Rosemary and Cheese Biscuits

The truth is that shortly before Christmas the cooking bug in me died. I don't know what happened. Just one day I wasn't interested anymore. I stopped looking at my stock pile of recipes, dreaming of the kitchen, wondering what ingredients to buy next. I just lost interest. That and I was tired. Tired from residency, tired from December, tired about eating.

Which was unfortunate, because my kind sister S. got us this lovely cookbook for Christmas full of beautiful pictures and good things to eat, and I looked at it and just didn't have the gumption to begin.

Until I discovered the recipe for Cheesy Biscuits and then I was reminded of this time I went to Red Lobster (I think the only time I ever went to Red Lobster) in Burlingame or some other such odd place (I can't remember exactly) and there I ate these amazing delicious little cheesy biscuits that I have wanted ever since and finally that little memory alone propelled me back into the kitchen... twice thus far. Yes, they were that good I overcame my cooking lull to make them not once, but twice! And today I have been singing happy little songs all about cheesy biscuits and smooching my Robber and all was well in the world, briefly, when the cheesy biscuits came out of the oven and the smell wafted through the Cubby and the hope of brighter days ahead dawned. All from the cheesy biscuits.

Adapted from The Essential Fingerfood Cookbook by Bay Books, page 56.

Ingredients:

1 C. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3.5 oz butter, chopped

4 T. sour cream or buttermilk or plain Greek yogurt (the original recipe calls for 1 T. but I have used 4 both times)

2 oz. grated Cheddar cheese

2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

1 T. chopped fresh rosemary

1 T. chopped fresh chives

Directions:

1. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Cut in the butter into the mixture is akin to fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add the cheeses and herbs and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add the fat in 1-2 tablespoons at a time until the mixture is softened. You may have to dump the mixture out onto the counter and knead it together so that it forms a firm ball of dough. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

3. While refrigerating, preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease one baking sheet with butter or oil (or use parchment paper).

4. Press the chilled dough out into a flat round and cut into 8 wedges. Arrange the wedges on the baking sheet and bake until the wedges are puffy and started to crisp around the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool-- the biscuits will deflate a little while cooling but ideally will have crispy cheesy edges with soft warm cheesy insides. Enjoy!

Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka)

I saw this recipe on my friend R.G.'s Facebook page a while back and tagged it, feeling like R.G. ought to know what was good and what was not. She is down to earth, reliable, smart, and used to live in Sweden. The cake is somewhat opposite-- gooey and sweet, runny and soft, but so tempting... I made it for our Valentine's celebration this year and the Robber ate and ate of it. Definitely a treat for two.

I realized I didn't have cocoa powder so I subbed in Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix which was good but I think created a sweeter product. To tone down the sweetness I served it with some tart and creamy Greek yogurt just barely sweetened and with strawberries mixed in. I preferred to eat it that way, while the Robber ate his along with some swallows of whole milk. Either way, it was delicious.

Barely adapted from AllRecipes.Com.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/swedish-sticky-chocolate-cake-kladdkaka/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=kladdkaka&e8=Quick+Search&event10=1&e7=Home+Page

Ingredients:

1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 C. white sugar

1 T. vanilla extract

1/2 C. butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Heavily grease and flour an eight inch pie plate.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt, set aside. In separate bowl, combine eggs and sugar and beat until thick and smooth. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture (or vice versa) and mix until thoroughly combined (but avoid over beating). Add in the vanilla and melted butter and stir until homogeneous. Pour into the prepared pie plate.

3. Bake on the lower rack of a preheated oven (to avoid burning the top) until the center of the top had a set crust-- about 35 min. The remainder of the cake may still appear gooey at the edges. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least one hour before serving. Can serve either warm or cold.