Biscuits

Biscuits are so easy, unless I'm camping I doubt I'll ever buy canned biscuits again. Just 4 ingredients on a Sunday morning and you can have homemade fluffy biscuits to slather with butter and homemade jam.

Biscuits

INGREDIENTS

2 cups self-rising flour (I use White Lily)
-OR-
2 cups minus 2 tsp flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter flavored shortening, cubed
-OR-
1/4 cup butter, cubed
-OR-
1/4 cup lard

3/4 cup milk
-OR-
3/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 500F.

Measure flour into a large bowl.
Add shortening/butter and cut in with a pastry blender (or knives or a quick pulse or two on a food processor.)
Pour in milk/buttermilk and stir with a fork until the dough just pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Gather the dough with your hands, then turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 2-3 times, until it just comes together. Pat out to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a 2" biscuit cutter dipped in flour (or a glass or cookie cutter or canning jar lid, whatever you have on hand.) You will have 9 plus scraps, I usually lightly twirl the scraps together and use them for sampling when the biscuits are done.

Grease and flour or spray a baking sheet 8"x8" or larger.

Place biscuits in sheet, for softer biscuits place them right next to each other, for crispier edges place them farther apart.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Brush tops with melted butter fresh out of the oven.

Strawberry & Lemon Marshmallows

For my daughter's first birthday I had a pink lemonade theme, and made some homemade lemon and strawberry marshmallows.  I dipped the bottoms in a light coating of white chocolate and put them on sticks to make it easier for the kids to handle.

Strawberry Marshmallows

INGREDIENTS

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/8 cup dried strawberries, finely chopped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp strawberry extract or flavoring
red food color
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

Lemon Marshmallows

INGREDIENTS

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
grated lemon peel from 1 lemon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp lemon extract
yellow food color
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
Sift together confectioners' sugar and cornstarch.  Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 13" by 9" baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, not necessary but helpful. Then sift about 1/8 cup of the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture onto the bottom of the pan.  Add 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer. Sprinkle gelatin over the water and let stand until softened (about 15 minutes)

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, add the sugar, corn syrup, salt, lemon peel or dried strawberries and 1/2 cup cold water. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Use a wet pastry brush and wipe sugar crystals from the sides of the pot, boil for about two minute. Boil on high, until the syrup reaches 240F, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using a whisk attachment, turn your mixer on low and slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin. Slowly increase the speed to high and beat until it comes together and looks like thick marshmallow fluff, about 10 minutes. Add extract and 2-5 drops of food coloring (until color desired is reached, I wanted it pale so only used 3) beat to combine, about 30 -60 seconds.

If you use butter to lightly butter the rubber spatula first it makes it easier to spread out.  Pour marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a rubber spatula, scraping out the bowl.  Sift about 1/8 cup of the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture onto the marshmallows and let stand, uncovered on the counter until set, about 3-6 hours (depends on humidity).

Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan, and invert onto a cutting board which has been dusted with about 1 TBSP of the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture.  Put remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture in a bowl.  Peel off the parchment paper, if you used it and cut the marshmallows into small squares.  I do about 1"x1" squares.  Toss in sugar and cornstarch mixture in the bowl, shake off and store in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper.

Swedish Almond Cake

This is very easy to make and tastes delicious. It's a bit dense, and typically served with a light dusting of powdered sugar, but I rarely bother with that. I've made these in mini loaf pans, but without being able to twist the pan there is no way to get them out cleanly. A springform pan would probably work because you can run a knife between the cake and pan to pop it out. I'd highly recommend the almond cake pan though, this is my go to dessert for company. It's easy to make, stays moist and lends itself well to other flavors by just changing the extract. I've made it with rum, lemon, orange and, of course, almond.

Swedish Almond Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsps pure almond extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour the swedish almond cake pan, or use non stick spray.
In a medium bowl, beat together the sugar, milk, egg and almond extract.
Add dry ingredients to liquid mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour melted butter into the bowl and stir until incorporated.
Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes at 350F.
The cake is done when a cake tester or knife inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before popping it out of the pan, or it will stick terribly.
Twist the pan back and forth to loosen, then it should come out.

Fresh out of the oven, golden brown on top, but the rest is very pale in color.

Steak and Artichoke Night!

Oh for yummy, we had steak and artichokes tonight. I love spring when artichokes are on sale, and I really enjoy eating them. DH doesn't care too much for the process, but he seems to like the taste! There are many ways to cook artichokes, but I am boring and steam them. I may need to mix it up a little and find new ways to prepare them. I am open to suggestions! I serve them with Miracle Whip and/or melted butter with lemon. Delish! (I am also taking ideas for jazzing up the sauces...)

STEAK! I lucked out and got some good ones at the grocery store for not too much money. I feel like I got a heckuva deal on dinner tonight, no complaints! My favorite way to prepare inexpensive cuts is with a marinade recipe I found in a Kraft Food & Family magazine, tweaked just a bit.

Steak Marinade

1/2 c A-1 Steak Sauce (I haven't tasted another pre-bottled sauce that has the right flavor)
1/2 c Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing
1 tsp oregano
2-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1-2 lbs steak - I used round steak

Whisk together all ingredients. To prepare the garlic, I prefer to use my press, but you could also mince if you don't have a press.
Place steak into a gallon size zipper bag and pour half of marinade over meat. Seal bag, shake and gently squeeze to coat, and place in refrigerator to marinate, 30-60 minutes.
Grill to your preference, and serve with remaining marinade as steak sauce.

Artichoke drool photos...

Raspberry Syrup

Remember the leftover raspberries from the Raspberry Cordial, this is what I did with them. Hubby's grandma always made her own raspberry syrup for pancakes so I thought that'd be perfect for these mashed raspberries. Granted the syrups has a lot of seeds, but it still tastes delicious. If I didn't make syrup I'd have made pastries like turnovers or something where it didn't matter that they were squished through cheesecloth and a strainer. Just adding a little bit of pectin would have made some delicious raspberry preserves.

If you don't want to start with the cordial, heat the frozen berries without water until warm, mash with a fork or blend 3/4 of the berries until somewhat smooth. I like to leave some bigger chunks if possible.

Raspberry Syrup

INGREDIENTS
36 oz worth of mashed warmed raspberries
1 - 2 cups sugar (to taste)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients to stock pot and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes until reduced by a third and it has become thicker and syrupy, to your desired consistency. I like mine pretty thick, but pourable when warmed for 10 seconds in the microwave.
Pour into clean sanitized jars. You can see this made quite a bit, aprroximately 24 oz.