So, now you have, I am sure, studied the primer for making good Buttermilk Biscuits.  And you’d like to know all the many ways you can serve your beautiful creations. Here are two of my favorites.  I once had some friends by for a biscuit bar, serving baskets full of homemade biscuits, homemade preserves, tomato gravy, sausage gravy and lots of good butter.  I even made chocolate gravy, but I am saving that for another time.

Tomato Gravy for Biscuits

½ pound bacon

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 (14 ½ ounce) can finely diced tomatoes

3 cups tomato juice

Ground black pepper

Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry in a large skillet until crispy.  Remove the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate, then drain off all put 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease.  Fry the onion in the drippings until soft, then add the canned tomatoes and the tomato juice, scraping up any browned bacon bits from the bottom of the pan.   Season with some good grinds of black pepper.

Bring the gravy to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the gravy thickens and reduces, about 15 – 20 minutes.  Stir in the reserved bacon. You can save some of the bacon pieces to sprinkle over the gravy if you like.  Spoon over hot, split biscuits.

Sausage Gravy for Biscuits

I like my gravy really peppery, so I go to town with the grinder.  Depending on the sausage, you may need very little or no salt.

½ pound breakfast sausage

¼ cup flour

2 ½ cups milk

Salt and ground black pepper

Crumble the sausage into a large skillet and cook until no longer pink in the middle and nice and browned.  Break the sausage into small chunks as you cook it.  Remove the sausage to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the dripping behind.  There should be about 2 Tablespoons of dripping left in the pan.  If not, add a little oil to make that amount and heat up. Sprinkle over the flour and cook, stirring and scraping, for about 2 minutes until the flour is lightly browned.  Slowly whisk in the milk, continuing to scrape the bottom of the pan.  Cook, whisking frequently, until the gravy is thick.  Stir the sausage back in and heat through, seasoning with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve over hot, split biscuits.

Heaven is a Biscuit

I love biscuits.  Love them.  I could eat a whole batch at one sitting, even without butter or jam or gravy.  I say I could, because believe it or not I do possess the restraint not to.

And I should probably clarify, I love good buttermilk biscuits.  Sure, I have been known to eat a fast food sausage biscuit or a chain restaurant puck covered with gravy.  If a menu has a biscuit on it, I find it hard to resist.  But my true passion is for good, down home, fresh made buttermilk biscuits.  Some people have grandmothers who make these, or live near a mom-and-pop country restaurant that produce hundreds of from-scratch, by-hand biscuits.  Someone forwarded a newspaper article to me recently about the wide variety of frozen biscuits available that are good enough that many Southern cooks have given up biscuit making altogether.  And I’ll admit, they are not all bad.

Here’s the thing though.   I make biscuits.  And I love doing it.  I think it may be because I have an image of myself as some one who can do things.  The truth is – not so much.  I can’t make fluffy white bread, or my own puff pastry, or good old-fashioned dinner rolls.  But I can make biscuits.  I like being someone who can do something that most people don’t bother with anymore.

Learning to make a good biscuit takes practice, and trial and error. Even the most experienced biscuit cook has a batch that just doesn’t work.  Maybe the weather was wrong, or the flour just wasn’t in the mood, or the cook didn’t have the right love to put into that batch.  So today I made a big batch of biscuits and carefully made notes about every step.  The recipe below may look long, but don’t be intimidated. I have tried to put in as much detail as I can to get the dough rolling.

So here are some starting tips:  I do truly recommend using soft Southern wheat flour, like White Lily (my choice) or Martha White.  I am sure you can order it online if you can’t track it down.  I use White Lily as my flour always, so I don’t have two types of all-purpose flour in the pantry. If you use regular all-purpose, you’ll still get biscuits, but if they don’t taste exactly right, that’s why.  I used to be a little afraid of shortening and made biscuits with all butter, but now I know that the shortening is really a must.  I use a combination because the boost in flavor the butter adds.  Both must be cold – right out of the fridge before you use it.  Same with the buttermilk.  I prefer cold whole buttermilk, but low-fat works as well.   Make sure you shake the bottle very well before measuring.

Buttermilk Biscuits

4 cups flour (all-purpose White Lily)

2 Tablespoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

¼ cup cold vegetable shortening

¼ cup cold unsalted butter

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 shortening and the butter into small cubes.  I cut the butter from the stick three times down the length, turn it over once, cut it three times down the length again, then across the short way.  I buy Crisco shortening in sticks as well and do the same. 

Separate the shortening and butter into cubes 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 lumps of butter or shortening left.  Many recipes describe the result of this process as looking like breadcrumbs or fine meal, and that’s okay.  I think it looks like lumpy flour.  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.  I find the counter top to be best; a board tends to slip around.  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.  This method makes the top of the biscuits slightly textured, which looks very homemade, but if it bothers you, roll a lightly floured rolling pin lightly over the top.

