Biscuits and Loaded Potato Leek Soup for a COLD day

I was almost useless
 the entire shiny, 
brand new week of 2017...

I just knew I was coming down
 with something late on New Year's Eve... 

(a whole week ago)  

I felt great all through the holidays...

 and having a healthy family

throughout the merriest time of the year
 is a true blessing... 

A 100% sneeze-free home and 
no doctor's visits...that's truly the stuff

 of fairy tales...any parent can tell you that.

For me...that dreaded 'I'm catching a little something' 
feeling was spot on...

and it wasn't the
  Santa ClausMopolitans 
I celebrated with

all evening long...  I'm certain.

As late as Wednesday,  
I quietly asked my husband:

"Do you think I should reschedule
 the live recipe segments??"

After a long pause he said:

"It's only Wednesday... 

I think you'll be better by Friday morning..."

I really did not want to cancel on FOX... 
Should I stay or go?? Hmmm...

My husband was right.

I am happy to report... 

I'm feeling fine and the 

biscuits totally had their moment... on live TV.

It was a crazy-busy morning in the studio 
with two recipe segments... 
biscuits and the loaded potato leek soup.
 So busy, I didn't 
have time to snap too many
 behind the scenes photos...

I was scurrying...
time for one mediocre selfie 
and setting up for the next segment...

No hitches, whatsoever... 
unless you count me referring 

to White Lily Self Rising Flour as
Lily White Self Rising Flour... 

wrong, wrong, wrong... 

Live TV and cold medicine... my apologies friends.

I don't usually watch back the TV segments 

more than once... 

I am super critical and it's kind of uncomfortable

 for me to watch myself.

Seeing mannerisms ... 

and hearing my voice... 
 it's unusual to see yourself like that...  

So, I mostly don't watch 
and I keep moving forward.

I did however, laugh right out loud hearing 

myself call the flour by the wrong name...  

oh my...

 In case YOU would like to see the TV segment,  

with a special nod

to White Lily Flour here it is:  

(I am guessing White Lily will not be
contacting me for a product endorsement.)

  Click Here to see the video: 
 Biscuit Recipe Video FOX19

Three minutes isn't really enough time to 
fully explain biscuit making...

and I want you to know  so badly,
 how really, really easy and quick it is 
to make them... I promise. 

If biscuits were hard to make... 
they would have NEVER become popular.
Homemade buttermilk biscuits could have never 

become a staple in America's food history...  

No busy mothers, chefs or bakers
 in history had extra time to devote to all-day biscuit making,

--especially after making the rest of the Sunday supper...  

Biscuits --the really good ones...
they are popular because of three things.

They are:

1. Delicious

2. Economical

3. Easy 

KFC would be serving up a slice of bread... or just the coleslaw 

if all the goodness about biscuits weren't true... 

I want you to know, you can make them too...
so wonderfully,

they will rival the very best biscuits
you have ever had.

Please believe me, 
good biscuits are not hard to make.

Use the right ingredients and the right technique 

in you'll have a go-to recipe and a very

 delicious addition to any meal... It's kind of like an 

"art" and once you have it mastered... 

it becomes second nature.

My love for biscuits runs deep... 
including a post I wrote about a

 visit last spring to the Loveless Cafe
 in Nashville Tennessee... just for biscuits.

The folks at the Loveless Cafe, 
they KNOW how to make some beautiful biscuits.

No one there will ever give you the recipe...

But if you stand at the biscuit-making window
just long enough...
(yes, there is such a thing--)
you can gather some genius
baking tips, like I did.

Click here to read about 
a road trip devoted to biscuits:
Biscuits On Parade: Our Road Trip to The Loveless Cafe Nashville

Read all about what I learned from 
watching biscuits being born... 
 Plus...Nashville, TN and the surrounding
communities are pretty amazing... 
it's a trip I bet you'd like too!

GIVEAWAY

I picked up this little book at
the bookstore over the holidays...
It's a book of country sayings...
Some are cute and some are just silly...
I laughed so hard at a few...
I had to have this book and I 
thought you should have one too.

I have one to give away...plus it has 
'biscuit" in the title... 
So, it was meant to be.

To enter...fill out this rafflecopter form below 
and then be sure to leave a
 comment at the bottom of this post.  
I would love to know what recipes in 
2017 you'd like to read about here on the blog.

Contest is open to until midnight 1-13-2017.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please enjoy my very own

 blue ribbon winning biscuit recipe:

Blue Ribbon Kitchen: First Place Buttermilk Biscuits

8 Tablespoons cold grated butter (1 stick butter)

You can grate the butter by hand or use a food processor- both give good results.

