Even though I know better, I look forward to watching the Oscars every year. The movies I like rarely win and often aren’t even nominated—but there is still something fun about watching the show. This year’s show seemed particularly strange, but I kind of liked that about it. And I certainly liked that Milk received a couple of major awards accompanied by a couple of politically charged speeches.
We had some friends over to watch the show and I cooked the chicken Milanese and escarole salad that Deb posted about a few weeks ago. While the recipes I post on Lottie + Doof are usually things I find in magazines and cookbooks or make up on my own, I still get many recipes from my favorite food blogs. Especially Deb’s. This recipe is fantastic and I basically agree with everything she says, so read her post and admire her beautiful photos. The salad is particularly outstanding and pickled onions are quickly becoming one of my favorite foods. I made an addition to the menu in the form of cream cheese and chive biscuits. They are relatively easy to make and I think add an extra little something to this meal (more carbs?). They were really delicious.
Even if you don’t make the meal exactly, there are some techniques and tools to learn from these recipes. The first in panko bread crumbs. If you’re planning on breading anything and want it extra crispy and delicious, these are great to have on hand. The second is escarole, it is an underused green. It is slightly bitter, very hardy and easily stands up to whatever you dress it with. It is like the romaine of the endive family. It is also delicious cooked. Another great idea is the use of the ground hazelnuts and cheese, which is tossed with the escarole. It adds cheesiness and crunch. I can imagine trying this with other combinations of cheese and nuts. Finally, I love that the salad is simply tossed with a some olive oil and the onion pickling liquid, so simple! I plan on keeping pickled onions always on hand so this will quickly become a favorite dressing.
Cream Cheese and Chive Biscuits (Martha Stewart)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cold, cut into small pieces
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and chives. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining.
Pour in the buttermilk; using a fork, mix in buttermilk until incorporated and the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; do not overmix.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured fingers, gently knead about four times, until all the crumbs are incorporated and the dough is smooth. With a lightly floured rolling pin, gently roll the dough to a 8-b-11-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Using a bench scraper or long offset spatula to lift the ends of the dough, fold the rectangle into thirds (like a business letter). Give the dough a quarter turn. Roll out the dough again (to the same dimensions), and repeat the folding process. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Return the dough to the work surface. Roll out as before, and repeat the folding process. Give the dough another quarter turn; roll out dough one more time, again into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, divide the rectangle into 12 equal squares or rectangles. Place on prepared sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Refrigerate for 1 hour. (at this point you could also freeze the biscuits…to cook, simply put the frozen biscuits on a parchment lined sheet and proceed with baking)
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the biscuits are golden and flecked with brown spots, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the bicuits to a wire rack to cool.
Carter says:
February 24th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Tim, I also had the chicken milanese and escarole salad that deb posted to accompany my 6+ hours of Oscar watching. Good to know we share such great taste in television and chicken!
Phoo-D says:
February 25th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I love Deb’s recipes, they are beautiful and always turn out to be as delicious as they look. Speaking of which, your biscuits look very delicious! I like the combination of chives and buttermilk.
Phoo-D
Dawn in CA says:
February 25th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Just the thought of these biscuits is making me weak in the knees. I think I was really meant to be a Southern belle, rather than a California girl… at least when it comes to food.
Michele says:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
These are genius and look picture-book perfect.
The Duo Dishes says:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Could eat a basketful of those biscuits.
Karin's Mom says:
March 1st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Tim,
Your food/pictures/recipes make me almost enjoy winter. Almost. First, I wanted to thank you for unsalted butter explanation–I truly did not know this. Farm girl. Second, on your list of to bake/make recipes. Have you ever come across anything that has lemon curd? I bought a jar and I have no idea what to do with it—it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Tim says:
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Hey Karin’s Mom:
Yes, there are lots of recipes out there using lemon curd. Usually as a filling in a layer cake or as a tart filling. But it could be as simple as making sandwiches using some store-bought angel food or pound cake and topping with whipped cream and strawberries. It is also really good used in place of jam on a muffin or scone or even on a piece of toast.
Some recipes:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/layered-lemon-love/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-curd-tart-recipe/index.html
Hope that helps!
Sivan says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:57 am
hey tim, made the chicken milanese you posted a link for last night, came out perfectly crisp and juicy! thanks for sharing. didn’t have escarole, so i made a simple salad of red mustard greens in a red wine vinegar olive oil dressing topped with parmesan. can’t wait to make your risotto!
Karin's Mom says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Thank you, Tim.
I shall put my lemon curd to good use! I really appreciate you taking time out to answer my questions. I know you are a very busy person. Thanks again.
Tim says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Karin’s Mom: Always time for you! Enjoy the lemon curd.
Sivan: Great! I really like that recipe and it goes so well with a salad. I gotta get me to B-side soon, I’m missing ny.
Sivan says:
March 4th, 2009 at 7:23 am
You are welcome to stop by anytime! And please gimme a heads up when you plan to come by! I’ll whip up a special cocktail for you and yours.
Maya says:
June 3rd, 2010 at 5:39 pm
HEY! I’m making these right now
we’ll see how well they go…..but they look scrumptious
Michael says:
November 16th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Hi Tim! I just blogged about this on my blog http://www.afroculinaria.com. I first had these biscuits–or a version of them at Spoon restaurant in Pittsburgh, a farm to table kinda place and I was in love, so I found the recipe you posted via Google, decided to try my hand with a few deviations and blogged basically that I got the germ from you! So I hope to follow your blog more often and hope you’ll check me out at afroculinaria. Cheers man!
Renate says:
June 13th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
I have made these biscuits many times and they always turn out perfectly! Thanks for such a great recipe! I always wonder though, how you arrived at 424 degrees for the oven temperature. I’ve used that exact temperature setting, believe me! But, seriously…?
Tim says:
June 13th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Renate! LOL, that was a typo. I switched it to 425F, which was correct. But it is funny how culturally temperatures ending in 5/0 make sense, but others do not. Thanks for writing!
Shobelyn says:
August 17th, 2013 at 8:45 pm
I am so overwhelmed on how doable your recipes are. I do not even know where to start. I like your writing too. it feels like you a talking to me. I just started my blog this month, and iI am learning a lot from doin it . It is good to get inspiration from the great. Good job.
Food, Faith, and Other Fabulous Finds says:
October 29th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
Oh my goodness, these are so delicious!!! Thank you for sharing such a to-die for recipe.