Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Yes it is going to be the hottest day of the year according to meteorologists. And yes I made a cake, biscuits, and lemon curd this morning. But I did it before it got really hot and I used a box fan to blow all of the hot air out of the kitchen.

I made some herbed biscuits the other day and realized they are are really easy and require very few ingredients. I am going to a BBQ tonight so I made these little savory bite-sized guys to bring along with my blueberry cake, which I still have to assemble and ice.

In between all of the baking and cooking (I'm making a salad too but thankfully there's nothing to cook there) I am lounging in Jenn's blow-up baby pool. Pool party at Jenn's!!

This recipe comes from Zoom Yummy. I used buttermilk instead of regular milk and added in about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and sprinkled some on top for fun. I accidentally put in 1/2 teaspoon of garlic when the recipe called for 1/2 tablespoon- that's what you get for not reading carefully.

Ingredients:

1 cup ap flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp b powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 stick cold butter- cut in pieces

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

Method:

Preheat oven to 400, spray mini muffin pans and set aside.
Combine all dry ingredients, set aside.
Chop butter in small pieces and cut into dry ingredients with pastry cutter until the butter is incorporated into the flour in small pea-sized pieces.
Add buttermilk and cheeses and mix with spatula until dough ball forms.
Work quickly and don't touch the dough too much with your hands or you'll melt the butter.
Turn the dough ball out onto your floured counter and roll into a log with your hands- work quickly.
Cut the dough into walnut -sized pieces and then roll each one in a ball with your hand and place directly into the sprayed muffin tin.
I used 1 1/4 muffin tins.
Sprinkle the tops with some parmesan if you like and bake for about 20 mins.
Mine didn't get as brown as the ones in the picture of the original recipe but I didn't want them to get dry so I took them out.

Sweet Potato Hummus

Mom wanted an interesting hummus recipe so I found this one on taste spotting. Original recipe found here.

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes- peeled, diced, and microwaved til they are smashable
1 can garbanzo beans (15.5 oz), rinsed
1/4 C fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 C tahini sauce
1/4 or more extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on top of hummus
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 clove minced garlic
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. paprika garnish (optional)

Method:

Cook your sweet potatoes (I microwaved mine for around 8 mins)
Combine cooked potatoes and all other ingredients except paprika garnish in a cuisinart or blender.
Add olive oil a few tbsp at a time until you get the consistency you want.
You can also use water to thin it.
Garnish with paprika and a tbsp of olive oil.

Caesar Dressing

I like this recipe for classic caesar dressing. It's not one of those creamy ones, more an intensely garlicy olive oily one. It's also really easy and besides the anchovies I had all of the ingredients laying around. Of course, it's a Martha. Original recipe can be found here. The only change I made was to add a little parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves
4 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Method:

Combine all ingredients in your cuisinart or a blender and enjoy!

Garlic Rolls with Red Pepper Flakes

I was looking for a basic bread to make and I found this recipe for a garlicky salty bread with a hot kick. The spice isn't overwhelming, the flakes disperse pretty well through the bread and the garlic is a nice touch, I added extra garlic powder too. Also, the original recipe just makes one boule but I made several knotted rolls instead.

The original recipe bakes the boule in a dutch oven at 400, but I opted for making the knots and baking at 375.

Ingredients:

1C warm water
1pkg active dry yeast
pinch of sugar

1 stick butter
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes, plus additional for sprinkling on top
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 C bread flour
2 tsp salt
olive oil- for making the knotted rolls and for brushing on top
course sea salt for tops

Method:

Combine warm water, yeast and a pinch of sugar in a medium measuring glass. Cover with a towel and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and add herbs and garlic. Stir and set aside.
Add flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with doug hook. Add salt. With mixer on low, pour in yeast and butter mixtures. Mix for approximately 10 minutes or until dough pulls away from the sides of your bowl completely. The dough should not be stuck to the bowl at all. If it is, add a touch more flour and continue to mix.