-finely grated frozen butter put through the grater

attachment of the food processor. Keep it cold.

2 Cups White Lily Self Rising Flour -no substitutions

1/4 Cup cake flour-no substitutions

¼  tsp granulated sugar

¼  tsp salt

Whisk together with fork

1 Cup cold buttermilk

Melted butter for biscuit tops- 2 TBS

2 TBS flour if needed for sticky dough

***

Preheat Oven: 450 degrees. Use center oven racks

Make butter snow with the food processor or grate butter

(see above) 

 Keep butter snow chilled or frozen until ready to mix into flour.

Whisk together self-rising flour, cake flour sugar and salt.

Add the butter snow.

Using a pastry blender or fork,

lightly incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.

Make a well in the center of flour mixture.

Pour in cold buttermilk.

Mix, just until combined using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

Chill the dough for five-seven minutes.

On a lightly floured work surface (I like parchment)

Roll the dough out, and then fold the dough in half and roll again.

If dough is sticky add a little extra flour until dough is not sticky.

Fold and roll about 4 times...until the dough is silky and smooth.

(Rolling and folding, helps to create layers)

Always be gentle...

Roll out dough using a rolling pin to 1/2 inch thickness.

Using a lightly floured cutter, cut out biscuits 

and lay them touching one another on a greased and 

parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet.

(When they touch one another, they help each other to rise taller)

Just as in life...our close friends help us to stand taller-A country wisdom and biscuit truth.

(Also...they did this at the Loveless too!!)

Re-roll any leftover dough, 

cut out and add remaining biscuits to tray.  

Be sure to get cold biscuits right into the oven... if necessary,

chill tray of biscuits for five minutes before placing into the hot oven.

Bake on middle rack, in a hot-preheated 450 oven for

12 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Brush tops with melted butter.  Serve

Remember me saying Friday was a busy day...there's more...

there was a soup segment too!!

I had the pleasure of doing the 9:45 and 10:45 recipe segments...

Here is the video link for the Loaded Potato Leek Soup...

Click here: Fox 19 Video Potato Leek Soup

The recipe follows.

Blue Ribbon Kitchen’s: Loaded Potato Leek Soup:

3lbs. Russet Potatoes-sliced into chunks and cooked until tender and drained

Leeks2-3- sliced, rinsed and drained

1 tsp unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp garlic powder

Salt

Chicken or vegetable stock; two cans-28 ounces

Heavy cream or half and half

Toppings for “loading” soup: shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chives, scallions,   crumbled bacon, sour cream.

***

Directions:

Peel and slice a 3 lb. bag of russet potatoes.  Put into a pot of water and heat on medium until just tender.  Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

Leeks...can be sandy...be sure to give them a good soak.  Chop off the dark green leaves at the top and the roots at the bottom and discard.

Slice 2 medium or 3 small leeks and rinse them well.  I like to let them soak in a colander of cold water while I work on the potatoes.  Be sure to separate the ringlets of leek slices to release any trapped sand or dirt. After a good soak in cool water, simply lift the colander out and give them a final rinse. (See video-- I show this)

In a large pot on medium, cook the leeks in 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter until soft and just beginning to caramelize.

Add:

1 ½ teaspoons of ground coriander seed (--I love Penzey's spices in general -link at bottom)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tsp salt

Two 14-ounce cans of chicken stock

(It's fine to substitute vegetable stock for a vegetarian version)  Adding the stock will loosen the seasonings and browned leeks that may be on the bottom of the pot...
Return the tender-cooked potatoes to the pot and bring pot to a boil.

Reduce heat to low.

Add 1/2 pint of heavy cream or half and half.  The heavy cream is really rich, either work wonderfully.

Let simmer on low at least 30 minutes-or up to all day, stirring occasionally.  If the soup is on all afternoon...it may get a little on the thick side, have a little extra cream or stock available to thin it. As the soup simmers, the potatoes get creamier and the flavors all come together.  Don't forget to give the soup a stir ever so often...the potatoes will want to stick as the day wears on... so keep an eye on it.

Add additional salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  It is better to salt and pepper at the end of simmering, just before serving...salting too early and too much can lead to salty soup, especially if it simmered all afternoon and reduced down.

Top the soup with shredded cheese, sour cream, chives or bacon crumbles... Enjoy!

Link to: Penzey's Spices

Thank you for reading the blog!! 

 I hope you try these recipes!!  

May the second week of 2017
 be even better than the first week...
that's my hope for all of us!!

~Karri