Bacon Cheddar Chowder & Butternut Browned Butter Biscuits

Ever since Nichole announced November's Improv Cooking Challenge pairing was to be WINTER SQUASH & BACON I'd been collecting butternut bacon soup ideas... All through our "fall weather" of 100+° I thought it sounded like an Autumn-appropriate comfort meal. But the idea didn't jive with all the fellas. (I probably coulda snuck it on the table & they'd politely eat it.)
My next plan was to make rolls (they'll eat almost anything with yeast dough wrapped around it) but I remembered I wanted to make a chowder to show off my Portuguese tureen that I never get to use because I'm lazy we not fancy and usually serve soup out of the slow-cooker or from the pot on the stove.

But... because the hubster ended his work day an hour and a half across town, & the middle fella had a drum lesson after classes, we ended up dishing our soup out of the crocker & snatching the biscuits off the hot baking sheet. {{heavy sigh}}
I love that my slow-cooker made the chowder while I was fussing about with other concerns of the day. And while I'd planned on creating a biscuit with almond flour, I decided to just adapt Bob's recipe on the bag of his Red Mill® Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Best decision, ever!

I roasted the butternut halves with a bit of bacon drippings brushed over the cut surfaces... Oh, my!
So, here you go:

BROWNED BUTTER BUTTERNUT BISCUITS

 ½ c. butter
 2½ c. Bob’s Red Mill® Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
1 T. grass-fed gelatin
½ t. sea salt
2½ t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
1 c. diced roasted butternut
2 eggs
¾ c. buttermilk

Brown the butter over medium heat until it smells like caramel without the sweet. 

Chill to firm.In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients.Add chilled browned butter (cut into small pieces) and use pastry blender to disperse.

Carefully stir in squash.

Mix eggs and buttermilk. Pour over biscuit mix and gently stir to make dough.Roll to 1” thickness between plastic wrap. Cut with 3” circle cutter and place on parchment.

Brush tops of biscuits with a bit of buttermilk.

Bake in pre-heated 450° oven for 18 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before eating. (If you can wait that long!)

And now for the chowder:

Bacon Chowder

1 lb. bacon

1 small onion

3 ribs celery

3 carrots

6 garlic cloves

1 large head cauliflower

1 quart chicken broth

3 bay leaves

1 t. dried thyme

fresh-ground pepper to taste

2 c. milk

2 T. tapioca starch

2 c. water

1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese

Sauté bacon over medium heat until crisp. Set aside and remove all but a tablespoon of the drippings.

In the same pan make the soffritto by rough chopping & adding the onion, celery & carrots. Mince the garlic and sauté until vegetables are tender.

Cut the cauliflower into florets. Place in crock of slow cooker and add the soffritto, broth & spices.

Cook until the cauliflower is soft.

Mix tapioca starch with the milk and add to crock with the water. Blend with immersion blender until smooth.

Crumble bacon into crock and simmer until chowder has thickened. Stir in cheese a little at a time until smooth.

Serve & enjoy!

Even the youngest fella returned to the crock for a second helping of soup! And my bread connoisseur asked for a repeat batch of the biscuits!

Check out these links to see how the other Improvers used their winter squash & bacon:

An InLinkz Link-up

Snickerdoodle Scones

SUGAR & SPICE is the theme for October's Improv Cooking Challenge. (You can check out Nichole's blog for information if you'd like to participate...)

I've been wanting to make scones with almond flour for some time now. And Snickerdoodle, to me, is the epitome of sugar/spice flavor.

Snickerdoodle Scones (gluten free)

2	c.	almond flour		½	c.	butter, cubed
¼	c.	potato starch
¼	c.	sugar		2	large eggs
½	t.	cream of tartar		2	T.	Greek yogurt
1	t.	baking powder
½	t.	baking soda		2	T.	sugar
¼	t.	salt (I used fine sea salt)		2	t.	cinnamon
½	t.	xanthan gum

Blend all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Beat the eggs with the yogurt and stir into the flour mixture.

Form into disk on parchment paper. Chill 10 minutes then slice into 8 wedges. Place in freezer for an hour. Carefully roll wedges in cinnamon sugar mixture & return to parchment with about an inch between each scone. Chill until ready to bake.

Preheat oven & pizza stone to 350°. Slide parchment paper with cold scones onto hot stone and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Let cool then serve with fresh whipped cream and cinnamon sugar leaves.

I was very pleased with how these scones baked up. And I loved how the cream of tartar "tang" was noticeably present in the flavor.

I made the whipped cream without vanilla so that the goodness which is cinnamon & sugar could shine through. mmmmmmmmm!

Fresh whipped cream

1 c. heavy cream

1/3 c. powdered sugar

Beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and continue to whip until peaks form. Chill.

The cinnamon leaves were a last-minute decision, but I love the little texture they added to the whipped cream. You could also cut them tiny into little chips to sprinkle over the scone & cream.

Cinnamon sugar leaves

1/3 c. sugar

1 T. cinnamon

1 T. avocado oil

1 T. light corn syrup

Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Roll to 1/16^th inch on parchment paper with plastic wrap on top of dough. Bake at 225° for 30 minutes. Let cool, then cut into shapes. (If mixture hardens too much to cut through, return pan to oven to soften slightly.)

My method of scone consumption consists of breaking off a chunk of the lovely biscuit and slathering it with a dollop of whipped cream...

Scrummy!

You can check out my friends' SUGAR & SPICE creations by following the links below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Versunkener Apfelkuchen gluten-free

Because it's been a few years since I'd made an apfel kuchen for my German-loving sons, I thought perhaps something like that would be the perfect recipe to highlight September's #ImprovCookingChallenge ingredients APPLES & HONEY. (The Improv Cooking Challenge is a once-a-month blogger recipe challenge lead by Nichole from Cookaholic Wife. You are welcome to join us for the monthly linky party...)

While googling honey + apfelkuchen I came across "sunken apple and honey cake" by Smitten Kitchen. I thought it looked beautiful and would be easy to adapt to an almond flour recipe to keep it gluten free.

The cake tasted wonderful, according to two of my four taste-testers. (One didn't like the honey flavor and the other dislikes anything that has the "eggy taste")

I thought it perfect for breakfast or brunch!

An InLinkz Link-up

Peach Æbleskiver with Habañero Honey Whisky Glaze

Our August ingredients for the #ImprovCookingChallenge are the unlikely duo of Peaches & Peppers. Usually my go-to with these two ingredients would be a salsa sorta like the one I created here five years ago... But, since my sis handed me down a cast-iron æbleskiver pan, I figured it was about time we tried that out -- making some peach-filled itty-bitty round Danish pancakes/doughnuts.

(The hot-pepper glaze was just a happy little afterthought!) 

If you have never made æbleskiver before, I recommend you try a recipe using regular flour.

Also, I will suggest that having a filling (many cooks serve plain with jam or syrup on the side) makes these more difficult to turn properly. Other than that, these little guys are fun to make & eat.

Let's start with the glaze: Boozed + Infused is where I found the recipe for the Habañero Honey Whisky. It was quite simple to make. 

• 1 habañero pepper, quartered & seeded (unless you want it super hot!)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• zest from 1 small lemon
• 1.5 oz. water
• 1 c. whisky

Put the first 5 ingredients in saucepan, simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove pepper and let the remaining ingredients cool. Strain honey mixture into jar & combine with whisky. Shake once or twice a day for 3 days. Strain through coffee filter into decanter. Let infusion rest a few days before using.

 

 To make the glaze:

• 1 T. butter, melted
• 1 T. Greek yogurt
• 1 c. confectioners sugar
• 1 T. habañero honey whisky

Mix yogurt & melted butter until smooth. Stir in sugar. Whisk in the whisky!

This glaze was amazing! It totally elevated those peach-filled pastries.

Now for that æbleskiver recipe -- the first batch I made with coconut flour, and they weren't bad; we just prefered the ones made from almond flour.

