Charlie made the chicken & the mashed potatoes. I don't think he really used a recipe, he just knows how to cook! I, on the other hand, am always much more comfortable with a written list of ingredients and instructions. I believe he used Paula Deen's house seasoning and some buffalo sauce to flavor the chicken, plus a mix of flour & panko for the breading.
The broccoli salad was another recipe Charlie pulled from Paula Deen's cookbook. Who know's if it was right or not! We both liked it but thought it either needed more brocolli or less cheese. The ratio was not quite right for us. I will probably make this again but change it a little bit.
Broccoli Salad
Ingredients:
1 head broccoli
6-8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
8 ounce sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into very small chunks
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Trim off large leaves of broccoli. Remove tough stalks at end and wash broccoli thoroughly. Cut flowerets and stems into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl. Add crumbled bacon, onion, raisins, and cheese. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients, stirring well. Add to broccoli mixture and toss gently
I also attempted buttermilk biscuits from scratch. I found a recipe on foodgawker that claimed to be the best biscuits ever! I figured they were worth a shot. The recipe called for lard, which was a new ingredient for me. I still have 15/16 of a lb of it sitting in my refridgerator and I'm not sure what I'll ever do with it.
Em’s Favorite Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups + 1/4 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Flour - divided use
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (I do not use iodized salt)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (chilled and cubed)
2 Tablespoons Lard or Bacon Fat (chilled and cubed)
1 cup Buttermilk (chilled)
Directions
Ingredients
2 cups + 1/4 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Flour - divided use
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (I do not use iodized salt)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (chilled and cubed)
2 Tablespoons Lard or Bacon Fat (chilled and cubed)
1 cup Buttermilk (chilled)
Directions
Preheat oven to 500° F and set oven rack to the center of the oven.
Prepare a baking sheet with silicon mat, parchment or non-stick spray.
Reserving 1/4cup of flour for later use, combine 2 cups of flour and the remaining dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add chilled butter and lard and pulse just until the the mixture looks pebbly - do not overmix.
Pour into a large bowl and using a fork gently stir in the Buttermilk just until incorporated. The dough will be very wet and sticky at this point. If the dough is too much like pancake batter, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour. You may not need to do this.
Turn onto a generously floured board and generously flour the top, and fold over. Flour again, pat out flat, fold again, flour again and keep repeating until the dough is workable but still a little tacky. This should take about 5-10 folds. Try not to add too much flour, as that will toughen the biscuits, and do not knead the dough, which also will toughen the biscuits. Simply fold and pat out flat. The final pat before cutting should leave your biscuit dough about 1/2″ thick.
Cut biscuits using a floured biscuit cutter or the floured rim of a drinking glass and place them on the baking sheet with the sides of the biscuits just kissing each other.
Put the baking sheet in the oven, close the oven door, and turn the temperature down to 450° F. Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way thru the baking time. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Unfortunately, my biscuits were not "the best" ever. I am going to blame that on me rather than on the recipe, as this girl really sounds like she knows what she is talking about on her blog. Also, her biscuits look much better than mine did. They were kind of a lot of work, so I don't know if I'll bother with them again. If I do, here is what I want to remember. 1) Don't run out of flour! I'm not sure how I let that happen. I ended up using cake flour for part of though folding and patting process. I'm sure this changed the outcome of my biscuits. 2) Don't leave the dough too sticky. I think I was a little nervous about overhandeling the dough or getting too much flour and instead the opposite happened. They didn't have the layers & fluff that I was looking for. I think it was because I didn't get quite enough flour worked in there.
Prepare a baking sheet with silicon mat, parchment or non-stick spray.
Reserving 1/4cup of flour for later use, combine 2 cups of flour and the remaining dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add chilled butter and lard and pulse just until the the mixture looks pebbly - do not overmix.
Pour into a large bowl and using a fork gently stir in the Buttermilk just until incorporated. The dough will be very wet and sticky at this point. If the dough is too much like pancake batter, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour. You may not need to do this.
Turn onto a generously floured board and generously flour the top, and fold over. Flour again, pat out flat, fold again, flour again and keep repeating until the dough is workable but still a little tacky. This should take about 5-10 folds. Try not to add too much flour, as that will toughen the biscuits, and do not knead the dough, which also will toughen the biscuits. Simply fold and pat out flat. The final pat before cutting should leave your biscuit dough about 1/2″ thick.
Cut biscuits using a floured biscuit cutter or the floured rim of a drinking glass and place them on the baking sheet with the sides of the biscuits just kissing each other.
Put the baking sheet in the oven, close the oven door, and turn the temperature down to 450° F. Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way thru the baking time. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Unfortunately, my biscuits were not "the best" ever. I am going to blame that on me rather than on the recipe, as this girl really sounds like she knows what she is talking about on her blog. Also, her biscuits look much better than mine did. They were kind of a lot of work, so I don't know if I'll bother with them again. If I do, here is what I want to remember. 1) Don't run out of flour! I'm not sure how I let that happen. I ended up using cake flour for part of though folding and patting process. I'm sure this changed the outcome of my biscuits. 2) Don't leave the dough too sticky. I think I was a little nervous about overhandeling the dough or getting too much flour and instead the opposite happened. They didn't have the layers & fluff that I was looking for. I think it was because I didn't get quite enough flour worked in there.
Yum! All your food makes my mouth water! It is so bright and sunshiney... like California, and you! I don't think I've ever seen you without a smile and that's probably why your food looks so bright and cheerful.
ReplyDeleteI don't know your email address, but I have a biscuit recipe that is SO easy and the best biscuits we've ever had. They are a little lighter than buttermilk biscuits and they melt in your mouth! Are you on Facebook? I'll check, and then I can send you the recipe there...