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Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Chicken Gravy & Drop Biscuits

Description: Hot chicken gravy with mixed vegetables, served over fresh homemade biscuits
Yield: 6 servings

Biscuit Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening or butter
1 cup milk*

Chicken Gravy Ingredients:
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 cups mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, and corn)
3-4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced onions
1 clove minced garlic (or use 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold milk

Chicken Gravy Directions:

  1. Cut carrots into small chunks and cook with some of the broth in a large stock pot until tender; add onions, peas and corn and cook 10 minutes more.
  2. Add chicken pieces, seasonings, and broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes.
  3. In small bowl, whisk together the flour and milk, removing lumps. Slowly pour into boiling mixture, stirring constantly. Boil for several minutes, until thickened into gravy. Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.
  4. Serve over hot fresh biscuits.

Biscuit Directions: (I used the other recipe)
1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening.
2. Add milk, stirring just until moistened.
3. Drop biscuits onto ungreased baking sheets and bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Additional Notes:
This gravy can also be served over rice or pasta, if desired.
*If you would like to roll out your biscuits and cut into shape, reduce the amount of milk to 3/4 cup rather than 1 cup.
Tammy’s mom created this recipe after being served a similar meal in the hospital after having one of her children. Bet you’ve never heard of hospital food being so good that you want to make it at home! 😉
Baking powder biscuits recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Breads cook book.

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes (gravy); 10-12 minutes (biscuits)
Tammy’s Review: My rating: 10/10. This is a simple yet delicious meal. I make it when I have leftover chicken to use up. It’s good enough to serve to guests, but easy enough to make for lunch. The vegetables add a nice color and help round out the meal.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Bakewell Cream Biscuits

Bakewell Cream Biscuits

These tasty Maine-style biscuits are extra-tall and fluffy, and don’t require buttermilk. Our thanks to the Bakewell Cream folks of Hampden, Maine for this recipe.

  • 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Perfect Pastry Blend
  • 4 teaspoons Bakewell Cream*
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter
  • 1 ½ cups cold milk

*NOT Bakewell Cream Baking Powder; just plain Bakewell Cream

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment.
  2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
  3. Work in the butter till the mixture is crumbly; some larger, pea-sized pieces of butter may remain intact.
  4. Add the milk, stirring till everything is moistened.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface (a silicone mat works well), and fold it over once or twice. Pat it into a ¾”-thick square, rectangle, or circle.
  6. Cut the biscuits with a round or square cutter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet. Brush their tops with milk or melted butter, if desired.
  7. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn off the oven. Leave in the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, till they’re golden brown.
  8. Remove from the oven, and serve warm with butter and honey, jam, or gravy.
  9. Yield: about 1 ½ dozen big (2 1/2″) biscuits, or about 32 smaller (1 1/2″) biscuits.

Recipe summary
Hands-on time: 15 mins. to 20 mins.
Baking time: 5 mins. to 10 mins.
Total time: 20 mins. to 30 mins.
Yield: about 1 1/2 dozen 2 1/2″ biscuits, or 2 1/2 dozen smaller biscuits

Tips from our bakers

  •  Shape biscuit dough ahead, freeze, and enjoy hot biscuits FAST. Simply place unbaked biscuits on a baking sheet, and freeze till solid. Wrap airtight in a bag. When ready to serve, preheat your oven to 475°F, and bake biscuits for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off, and leave in the oven for another 5 to 8 minutes, till they’re golden brown.
  • How about some tasty variations? For cheese biscuits, toss 1 cup diced sharp cheddar cheese with the dry ingredients and butter, just before adding the milk. For chocolate chip biscuits, same deal: toss 1 cup chocolate chips with the flour/butter mixture just before adding the milk. Bake as directed at right. Chocolate chip biscuits may also be sprinkled with coarse white sparkling sugar just before baking.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Pork Stir-Fry Lo Mein (Chicken)

Published September 1, 2008. From Cook’s Illustrated.