• 1.5 c. almond flour
• 1 T. honey
• 1/2 c. Greek yogurt
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 peach - peeled, pitted & finely diced

Separate eggs and whip the whites. Whisk first 5 ingredients and egg yolks together in a bowl until batter is smooth. Gently fold in the whites. Allow batter to stand at least 15 minutes.

Heat (maybe a half teaspoon in each cup) oil in æbleskiver pan over medium heat. Drop about a tablespoon of batter into each cup, top with around a teaspoon of the peaches, then top with another teaspoon of batter.

Cook until bubbles form around the edges, then turn the batter a quarter turn with a chopstick. The wet batter should slide down into the cup while the browned portion rolls upward. Repeat process until the pastries are browned all around.

Makes 24 æbleskiver. 

Now you don't HAVE to enjoy your æbleskiver with a bottle of iced coffee, but I highly recommend it!

OK -- so go check out the links below where my friends share their peaches & peppers recipes:

An InLinkz Link-up

Italian Berry Mule

As I googled recipes utilizing BERRIES & BALSAMIC vinegar for July's #ImprovCookingChallenge I came across one I couldn't shake. Actually, I could shake...

**WARNING**
There's a little bit of quite a backstory, you can skip down to the  ^*^recipe^*^ if you wish...

This story actually begins in 2006 with the death of our friend who was a fighter pilot. (You can read about his widow's & their 5 kids' story in this incredible book.)
Folds of  Honor is an organization that steps in to help families of our military who have paid the ultimate price for our country. It has been exciting the past few years to watch the breadth of FOH's fundraising grow. At first it was golf tournaments, soon QT was involved and now there are many major donors giving to honor the sacrifices made for our blessed nation.

So when Budweiser advertised their tribute, we had to buy a carton (even though we don't like beer...)

Perhaps you've seen this ad:

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^recipe^*^ *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

First I made a ginger syrup with about 8 oz. ginger I thinly sliced with the mandolin. Boiled it up with 4 cups of water and 2 cups sugar, then simmered for an hour. I strained it into glass bottles & refrigerated.

For the mule (adapted from here) we used the following ingredients:

10 raspberries

1 shot vodka

2 t. fresh lime juice

1/2 t. balsamic vinegar

1 T. ginger syrup

beer to top off

Muddle raspberries in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and remaining ingredients excepting beer and shake well. Strain into an iced highball glass and top it off with the beer.

or

10 blueberries

1 shot vodka

2 T. ginger syrup

1/2 t. balsamic vinegar

beer to top off

Muddle blueberries in cocktail shaker. Add ice and remaining ingredients but the beer and shake well. Strain into an iced highball glass and top it off with beer.

(light up the night!)

If you're looking for more BERRIES & BALSAMIC recipes, please check out the links below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Balsamic Berry Hand Pies

While I do love me some balsamic vinegar on my caprese, I'd never thought to use it in any but savory dishes. When July's #ImprovCookingChallenge ingredient list popped up, I figured I'd pass on this month's entry -- Berries & Balsamic -- yuk!
So I googled berries & balsamic - who knew it was a "thing"?! I figured I'd better try it, just in case the fellas might like it.
I used a mix of blueberries & raspberries.

The filling wasn't quite as bright-colored as I'd hoped, but it sure tasted killer! 

Turns out, balsamic vinegar enhances berry flavors!

I made a gluten-free pie crust and cut rounds.

Added a large dollop of filling, then topped it with a second round.

Since gf pastry doesn't always brown nicely, I brushed the tops with beaten egg & sprinkled sugar over before baking.

The crust was super flake-y and could not contain all the goodness that was the balsamic kissed berries!

So yummy! 

Good to the last crumb!


Here's what I used to make the filling:

• 12 oz. blueberries
• 12 oz. raspberries
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. cornstarch
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 T. fresh lime juice

Stir in sauce pan over medium heat until mixture thickens.

Check out these other recipes from my fellow "Improvists" -- you won't be sorry!

An InLinkz Link-up