Cut the biscuits with a round cutter or a thin rimmed glass, always cutting as close to the edge of the dough and as close together as possible to get as many biscuits as possible.  I get a good dozen in the first batch using a 2 ½ inch cutter from this recipe.  Just press the cutter down and pull back up; don’t twist or the sides won’t rise up as nice.

Place the biscuits very close together on the prepared pan, just touching each other. This helps them rise while cooking.

Now the big debate: to re-roll or not re-roll.  There will be some leftover dough.  Some people say that this dough is not worth using again, but I disagree.  Gently press the remaining dough together and press out into a ½ inch thickness and cut – you’ll get maybe three more.  Place them on the pan with the rest of the biscuits.  The first-roll dozen are the company biscuits, the last ones just for you, so remember which are which.  Any leftover scraps can be cooked separately, or rolled in cinnamon-sugar and baked off, or frankly just eaten raw.

Bake the biscuits in the hot oven for 8 – 9 minutes, rotating the pan about 6 minutes through.  Watch the biscuits carefully so they do not over-brown. These may not get too brown on top, but will be nice and soft inside.  If you want a brown top, turn the broiler on a few minutes, watching all the time with the door open until lightly golden. Take the biscuits out of the oven, then brush the tops with melted butter (about 2 Tablespoons should do it). 

Leave the biscuits to cool slightly and then eat ‘em up.  They will keep a day or so tightly wrapped, but are better toasted when not eaten fresh.

Makes 12 – 15 biscuits

Serve your fresh, hot biscuits with Tomato Gravy or Sausage Gravy.

I love clementines.  They are the perfect, bright refreshing little sunshine snack.  They are so portable, you can just carry one around all day until you need a pick-me-up.  But I also find clementines annoying, largely because around here they are sold almost exclusively in five to seven pound bags.  I cannot eat five pounds of clementines before they start to shrivel and loose their juice.  So I am sometimes reluctant to buy them, because I know I will end up with uneaten fruit sitting forlornly on my counter.

This lovely bread is one of my excess clementine solutions.  It’s incredibly easy to whip up in the food processor and results in a sweet, citrus-y treat perfect for breakfast, tea or a great snack.  This recipe started its life as away to use tangerines, but I have found this clementine incarnation the most practical.

Sticky Clementine Quick Bread

This moist sticky bread will stay delicious for three days wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.  It can also be frozen for up to a month.  Try making it in smaller loaf pans, even individual sizes, and share with your friends.

For the Quick Bread:

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon clementine zest, from two to four clementines, depending on size

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons self-rising flour

Pinch of salt

4 Tablespoons milk

For the Glaze:

4 Tablespoons clementine juice, from two to four clementines, depending on size

½ cup confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a standard 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade.  The butter must be soft and at room temperature.  If needed, microwave on half power in 15 second intervals until soft. Blend until the ingredients are just combined and smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes.  Do not over process.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, then tap the pans on the counter to spread out the batter.  Bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 – 20 minutes.  A tester inserted in each loaf should come out clean.

While the loaves are cooking, whisk together the juice from the clementines and the confectioner’s sugar until smooth.

When the loaf is cooked, run a knife around the edges of the loaf to loosen from the pan. Poke the top of the loaf several times with the skewer.  Drizzle the glaze over the loaf.  Do this slowly so the glaze absorbs into the loaves.  When the glaze is absorbed remove the loaf to a rack or a piece of waxed paper to finish cooling.

Let the loaf cool completely before serving.

Makes one loaf

I have a thing for eggnog.  I think it is my favorite holiday flavor.  I buy all the eggnog flavored holiday gimmicks – candy, yogurt, ice cream, coffee creamer (and I don’t even drink coffee).  I love a good glass of eggnog, but I don’t really drink it as much as I bake with it. I have become something of an eggnog baking expert.  In fact, in planning out my Christmas posts, I had to restrain myself from an all eggnog – all the time situation.  But at least one recipe, I couldn’t resist.

Over the last few years, our big family potluck holiday meal has been on Christmas Eve, so I have taken over the Christmas day meal.  My family all live very close together, so we have a multiple move-around houses morning, seeing what the kids got under the tree, transporting gifts from one house to the next.  We end up at my parents’ house for a holiday brunch, the menu of which usually changes from year to year.  But we have made this easy overnight casserole a standard.  Christmas is Christmas, right?  So we tend to go all out.  We have bacon, ham and sausage, cheese grits and cheesy eggs, biscuits and French toast.  And all this after we eat muffins and kringles and whatever is lying around in the early morning, usually gifts from friends.

This is a perfect Christmas morning dish, whether you serve it as part of an elegant brunch or sitting around in pajamas.  It is easy to put together, you do it the day before, and just pop it in the oven.  It smells and tastes like Christmas and will start the day off right.