Serves 4.

Why this recipe works:

For a lo mein recipe with chewy noodles tossed in a salty-sweet sauce and accented with bits of smoky pork and still-crisp cabbage, we seared strips of meat from country-style pork ribs over high heat, adding liquid smoke for barbecue flavor. We used our meat marinade as a sauce base, with a little chicken broth and a teaspoon of cornstarch for added body. In the absence of lo mein noodles from an Asian market, we found that dried linguine worked beautifully in our stir-fried noodles recipe.

Use a cast-iron skillet for this recipe if you have one—it will help create the best sear on the pork. When shopping for Chinese rice wine, look for one that is amber in color; if not available, sherry wine may be used as a substitute. If no hoisin sauce is available, substitute 1 tablespoon of sugar. If boneless pork ribs are unavailable, substitute 1 1/2 pounds of bone-in country-style ribs, followed by the next best option, pork tenderloin. Liquid smoke provides a flavor reminiscent of the Chinese barbecued pork traditional to this dish. It is important that the noodles are cooked at the last minute to avoid clumping. See below for information on buying noodles.

Ingredients

  • 3tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2tablespoons hoisin sauce (see note)
  • 1tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1/4teaspoon five-spice powder
  • 1pound boneless country-style pork ribs , trimmed of surface fat and excess gristle and sliced crosswise into 1/8-inch pieces (see note) (I used chicken thigh)
  • 1/4teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
  • 1/2cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1teaspoon cornstarch
  • 2medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 2teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 4 1/2teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 4tablespoons Chinese rice cooking wine (Shao-Xing) or dry sherry (see note)
  • 1/2pound shiitake mushrooms , stems trimmed, caps cut in halves or thirds (about 3 cups)
  • 2bunches scallions , whites thinly sliced and greens cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
  • 1small head Napa or Chinese cabbage , halved, cored, and sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch strips (about 4 cups)
  • 12ounces Chinese egg noodles (fresh) or 8 ounces dried linguine (see note)
  • 1tablespoon Asian chile garlic sauce

Instructions

  1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat.
  2. Whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and five-spice powder together in medium bowl. Place 3 tablespoons soy sauce mixture in large zipper-lock bag; add pork and liquid smoke, if using. Press out as much air as possible and seal bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour. Whisk broth and cornstarch into remaining soy sauce mixture in medium bowl. In separate small bowl, mix garlic and ginger with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil; set aside.
  3. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of pork in single layer, breaking up clumps with wooden spoon. Cook, without stirring, 1 minute. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons wine to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is reduced and pork is well coated, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer pork to medium bowl and repeat with remaining pork, 1 teaspoon oil, and remaining 2 tablespoons wine. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
  4. Return skillet to high heat, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, and heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add scallions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes longer; transfer vegetables to bowl with pork.
  5. Add remaining teaspoon vegetable oil and cabbage to now-empty skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Clear center of skillet; add garlic-ginger mixture and cook, mashing mixture with spoon, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir garlic mixture into cabbage; return pork-vegetable mixture and chicken broth-soy mixture to skillet; simmer until thickened and ingredients are well incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
  6. While cabbage is cooking, stir noodles into boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles are tender, 3 to 4 minutes for fresh Chinese noodles or
    10 minutes for dried linguine. Drain noodles and transfer back to Dutch oven; add cooked stir-fry mixture and garlic-chili sauce, tossing noodles constantly, until sauce coats noodles. Serve immediately.

Shopping

Noodles for Lo Mein: Developing the recipe for our Pork Stir-Fry with Noodles, we discovered that not any old noodle will do.

BEST BET
The slightly dry and curly fresh egg noodles labeled “lo mein” from an Asian market boasted firm texture and the best flavor.
BEST ALTERNATIVE
Dried linguine, though not authentic, offered a firm chewiness similar to lo mein.

NO THANKS
Vacuum-packed fresh noodles from the grocery store labeled “Chinese-style” were gummy and pasty.