Buttermilk Biscuits

Years ago I tested appliances for Consumer’s Digest Magazine and once had the good fortune to try out about eight different bread-making machines (that was back in the day when these machines were the rage).

If you have a bread-making machine, do you remember which closet you stuck it in? (The one I eventually bought is in my basement.)

One of the most interesting models was a Toastmaster. Not only could it be used to make a loaf of bread, I could also make butter in it.

Which I did.

I remember buying heavy sweet cream and pouring it into the machine, pressing a few buttons and in a few minutes, voila! there was the freshest, sweetest, creamiest butter I EVER tasted. I smeared it on the bread I had baked in the machine. That was a delicious day.

Of course, at the bottom of the container was a big bonus: real, fresh buttermilk, the liquid left over when you churn cream into butter. After I finished my work I poured it into a glass and drank it, with its teeny butter spots and all, down in a couple of gulps.

If you’ve never tasted fresh buttermilk, you’ve missed a goodie. It’s thin, tangy and extraordinarily thirst quenching. Different. Special.

I haven’t made butter (or buttermilk since then). I buy buttermilk the way most folks do, in the supermarket. It’s not really made the way I made mine. Commercial buttermilk is made by combining skim or low-fat milk with specific cultures and thickeners. It doesn’t have that “just-churned” taste, but it’s still quite delicious to drink or poured over cold cereal.

Although buttermilk has become a bit more popular in recent years because it contains probiotics, most people I know shiver at the thought of drinking it. But I say: give it a try. If not as a beverage by itself, then perhaps in a smoothie. 

At the very least, use it to make muffins, pancakes, cornbread, banana bread and stuff like that. Buttermilk makes all these baked items incredibly crumbly/tender. Or make it into Ranch Dressing. Or use it for cream soups.

Sometimes people tell me that they don’t want to buy buttermilk because they’re only going to use it for one recipe and it’s not worth getting a whole quart. But really, once you have it in the house, and you try it, you’re going to use it again. I promise.

Like for these biscuits:

Buttermilk Biscuits

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel, optional

8 tablespoons cold butter

2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Sift the flour, cake flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a bowl. Stir in the lemon peel, if used. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the bowl. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until you can form a soft ball of dough. Try not to pound or overwork the dough (this makes the biscuits tough). Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times. Roll or press the dough gently to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut out circles with a doughnut cutter or the bottom of a glass. Place the circles one inch apart (for darker biscuits) or close together (for fluffier biscuits) on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they have risen and are lightly browned. Makes about 10

Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Pancakes? Oh yes! Who doesn’t love them?

But who cooks them at your house?

My Dad was the pancake maker in ours. I can close my eyes now all these years later and still see my mother’s face as she surveyed the mess he made. Flour puffs here and there. Drops of grease from melted butter on the floor. Batter on the counter. A crusted pancake turner in the sink.

But wow, those were some great pancakes. Puffy, thick and soft with a bit of a crispy edge. Gobs of butter on top melting into the surface. Syrup of course.

No redeeming nutritional value, but oh, what a big deal for the Memory Box.

Pancakes are always welcome I think, any time of year and also for any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner.

So I am going to make some for Hanukkah. A recipe from my book, Hip Kosher, for Lemon-Cottage Cheese pancakes. Almost everyone knows that it is traditional to eat fried foods during this holiday. Less well known is that cheese is traditional too. So I’ve combined fried plus cheese plus memory in these, light, fluffy pancakes. There’s some protein and they are vaguely sweet, with good flavor from the lemon, so syrup isn’t really needed. Fried? Yes, but just in a small amount of butter on a griddle, not a whole lot of deep-dry fat.

Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes (from Hip Kosher)

1-1/3 cups dry curd cottage cheese, pot cheese, or farmer cheese
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1-1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh lemon peel
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter for the griddle

Combine the cottage cheese, eggs, milk and lemon peel in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine ingredients. Heat a griddle over medium heat and add a small amount of butter. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, working in batches, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook the pancakes for about 2 minutes per side, or until they are golden brown, adding more butter to the pan as necessary.

Makes 4 servings.

Squash Muffins

It only took two months to gain about 10 pounds after I started my first full-time job.

