Cheesy Rosemary Garlic Biscuits

One of the things that I have not really experimented with in the kitchen are biscuits. I am not really sure why I have shied away from the bread, but I suppose it's because I don't eat all that much bread. I figured that Thanksgiving would be the perfect time for me to make these cheesy rosemary garlic biscuits. They seemed simple enough, though I was cheating some what because the recipe called for Bisquick. Either way the recipe sounded yummy so I decided to give them a try. These smell heavenly when they are baking and fortunately turned out to taste just as good as they looked. The cheese and the rosemary butter on top definitely made these biscuits feel more upscale. I am okay with the fact that I didn't make these from scratch because they taste delicious. If you are looking for a new biscuit to serve at Christmas dinner, be sure to give these a try.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary, fresh and chopped
2 cups of Heat Smart Bisquick
1/3 cup (or 3 oz) of shredded Parmesan cheese
2/3 milk, fat free*

*Note: I used whole milk as that's what was on hand.

Directions:

Mince the rosemary and melt the butter and the garlic in a pan. Meanwhile line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the Bisquick, Parmesan cheese, and the other garlic clove. Stir together and then add in the milk. Be careful to only mix until all the ingredients are combined. 

Once the garlic cooks for about a minute, take it off the heat and add the minced rosemary. Drop the biscuit mix by tablespoon onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 400.

Then brush or pour the melted butter over the biscuits and bake for an additional 5 minutes. They should be golden brown on the tops when you pull them out.

Hominy Grill

When Food Network recommends a restaurant, I try my best to make sure that I go check it out. Hominy Grill is located in a quaint little house with a covered courtyard patio and the infamous grits artwork on the side of the building. They only take reservations for dinner, but the brunch is what everyone was raving about...especially the shrimp and grits. It was recommended that you get there right when the opened because there would be a pretty long wait. We arrived before they opened and sure enough there was already a line of about 20 people. With that being said though, this places knows how to get people in (once they opened we were seated in less than 5 minutes) and out and the efficiently! The inside it like you are sitting in a cottage with lots of windows and and eclectic set of furniture...definitely very homey feeling though. As we were working our way to the door, I noted that there was another delicious sounds cocktail with honeysuckle vodka, lemonade and raspberry - SO YUMMY!

Feeling a little abnormal, I opted to try some of the smaller brunch offerings so that I could try more. Plus the shrimp and grits were already being ordered, so I was definitely getting to try those. I chose pumpkin gingerbread and a egg, cheese and bacon biscuit sandwich. The pumpkin gingerbread reminded me of fall and would be perfect on a chilly fall morning with a steaming cup of coffee. It wasn't too sweet and there was hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and nuts. I am no determined to find a way to recreate that because it just made me feel warm and fuzzy. I am not the biggest fan of biscuits, but probably because most of the ones I have tried have been small and thin. These were big and cloud like and hot out of the oven! The eggs and bacon would have been yummy on their own, but all together it was like a breakfast symphony...exactly what a breakfast sandwich should be.

Like all the shrimp and grits we tried, this one was completely different from the others. The grits were pure white and the shrimp didn't have any sauce. What I found to be interesting was that this dish seemed to have an Asian influence to it. The spices were definitely more prominent, but that may have been because there was not sauce. In addition to the shrimp, there were scallions, mushroom and bacon. And yes since it's the South bacon is pretty much in everything (and I am definitely not going to complain about that). Just for another comparison, there was an order of just cheese grits. These grits had a consistency that was similar to oatmeal. I really liked that they used real shredded cheese instead of cheese sauce. The cheese added a touch of salt to the grits and gave it a creamier texture.

Though I know that is it not necessarily customary to eat dessert at brunch, the dessert lover inside all of us came out and so we had to give it a try. They had several yummy options like hummingbird cake, a coconut layer cake, and a lemon icebox pie. I am not a huge pie person, but we decided to try the lemon icebox pie. It was light and fluffy with a very lovely fresh lemon taste. The whipped cream on top added some sweetness to the pie. However, in this pie it was was really the crust that was the star. It was the perfect combination of buttery graham crackery goodness. It didn't crumble into a million piece and yet still managed to have a fair amount of crunch to it. Hominy Grill should definitely be on your restaurant list when you visit Charleston whether you make it for breakfast, lunch or dinner because I am sure that you will be impressed.

Maple Date Biscuits

There are more times than not when I seem to be very inspired super early in the morning. After one particularly exhilarating morning run, I came home and decided to make biscuits. This recipe was for a fig-maple sugar biscuit from Cooking Light, however, I used dates and maple syrup. I was slightly under on the amount of butter needed, so I made do with what I had and hoped for the best. The best part about recipes is that you can use them as a starting point and adjust them as you see fit. I can't say that I have ever made biscuits, but they were much simpler than I thought they would be. I do need to warn you though that you will need a pastry blender for this recipe. If you make a lot of pastries and dough, the pastry blender will be a staple piece of equipment so it may be worth the investment. Start off by mixing together the flour, salt, baking powder and maple syrup/maple sugar. I didn't have maple sugar, so I substituted, but make sure that you reduce one of the liquids by a quarter when using the maple syrup. Then add in the cold cubed butter with a pastry blender until a crumbly mixture is formed. Mine turned out to be more of a soft dough, which I am attributing to the maple syrup. Add in the dates (or figs) and the milk and stir until well mixed. Then scoop out the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes or until golden brown. The aroma of maple slowed filled the air and smelled amazing and they had just a touch of the golden color when I pulled them out. They were a bit darker on the bottom than I would have liked, but fortunately they were definitely not burned. Once they cooled, I gave one a try and was surprised at how delicious they were. The maple syrup was apparent in the background without being too sweet or overwhelming the somewhat more delicate flavor of the dates. These were not the super crumbly biscuits, but more like a scone which I didn't mind even though I am not entirely sure that was what was supposed to happen. The best part is that these have very little sugar in them and could probably be made to be gluten free. I think next time I might add some pecans or just make some plain ones. I continue to be surprised by the wonderful recipes that I am getting from the Cooking Light cookbook, so I can't wait to try the next one.

 

Cranberry Orange Biscuits

There are times when you just can't make biscuits from scratch, so you need something quick but that still tastes homemade. Thank goodness I found Immaculate refrigerated biscuits. I invited a friend over from brunch and thought that I could throw together some muffins, but then life happened so that muffins didn't. I found these cranberry orange biscuits that would be perfect. They are made with no bleached flour, artificial preservatives, or hydrogenated oil and only 180 calories, so not too terribly bad for you. They come in a package of 8 and are ready in about 10 minutes.They are normal sized, so don't worry about only getting a two bite biscuit. These have real cranberries in it and are flaky and soft. They also come in blueberry and they have some pretty yummy cinnamon rolls as well. This is a perfect substitute for those times you need something quick for breakfast or a midmorning snack and I promise no one will know you didn't make them from scratch. Pick some up today and give them a try.