Overnight Eggnog French Toast Casserole

This is a really tasty dish on its own, but can be drizzled with some maple syrup or warm cranberry sauce.

½ cup (1 stick) of butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

1 loaf of firm white sandwich bread, crusts removed

5 eggs

1 ½ cups dairy egg nog

¼ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Grease a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter, sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted and the mixture is thickened and syrupy, about seven minutes.  Pour ¾ of the syrup over the bottom of the baking dish, swirling and spreading it to cover.

Place a layer of bread slices over the syrup in the dish, cutting them to fit if necessary.  Fill the dish as tightly as possible.  Drizzle the remaining syrup over the bread, the add another of layer of bread slices.

Beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the egg nog, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.  Whisk together until completely combined.  Pour the custard over the bread layers in the dish, pressing the bread down to be covered by the custard if it floats to the top.

Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate eight hours or overnight.  When ready to bake, remove the dish from the fridge to take the chill off.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then bake the casserole for 35- 40 minutes, until golden and puffed and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Serve warm. 

Serves 6 – 8

And here’s a little extra: You can make this even when it’s not Christmas.  Just replace the eggnog with half and half and alter the seasoning to taste.  Orange zest and cinnamon are fantastic, or lemon zest and some lemon juice.

I have always liked the idea of making homemade hot chocolate.  I have tried many recipes; I have made hot chocolate with expensive, imported chocolates, cocoa powder and all sorts of permutations.  Butafter all the experimentation, I finally put together this recipe – using plain ol’ Hershey bars.  And it is some kind of good.

This is not hot chocolate for the faint of heart.  It is rich – really rich.  The kind of treat you make only for the holidays, or maybe when you’ve had a very bad day.  But I highly recommend you do make it.  Maybe on a cold morning when you can sip while still in your pajamas.  You don’t even have to share.

Decadent Hot Chocolate

If you want more than the two servings this makes, do it in separate batches, as most blenders won’t hold that much liquid without the top popping off. 

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

2 (1.5 ounce) milk chocolate candy bars (such as Hershey’s)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 Tablespoon light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

dash of cayenne pepper

dash of salt

In a saucepan, preferably with a pouring spout, heat the cream and milk over medium heat until just beginning to bubble.  Break the chocolate bar into small pieces and place in the carafe of a blender with the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, cayenne and salt.

When the cream mixture is heated through, pour it over the chocolate mixture in the blender.  Securely place the top on the blender, and holding it in place with a towel, blend the hot chocolate mixture until smooth and frothy.  Always exercise caution when blending hot liquids.  Pour the hot chocolate back into the pan and gently warm through.  Serve in mugs

 Serves two

For awhile there, Meyer lemons ranked as one of those items that featured in all the food magazines and cookbooks, but not on the shelves of stores outside major cities. So when the slightly orange-tinted lemons started popping up here a few years ago, I bought them like crazy, often without really knowing what to do.  I’m still guilty of that impulse buying, out of some sense that I need gourmet-foodie cred – I should be someone who swoons over Meyer lemons, right?  A Meyer lemon can be used in any way a standard lemon can really, the taste is just a little sweeter and not quite as tart or acidic.  I love to use Meyer lemons for making preserved lemons, the staple of Moroccan cooking, because the thinner skins soak up the salt and brine beautifully.  But my go to recipe when I go Meyer lemon crazy at the store is simple curd.  Its not hard to make, and homemade curd is so much better, with no chemical aftertaste or weird consistency.  And Meyer lemons make a not-to-tart curd that is perfect spread directly on toast or English muffins.  Lemon curd of any variety makes an amazing filling for cakes, is tasty swirled into Greek yogurt and served with berries.  Try crushing up some meringue cookies and stir them together with lemon curd and whipped cream for lemon meringue pie in a bowl.  Sandwich lemon curd between homemade ginger cookies or butter cookies for a special treat, or stir a dollop into your favorite bought vanilla ice cream.  And of course, a pretty jar of lemon curd makes a lovely hostess gift.

Meyer Lemon Curd

You can use the same recipe with regular lemons.

6 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces

Place a wire mesh strainer over a medium bowl and set aside close to the stovetop. In a medium, heavy saucepan, whisk together the eggs, sugar and lemon zest.  Whisk in the lemon juice and add the butter pieces.  Place over medium heat and stir constantly (it’s best to switch to a heatproof spatula here to be able to scrape the sides and reach the edges of the pan).  Continue cooking until the curd is thickened, about 6- 8 minutes.  Scrape the curd immediately into the strainer set over the bowl.  Push the curd through the strainer to remove any cooked egg or lumps.  Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the surface of the curd and refrigerate until cold, at least two hours.  Transfer to an airtight container.  The curd will keep refrigerated up to a week.

Makes 2 ½ cups