It’s Getting Chilly

Here we are in my “neck of the woods”, Western New York, and it is getting mighty chilly. I still haven’t caved and turned the furnace on but I can feel myself weakening. I play this game with myself every year to see how long I can go before I have to turn the heat on. I really don’t mind a little chilly. Just throw on a sweater or hoodie. However, when it is cold and DAMP, that’s when I can’t keep it up any longer.

Yesterday I was closing storm windows and “battening down the hatches” for our traditional snowy, cold winter and my thoughts went to baking. Yep, food, that is how my mind works. So, first, I thought I would share a couple of recipes with you.

During my vacation to Alaska my son and I went to the Taku Glacier Lodge near Juneau via a seaplane over 5 glaciers. It was beautiful. I was nervous about the plane ride but I am so glad I went! While there we saw black bear and had a salmon feast which included, cole-slaw, salmon, baked beans, and herb biscuits. The entire meal was delicious but, alas, I am a lover of carbs! The biscuits were the star for me. I bought a cookbook in the gift shop while we were there and the recipe for the herb biscuits was included in the book. Of course I had to make them!

Famous Taku Herb Biscuits

4 cups of flour

3/4 cup powdered milk

2 Tablespoons of baking powder

2 teaspoons of salt

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 level Tablespoon of each:

thyme, parsley, tarragon, basil

1/2 Tablespoon of garlic powder

1 cup of butter (cold)

approximately 1- 1/4 cups of water (be careful not to add too much)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together. Place the butter in the dry mixture and work into dry ingredients until the butter is no smaller than a peanut.

Make a well in the center and add cold water. Work enough to have a slightly sticky dough.

Place dough on floured board. Fold, turn it over and fold again. Do this 8 times. You may need to add a little flour between folds if the dough is too sticky.

Pat into a square about 1 inch thick. Cut into square biscuits or use a round biscuit cutter.

Place on un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.

These are best served hot. Be creative and use the biscuits to make tasty sandwiches.

Notes:

I gave you the recipe exactly as was written in the “Top Secret Recipes Served at Taku Glacier Lodge”. Now, I need to tell you what I did and make some comments.

I was out of dry milk and kept forgetting to pick it up so I finally decided to make it but use milk instead of the water and omit the powdered milk. This is tricky because you don’t want to add to much liquid. That is why I started out with 1 cup of milk. I ended up added 3/4 more cup a 1/4 cup at a time as I judged the consistency of the dough. Knowing it was to be sticky, I aimed for that consistency but not so wet and sticky that I had trouble working with it. It is important to start slowly adding liquid. You can always add more but you’re in trouble if you add too much.

When I added the butter to the bowl I cut the sticks of butter into chunks. This saved a lot of time when working the butter into the dry ingredients. I used a pastry cutter to do this and it was not time-consuming at all. You can see from the pictures below that there are visible chunks of butter in the dough.

I did cut the biscuits into squares. To me that is more rustic looking which is really what these biscuits are. Also, cutting them into squares rather than using a round biscuit or cookie cutter means less waste and no need to re-spread your dough to cut more biscuits. This dough is not meant to be handled that much anyway.

The recipe called for un-greased cookie sheets. I sprayed mine. I have learned that for me biscuits stick when you don’t spray the pan.

Lastly, the recipe states to bake for 25-30 minutes. I set my timer for 15 minutes just to check on them since it was my first time making this recipe. I am so glad I did because they were done. As a matter of fact, they were just a tad darker than ideal. There was nothing wrong with them. They weren’t burned. I just like them a little lighter because they are prettier that way. For the second sheet of biscuits I set the timer for 14 minutes and they were perfect!!!

By the way, I was able to cut 16 biscuits out of the dough this recipe made. They are so yummy!

This is the dough in the bowl. Notice how sticky it looks and the chunks of butter.

You can still see the chunks of butter and notice that there are 16 large biscuits cut.

Just ready to go into the oven.

The second tray of biscuits as they came out of the oven and I had adjusted the baking time to 14 minutes.

Kitchen Tip

One of the things my friend, Linda, and I learned at the Taste of Home Live Cooking Show was how to spatchcock a chicken for baking. Spatchcocking a chicken, turkey, or Cornish hen allows the poultry to cook evenly and all the meat stays moist because it all gets done at the same time. Basically. you are cutting the bird up so that it lays flat and cooks evenly. The breast of birds cooks more quickly and can often be dry due to the fact that you have to cook the bird longer to get the rest of the bird completely done.

The following pictures were taken from Martha Stewart online. It shows the process so well and I need to give Martha credit for the photography.

Lay the bird breast side down.

Using kitchen scissors cut to the side of the backbone. You will be cutting through small bones.

Repeat the process on the other side.

Then you turn the bird over and flatten with the palm of your hand. This way the whole bird is touching the baking pan. Your bird will cook evenly and be moist. There are many recipes online for baking a spatchcock chicken. However, you can bake it as you usually do but be aware of adjusting baking times. Your bird will most likely be thoroughly cooked in less time.

Money Saver Extraordinaire!

Yesterday was a great money-saving day for me! I belong to NYSUT which is a union. NYSUT stands for New York State United Teachers. They have a Member’s Benefits department with money-saving offers, etc. Occasionally, I get mailings from them. The latest one was for car insurance group discounts with MetLife. I decided to call and get a quote. By the time I was done I had new car insurance, new homeowner’s insurance and no longer needed AAA for roadside assistance. For the same price per month that I was paying for car insurance alone, I am not getting car and home insurance. The car insurance includes roadside assistance so no need for AAA. I saved $335 a year doing this. We went through my coverage while on the phone and I have the same coverage as before if not more in some instances.

The moral of this little story from yesterday is to check on these things we get in the mail. A lot is junk. However, when you have a reputable company known worldwide and it is endorsed by an organization you belong to and trust, you just might benefit. The key here is to be selective!!!

I will see you with a new post next week. Stay warm and enjoy your days!