Form into a smooth ball, cover and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size or roughly 1 hour.
Kneed dough for a minute then cut into about 6 pieces and roll each piece into a dough-snake. Rub a little olive oil on your hands and tie the snake into a knot. Place each knot on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them rise for another 30 mins. Preheat your oven to 375. Brush the tops of the rolls with a little olive oil, salt, red pepper flake, garlic powder mixture and put them in the oven for 25 or so minutes until they are hollow sounding when you hit the bottom and have a little color on the top.

Garlic Knots

Yes I said Garlic Knots!!! I used to eat these with my family when we went to Rockaway Beach, NY to see my aunt Nancy. We always went to this pizza shop and as I was making the garlic oil for these knots the smell took me back to that skinny shop where we would eat basket after basket...

This recipe was pretty easy, I used the same basic method of making the bread as I did with the Povitica Cinnamon Swirl Bread. So again I made the dough and went for a stroll with Lauren. We tried on some clothes, drank iced coffee, and wandered around Chestnut Hill in the sun. When we got back it was time to form the rolls and throw them in the oven.

I love the smell of yeast. I found this recipe on a blog called White On Rice Couple. It makes a pretty sturdy little knot, the ones I remember were a little more flakey and light and oily, mine are more crusty on the outside. I didn't have parsley- because I didn't know that Jenn has tons of it growing in her yard, so I used chives in the garlic oil instead. I also threw a little parmesan cheese in there too just for fun.

Ingredients:

DOUGH
1 3/4 c Warm Water
1/4 c Olive Oil
1 t Sea Salt
1 T Sugar
1 1/2 T Active Dry Yeast
approx. 5 1/2 c all-pupose, unbleached Flour

GARLIC OIL COATING
1/8 c Olive Oil
2 T unsalted Butter
4 cloves Garlic, finely crushed
1/4 c finely chopped fresh Chives
Sea Salt to taste

plus extra Olive Oil and Flour for making the knots

Directions:

Combine water, 1/4c olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and active dry yeast in a large resealable container or bowl. Mix to dissolve yeast.

Add flour. Mix to incorporate flour, cover, and set in a warm spot to proof until doubled in volume (usually 1-3 hrs depending on initial water temp and warmth of proofing area). (A sunny table outside on a warm summer day is perfect for proofing!)

Chill the dough for a bit (will keep fine in fridge for several days if you want to make the dough ahead of time) to make it easier to handle (this can be skipped if you don't have the time) then set up your knotting station. Put out a large wooden cutting board and oil liberally. Grab a rolling dowel or pin and oil. Grab a pizza cutter or something similar to slice dough in strips. Put container of flour within easy reach. Line several sheet pans with parchment paper or silpats and place within easy reach.

Oil your hands to help keep dough from sticking to them. Divide the dough in two parts to make it easier to handle. Take the first half, slap it onto the oiled board several times to flatten. Using the dowel, spread into an even rectangle approx. 5"x16" and 1/2" thick. Slice the rectangle into 1/2"x5" strips.

Rotate the board 90° and sprinkle dough strips and board with flour. Taking the strip nearest to you, roll it back and forth to create an even rope. Tie into a knot (over, under, and through) and place on lined sheet pan. Place knots about an 1 1/2" apart. At first it may seem awkward making the knots but with a little practice it will become easy. Flour is your friend to help keep the dough from sticking to itself while forming the knots.

Continue making the rest of the knots with the second half of the dough. After each sheet pan fills up, cover with a dry sack towel, and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise.

Preheat oven to 400° F

After knots have doubled in size (or about the time it takes the oven to preheat), take off dry sack towel and place sheet pans in the oven. Bake for approx. 12-15 min. or until golden.

While knots are baking, make garlic coating. Gently warm olive oil, butter, and garlic in a small saucepan (if you like your garlic with less of a bite, cook it for a few minutes in oil/butter mix until soft & slightly golden). Re move from the heat and once the mixture has cooled a little transfer to a large bowl. Once mix has cooled a few minutes add a little parm and the chives.

After removing knots from oven, while still warm, place knots in the large bowl and toss with garlic coating. Season with sea salt to taste.
Best served warm, but still good when at room temp.