Parmesan

These are delicious and easy to make.  Just stick to a couple basic techniques and you will have fluffy biscuits each time!  Plus they make the whole house smell fantastic!

The most important thing about making biscuits, is to keep the ingredients as cold as possible before putting them in the oven.  The butter has to stay cold throughout or you wont get flaky biscuits!

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• 3/4 cup Cheddar, grated
• 1/4 cup Parmigian, grated
• 1  stick butter, cubed and kept cold
• 3/4 cup Buttermilk, kept cold

Directions

Preheat oven to 450F and line a cookie sheet with some wax paper.

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl(Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Sugar).  If you have a Kitchen Aide mixer, that’s the best.    Add the cold cubed butter into the mixing bowl and mix with the Kitchen Aide wire mixer until the butter has been incorporated into the flour.   It is very important that the butter is added cold and kept cold.  After the butter has been cut into the flour, set aside in the fridge to keep it cool.  If you don’t have a Kitchen Aide mixer, you can cut the flour with a fork using some muscle.

Grate the cheddar and mix it with a little flour so that it wont stick together into a small bowl.  Add the grated Parmigian into the bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients with the cheese and mix briefly with a wooden spoon.   With the kitchen aide bread attachment mixer add the cold buttermilk to the dry ingredients until a bread ball forms.  Or mix them together with a wooden spoon and again some muscle.  You want to mix till it just until a bread ball forms.  Do NOT over work the dough as it will melt the cold butter.

Take the ball and knead on a floured surface for just a minute or two.  Roll the dough so the dough is evenly spread out about 1/2 an inch thick(no one is measuring).   Then either cut it into squares or take a glass cup and make circular biscuits.

Place biscuits on the cookie sheet with the wax paper.  Brush a little cold water on the top of each biscuit and sprinkle with a little bit of salt.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Take out and set aside for 10 minutes before serving.  You can keep it warm by placing it in a hand towel lined bowl, covered.

Delicious.

This dish requires your constant attention to prepare.  It is a good dish to prepare when your family/friends gather in the kitchen because you can take turns cooking it, while everyone is talking and having a good time.  It is delicious and really worth the time spent preparing it.

Makes 4 side servings or 2 main dish servings.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 cup Arborio rice, washed
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• salt, to taste – probably 1/2 tsp or so
• 1 lemon – grate for zest & squeeze for juice
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• pepper, freshly ground

Directions:

1. Have the stock simmering very low in a separate sauce pan.
2. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed frying pan.
3. Saute the onion & garlic over medium low heat until the onion is golden.
4. Add the rice and continue to saute, stirring constantly, until the grains are glistening with oil.
5. Stir in the wine & salt and cook over medium heat, constantly stirring.  The wine should simmer very softly until it evaporates.
6. When the wine has just about evaporated, stir in a ladleful of stock and continue to cook slowly simmering & stirring.
7. Continue cooking in this manner:  cooking rice until liquid is evaporated, adding one ladleful of stock at a time, stirring constantly, USING ALL BUT ONE LADLEFUL OF STOCK.
8. After about 25-30 minutes the rice should be cooked al dente/firm to the bite.
9. In a separate bowl, beat together the lemon juice, lemon zest, egg & Parmesan cheese and set aside.
10. Add the last ladleful of stock so that the rice is not completely dry and remove from heat.
11. Immediately stir in the lemon mixture and taste to adjust salt & pepper.
12. Return to heat and stir for a few seconds.
13. Serve right away,