50 Recipes, #27: Tall and Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

[nonelvis]

It was 90 billion degrees and humid out yesterday, and the massive cucumber war production machine in the vegetable garden was in full swing, so I bought some buttermilk and made cold cucumber soup for dinner last night. This left me with more buttermilk than expected, so I thought I'd surprise columbina with biscuits in the morning.

For some reason, we haven't been having good luck with our usual Cook's Illustrated biscuit recipe, so I decided to try a different one they printed a few years ago that claimed to make tall, fluffy, flaky, buttery biscuits of perfection. The batter was sticky and a bit of a pain in the butt to work with, especially when forming little balls you then had to roll in flour, but oh boy, were the results worth it. Best biscuits I've ever made -- I had to walk away from the kitchen after eating one lest I try to eat them all -- and a few will end up under whipped cream and locally grown blueberries for dessert tonight.

I would consider just having the biscuits and berries for dinner if it were not for the fact that I already have panzanella hanging out in the fridge waiting for all the flavors to come together so we can have that instead. It is just a little bit too early in the summer for the panzanella to come mostly from my garden: the tomatoes, alas, are from California, but at least the basil, chives, lemon thyme, and cucumber all came from the backyard. There's also some semi-local (Connecticut) corn in there as an experiment, because how bad can panzanella with fresh corn be?

Still, at least the tomato plants are now covered with little green guys, so soon enough I'll have most of the ingredients for panzanella (and gazpacho!) ready anytime I care to pick them. I can't wait.

ETA: From now on, all my meals shall consist of blueberries, freshly whipped cream, and biscuits. SO LET IT BE WRITTEN; SO LET IT BE DONE.

Comments

[kalleah.livejournal.com]

Speaking of cucumbers, I ran into the lady who used to own the only German restaurant around here, and I asked her about their cucumber salad, which I have missed fiercely. It's just chopped cucumbers, sour cream, a little garlic oil, and fresh dill, refrigerated for a while to let the flavors meld. The garlic oil is what I've always missed when I've tried to make it.

Everything sounds divine. Yum.

[nonelvis]

That's a very interesting variation on cucumber salad -- I wouldn't have thought to include the garlic oil, but I will definitely give that a shot!

Speaking of garlic oil, I have a recipe for an amazing garlic/lime/chipotle oil if you want it ...

[kalleah.livejournal.com]

I would never have thought of the garlic oil, either. I've certainly done cucumbers with sour cream and dill, and always wondered why theirs was so much better.

And yes - would love the oil recipe.

[nonelvis]

I got this from an online forum elsewhere -- I think it's originally Rick Bayless' recipe. It makes quite a bit of oil, but it tastes good on everything.

Mojo de Ajo

3/4 cup peeled garlic (about 2 large heads)
1 cup good-quality oil, preferably extra-virgin olive oil
salt
juice of one lime
2 chipotle chiles en adobo (canned, use the rest of the can for something else!), seeded and cut into thin strips. If you want it spicy, leave some or all of the seeds in.

Chop the garlic into 1/8 inch bits using a knife or food processor. Scoop into small (1 qt) saucepan, add the oil and salt, and set over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally as the mixture comes barely to a simmer (there should be just a hint of movement on the surface of the oil). Adjust the heat to the very lowest possible setting to keep the mixture at that very gentle simmer (bubbles will rise in the pot like sparkling mineral water) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is a soft pale golden, about 30 minutes. The slower the cooking, the sweeter the garlic.

Add the lime juice to the pan and simmer until most of the juice has evaporated or been absorbed into the garlic, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chiles, then taste the sauce and add a little more salt if you think it needs it. Keep the pan over low heat until you serve it.

[kalleah.livejournal.com]

Yum. Thanks!

[otherwise-nyc.livejournal.com]

SO LET IT BE WRITTEN. SO LET IT BE DONE!

Oh my, I want some of that!

[nonelvis]

Dude, you have to make these biscuits. I think it's the July/August 2004 issue.