to enjoy these.

And tomato soup is perhaps the world’s most perfect food.  All at once a source of memory and comfort yet infinitely malleable and always new.  A good, simple tomato soup recipe is a cornerstone of the kitchen, and this version fits that bill.  It is a cinch to whip up but full of flavor.  The best thing about a recipe like this, about making your own tomato soup, is that you know exactly what’s in it. No extra sodium, no MSG, no unpronounceable preservatives, just good, honest food. Use quality canned tomatoes, preserved at their peak of freshness, with no added salt or unnecessaries, and you can have this soup anytime. I wouldn’t frown on using frozen diced onions to shorten the prep time.  And of course, this is simply seasoned with basil and garlic, but let your mind run wild – any herbs or seasonings that take your fancy.  I personally like a smooth soup, so I use the immersion blender, but if chunky is your thing, go for it.

Pimento Cheese Biscuits

I generally cut these into squares to avoid wasting or re-rolling dough, but if you prefer, you can cut them into rounds as you would a regular biscuit.  Grate the cheese fresh – pre-grated uses an anti-caking agent.

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a bit for sprinkling

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, cold

½ cup buttermilk, well-shaken and cold, plus a little for brushing

1 egg

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained and patted dry

1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

Sea salt for sprinkling, I prefer Maldon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt, paprika and garlic powder in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir together with a fork.  Cut the butter into small cubes and drop them in the flour. Using the paddle attachment, blend the butter and flour on low speed until the butter is the size of small BBs.  You want some butter blended in, but the visible small pieces of butter help make the biscuits fluffy.

Measure the buttermilk in a measuring jug, crack in the egg, add the Worcestershire sauce, and beat it with a fork until the egg is well blended.  Keep the mixer on low, dump in the buttermilk and blend just until everything is moist.  Toss the cheese with a little flour, and do the same to the pimentos. This step keeps the cheese and pimentos from clumping together so they blend throughout the dough.  Drop them both in the mixer and, still on low, beat until everything just starts to come together.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and gently bring it all together, kneading just a few times.  Handle with care and don’t overwork the dough, or the biscuits will get tough.  A few pimentos may stick to the board or fall out, just stick ‘em back in.  Pat the dough into a rectangle about 6 by 10 inches, using the back of a large knife or bench scraper to square off the ends.  Flour the knife or scraper and cut the dough into eight squares.  Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, lightly brush the tops with a little buttermilk and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake the biscuits for 15 – 20 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Serve warm, or wrap tightly and store in an airtight container, gently reheat before serving.

Makes 8 biscuits

Creamy Tomato Soup

The addition of baking soda prevents the soup from curdling.  I prefer good Italian canned San Marzano tomatoes, with no salt or additives.

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, or 3 shallots, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 bunch fresh basil, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon baking soda

3 ½ cups whole milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, but not browning.  Drop in the garlic and sauté for a few minutes more.  Stir in the tomato paste and diced tomatoes and stir.  Add the basil. Stir well, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a steady simmer.  If you prefer a smooth soup, with an immersion blender, or very carefully in a blender in batches, puree the soup base until smooth.

Mix the baking soda with a splash of milk in a small bowl to form a paste.  Scrape the paste into the soup, then quickly pour in the milk and stir.  The soup will foam up, and that’s fine, it will subside.  Heat the soup to until warm throughout, but do not let it boil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The soup will keep covered in the fridge for up to two days, but will not freeze.  Reheat gently but do not boil.

Serves 6 in small bowls, four in big ones

January is National Soup Month and I have been celebrating in style, and passing my favorite recipes along to you.  And what could be better with a bowl of soup than a grilled cheese sandwich of some sort.  Now, I will readily admit to being a fan of the individually wrapped cheese slice on white bread version, but it is occasionally nice to step out of the ordinary.  So here’s an Italian version of the grilled cheese. Mozzarella in Carrozza, which literally means “cheese in a carriage,” the carriage being the crispy carapace of egg around the sandwich. It’s rich, gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside – everything a grilled cheese should be. It may be a little bit more involved to make, but the pay-off is well worth it. Try it with a bowl of Roasted Vegetable Stracciatella for a true Italian feel.

This has to be made with fresh mozzarella cheese, which is so readily available now, not the pre-grated “pizza cheese.” I’ve tried lots of versions of this, but eventually realized that grating the cheese gives you a better melt than slices, which is the traditional method.  And the mozzarella needs lots of salt and good grinding of pepper to bring out the flavor.

Mozzarella in Carrozza

Half a sandwich with a bowl of soup can be enough for one person, but feel free to increase the recipe as you like.

1 8-ounce ball fresh mozzarella cheese

4 slices firm white sandwich bread

Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup milk

4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 egg

Grate the cheese on the wide holes of a box grater.  At some point this process really becomes just pushing the cheese through the holes as the cheese comes apart, but do your best.  Remove the crusts from the sandwich bread and place the cheese over two slices.  Leave a small margin around the edge of the bread.  Generously season the cheese with salt and pepper.  Place the top slices of bread over the sandwiches, the press the edges together to seal.

Place a wide bowl and two small flat plates on the counter.  Pour the milk in the bowl, beat the egg in one plate, and place the flour in the second.  Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat.

Dip the first sandwich in the milk, turning to coat both sides and the edges, then dip the sandwich into the flour to coat both sides.  Shake the sandwich to loosen any excess flour, then dip in the egg, turning to coat both sides.  Fry the sandwich in the hot oil until crispy and brown and melty, turning to cook both sides. Repeat with the remaining sandwich.  Let the cooked sandwiches sit for about a minute, then slice into halves and serve.

Serves 2 – 4