Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits

These flaky, savory biscuits are so delicious! My favorite part about them is how you can pull them apart, layer by layer by layer - all the while knowing YOU were the one who put those layers there. It didn't come from a can! Seriously, you'll be very proud of yourself after baking these goodies, just as I was. =)

The recipe says "The dough will be slightly sticky; do not overmix." Okay, my dough was VERY sticky. I reread the recipe a couple times to make sure I didn't forget any dry ingredients. I hadn't. I didn't want to add too much flour, but I couldn't even roll it out or fold it, so I added enough until I could work with it. I was worried it would change the flakiness, but it didn't. They were still great!

Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits

Makes 1 dozen

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 T sugar

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

4 ounces cream cheese, cold, cut into pieces

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and chives. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining.

Pour in the buttermilk; using a fork, mix in buttermilk until incorporated and the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; do not overmix.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured fingers, gently knead about four times, until all the crumbs are incorporated and the dough is smooth. With a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll out the dough to an 11 x 8 inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Using a bench scraper or long offset spatula to lift the ends of the dough, fold the rectangle into thirds (like a business letter). Give the dough a quarter turn. Roll out the dough again (to the same dimensions), and repeat the folding process. Wrap with plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Return the dough to the work surface. Roll out as before, and repeat the folding process. Give the dough another quarter turn; roll out the dough one more time, again into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, trim and discard 1/4 inch from all sides; divide the rectangle into 12 equal squares or rectangles. Place on the prepared baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 1 hour.*

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the biscuits are golden and flecked with brown spots, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.

*You can freeze the unbaked biscutes on a baking sheet, then store in a resealable plastic bag for up to three weeks. When ready to serve, bake them (without thawing) on a parchment-lined sheet (the baking time will be the same).

I made the Peaches & Semifreddo!

Since I posted the Vanilla-Roasted Peaches, and the Mocha Semifreddo recipes, I actually made them and LOVED them! 

The Semifreddo was made at home for me and my boyfriend. I work at Starbucks, so am just a bit addicted to coffee =) - and my boyfriend loves the flavors as well. So this Mocha Semifreddo connected my loves of ice cream and coffee perfectly and we both enjoyed the smooth creaminess that resulted. Beware, this is NOT a light dessert. It's VERY heavy and rich. But oh-so-good! 

As I didn't have chocolate-covered espresso beans, I tried to make them. They didn't turn out. So, to give it a crunch, I added crushed Oreo cookies on top of the chocolate drizzle. They were a great addition, although after eating it slowly over a week, the oreos got a bit soggy and lost their crunch. Luckily, I had extras so I kept adding them fresh and it was perfect!

The peaches were made at home in Turlock with all my family - and more guests. We doubled the recipe (but I was unwilling to part with two vanilla beans, so used 1 vanilla bean and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract), but really we could have been fine with one recipe for 8 people! One peach half and just a few raspberries were all that one person needed. With that scoop of ice cream on top, it was a perfect combination =) Any extra peaches would be great on top of yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, etc. Also, leave the skin on when baking. It gets so soft you barely even know it's there!

 

Lemontastic Chicken! (formerly known as Lemon Chicken

I had to spice up the name of this main course. It's just too good to have a simple title! I knew I wanted to make a whole chicken, and when I started searching recipes, this was the first one I came upon - and I knew it was the one! There's lemon infused in the whole thing, which makes it into a tender, buttery, moist chicken, with a tang of lemon. Yum! We served this with Cream Cheese-Chive Biscuits (recipe to follow), Steamed Artichokes, and fresh fruit (grapes and melon). It was a delicious, balanced meal!

Lemontastic Chicken

1/3 c coarse salt

3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 5lb roasting chicken

Gremolata (recipe below)

6 T unsalted butter, softened

8 fresh or dried basil leaves

4 lemons, quartered lengthwise

Gremolata: Chop all ingredients until well combined.

Zest of 6 lemons, grated or finely chopped

1 small clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsely

2 T chopped shallots (about 2 medium shallots)

**Gremolata best when used immediately. Makes 2/3 cup.

1. In a small bowl, combine salt and lemon juice. Loosen the skin of the chicken from the flesh. Rub mixture under the skin and in the cavity of the chicken. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag (we used "jumbo"); chill at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse all of the salt off the chicken with cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine gremolata mixture and softened butter. Rub two-thirds of the mixture under the chicken's skin; rub the rest on the outside. Stuff the cavity with the bay leaves and the quartered lemons.

4. Place chicken in a large roasting pan, breast side up. Tuck the tips of the wings under the bottom of the bird. Transfer pan to oven. After 40 minutes, baste. Cover pan with foil; reduce heat to 375 degrees.

5. Cook, basting occasionally, until the skin is crisp and golden, 40 to 45 minutes more. The juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced; an instant-read thermometer should register 170 degrees in the deepest part of the thigh when done. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*We used only 6 lemons total, as the quartered lemons we stuck in the cavity were the ones we had zested for the gremolata. The flavor was delicious, but you can use separate lemons for the quarters if you want it to be prettier. Also, as you can tell in the picture, my skin didn't brown as it says it should (and mine wasn't very pretty). It still tasted great, though! It just wasn't crispy. Overall, this was pretty easy, and DELICIOUS! =)

More to come soon!

I am currently home in Turlock, Ca with my family - yay so exciting! And a big bonus to getting all the Allard girls together: GOOD FOOD! Tonight we had Coq Au Vin, Grandma's Rice (white rice, garlic, and chicken broth), French Bread, and Jane Smith's Salad (greens, dried cranberries, caramelized pecans, tangy vinaigrette). What a welcome home meal, thanks Mom! =)

I'll definitely post the menus at least, and hopefully many recipes and pictures. It's bound to be a delicious food-filled week, and I'm prepared to gain an inch or two on my waistline... I'll keep you updated!