I haven't made shrimp in years: A Sous Vide Adventure

A nice thing about living solo is seafood to feed the household doesn't break the bank if I shop carefully. This week, shrimp were on sale. One of my favorite restaurant dishes is shrimp & grits. Grits are effectively the same as polenta, and I always have it in the house.

Then it occurred to me that I never tried to do shrimp sous vide, so why the hell not? I looked up timing on a few different sites. The temperature range was pretty large, as you can see on this chart on Serious Eats. I decided to not be too terribly adventurous the first time and cook the shrimp (which came already peeled) at 137 F, which is a little over 58 C. It's also 331.5 K, but I digress.

I didn't follow the recipe on the page, just the timing and temperature. Here's what I did with the shrimp:

• 8 ounces of shrimp, cleaned. I also took the tails off because I hate de-tailing shrimp while I'm eating and it's easier to do it when they're raw. I realize some people consider this an abomination, and I can live with that.  
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
• 6 roasted garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked a few times with a mortar and pestle
• Zest of half a lemon

I mushed the ingredients together and used a plastic knife leftover from takeout food to spread the butter all over the inside of the bag. Before loading the shrimp, I tossed the shrimp with the baking soda (I put them in a ZipLoc plastic container and shook it for thirty second), then added the shrimp to the bag, pressing the shrimp into one layer. I started up the immersion circulator to get the water bath to temperature. I decided on 137 F, to give it a slightly softer texture, but still with a delicious pop. I cooked them for 30 minutes, then finished them on a grill pan on the stove. I'd like to try a torch next time, but I still need to buy one.

For the polenta:

• 1/2 Cup polenta
• 3 cups water
• 1 Cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 Cup Chopped shallot
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon butter (for the shallots)
• 1 Tablespoon butter (for the polenta)
• 3/4 Cup grated Grana Padano cheese
• sea salt

I sprinkled the tomatoes with a bit of salt, then tossed with 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a glass casserole dish, roasted at 400 F for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 or so.

While that was happening, I melted the 1/2 Tablespoon butter in a small pan and cooked the shallots on low, stirring constantly until they were brown. Once both of these were done, I set them aside.

For the polenta, I had a package with no directions. I boiled 2 Cups of water, stirred in the polenta, brought it back to a boil, then put it on to simmer for about 30 minutes. It needed a little longer than planned, though the results were soft, creamy, and a bit stuck to the bottom f the pot. Once all the water had been absorbed (about 45 minutes total, your mileage may vary) I stirred in the tomatoes and shallots, the butter and then 1/3 of the cheese. I added the rest of the cheese in slowly, then once that was done, assembled my plate.

The garnish is a sprinkling of oregano, more for color, and then some Calabrian chiles in oil, which was a delicious last-minute impulse.

Look for more shrimp recipes from me because this was deliciously easy!

It's only a little bunny rarebit

 I am not massively familiar with common British foods. I've never visited, and in my murky past I was more likely to visit an Irish pub than I was an English one. Authenticity, as you can imagine, varies. 

When I lived in Nashville there were a couple places I enjoyed and I really enjoyed bangers & mash. I found myself with a craving for it a couple months ago and met up a friend at an English pub uptown. For an appetizer, we enjoyed a Welsh rarebit.

Why the hell I haven't made this before I don't know.

A few weeks later, a friend posted this link. I hadn't heard of Two Crumbs up, but I found the concept fun, and then I came to their Scottish Rarebit recipe. It intrigued me because it used whiskey instead of beer, and I just had to try:

• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 1/4 tsp Mustard Powder
• 1 tbsp Whiskey (I used Jameson's)
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Grated Scottish Cheddar (I might have used Irish, St. Andrew forgive me)
• 2 slices Sourdough Bread, cut in half

The method very simple:

Begin with a roux-- melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until foaming, then add flour. Stir and allow to cook for a minute or two, until the smell of flour fades and you have a popcorn-smelling wet sand texture.

Add your remaining ingredients (except the bread, you silly K-nig-hts), and stir over medium-low heat until melted.

Keep your cheese mixture warm while you lightly toast your bread. Pour cheese sauce over bread and summon fire without flint or tinder-- ie toast the cheese with a blow torch or under a broiler. To avoid burning the toast, I suggest counting to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.

