Homemade biscuits in minutes

What a cheesy title for a post, eh? Sounds like a bad TV commercial. Oh well. It is what I have been reduced to and I suppose there are worse things that could be required of me. So, let us embrace making homemade biscuits in minutes!

Here we are. Made quick biscuits for last week’s playgroup, which I hosted. Took only about five minutes once the ingredients were collected, were baked in 12ish minutes. And what a bang for your proverbial buck! What could be tastier than homemade, warm, golden bread products? You just can’t go wrong with hot bread. Suck down a cup of hot coffee or tea with the buttered, jammed up biscuit and you’re ready to watch a bunch of toddlers tear up your house and not even care. Bon Appetit, peoples!

This recipe is from The Joy of Cooking, specifically “Quick Drop Biscuits”. I replaced dairy: butter and milk, with soy margarine and soy milk and they turned out A-OK! Knock yourself out.

Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes, till golden in color.

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 4-6 tbsp. butter/soy margarine
• mix in 1 cup milk

Don’t spend too much time mixing this together. Just enough to get a nice batter. Lumpy is good.

Plop medium to large spoonfulls of the batter, spaced out on an ungreased cookie sheet (use some sense when doing this — not too close!). Makes anywhere from 8 medium sized biscuits to 10 or 12 small ones. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Surprisingly delicious and will keep for at least two days afterward, with a little re-heating to eat. And butter and jam don’t hurt, either!

Swallow at the Hollow goes down smooth, real smooth

There are a number of things that made today strange:

• The temperature hit 70 degrees F in mid-February
• Someone other than me made me dinner
• I ate at a place I had never been to before
• I went out for a few hours with no children attached to me
• The total cost of my dinner was $3.75, including a cheeseburger and fries, seltzer water and a slice of homemade pumpkin pie
• Did I mention I went out this evening?

This evening landed me in a local establishment on what happened to be 1/2 price burger night. It may seem to you as if all I eat is cheeseburgers, when in fact, I think I can safely say I ingest on average no more than two cheeseburgers per month, if that. Its just that when I do manage to get out of the house for food, I tend to favor red meat rather than the stuff I make at home. But enough of my cheeseburger miasma. On with the story of how I managed to get a whole, big dinner for less than $4.00.

I recommend Sunday or Wednesday nights at “The Hollow” as burgers are half price. My burger, including a good pickle, fresh slaw, and potatoey fries along with a soda water and a slice of incredible pumpkin pie (which was offered for free because of peculiar shape and whipped cream assemblage atop) for $3.75. I don’t think I have ever had food prepared for me so inexpensively, especially in this serving size with free pie and seltzer. I am truly torn between keeping this little gem a secret and sharing with you, but it isn’t as if nobody has written about or gone to The Hollow before. It was packed when my friend and I strolled in. If I were you, I’d take someone you love for a cheap hamburger and split a slice of pie while you are at it. You won’t be sorry.

Swallow at the Hollow
5921 York Road
Baltimore City

410-532-7542

Cheeseburger redux at Kooper’s Tavern

Baltimore’s Best Cheeseburger, as of 2/7/09
Koopers Tavern
1702 Thames St
Baltimore,  Maryland 21231
410-563-5423

Remember when I was ranting and raving about how great the czbgrs at CVP were? I believe I even said they were THE BEST CHEESEBURGERS IN BALTIMORE. Well, today I am taking it back. Yup. I don’t take this retraction lightly. When I declared the Charles Village CVP the best, I believed it. And now that I am stating the contrary, I am 100% convinced this is the right thing to do.

Why, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell ya. I was able to leave my house last week for a few hours and pursued a cheeseburger ala CVP with cheeseburger expert/colleague/dear friend, Arika C. In the past, this experience has been pleasant, delicious. This time, everything we used to love about this place was out of whack. Both burgers were overcooked, the slaw was sub-par, there were no condiments (NO CONDIMENTS?!) served with the meal, and what they claimed to be Coke, tasted mysteriously like Pepsi. I am not sure what up with this establishment– maybe it was a temporary glitch, a bad day, some kind of horrible mistake. Regardless of the cause, I cannot with clear conscience recommend it as Baltimore’s Best a moment longer.

Instead, I would like to offer up an alternative eatery as Baltimore’s Best Cheeseburger….. Kooper’s Tavern in Fells Point. Arika and I have both enjoyed our experiences here. The food is consistent, fresh and cooked to order. Though they do serve Pepsi instead of Coke, at least they admit to it. And slaw, fries and condiments are always present and tasty. In addition to the excellent food experience, the waitstaff has always been friendly and accurate. And good-looking. There you have it. Koopers. And the area can’t be beat for an after burger stroll– what’s more scenic than historic Fells Point? I hope you enjoy a cheeseburger there soon. Go Tuesday…. every Tuesday is 1/2 price burger day all day and night. YEAH!

