The BEST Homemade White Cheddar Biscuits | Light, Flakey, White Cheddar Biscuits

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I've said it before (I think...) and I'll say it again- I love serving a really great bread or biscuit as a "side" instead of serving potatoes or rice.  Everyone goes crazy for bread and biscuits but it can be too heavy sometimes to serve them along side another very starchy side.  So, I like to serve them as the side instead.  A great example of this theory applied in a menu would be a BBQ grilled Pork Loin, Wilted Lettuce Salad and White Cheddar Biscuits.  It is a decadent meal, but not too over the top and your guests won't be passing on the bread basket.
Homemade White Cheddar Biscuits 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for the board and cutting)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced1 cup of white cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
1 cold extra-large eggPreheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment.  Add butter and cheese and mix on low until it is a rough mixture.  In a small measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and egg and beat lightly with a fork.   Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix only until moistened. 

Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times to shape into a 2-3 inch high disk.  Using a round cutter, cut biscuits.  If you don't have a round biscuit cutter, you can use the rim of a glass or small bowl... or whatever else you can find!  Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat liner.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, just until they begin to brown on top slightly.




Homemade biscuits are such a treat... share them as gifts!  Here is a post about how to package them for friends and neighbors.

Blueberry Crumble Muffins | What you'll be making tomorrow morning...

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So, you know I've had a scone 'thing' for a couple of months... well, I've moved on to a muffin thing now.  This recipe is the combination of classic Blueberry Muffins with the crumbly top of a coffee cake.  After stirring these together in 10 minutes on a Saturday morning (without even getting out your mixer...) you'll ask yourself- why don't I make muffins from scratch every day?  I promise, they are so easy and so delicious. 

Blueberry Crumble Muffins
the upgraded classic


1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cups granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
6 oz. fresh blueberries
.........
Topping
½ cup + 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

For the muffin batter, stir together flour sugar baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add melted butter, eggs and milk and stir just until combined.   Fold in blueberries.  With an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into a muffin tin lined with papers.

For the topping, combine flour, brown sugar ans salt in a medium bowl.  Cut butter into small cubes and put it into the flour mixture.  With a fork, work the butter into the dry mix until it is a crumbly texture.  With your hands, crumble the mixture on top of each muffin.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Emma & The Outer Banks of North Carolina

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As a child, before our first summer vacation to the beach, we asked my Mom over and over again to tell us all about the ocean and the beach. 


 I can remember her telling us about how magical it is to feel the sand between your toes. 



She described how soft the sand is compared to that in our sandbox...


and how the waves would come in to tickle your feet.


And that the water would be cold.  Really cold.


She said to always wear a hat and plenty of sunscreen... still to this day.

 
She said there is nothing quite like a day at the beach.


I don't think I'll ever get over waking up to the sound of the ocean outside my window...


...the way the sea air feels on my face,


Or going to sleep with the sound of crashing waves.

Grilled Steaks with Pineapple, Zucchini, Mushroom Kebabs

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The Chimichuri Sauce atop our Grilled Flank Steaks was a big hit at our house, which was surprising as I am one of those that do not like cilantro (supposedly) and Mike has a pronounced distaste for parsley (and cilantro, for that matter).  When my Mom was in town last week I used the leftover sauce as a marinade for our vegetable & pineapple kebabs that accompanied grilled ribeye steaks & classic baked potatoes.  The combination of the spicy, herb & lime juice sauce was amazing combined with the sweet pineapple on the grill- really special.

Grilled Pineapple & Vegetable Kebabs
marinated in Chimichurri Sauce


1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
1 pint of mushrooms
1 red onion, quartered
1/2 pineapple, 1-inch cubes
 Chimichurri Sauce
8 bamboo skewers

Soak the bambook skewers in water for 10 minutes or more to keep them from burning on the grill.

Place all of the vegetables and pineapple pieces in a large bowl.  Add chimichurri sauce and toss, coating each piece.  Thread the vegetables and pineapple onto a bamboo skewers, alternating them as you go.

Grill them for about 4 minutes on each side until they begin to cook thru and soften.  You can brush extra sauce on as you go for even more flavor.

Anthro Perk Alert: FREE SHIPPING is back!

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Yah! Free shipping is back for Anthro members! Here are the details...Receive free standard shipping for domestic online orders over $100 now through Tuesday, 06/26/2012 at 11:59pm EST. Enter code YOUFIRST at checkout. Additional fees apply for overweight, express or overnight shipping. This offer does not apply to international orders or previously placed orders. Start shopping now!

Homemade Beer-Battered Onion Rings

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I love onion rings.  Always have.  Even when I was really young, before I like onions on or in anything else, I loved onion rings.  When I was growing up we had a little diner in town that had been around since my parents were growing up- Dave's.   They talk about going there during their open lunch period in school to buy a burger for a quarter or something ridiculous.  When I was in 6th grade, I remember walking by there after school and stopping in for laffy taffy from their candy bar or an ice cream cone.   But what I really loved was a double (cheeseburger) with ketchup and pickles, only, and onion rings... with a chocolate milkshake, of course.  Even as I type it I can smell the onion rings and burgers frying.  Hmmmm.
Dave did not make his onion ring batter with beer (certainly not a Blue Moon), and he did not serve them with a chipotle aioli dipping sauce.  The recipe is an evolution of my grown-up tastes... inspired by my youth.  The breading is similar to a tempura type batter and works great on anything from zucchini to thick slices of portabella mushrooms.
Homemade Beer-Battered
Onion Rings

2 large Vidalia onions
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup if buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup beer
vegetable oil for frying
extra sea salt for sprinkling

Slice the onions in thick slices, then separate the rings.  Place them in a large bowl.  Sprinkle them with 1/2 cup of flour and toss, coating them with flour. 

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, garlic powder, cayenne, pepper, salt and beer.  Whisk together until it is smooth. 

Heat oil on medium high in a deep pan for frying.  To test the oil to make sure it is hot, drop a little bit of the batter in the oil.  If it starts to bubble immediately, the oil is ready.

Dip each onion ring into the batter, then put it into the frying pan.  Cook only enough rings at a time so they don't over crowd.  With tongs, half way through, flip the onions so they cook evenly on both sides.  Remove from the oil and let them drip on a paper towel.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

Here are the onions tossed in flour- it helps the batter stick to the onions.

Here I am, whisking the batter.  It should be like a thin pancake batter.


Chipotle Dipping Sauce comin' up!

Lunch at The Pond

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Last year during our first summer in Concord, I wondered... where are all of the pools?   

Surely on these hot summer days everyone flocks to a pool, right?  I searched online, looked all around town... I couldn't find a public pool anywhere.


Then a friend mentions that they were finally accepted into a pond this year after a couple of years on the wait-list. 



A pond?  A private pond?




It was so lovely.  I think this is something that all country towns should have - it was so peaceful and beautiful.