-------------

The cheddar I had was a bit oily, so I ended up playing with the sauce a bit. A little more flour to soak up the oil, then a little more whiskey and cream to keep the right texture. I used Colman's mustard powder. I like that this had mustard powder so there wouldn't be acid from the vinegar in the sauce. I want more of that flavor next time. And there will definitely be a next time.

The tomatoes were tossed with a little salt, black pepper, olive oil, and thyme, then roasted at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes before I put the oven to broil for the rarebit.

Have you made rarebit? Share your experience! 

Not Dead Yet or Chick pea pasta doesn't always photograph well

 Hello everyone. I hope you're doing okay. The pandemic has been calling for a lot of comfort food, though I haven't been really happy with a lot of the things I've been cooking of late until today. That is why you haven't heard from me in a while

I try to shop sales and this week, I lucked out to find some chanterelle mushrooms at a reduced price. Then an idea popped into my head to bring out that buttery flavor and mouthfeel and I came up with this:

• 4 oz bacon chopped into 1/2 -inch pieces (pancetta could also be used here)
• 8 oz dry pasta I recommend orchiette or something that will hold a creamy sauce. Shells could work, though when peas get caught in shells, they kind of look like eyeballs. That might not amuse everyone at your table.
• 1/2 Cup heavy cream
• 6-7 ounces green peas--I used canned 'very young' ones. They're nicely tender. If you're using frozen, I recommend thawing first and draining off excess water.
• 4 oz chanterelle mushrooms, chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
• One big shallot or two small ones, diced into 1/4 inch pieces (the big one was too big to enclose in my hand)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 oz Grana Padano cheese, grated. Parmesan works here, but Padano is more affordable much of the time. 
• ground black pepper to taste

Rinse the mushrooms, pat dry with paper towels. Chop them into 3/4 inch pieces or thereabouts. Throw them in a colander and rinse. Since chantarelles have that fluted fluffy top, it's easy for dirt to be missed on the first rinse. Shake the colander up and down a few times to get more water out. Put them on a plate with paper towels.

Cook your bacon to desired crunchiness. I've always found it useful to start cooking bacon on low heat and then bringing it up slowly to medium/medium high. Remove from pan onto paper towels. Drain the fat, but don't wash the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low.

Melt butter and put in your shallots, stirring constantly until they begin to turn brown. You might want to have a glass of your favorite beverage handy during this step, this takes a while, but it's worth it.

Once your shallots are brown, add the mushrooms, stirring constantly for about two minutes. Slowly add the cream, then the peas, and keep stirring for another minute, then toss in your bacon.  Gradually stir in the cheese until it's absorbed.

Put the heat down to low and cook your pasta. Stir every once in a while. You're going to get a light red/brown because the bacon will color the sauce.

Drain your pasta. Add it to the sauce, stir well. Have pepper handy so it can be added to taste. Makes 3 servings.

The pictures I tried to take really didn't show off the ingredients, so we'll have to do without this time.

Note that there isn't any flour in the sauce. You really don't need it, it will thicken up of its own accord. If you're not eating a wheat pasta, this recipe is gluten-free.

This recipe is pretty flexible too. Easy enough to double if you want to cook a pound of pasta. The chickpea pasta I like comes in 8 oz boxes. 

I had a lot of leftover peas--it was a 15oz can. I threw the bulk of them in some leftover Indian food that will be eaten tomorrow. Not sure what to do with the rest. 

Next up: Cocoa Corner

Since I'm staying home, I'm cooking. Arthichoke and Spinach Pasta

Hi everyone,

It's been a while yes. Many things have happened since I last post. Let me explain. No, that would take too long, let me sum up. My apartment building was purchased and nobody's lease was renewed, so after an exhausting search complicated by issues at work, I grabbed an apartment not far from the United Nations. One of its attractions is there was enough room in the kitchen to handle all my stuff.

Then there was losing the old job (long store, this isn't the place), the stress of finding a new one. Fortunately, I managed to do both of those in the same month, so things could have been a lot worse. The  new place is fabulous.

And now, social distancing due to Covid 19. I'm an introvert most of the time, so being by myself or working from home isn't a hardship. It's also an opportunity.

When I went to the store recently, they were out of meat except for chicken wings and sausage. There was plenty of cheese and vegetables, though, so here's three of my lunches for this week.