Oatmeal with apples and maple syrup

Good friend Gayle phoned me this morning, asking about an oatmeal dish I make sometimes. As I am easily swayed by the power of suggestion, especially when it comes to food, after we ended our phone conversation, I HAD to have Oatmeal with Apples, Cinnamon and Maple Syrup. This is one of my faves for brekky, but today it was great for lunch. Anytime, really. Warm, sweet, apple-y. What more could you ask for? Get ready, this is a very fast and satisfying dish.

Oatmeal with Apples and Maple Syrup

• 2 sliced (with or without skin) apples in butter or fake butter or oil
• add some cinnamon
• add two tbsp at least of real maple syrup (not the fake stuff)

Sautee until apples start to get softish. Add apples and residual sweet sauce to a serving of oatmeal. I like McCann’s Irish Oatmeal, but any will do. A tasty option: add a tbsp or so of peanut butter to the bowl before adding oatmeal and apples for a creamy, nutty flavor.

I think this dish prepared for a loved one, could constitute a Valentine’s Day offering.

Splendid apple pie

January 23rd was National Pie Day, according to the American Pie Council. By the way, I LOVE that there is an American Pie Council. If there’s one thing that is great about this country, it is that we loves us some pie. The past post on that important day spoke of a crust in production, but no finished pie product. It took about four days, but finally the pie crust came out of the fridge and was rolled out and placed in a pie pan. Five large Honey Crisp apples were skinned, cored and sliced thinly, thrown into said crust, sprinkled intermittently with brown sugar and cinnamon, then wrapped in a top crust and sprinkled with turbinado sugar on top. Baked at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes, then at 350 till the crust was browned, then devoured warm. Y U M. There are rumors that the entire month of February is National Pie Month. Who knows if it is true, and who cares. Make more pie. I’m contemplating a Pumpkin pie next. My daughters and I enjoy it for breakfast.

EASY APPLE PIE RECIPE

Crust, recipe adapted from John Phillip Carroll’s Pie, Pie, Pie: Easy Homemade Favorites.

For a 9-inch, two crust pie

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 cup veg. shortening
• 7-8 tbsp ice water

Mix flour, salt, sugar shortening with your hands till it looks like breadcrumbs. Then add ice water 1 tbsp at a time, stirring in with a fork, quickly. When dough can be formed into a ball, do so, making two balls, one slightly bigger than the other. Big one roll out for bottom of pie crust, smaller for top. Roll out on lightly floured surface. Put into pie pan. Place rolled out top crust on top of apple filling. Poke many holes in it and seal at the edges. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake approx 40 minutes longer, till crust is brown.

Filling

• 4, 5, 6 or however many apples it takes skinned, cored and sliced, to fill up your pie crust an inch or two over the top of the pie pan
• some brown sugar, some cinnamon mixed into apples as you put them in the pie crust
• optional squirt of lemon juice

The Super Bowl and chili

Words cannot express how little football means to me. I am not afraid to say it, either. What should be a short game of big dudes beating up on one another drags on for hours, chock full of strobe-like commercials and mindless jibber-jabber. Ugh. I have vague, cloudy memories of Super Bowl games past, remembering only the white-noise of the crowd and TV sports commentators. There is something else I remember, tho. And this may the the only thing about the game that could possibly be of interest to me as a grown-up… snacks. That’s right. There is one redeeming quality to football, and it is the special occasion aspect of the food presented at a game. The Baltimore Ravens were playing a game (that they won) last month sometime, coinciding with a night that my monthly book club met. There was football on the telly, and some of the ladies in book club and their partners were excited, yelling at the TV, cheering the Ravens on and all of it. And there were snacks. I sat through the game and was glad, for Baltimore’s sake, that the Ravens won. And that same roar of the crowd was a cozy background to friendly chatter and finger foods.

Who is playing in this year’s Super Bowl, anyway? I think I heard it was in Miami… is that right? I could look it up, I suppose, but that seems too easy. I’m going to guess who is playing from the little information I have in my brain… let’s say it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Miami… hmmm. what’s the name of their team? I wanna say Tampa Bay Buckaneers, but that’s not right… Miami Spartans? Miami Yellowjackets? I have no clue. Okay, time to look it up… WOW! None of the offical websites I just looked up had confirmation of who was playing the actual Super Bowl, though if you have an extra $132,250.00, you too can have a “Luxury Suite Row — private 16 person endline suite with full blown catering and open bar “… I had to resort to Wikipedia for my info… the Arizona Cardinals? I thought Arizona had a team called the Diamondbacks… maybe that’s baseball. No matter. Why are they playing in Tampa Bay?

