Blog - biscuits and such
southern food blog
10088
paged,page-template,page-template-blog-large-image-whole-post,page-template-blog-large-image-whole-post-php,page,page-id-10088,paged-31,page-paged-31,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,select-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,select-theme-ver-2.8,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-4.3.5,vc_responsive
 

Chipotles

 

Did you know that chipotles are smoked red jalapeños? And that paprika is smoked pimentos (we’ll be circling back to that later this summer)? I know, it blew my mind.

 

chipotles 4

 

Last summer my brother brought us a huge bag full of jalapeños from his farm, and since we had just bought a smoker we finally had the opportunity to make our own chipotles (these are the things we dreamed about all those years in city apartments).

 

chipotle 3

 

It was insanely easy. As easy as 1) take red jalapeños 2) put in smoker 3) wait 4) dry completely 5) enjoy. Seriously. Do that. Get red jalapeños. Smoke them. Grind them. Have chipotles! We used them all winter whole in soups and stews and ground on, well, pretty much everything. They hit the spot, and we’ll definitely be smoking another batch this summer.

 

 

chipotles

 

Chipotles

 

Fresh red jalapeños

Smoker/oven

It can take up to 48 hours for chipotles to dry through, so our approach was to smoke them for 10 hours on hickory smoke and then to finish them in the oven on very low (150F) for an additional 24 hours. We dried them until they were dry to the touch and the seeds inside rattled around.

Read More

Lovely Internet 6.5.15

 

1. Lessons from a Southern mama.

2. The Universe is totally telling you to do that.

3. I was recently explaining to someone why I don’t invest too much time into cultivating “social” numbers- because they are meaningless (pretty much) and I’d rather invest my time and limited energy into this space, which is mine.

4. My first introduction to “on fleek” was definitely Jon Stewart, but this weekend I heard someone say it in the wild. I had to look up what the hell it means.

5. Should you spring for that vintage cast iron? (and other kitchen questions).

6. Eggcorns! Which of these are you guilty of? (Also guys it’s clearly buck naked).

7. How cool is this map of Pangea?

8. Sitting on manspreaders. Hell yeah.

9. This is excellent! I definitely needed it a few weeks ago when I wasn’t sure if I stumbled across a mulberry bush.

10. This week sucked, a lot. I needed this.

 

For more tidbits from Elena the person, follow me on twitter (@elenabrent or @biscuitsandsuch), instagrampinterest or facebook. Subscribe to my bloglovin’ feed to make sure you never miss a post. Follow along with MissElenaeous for thoughts on everything other than Southern food.

Read More

Buttermilk Biscuits with Caramelized Apricots and Honeysuckle Butter

 

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of cooking for two (sold out!) dinners at Greenlands Farm in Bolivia, NC. It was the second of these Farm to Fork dinners (or even better, Field to Frying Pan) I’ve done with Greenlands this year, and it was a really busy but also really amazing weekend.

 

apricot biscuits 11

 

apricot biscuits 7

apricot biscuits 1

 

The week before the dinner I had reshared an old post on the B&S Facebook page– my method for honeysuckle butter. Maud, of Greenlands, emailed me when she saw it and asked if we could work a little honeysuckle butter onto the menu. So, we went honeysuckle foraging!

 

apricot biscuits 6

 

While the honeysuckle butter was the star of the show, the world isn’t quite ready yet to be served just a spoonful of butter as a course (we’ll get there). Thankfully Heather, the owner of Greenlands, makes her own goat buttermilk, so the answer was obvious. I made a big batch of buttermilk biscuits and topped it all off with caramelized apricots.

 

apricot biscuits 2

 

These dinners are so surreal for me because I never in my life could have predicted that one day I would find myself cooking five course meals for dozens of people who paid (!) to eat the food I made. I probably could have told you that one day I’d shake a half gallon of cream into butter in patterned leggings to the sweet sweet tunes of Harry Belafonte. That’s much more believable.

 

apricot biscuits 10

apricot biscuits 5

 

Buttermilk Biscuits with Caramelized Apricots and Honeysuckle Butter
makes 30 bite sized biscuits

 

biscuits:

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 stick butter

1 cup buttermilk

 

honeysuckle butter:

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole honeysuckle flowers

1 tsp cinnamon

 

caramelized apricots:

6 apricots 

2 tbsp butter

 

to make the honeysuckle butter: 

 

In a medium sized bowl or jar, combine flowers and cream. Cover and let soak overnight. Strain the cream and discard the flowers. Add cinnamon.

 

Pour your cream into a mason jar. It should be filled no more than 3/4 of the way. Nestle yourself into a comfortable position and turn the butter. Rotate the jar, back and forth, flipping it over and over, for approximately 20-30 minutes. The cream will evolve from liquid to solid, getting steadily thicker. When it has clumped together into a thick ball and the solids have separated out, you’re done. Use a metal strainer to extract the excess liquid, and refrigerate. It will firm up as it chills.

 

to make the apricots:

 

Core and cube the apricots. Melt butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, 20-25 minutes.

 

to make the biscuits: 

 

Heat oven to 425F. Mix together dry ingredients. Cube butter and work in with your hands, breaking the butter up into small pieces and mixing in with the dry ingredients, until the texture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the buttermilk. Transfer to a floured surface and press into a rectangle. Fold on itself and pat into a rectangle. Repeat three or four times, finishing with a large rectangle of dough that is 1″ thick. Cut into 1″ squares and transfer to a lined baking sheet. Brush tops with melted honeysuckle butter and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Top the biscuits with a dollop of butter and a spoonful of apricots. Serve hot.

 

Read More