Back then, even back then, in the dinosaur era, when the only yogurt you could find easily was Dannon (in maybe 6-7 flavors), I brought a yogurt to the office. I was a freshman attorney in a big, bustling law office on Wall Street. I was so clueless then I didn’t realize that the proper office hours were NOT from 8:00 a.m., when I liked to get in (so I could also leave early and have a life), but 10:00 or 10:30 (and then have dinner with the team and come home late).

I brought in my yogurt and ate it early, but then, when the rest of the lawyers came to work, they would bring like a full American breakfast: eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast.

So, in order to try to be part of the team and a little less clueless, I ordered in breakfast too. Usually it was a blueberry muffin and some juice. Those blueberry muffins cost me 10 pounds.

But I did learn three things. One, I could never consume an “American breakfast” at my desk. It always reminded me of how bad your car smells when you have french fries wrapped up in a paper bag getting all soft and steamy.

Two, that food writing pays a lot less but has been an infinitely better career for me than working day and night as a lawyer.

Three, that I love, love, love muffins. Blueberry muffins sometimes, pumpkin or squash muffins now, when the scent of autumn spices is so alluring.

Squash Muffins

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1 cup mashed cooked squash

• 1 large egg

• 1/2 cup golden raisins, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a bowl. Place the buttermilk, squash, egg and melted butter in a second bowl and beat to blend ingredients thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix just until combined. Fold in the raisins if used. Fill muffin cups evenly with the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and serve warm or let cool to room temperature.

Makes 10

Blueberry Corn Muffins

What to do when you can’t decide between a corn muffin and a blueberry muffin?

Have both, all-in-one.

That’s what I did the other day.

Of course I could have had two muffins, one of each, corn and blueberry. But then I would have felt full and guilty and full of self recriminations about eating too much. So I baked Blueberry Corn Muffins instead. That did the trick!

Blueberry Corn Muffins

6 tablespoons butter
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
1-1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix the honey, egg, milk and cooled butter, beating until well blended. Pour the liquid into the cornmeal mixture and stir to blend the ingredients. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon equal amounts into the muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10

Salmon Zucchini Melts with Dill Butter

Sandwiches for breakfast?

Why not?! They’re easy to prepare and they fill you up. That sounds good to me, especially in the summer when you want to get out of the kitchen quickly and get on with your life. 

They’re good for brunch too. Note that if you have sleepover company during the summer, which I do, often, so I am always looking for food that’s easy but a little different too.

You can carry some sandwiches around, to eat on your terrace or at a picnic area or playground. (Remember that sandwiches were invented for convenience, by a gambler who wanted to eat and play at the gaming tables at the same time).

And they’re an especially good way to use up leftovers, which is a particular thing for me. I hate to throw food out (ask my kids, who would often make fun of the little packages of this and that in my fridge. In fact, they still do that, come to think of it.)

Here’s one, a riff on the old Tuna Melt. It’s not the tote-around kind of sandwich, but is a terrific, nutritious and satisfying sandwich for late breakfast or brunch. Or even dinner. And it finishes up that little bit of salmon from yesterday’s dinner. And the small amount of extra mozzarella cheese. And the English muffins you’ve had in the freezer for a while.

Salmon Zucchini Melts with Dill Butter

2 English muffins (or 2 slices whole wheat bread)

1-1/2 tablespoons butter, slightly softened

1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

8 slices zucchini

4 slices tomato

4 ounces cooked salmon

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Lightly toast the bread and spread each piece with equal amounts of butter. Sprinkle the dill on top. Place the slices on a baking sheet. Layer 2 slices of zucchini and one slice of tomato on top. Cut the salmon into small chunks and place on top of the tomato. Scatter the mozzarella cheese over the fish. Finally, sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake the sandwiches for 5-6 minutes or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Corn Muffins with Coconut Oil and Maple

Love that coconut oil! This time I used it in an old recipe for corn muffins, which are among my favorite breakfast breads. 

Corn muffin recipes are like roasted chicken or potato salad. You can make dozens of changes and it’s still what it is. So, for example, I’ve added crushed cashews, crumbled cheese, chopped herbs, chopped chili peppers, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, bits of chorizo. Not all at the same time of course.

But this time I wanted to see if coconut oil would be good, because of its health benefits. I discovered that it leaves a lovely, sweet tropical flavor even when it’s baked into food. 

I loved the result. Tender, luscious corn muffins. Breakfast today was dee-lish.

Corn Muffins with Coconut Oil and Maple

3 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 large egg

2/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease 8 muffin tins. Melt the coconut oil, mix with the vegetable oil and set it aside to cool. In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix the maple syrup, egg, milk and cooled oils, beating until well blended. Pour the liquid into the cornmeal mixture and stir to blend the ingredients. Spoon equal amounts into the muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8

Egyptian Feta Cheese Dip

When in Egypt, eat as the Egyptians do.

So I have, as I’ve been here for just under two weeks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Some of the traditional breakfast food is actually not so different than what I eat at home, which usually is plain yogurt with fresh fruit or dried apricots. There’s lots of yogurt here for breakfast, all plain rather than being mixed with so much stuff that you can’t taste the yogurt.

But for breakfast here there’s also hummus, baba ghanoosh, tahini, olive salads and falafel, so I’ve been having a feast. I love all that food, but normally it’s for snack or hors d’oeuvre, not breakfast. This will change my company brunch menu for sure. All of these dishes are ones I can make ahead so there’s no fussing when people are over.

Think New Year’s weekend.

One of the more interesting breakfast dishes is the variety of feta cheese mixtures. I love feta cheese. But it’s the kind of cheese I crumble into a salad or spinach pie. In Egypt they mash it up and mix it it with lemon juice and olive oil to make it creamy, add some chopped tomatoes, scallions and sometimes parsley or mint and it becomes a spread for pita bread.

Terrific breakfast food. Great change from toast and jam.

The photo shows the way it’s served: with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped tomatoes. Try it. The recipe is something like this — use amounts of lemon juice and olive oil that suit your fancy and make the feta as creamy as you like.

Mash 6-8 ounces of feta cheese with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and about 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Beat until creamy. Add plain yogurt if desired for a creamier consistency. Add 3 chopped scallions, 8-10 chopped cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or one tablespoon chopped fresh mint if desired. Mix thoroughly. Serve drizzled with olive oil and chopped tomatoes. Serve with pita bread. Makes 6 servings

Oat Bran Muffins

I lied to my second grade teacher once about what I ate for breakfast. We were doing a project on the suggested breakfasts for kids back then and if I can remember correctly, we children were supposed to start the day with a large, calorie filled meal. My aunt Roz, a newlywed who was living with us until she and Uncle Mac could find their own apartment, was in charge of getting us kids off to school. She was also clueless. She gave us coffee with lots of sugar and milk and sent us on our way.

But when Miss Seymour asked about what I ate for breakfast I told her: orange juice, eggs, bacon, toast, cereal and milk.

She sent a note home to my parents about what a big liar I was.

No one actually ate like that for breakfast, especially not children, at least where I grew up. Besides I was really small for my age so Miss Seymour had to know just by looking at me. Even today, though we hear more about the USDA Food Pyramid, most Americans ignore it — read about it and weep here.

I remember that my parents were not as concerned about my diet as they were about the fib. I guess that’s right.

I also think that was the beginning of my Cheerios phase. I still got the coffee though, and I grew to normal size even though people then said that coffee (and cigarettes) stunted a child’s growth.

But breakfast has always been always a problem. I would love the pancake-and-syrup option, but it’s too high calorie. Would love eggs and hash browns, but ditto the problem. So I usually opt for plain Greek-style (I prefer Chobani) yogurt with cut up dried fruit (and more recently, with a jam or preserve from Dagstani & Sons).

But sometimes I need a carb and neither Cheerios nor bagel will do. 

So, recently I tried oat bran muffins, which are quite tasty, not too sweet or caloric, not high in fat and I can freeze them and have a lovely accompaniment to my yogurt. Here’s the recipe:

Oat Bran Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup oat bran

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tin cups. Sift the flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a bowl. In another bowl mix the vegetable oil, eggs and buttermilk. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is blended and smooth. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes 12 

Eric Carle and Buttermilk Pancakes

I’ve been reading Pancakes, Pancakes! Eric Carle’s lovely book about a boy who asks his mother to make him a pancake for breakfast, but she’s very busy and so asks him to get all the ingredients she needs to make it. 