Ingredients for 1 pound of pasta:

Pasta Sauce 

• 6 cloves of garlic (alternately, roast a bulb)
• 1.5 cups of minced onion, or a combination of onion and shallot
• 1 14-ounce can of artichoke hearts in water
• 5 oz of spinach
• 4 oz of whipped cream cheese
• 2 cups of milk
• 5 oz fresh spinach
• 6-8 ounches Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt (eliminate if you're using salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence 
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Warm Tomato Salad (side dish)

• 1/2 to 3/4 Cup grape or cherry tomatoes per person
• Olive oil to coat (spray is also good here)
• Salt
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

Drain the artichokes well, then chop them half-inch bits or run them through the electric toy of your choice. Put back in the colander and smush the water out of them. Set aside

Melt the butter on low heat in a sauté pan. Add the raw chopped garlic (if you roasted it, add it after the cream cheese is melted), onions (and shallots if using) and cook, stirring constantly until the onions are translucent. This may take longer than you think, but the idea is to have them mostly melt into the sauce. Low and slow is the way to go here.

Add the cream cheese and let it sit in the pan for a few minutes before it starts to melt. This will be a touch annoying since, but it's mitigated by using the whipped cream cheese instead of a block. Slowly stir in 1 Cup of the milk until everything is of the same consistency.

Add the artichokes, the lemon zest, the herbs, and the salt & pepper. Stir until everything is combined. Slowly add the grated cheese. Taste to see if you'd like more pepper or herbal flavor and adjust accordingly. 

Let simmer. Stir occasionally while you do the below

Side dish time: This sauce is an awful lot of richness, so I put a side together with acid to cut that, and it's pretty easy. Turn the oven on to 425 F. 

Cut your tomatoes in half and arrange them in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you have an olive oil spray, spritz them a couple times and toss in the dish to ensure they're oiled all over. If not, start with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, and stir. Put in the oven,, uncovered, set your timer for 25 minutes.

Back to the sauce. Stir in the other cup of milk until it is incorporated fully. Add your spinach a handful at a time. Once all the spinach has been added, start your pasta water and cook your pasta according to your taste and/or package directions.

I used baby spinach and it took a while to completely wilt and get fully engaged in being part of the sauce. After the timer goes off on the tomatoes, check them. You should be able to smell them, and they should look a little dried and wrinkly. If they still look like you just cut them, put them back in the oven and check them every 5-8 minutes.

When your pasta is ready, drain well and slowly stir into the sauce. Let simmer while you put the tomatoes on a plate and put a little balamic vinegar on them.

Season to taste while eating with black pepper. Or red pepper, if you'd like a little bite.

I only used 8 ounces of pasta so I could play later. After I put aside two dishes' worth for lunches later this week, I still had sauce left over. Plans for this include a package of mushrooms and possibly a quarter pound of pancetta. 

Enjoy!

Seeking perfection: Because I should be able to do Better than Starbucks: Sous Vide Egg Bites

You may have noticed people raving about Starbucks sous vide egg bites of late, and I think they're pretty damn good. They're reasonably filling, full of protein, and it's a nice change away from the typical American carb-heavy breakfast (but don't you even think about taking away my bagels).

Naturally, people started making their own, because this way there are no preservatives and you have more choices. I've been meaning to do this for a while, so today was the day. I got my proportions to start with from Inova, though I looked at multiple sites. 

I was surprised to learn that Starbucks uses cottage cheese in theirs. I mentioned this my friend Scott and he reached the same conclusion I did, "What about a nice ricotta?" So there was my first change. I also thought I wanted a few more fillings, so this is what I started with:

• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream (some sites say cream, some say cheese, some say both. So I embraced the power of AND)
• 1/4 cup of whole-milk ricotta
• 2 green onions
• 3 pieces of bacon
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 6 grinds of black pepper

Also needed:

• Water bath (I have a large Rubbermaid container with a hole cut out of the lit to fit around the circulator).
• Tongs of some kind to lift your jars.
• Immersion circulator
• 6 4-ounce bell jars with 2-piece lids (Thank you Fae!)
• Blender

I got a little ambitious and I'll get to that later.

First off, I set the immersion circulator for 172 degrees Farenheit (another site said 180 with a shorter cooking time, but the 172 felt better to me). I cooked the bacon instead of putting it directly into the jars. While the bacon was cooking, I chopped the tomatoes and put about 3/4 of them into the jars, figuring I'd save the other 1/4 for a topping if there was room.

