Bacon, Cheddar, and Chive Biscuits

Anything that has bacon in it doesn't really need much of an introduction.  These are a great side/addition to any meal, but go especially well with any kind of soup.

Makes: 12 biscuits

Bacon, Cheddar, and Chive Biscuits
From: Bon Appetit

Ingredients

6-8 slices thick cut bacon (you should probably use more, because you'll want to eat a slice or two)
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (plus more to melt/brush over tops of biscuits)
2 1/2 (about 12oz) cups grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper (don't use the cheap-o kind like I did or you'll be peeling off parchment paper from the bottom of the biscuits).

2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet and let cool over some paper towels, then coarsely chop the bacon.

3. In a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend, add butter, and then blend until a coarse, lumpy meal forms. Gradually add in buttermilk and stir everything together.

4. Lightly flour your hands, and drop large (about 1/2 cup) mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake biscuits for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick/tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Lightly brush biscuits with butter and let cool 10 minutes before serving.


Mmm, bacon:

Ready to go:

 

Homemade Noodles

I've been talking about getting a pasta maker for a few years now. I think I have some kind of pasta maker commitment phobia because I just can't decide which one I want to get.  There are heated online debates about the pros and cons of each one as well as friends' varying opinions.  Rather than make a decision, I made some noodles without a pasta maker for some chicken noodle soup (next post).  I spent a good portion of both Saturday and Sunday getting covered in flour as I tried to improve on the first batch of noodles.  It was worth it.  

My first attempt, I followed a homemade pasta recipe from The Pioneer Woman website.  It was easy, but the noodles weren't exactly what I wanted, which was mostly my fault because I cut them too thick. 

The second time around, I used tips from various recipes as well as from people who commanded their authority on the matter because of Italian ancestry: olive oil in the dough, using 00 flour, rolling the dough out very thin, and cutting the noodles very thin.  This recipe is what I came up with.  It's a basic noodle recipe that you can turn into any kind of dish that you like. 

Note: For increasing or decreasing measurements; it's 2 eggs per 1 1/3 cup of flour.  One egg will generally feed one person; so if you're cooking for 2, it would be 2 eggs and 1 1/3 cup of flour; for 4 people; 4 eggs and 2 2/3 cups of flour, and so on... That's about as much math as I'm willing to do here.  These measurements may also vary depending on how much your company tends to eat ...

Homemade Pasta Noodles

4 eggs
2 2/3 cups "00" flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of salt

1.  In a bowl or on a cutting board, make a well in the center of a mound of flour.  Crack the eggs into the well.  Add a pinch of salt and the olive oil into the well.

2. Using your hands, combine the egg mixture into the flour until a dough forms and you can roll everything together into a ball.

3.  Break the dough into smaller pieces (it makes it easier to knead) and use your hands to move the dough around in any way you can until it's smooth inside and out (punch it, roll it, knead it, squeeze it, etc).  Repeat with each piece of dough. 

4.  On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin (also lightly floured) to roll out each piece of dough as thinly as you possibly can.  Use a pizza cutter, a sharp knife, or a bread cutter to cut the noodles into thin lines.   

5.  Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil, with some added olive oil. Cook the noodles for about 4 minutes and drain.

6. Add the noodles to any kind of pasta sauce or soup!



Egg well:

Kneaded dough:

Broken into smaller pieces:

Rolled very thinly: 

Cut into thin noodles:

These noodles are from the first batch I made, which were too thick ... they also came out stiff and gooey. I think cutting the noodles thinner, the 00 flour, and the olive oil in the mixture and in the boiling water all helped to make the second batch much better. 

Martha Stewart Sugar Cookies

That sounds kind of funny, as if the cookies are shaped like Martha Stewart...but they're not. On another note though, while I was moving I found my sea creature cookie cutters! Can't wait to make lobster cookies.

These are from Martha's recipe for Ideal Sugar Cookies. I'm pretty sure this is my first Martha Stewart recipe, because a lot of times there is some ingredient in her recipes that I don't feel like looking for...like XYZ flour, bleached 5 times on Nantucket (exaggeration).

I made these back in April for the Habitat's second birthday. There are mostly H's for Habitat and 2's for their 2nd birthday, but I also sneaked in a few owls in there. Even though they said they're moving away from the owl logo, I now have owl cookie cutters from their birthday last year, so it was unavoidable. I couldn't make the actual party because I was going to Pittsburgh, so I brought a plate to Pittsburgh only to drop the entire plate on the street as soon as I got out of the car. Sad.

These were really easy to make! I like them thicker than the recipe calls for, so that they're a little softer, but it makes so much dough that you can play around with it. Actually, I think I may have doubled the recipe, but I'm sure you can still figure out how thick to cut them.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons brandy, or milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; mix until light and fluffy. With mixer running, add egg, milk (or brandy), and vanilla; mix until well combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add reserved flour mixture. Mix until just combined.

2. Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.


Martha forgot to include in the directions: immediately put some of this into your mouth.

Roll it up and stick it in the fridge:

Roll it flat: