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

“gingerbread” grain-free donuts

In my never-ending quest for Saturday morning breakfast goodies, I created a pretty good let’s-do-this-again recipe. I love the texture an almond flour/coconut mix brings to baked donuts. Since I was going for less sweet/no white sugar thing, I used molasses & decided to spice accordingly!You can see what a lovely texture the baked donut has. (You can also see what a giant bite I took out of that bad boy…) The wondrous thing is I can reheat one of these goodies from the freezer in the microwave and it doesn’t toughen up or get crumbly!I started with my favorite “donut flour” blend which is 3/4 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut. (I can buy the coconut in bulk at a grocery store here…)Next I mixed in my spices: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. (this ratio reflects my family’s taste preference…) Then I added a quarter teaspoon each of salt and baking soda.So in my liquid mixing cup I’ve got 1/4 cup coconut oil (it’s liquid these days ‘cause our house won’t be 75° for several months ) three eggs, 2 Tablespoons molasses and 1 teaspoon vanilla.I have a go at it with my Cuisinart Smart Stick (♥ this thing!)and then pour the liquids onto the dry and blend it up again.I spooned the batter into my greased Wilton Doughnut Pan and then baked it at 350° for 15 minutes.Pop those babies out as soon as they’ve cooled a few seconds, and then consume! (I never glaze them… I think they’re perfect just the way they are!)