Next, I chopped the green onions and followed the same procedure.

Cheese was next. I used a sharp cheddar. When the bacon was done, I crumbled it and spread it among the jars as well. I did a quick grind of black pepper over each jar.

6 eggs went into the blender, followed by the salt, ricotta, and cream. I blended on low for about 45 seconds, until it was all a lovely uniform shade of yellow just slightly darker than butter.

I poured the mixture into the jars up to the convenient line. Like I mentioned above, I got a little ambitious and had egg mixture left over. 

With the jars, you don't want to put the ring on too tight. Every site I looked at agreed. What you're going for is 'fingertip tight.' In other words, you want to be able to open the jar with your fingertips. The water pressure will take care of the rest.

Using the tongs (I have a pair tipped with silicone that I got from Target), carefully place your jars in your water bath, and set a timer for 60 minutes. Clean your kitchen. Scramble any leftovers  If, like me, your heating system is forced dry air, enjoy the extra humidity. 

When the timer goes off, turn off your circulator and carefully remove the jars onto a flat surface where you have paper towels or a dishcloth. After a minute, dry off the lids by blotting with paper towels or a clean dishcloth. They're ready to serve after about three minutes. I was pretty surprised at how quickly the jars were easy to pick up.

I ate mine with a spoon right out of the jar, but there are a few options here. Run a butter knife around the edges, pop off and finish with a torch for extra color & texture. Or top with cheese and broil for a little bit.

I want more cheddar in the next batch, and really, more fillings in general. I will need to consider this while I have these for breakfast all week. Meanwhile, I have plenty of goodies for topping before I pop them in the microwave.

Cheers!

Studio Living (1 of many)

Hi everyone. 

I've talked about tuna melts a few years ago, but I didn't put in a recipe for tuna salad, so I thought I'd add a supplementary post. Currently, I'm cooking for one, but I think this will scale pretty well. 

Our ingredients:

• 1 5-ounce can of your favorite tuna
• 2 Tablespoons mayonaise (if your tuna is packed in oil, you start with one)
• I Tablespoon finely chopped shallot (I'm going to use more next time. Onion will also work just fine here and I recommend a yellow one)
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 short fat bell pepper (I have a fondness for yellow or orange ones)
• 1/4 cup shredded or thinly sliced cheese (today's was an Italian blend because it's what I wanted to use up)
• 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil

Drain your tuna well, flake into a small bowl and mash with a fork (I usually use a salad fork for this, I find the shorter, thinner tines to be helpful) to separate the chunks. Add your shallot, spices and mayo, mash together until all the mayo and spices are well mixed. 

Set your oven to broil. If you store things in your oven because you have a tiny kitchen, take them out first. Don't ask. Put olive oil in an oven-safe pan or dish. I used a small Pyrex casserole dish (I was not paid to mention Pyrex, but will happily take money for it.)

Cut your bell pepper in half, scrape out seeds carefully. Don't take off the stem because it will help keep the filling in the pepper. Add your filling, then place on your baking dish or on a cookie sheet. One can of tuna fits pretty well in one pepper. Mash down as necessary. Top the tuna with the cheese. Check your text messages, slip on the wet floor when you go back in the kitchen and knock all the cheese on the counter. Yeah, that's a thing that happened, but I was able to rescue most of the cheese.

Put your dish in the center of the oven. Check after five minutes if you want the cheese gooey, about seven minutes if you want it brown and bubbly.

I served this on a bed of spinach because I'm always looking for ways to get more vegetables (you may be seeing this a lot in upcoming posts) and had a few crackers on the side. If you're making more, you can probably do half a pepper per person if you're serving soup or a full-blown salad, but I find this is a great as the star of the show.

Variations on a Theme: Warming It Up

A while back I made beer-cheese soup using Rachel Ray's recipe and I was very happy with the way it came out. I'm not sure why it's been a few years since I've made another batch. While there's a lot of chopping, this recipe is pretty easy and doesn't take a huge amount of time.

I have access to a grocery store with a fabulous cheese department. Even better, it is easy to get samples. When I ran in for coffee a couple of weeks ago I walked past a table where a man was passing out samples of chipotle cheddar. I fell in love. It's not heavy on the spices, has just the right amount of smoke and I snapped up a 10 oz package.

I didn't decide on making soup out of it right away, but when I did it seemed like a perfect idea. I did have to grab some gouda (also chipotle) from the closer grocery store to bring the cheese up to the 3 1/2 cups. I love the way gouda melts and it adds a lovely richness when combined with cheddar. To review, here's the base recipe:

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, finely chopped (Rinse your leeks well. Then do it again)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 12 ounce bottle amber beer, such as Dos Equis (I used an Abita Amber. Abita is out of New Orleans and I like a lot of their beer)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I didn't use this, instead I added 4 teaspoons of crushed garlic)
• 10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 1/2 cups) (I added more cheese to get it to 3 1/2 cups)
• Croutons for garnish (I had warm tortillas on the side and some chorizo, green onions, and sweet bell peppers for garnish)

In a large saucepan (I used a sauté pan), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots and leeks (I added the garlic here too), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. 

Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beer and mustard and bring the soup to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking, until creamy and thickened, about 10 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the cheese 1 handful at a time until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the croutons.

This recipe makes 3 generous servings, with the addition of the chorizo, it was a great main dish and Nexx let me have my fair share of chorizo.

Questions, comments? I'd love to hear from you. 

A Make-Ahead Breakfast Muffin

I'd heard of egg muffins before and I've had baked eggs. These seemed a good idea because I tend to be in a rush in the morning before work, and these reheat in 30 seconds, are satisfying to chew and are filling too.

I came across this recipe (hat tip to the author!), and immediately thought of ways to improve it to my tastes. I also made half a recipe because I wanted to make sure I would like them before I committed to using a dozen eggs.

So the base recipe is

• 6 eggs
• 6 ounces of your favorite breakfast meat
• 2 ounces cheese 
• 1/2 Cup of chopped onion
• 3 teaspoons of water

I used 2 bun-sized sausages that had habaneros in them, and a sharp cheddar cheese. Instead of shredding the cheese as the original recipe said, I cut it into small chunks. This way we got a bigger taste of gooey cheese in some bites. To go with the habaneros, I put in a teaspoon of dried cilantro and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano. The herbs got lost, I'm afraid. I blame the habaneros.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. If you don't have an oven thermometer, get one. Apologies for repeating myself, but I can tell you from experience it makes a huge difference. My oven is 50 degrees F cooler than what it says on the readout.

Lightly scramble your ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Using a 1/3 Cup measuring cup, spoon your egg mixture into your muffin tin (grease it lightly unless you're using non-stick or silicone). Do what you can to make sure your mix-ins are evenly distributed without making too much of a mess.

You might be wondering why I added water to the recipe. The idea was to keep the eggs moist while baking and to make the texture lighter by also having steam help cook them. I think it worked pretty well.

Bake the muffins in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes. You'll also be able to see the muffins start pulling away from the edges of the tin, and if you insert a knife it will come out clean or with only a little moisture on it..

Put the muffin tin on a cooling rack for about ten minutes. Remove your muffins and serve. We had them with yogurt as a dessert , but the damn raspberries I bought on Friday went a bit off, so the yogurt was plain. You could also serve these with a side of fruit, or if you're not in a rush, a potato of some kind.

I got some good feedback from Nexx, which is always nice, and I have some for quick breakfast this week before I get on a crosstown bus. I live in the Theatre District, sometimes referred to as Midtown West, and the ride to where I work, which is near the United Nations, is a tad annoying. A full stomach will definitely have me in a better mood.

I plan on trying some variations. Manchego, onions, bacon, and rosemary. Possibly bacon, potato, onions, and cheddar. Right now, I'm staying out of the kitchen because Nexx is threatening to make flan.

Cheers!

Tweaking a recipe for the better--savory scones

Happy Sunday everyone. I am writing this feeling quite happy with myself and also enjoying a rather dry mimosa.

I'd taken it into my head to make savory scones. Partly because they sounded delicious (if not traditional. My British friends are probably screaming), and partly because I need quick and easy breakfasts in the morning. 

So after some searching, I found this recipe, but the more I looked at it, the more I felt the need to tweak. Here's the ingredients, my tweaks, as usual, are italics.