No, it’s not part of my #fridayreads reading (but maybe it should be!). It’s a children’s book and my grand daughter Nina happens to be fascinated with it right now so I read it to her whenever I pick her up from pre-school (where there are several shelves filled with books that parents, grandparents and assorted other caretakers can read in between school and going wherever else they’re going that day).

I like this book not only because it’s a cute story and has the kind of whimsical illustrations Carle is known for, but it also attempts to show children that it isn’t so simple to make a pancake. First you have to have flour (so Jack, the boy, must go out and use a sickle to thresh wheat and a flail to hack the seeds — so many terrific words for children to learn!!). Jack also has to coax the hen into laying an egg, milk the cow and even churn the cream to make butter.

One amazing part of this story is that Jack doesn’t have a meltdown or temper tantrum. He actually does whatever is necessary to find the ingredients needed for the pancake.

Talk about motivated!!

His last chore is to go down to the basement to find some jam, from among the jars of preserves that his mother has stored down there.

He does finally get his pancake. 

I love this book. I love that Jack becomes part of his own wish come true, that he doesn’t seem to mind participating, doing some chore, to get what he wants. I am glad he is rewarded in the end.

But for the rest of us who will not have to thresh or flail the wheat, but can go down to the supermarket and find everything we want there, we fortunate ones who only have to mix ingredients, here’s a really good recipe for pancakes. Serve with jam, the way Jack likes it, or with the more standard maple syrup. 

Here’s a tip: keep buttermilk in the house because it’s terrific for pancakes, biscuits and all sorts of other baked goods. It lasts a long time in the fridge (and you use almost a quart for this recipe). If you don’t want to do that though, you can buy buttermilk powder (reconstitute with water), which you can usually find in the baking aisle of a supermarket. That keeps about a year in the cupboard.

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups buttermilk
• butter for frying the pancakes

Melt the 3 tablespoons butter and set aside to cool. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. In a second bowl mix the egg, buttermilk and melted, cooled butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix to blend them but do not beat vigorously. Preheat a griddle or large saute pan over medium heat. Lightly butter the pan before cooking the pancakes. When the pan butter has melted and looks foamy, slowly pour about 2 tablespoons batter (for small pancakes) or more (for larger pancakes), leaving space between each pancake. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until bottom is lightly browned and bubbles form on the top. Flip the pancakes with a rigid spatula and cook for a minute or until the second side is lightly browned.

Makes 6-8 servings

For Tu B'Shevat: Date-Orange Muffins

In case you didn’t know, today is Tu B’Shevat.

Huh?

It’s one of the lesser-known Jewish holidays. I mean, talking about this to the world at large makes me feel like Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were when she cooked a brisket and wished her non-Jewish-Robert Redford husband a “Happy Rosh Hashanah.”

But this is really a good holiday because it focuses on conservation, the earth, preservation. Some call this The New Year of Trees, because it traditionally begins a season of tree planting in Israel. But at the bottom of it all is the notion that we must take good care of the earth, not waste it or trample on it or abuse it to death.

Not a bad notion, that.

Also, Tu B’Shevat food is pretty good. You know there’s a food for every Jewish holiday. That’s just the way we are. There is no particular dish that’s traditional, like a Thanksgiving turkey. This holiday is mostly about fruit, fresh or dried. Anything goes, from chips with fruit salsa to lamb shanks with dried apricots to date-orange muffins.

Date-Orange muffins are wonderful for breakfast or snack but you can also use them as a bread for dinner.

Date-Orange Muffins

4 tablespoons butter

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoons grated fresh orange rind

3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

1/4 cup orange juice

1 large egg

2/3 cup chopped dates

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9-10 muffin tins. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir in the orange rind. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, orange juice, egg and melted butter. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir to blend but do not mix vigorously. Fold in the dates and pecans. Spoon the dough into the muffin tins, filling them 2/3 full. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Makes 9-10