Being spoiled is nice …

. . . and I am very good at spoiling, especially when it comes to food. I have been feeding my husband all his favorites this weekend, not because I want anything but because I have a strong need to be pleasing.

This morning we had biscuits and gravy. Turkey-sausage gravy that is, made with skim milk. It was tasty. I have to say, I make some mean biscuits. Buttermilk biscuits. Yum.

Perfect every time!

Here are the keys to making perfect biscuits every time. You’ll need:

2 cups of unbleached white flour.
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp extremely cold butter
2 tbsp cold Crisco
1 cup buttermilk

Have your oven very hot. 425 is ideal.

First: mix all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Second: Grate your butter into the flour using a large cheese grater and add in the Crisco in little bits. Mix GENTLY with your fingertips until it’s coarsely blended. Grab a rubber spatula and mix in the buttermilk. The dough will be slightly sticky but one cohesive ball.

Third: Flour the countertop and place the dough in the flour and gently knead into a flat disc. Press the dough flat and fold repeat this process no less than four times. Using an empty can (I used a tuna can) cut your biscuits out and bake in a greased (dark metal) baking pan.

Fourth: Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Check them at 15 for brownness.

Fifth: Eat with gravy
or peanut butter and honey
or honey-butter
or lemon curd
or homemade preserves.
or just a shmeer of butter
or what ever trips your trigger.

The real challenge is not eating them all and this is NOT a low calorie biscuit.

Okay, breaks over …

So, the holidays were crazy and I haven’t posted a single thing. Truth be told, I didn’t cook a single thing over the holiday. That was weird. Since we stayed at Derek’s parents there wasn’t much for me to cook. I wanted to cook but it’s weird to do so in someone else’s kitchen. My mother-in-law-to-be is a gracious host and a great cook so I have no complaints on that score (except she doesn’t keep horseradish in the house).

I did show her how to make biscuits. It’s all in the baking powder, you have to use a lot of it! Oh and a touch of shortening helps too.

January 9 is the anniversary of Derek finding me on Facebook. I celebrated by making one of D’s favorite foods, Gumbo. Cook’s Illustrated comes to the rescue AGAIN! I am telling you that there is nothing they do poorly. They are correct about the roux being the  trick to good gumbo. I have been making roux’s a long time but I have never cooked a roux that long. It made the gumbo rich and layered in flavor. The Andouille sausage I used was also really good. It has come back to haunt me once and that’s amazing!

Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Gumbo!

I didn’t have any okra to put in mine but I will next time. Yum-mee! We paired this with the 2004 Montebuena Pinot Noir. Wow! It’s our favorite right now. It’s so good! We also finally drank the champagne that was given to us at my going away party in KC. Chandon does a great champagne!

I suppose I need to get a plan together for 2012 and I do have one. Get a job and get married that’s a big plan. Yippee!

Happy New Year Ya’ll!