• 3 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (I reduced this slightly. There's bacon and onions involved, so there's plenty of sodium going on already)
• 1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper. (The recipe suggests reducing to a teaspoon if you want a strong peppery taste, which is what I did. Next time, I think I'll try two, the pepper got lost in the cheese)
• 1.5 Cups grated cheddar cheese (I always go for sharp. Aged if I can afford it)
• 10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped into 1-inch pieces (I used 8 slices of a rather thick bacon and it worked out fine. Cook it until it's crispy--taste it as you cook)
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced (I went with a cup of caramelized onions, which was about 2.5 onions the size of softballs or small grapefruit)
• .75 to 1.5 Cups Buttermilk
• heavy cream (optional. Can be substituted for half of the buttermilk)
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons of water

I found this recipe appealing because bacon, cheese, and onions go very well together. In omelettes, in sandwiches, mixed with pasta. 

One of the things I noticed in the picture, was there was more filling than scone. The scone dough was used as a binder and not much else. That, in my opinion, is cheating yourself out of some deliciousness, and not being very nice to the concept of the buttery, crumbly scone. I think mine look a little better.

I followed the directions otherwise:

• Preheat oven to 400 (if you live in an apartment, you might want to consider opening windows or turning on the a/c to get some air circulating). Grab your peppermill and start grinding - use a full tablespoon for a wonderfully peppery background or reduce by 1 tsp for less pepper flavor.
• Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl on low speed. With mixer running, gradually add cubes of butter until the mixture is crumbly and studded with flour - butter bits about the size of small peas. Add grated cheese and mix just until blended. (This can also be done by hand: In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Gradually cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles small peas. Stir in cheese.) I went with the manual method. I use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients, then a large fork to smash the butter to bits (I have to release those violent thoughts somehow)
• Add green onions, bacon and 3/4 cup of the buttermilk to flour and cheese mixture. Mix by hand just until all ingredients are incorporated. If dough is too dry to hold together, use remaining buttermilk, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is pliable and can be formed into a ball. (I needed a lot more buttermilk that 3/4 Cup to get this into a ball. I'd start with a cup and add from there next time). Stir as lightly and as little as possible to ensure a lighter-textured scone (I agree this is important). Remove dough from bowl and place it on a lightly floured flat surface. Pat dough into a ball. Using a well-floured rolling pin, flatten dough into a circle about 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough into 8 to 10 equal wedges, depending on size scone you prefer.
• Whisk egg and water in a small mixing bowl to combine. Brush each wedge with egg wash. Place scones on a Silpat-lined baking sheet and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and no longer sticky in the middle. Serve warm.

___________________

I actually have a scone pan that will do 16 mini scones. I ended up having to make four drop scones because I filled the pan quite nicely. I didn't do the egg wash either. Instead I brushed them with cream.

They came out delicious. I'm not sure they will last very long, but if they do, I plan to freeze them individually in sandwich-sized bags so they will be easy to toss into the microwave for breakfast.

Thank you for reading. Comments always welcome!

Variations on a theme

Today's post will be a little short, as it was meant to be last week's post and I'm still not completely over the cold. This is to the annoyance of my poor sweetie as well as myself because, probably like most people, I snore when congested.

Anyway, back in November, I tried Rachel Ray's recipes, specifically that of Beer Cheese Soup. I found the recipe easy to follow, no what I considered unnecessary ingredients (you can skip the chicken broth rant), and it was very flavorful and warm and went deliciously with a toasted English muffin.

At the bottom of her recipe, there was a note, "try it with gruyere!" So that's what I did. I was a little short on the exact amount of cheese, so I threw in a few slices of Havarti. It's mild, it's creamy, and I figured it would do more for texture than taste. I also used a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale instead of Harp (BTW, if you see a guy in a green windbreaker who answers to Lucas Payton, tell him I said thanks for getting me hooked on Newcastle).

The gruyere I had was pretty mild, and I wasn't left with a very strong cheesy taste the first time I ate it. When my sweetie had the leftovers, the flavors had combined to a taste that was greater than the sum of its parts. Maybe I should have left it on the stove a little longer, I don't know. This is a combination I'll try again.

I also skipped one of the carrots and added two shallots in its place. I definitely liked this better. Sweet and sharp at the same time.

I might go for the stronger beer wtih the sharper cheddar next time, and a milder beer with the gruyere. Or maybe that cheshire with onions that was so nice when I was experimenting with macaroni and cheese, the possibilities are endless. . .

Questions? Comments? Death Threats? And everyone say hi to new follower TNJ! TNJ, send a quick email to that smart blonde at gmail and I'll get your Amazon gift card right out!