Oh yeah, I’m supposed write about cooking… Last night a group of old friends came over and I made a huge vat of chili. Delish. And cornbread. One big pot of food. This is what I recommend for your Super Bowl party. Let me know who wins. Or don’t.

Super Bowl (or any occasion) Chili

• 1 medium onion, or 2
• many cloves garlic (4-5)
• cumin seeds or powder
• dried or fresh oregano, 2 or 3 tbsp.
• salt and pepper to taste
• chili powders: there are many varieties, with different heat to them — use your best judgement
• 1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or other meat you like, or no meat
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 sweet or green or red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 or more large cans crushed tomato
• 1 small can tomato paste
• any leftover salsa sitting in your fridge waiting to go bad
• 2 tbsp. maple syrup

Sautee onion, garlic, spices in large pot until transparent-ish. Add meat and cook until brown. Add peppers and continue sauteeing. Add tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and almost old salsa if you have any. Simmer for a while. Add maple syrup. You will have to gauge your spice levels for the group of people eating this. I cook mine for an hour or two, stirring occasionally. Serve with homemade cornbread — Indian Head Yellow Cornmeal has an excellent recipe on the back of their bag, extremely easy to make. Serve with grated real or fake cheese, chopped onions, cilantro, tomatoes if they are in season. Beer, ginger ale or water seem to complement this dish.

National Pie Day, January 23, 2009

I assume you’ve already mixed up some dough and are just waiting for it to cool a bit before shaping it into something delectable… WHAT?! You haven’t heard? That is unbelieveable. Yeah, today is National Pie Day, as decreed by the American Pie Council, whoever they are. But who cares who has made the proclamation? ISN’T EVERY DAY PIE DAY?!

There are lots of reasons to celebrate today, National Pie Day.

1. it involves pie
2. pie is a perfect food
3. you can eat pie for breakfast, lunch and dinner
4. pie is delicious

LOCAL
In Baltimore, we are lucky enough to have Dangerously Delicious Pies, a pie-exclusive establishment that makes significant contributions to pie culture in Charm City. Rodney Holland has been in the pie business since opening a pie shop in 2003, mixing his grandmother’s pie secrets with his own rockstar tendencies, resulting in some damned tasty pie. If you haven’t had a slice of Dangerous Pies yet, check out his website for location information and hours and go get some. As Rodney would say, “Get Pie Style”.

INTERNATIONAL
Ever wanted to be a part of a large, meaningful, sum bigger than the whole-type entity? Perhaps you should consider becoming a member of the Pie of the Month Club, Int’l., created over ten years ago by pie devotee/artist/biologist, Dr. Sue Anne Zollinger. What started out as a way to communicate with many far-away friends by sending obscure pie recipes and facts via postcard, Pie of the Month Club evolved into its own little/big pie empire. Become a member of POTMC, especially in light of today’s most sacred of holidays. Just think, you too could receive a postcard once a month with a new pie recipe, dropped into your own mailbox. I’ve been a member since 1995, and I don’t think I could recommend anything better, ever. Do it!

PRESIDENTIAL
Isn’t the new President of the United States a big pie fan? I bet he’ll be celebrating in the White House today with his family, perhaps with some slices of Sweet Potatoe. I wish he or his lovely wife had asked me over for some pie. I would have made a special trip down to D.C. if I got an invite to have some pie in the White House. Sigh…

IN YOUR LIFE
Make a pie. Draw a picture of a pie. Eat pie. There are many things you can do to honor this most hallowed of dates. I, for one, am contemplating making a Pumpkin or Apple pie this afternoon. Doesn’t that sound tasty? Will let you know what materializes.

Happy National Pie Day, y’alls!

Craving cinnamon rolls

Much of what I cook or bake stems from a random thought or scent I smell or food item I see. Then I start to really NEED the food item. I get a taste for it. I crave it and therefore must have it.

