Everything Biscuits with Asiago

The sweet summer air has finally started to warm. I am now able to open my windows, the sun shining bright, while the wind gently tousles my hair. Warm summer days, evening sun, margaritas on the patio is what I enjoy most. Summer reminds me of childhood. Immersed in imaginary land, time passing by without any cares. Orange creamsicles, pogo sticks, and double-dutch used to be high on my priority list. Some days I feel as though nothing has changed. Early last week, I picked up an assortment of bagels. Since then, I awake each morning, my stomach grumbling in anticipation of whats to come. As I stumble to the kitchen, my eyes still half asleep, I stick my hand into the brown paper bag, fish around, and hope that I'll either pull out an everything or cheese bagel. Soon after, I start to wonder. Wondering if it's at all possible to take my two favorite bagels (cheese & everything) and transform them into a soft savory melt-in-your-mouth biscuit, which honestly seems like far less work than making my own bagels. Intrigued by this possibility, I start experimenting.

  Most importantly, the cheese. I went with an asiago, for it's sharp strong flavor. I love the taste of asiago cheese bread, and was hoping to create a similar flavor. I went on a search, high and low, to find dehydrated onions and garlic for my topping. With no luck, I choose to leave them off, being too lazy to make my own. I used sesame and poppy seeds, and of course, some crunchy sea salt. The sour cream offered a rich creaminess. The biscuits turned out heavenly. Bite size, flaky, soft, tender. The fat from the butter and cheese helped separate the layers of dough creating a flaky rich mouth feel. The seeds and salt added an additional crunch which was completely necessary. My only issue is that I can't stop eating them - sigh.

EVERYTHING BISCUITS WITH ASIAGO RECIPE (print)

makes 12 biscuits

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 tbsp unsalted butter, frozen and cubed

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 cup asiago cheese, shredded

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

1/4 tsp coarse sea salt

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper until combined.

Cut the frozen butter into tiny cubes. Add it to the food processor and pulse until the butter has crumbled into pea size pieces, 10 - 20 seconds.

In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg. Add it to the flour and butter, and pulse until the dough starts to stick together. Add the shredded cheese and pulse a few more times.

On a floured work surface, knead the dough until it starts to come together. If the dough seems too dry, do not add any water, the dough will eventually start to stick together. Roll out the dough into a 1 inch thick sheet. With a small circular cookie cutter, cut out the biscuit shapes. Knead the extra dough into a ball, and roll it out again into a 1 inch sheet. Continue in this manner until you have used it all up.

Place the biscuits onto a baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart.

In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and sea salt. In another small bowl, whisk 1 egg white.

Brush the top of the biscuits with the egg white, and then sprinkle the seed mixture on top.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the biscuits start to turn light brown on top. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Fresh Homemade Ricotta

I imagine that I look pretty amazing on a treadmill. I've never seen myself in a mirror or in person, but this is what I imagine. Me running with my arms flailing in the air, a displeased look on my face. I hate running on the treadmill, but I also hate running outside, so no bigs. Last week I felt my pants to be a little tighter. In an attempt to get back into them, I started running. I could've taken my bike out for a spin, or something cool like that, but to be honest, I am still terrified of those rail tracks. 

Ok, so treadmills are lame. We're basically running to nowhere, but we have to do what it takes to look and feel our best. I have come to terms with this. Last week while on the treadmill, I turned on an old re-run of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. In this particular episode, he traveled with his wife to her ancestral home of Sardina. In one of the clips, he watched as some local women created pane carasau, a thin and crisp flat bread which was originally conceived for shepherds. 

After preparing the bread, they all sat down with a few bottles of wine and some fresh pecorino. Energy deprived and completely sick of the treadmill, I decided to go home and recreate this Sardinian experience in my house, but foreseeing a major problem in this plan, the lack of wood burning oven in my kitchen, I opted for a quick and easy 'sorta' ricotta, with fresh bread and olive oil. Albiet, not quite pane carasau and fresh pecorino, but assuming this will quickly fix my immediate desire for Italy, I was content.

Ricotta literally means 'recooked' in Italian. True Italian ricotta is made from the by product (left-over whey) from another cheese process, typically mozzarella. Initially, this confused me. I was under the impression that all cheese was made from the coagulation and curdling of casein. Apparently, ricotta is made from the coagulation of other milk proteins such as albumin and globulin, present in the whey. An interesting example of how people with a milk casein allergy are able to tolerate ricotta. 

This is why I am calling it 'sorta' ricotta. It's more like a soft paneer or queso fresco. Needless to say, it is absolutely delicious and tastes remarkably like true ricotta. I let mine sit for 20 minutes for a soft cottage cheese consistency. Spread this delicious cheese onto a fresh baguette, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. If your in the mood for sweet, top with honey and toasted pine nuts. Whichever way you decide to indulge in this creamy cheese, don't forget the wine. 

FRESH HOMEMADE RICOTTA RECIPE
makes 1 cup
recipe adapted from Salvatore Brooklyn Ricotta via The Tasting Table

prep time: 5 minutes + 20 min rest
cook time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS
8 cups of whole milk
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup lemon juice
(half the recipe for a smaller batch)

Pour the milk and salt into a large non-reactive pot (clay, enamel, glass, plastic or stainless steel).  On medium-high heat, heat the milk to 190ºF using a thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, heat the milk until it starts to foam just before beginning to boil. Continue to stir the milk preventing it from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

Remove the pot from the stove and slowly stir in the lemon juice. It should start to form curds within seconds. Cover the milk and let sit for 5 minutes.

Line a strainer with cheese cloth and place over a bowl (to catch the liquid whey). Gently scoop the curds and liquid whey into the colindar and let drain for under 5 minutes for a moist creamy consistency, 15 - 20 minutes for small tender curds with cottage cheese consistency, or 1 hour for firm crumbly curds similar to feta cheese.

Discard the whey and refrigerate the ricotta for up to 4-5 days. Serve on toasted baguette with olive oil and sea salt.