Weekend cooking -- Batter Biscuits and Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

I had a pretty successful cooking day on Sunday.  I made the Dirty Rice in my previous post for dinner.  And, earlier in the day, I made these two things.

Batter Biscuits
I've been trying to figure out where this recipe actually originated but without much luck.  I found it on healthyhomerecipes.com.  When I searched for it, I also found it on bigoven.com.  So, I'm not trying to swipe someone else's recipe -- I always try to give credit to the place I found the recipe.

This recipe is very similar to Yorkshire pudding, except that it is made with buttermilk and in mini-muffin pans.  They were really good -- crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside.  My family love them and begged me to make more.

1 t salt
1/2 T baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 1/3 c flour
1 quart buttermilk (or more as needed)
2 eggs
1/2 lb butter

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix dry ingredients.  Add buttermilk until the consistency of pancake batter.  Beat eggs and add to batter.  Batter must be slightly thinner than pancake batter and beaten until very smooth.

Melt butter.

Put 1/2 t butter in each hole of mini-muffin tins.  Heat in preheated oven until butter is very hot.  Spoon 1 T batter into each hole.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen biscuits.


Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake
From bunsinmyoven.com

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 1 box mix for red velvet cake
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the filling:
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 16 ounces (about 4 cups) powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. It will be thick and difficult to mix. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
4. Spread the cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Awesome Dirty Rice recipe

For some strange reason, a couple weeks ago I decided I needed to make dirty rice from scratch.  I started looking for recipes.  I needed to find one that didn't require chicken livers or gizzards.  I found quite a few.  But I was still hesitant.  So, I got in touch with one of my brothers in New Orleans to see what he thought.  He just happened to be with a female friend of his at the time that I called him.  And she gave me the list of ingredients and a couple of hints.  Here's what I threw together with their help.

 Granted, it isn't pretty.  But it was phenomenal!

Rene and Jayme's Dirty Rice

2 1/2 c white rice
3T butter
2T olive oil
4 c beef broth
2c water
1 lb ground beef
2 onions, chopped very finely
1/2 green pepper, chopped very finely
2 stalks celery, chopped very finely
4 green onions
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
Cajun seasoning to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Brown rice in butter and olive oil.  Add broth and water.  Bring to boil and cook for 20-25 minutes, until rice is done.

In separate pan, brown ground beef.  Add vegetables, soup mix, seasoning and pepper.  cook until vegetables are soft. (Save green tops of green onions for later)

Add ground beef/vegetable mixture to rice.  Add salt to taste.  Add green onion tops


Hint: Even if you don't like green peppers, don't skip them.  They really add something.

Pork Schnitzel based on Tyler Florence

 This recipe is pretty much the same as the Tyler Florence recipe on Food Network.  Biggest changes I made -- pork cutlets instead of pork chops, adding basil to the bread crumbs and using half panko bread crumbs.

Don't skip the thyme step -- it adds a lot of flavor!

• 4 Pork cutlets (5 to 6 oz each)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 cups plain dried bread crumbs (I made my own and added basil that I had dried)
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 sprig thyme

Directions

1.  Begin by placing each cutlet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pounding them out with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until they are an even 1/4-inch thick. 

2.  Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
3.  Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Put the bread crumbs in a third dish and again season with salt and pepper.
5.  Lightly dredge each piece of pork in flour, then in the egg and finally into the bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs onto the pork gently so they have a nice even coating.

6.  Lay the breaded pork cutlets in a single layer on a plate lined with parchment and refrigerate, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes to allow the coating to dry out a little and adhere to the pork. (This is an important step!)

7.  Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the thyme sprig and let it fry for about 1 minute to infuse the oil. Remove the thyme sprig and reserve.
8.  Gently lay the cutlets into the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
9.  Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and transfer to a serving platter while still hot. If you have more cutlets to cook, put finished cutlets in a baking pan, cover with foil and keep in warm oven.

Crock Pot Short Ribs

I have to write this down while I remember.  For some reason, I've been wanting to make short ribs for some time now.  I've had a hard time finding them at the store.  I finally did this week and, lo and behold, I couldn't find the recipe I had been wanting to use.

I scoured the internet.  I never did find one that I liked.  So, I winged it.  I tried to use spices that I would use on a standing rib roast.

1 large onion, diced in small pieces
Minced garlic
Beef short ribs (around 5 lbs)
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Paprika
Rosemary
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground red pepper
white wine

Directions:

1.  Brown onion in olive oil.  Add garlic and saute a short time.  Make sure there is enough oil that there is some left.  (I probably used 1/4 c).  Remove garlic and onion from pan.
2.  Add some salt and pepper to the flour.  Dredge the ribs lightly.
3.  Brown ribs in olive oil, making sure to turn to get all sides browned.  Remove from pan, retaining remaining juices.
4.  Place garlic and onions in bottom of crock pot.  Add ribs.
5.  Combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, ground red pepper and paprika in small bowl.  Add  spice mix to juices in pan and combine well, heating for about 2 minutes.  Add a small amount (1/4 c) of white wine.
6.  Pour wine/spice mixture over ribs.
7.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Whipped Frosting

This cake recipe is "Sandy's Chocolate Cake" from allrecipes.com.  This makes a three layer 9" cake.

The whipped topping came from several places on the internet.  It holds up really well.

Ingredients

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water

In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.


Chocolate Whipped topping

2 c heavy whipping cream
2 t vanilla extract
5 T  white sugar
5 T unsweetened cocoa powder

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.  Cover and chill bowl and beaters for at least 30 minutes.  When chilled, beat until stiff peaks form.  Use immediately.

Paula Deen's Sausage and Bacon Gravy

This year for Thanksgiving, I cooked desserts to take to my in-laws house.  They were basically done ahead of time, which left me free on Thanksgiving morning to fix breakfast for my family,  Doug requested biscuits and gravy.  Although I could have fixed them without a recipe, I decided to see what was out there.  This is what I found.  I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter...except that I added a little cream (in addition to the half-and-half) just to make the gravy a better consistency.

This might be the best biscuits and gravy that I've ever had.

Servings: 12 Servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: varies (depending on your stove heat)
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 lb ground sausage
4   slices thick-cut bacon
1/2   onion, diced
2   garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoon butter
12   freshly baked biscuits (use your favorite recipe or you can use store-bought

Directions

In a large skillet, combine sausage, bacon, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, until sausage is browned and crumbles. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened. Stir in butter.

Butternut Squash Bisque

Another yummy fall soup recipe!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
•  3 tablespoons unsalted butter
•  3/4  cup diced onion
• 1/2 c chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh, chopped thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh, crushed rosemary
• 1 fresh sage leaf, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup diced carrots
• 4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups chicken stock
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ground nutmeg to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream

In a large saucepan over medium, melt butter and add olive oil.  Sauté the onion, celery, thyme, rosemary, and sage  for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables turn tender. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and sauté the vegetables and herbs for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the butternut squash, carrots and chicken stock to the pan and bring the soup to simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, cover, and simmer the soup for 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.
Puree the soup in a countertop blender or with an immersion blender until it is completely smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and heat through.