During these cold, dark winter months, baking things with cinnamon in them makes the house smell great and heats it up a little, which is welcome. A recent craving has been cinnamon rolls. You know the sort. Fluffy, sweet, cinnamony, warm cinnamon rolls. With an optional sweet icing on top if need be. I’ve been working on this situation over the past two or three months. My first attempt was made with dairy; milk and butter, and while it did taste good, it was not the gooey goodness I sought, but rather a bit more leaning toward cookie-ness, as it failed to rise in the early hours of creation. The second attempt turned out better, though I did not bake them for long enough, so had to re-bake when everyone in the house was starving and wanting their cinnamon treats. Once they were re-baked, they were good. But as with so many things, the third time ended up being the charm. The recipe below was modified from a recipe on RecipeZaar, adapted from the 1974 cookbook Betty Crocker’s Breads. Don’t let the length of this recipe throw you off, it is very easy to make and delicious.

Orange Cinnamon Rolls

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

• 2 tablespoons sugar or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
• I added a few drops of orange liquor, Cointreau, and boy was that a good idea! Would also taste great in the icing glaze I would imagine…

Icing (optional)

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water in lg bowl.
• Add orange zest, orange juice, sugar, salt, egg, butter and 1 1/2 c of the flour.
• Hand mix or use a mixer (I hand mixed and it turned out just fine.)
• Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough easy to handle.
• Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead 5 minutes and dough is smooth and elastic.
• Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (dough is ready if an indentation remains when dough is touched).
• Punch dough down and, on a lightly floured surface, roll into a rectangle 15×9″.
• Spread w/ 1 Tbsp butter or vegan butter and sprinkle w/ combined 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
• Roll up, beginning at one of the long sides; pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well; stretch to make roll even.
• Cut roll into 15 slices about 1″ wide, or about 9 large rolls about 3″ wide
• Place slices slightly apart in a greased oblong baking pan, 13×9x2″, or in greased muffin cups.
• Cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.
• If desired, mix together confectioner’s sugar, orange juice, orange peel, and vanilla; frost while warm.

** RE: letting your dough rise… this is the only way the rolls will turn out light and not hockey puck-ish. I actually forgot I had made the dough, so it had probably 12 or 14 hours of rising, and that made all the difference. I also added chopped pecans to the sugar/cinnamon/butter mixture in the center of the rectangle before rolling and cutting. YUM. Didn’t feel like I needed icing, but it is easy enough to make a quick glaze out of orange juice, two Tbsp or so, added to a cup of confectioner’s sugar, with a little vanilla and/or Cointreau for flavor. Don’t hesitate to make your own Cinnamon Rolls today!

I hope the Obamas are hungry…

Bon Appetit, Barack Obama!

This morning/afternoon’s festivities were enough to give anyone an appetite. I was looking at one of my fave food blogs, Harriett’s Tomato, and noticed she had posted a link to the menu for today’s Inaugural Luncheon to honor Barack Obama and Joe Biden, which I will share with you here as well. Highlights include: Seafood Stew, Brace of American Birds (a brace means a pair, or two — had to look that one up), and some Apple Cinnamon Sponge cake for dessert. With some nice bottles of white wine and champange to whet their collective whistles. What’s on the menu for din-din? I haven’t seen anything official yet. I’m eating some tasty left-over Shepherd’s Pie from dinner last night to celebrate from my row house in Baltimore City. Welcome Obama Family to the DC area. Come on up to Charm City if you really want some good eats. I’ll make you all some vegan pancakes!

Hummus humous

I’ll be the first to admit I’m cheap. Cheap in the way that I can’t see paying $5 for a small tub of hummus that just can’t cost much to make myself. I’ve made hummus in the past. The flavor was good, but it is the smooth, creamy consistency I crave and have paid dearly for in past years.

My husband bought me a hybrid blender/food processor for my birthday last year, for the express purpose of my hummus experimentation. Today it began, and I must say, for a first time, turned out super tasty. Here’s my current, basic hummus recipe. I will tweak as I make it more, but for beginner, this works just fine.

Garlicky Hummus

• 1 can (15 oz.) chick peas/garbanzo beans
• 2 or 3 tbsp. tahini sauce
• juice of 1 lemon
• salt to taste
• olive oil, to consistency
• 1, 2, or 3 cloves garlic, roasted or raw (you could use none or less, but does that really seem like a good idea?!)

What could be easier? In a food processor, I just dumped everything in and it came out great. I’m sure as I use the processor more I will learn the nuances of this new-fangled technology. I know, it is incredible it has taken till this moment, at 41, to first use this utensil, but I really have not felt the need. I like to mix by hand for most things, and the occasional electric mixer for cakes. Cooking and baking should not require too much more than a good knife, cutting board, bowls, and spoons. Maybe a whisk. I dunno, why complicate food?

Let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions. This is a perfect recipe to evolve and add to. Plus, hummus is very healthy food so you can eat as much as you like, in my opinion.