Maple Cornmeal Biscuits (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Lindsay of A Little Something...Sweeet!: Maple Cornmeal Biscuits. Cornmeal biscuits don't sound all too exciting, but since these are maple cornmeal biscuits, I was willing to give them a try ;) I love maple syrup and anything maple-flavored, so I figured these were worth a taste.  (Truth be told, I only had a tablespoon of maple syrup left in the jug after making these biscuits and I just licked it right out of the container!)


Like most biscuits, this recipe was quick and easy.  Even easier than some biscuit recipes because they are drop biscuits that don't need to be rolled and cut.  The baking time for these was several minutes less than indicated in the recipe, so be sure to keep a close eye on them!

I was a bit disappointed that the maple flavor wasn't very prominent in these biscuits.  They were, however, delicious on their own without any butter or jam.  Perhaps adding more maple syrup and less milk would make them taste more like maple cornmeal biscuits?


Thanks Lindsay, for hosting this week. I think these would be great alongside some chili instead of traditional cornbread. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this homey treat!

Birthday Wishes and Saint-Germain-des-Prés Onion Biscuits

Today is a very special day.  Do you know what today is? It's Dorie Greenspan's birthday!!! That's right, the author of Baking: From My Home to Yours and Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours is celebrating her birthday today.  What's more, she is spending part of the day with me! Well, truth be told she is not spending it with just little ole me.  She is teaching a cooking class at Central Market here in Dallas, to help promote the release of her new book, Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours.  I can't wait to finally meet her!

Back in January of 2008 I came across a group of three bakers - Laurie and two other bloggers, who had decided to bake one recipe a week out of Baking: From My Home to Yours.  Laurie called it Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) because each week everyone posted their results on Tuesday.  I had just purchased the book myself, and thought it would be the perfect way to motivate myself to actually use a cookbook.  So I joined the group and now, nearly 3 years later, there are hundreds of others baking along.  It only seemed natural, then, that with the release of her most recent book, French Fridays with Dorie (FFwD) was born.

So, in honor of Dorie's birthday and the new blogging event French Fridays with Dorie, a few of us decided to get together and throw Dorie a "Surprise Birthday Party" using recipes from Around My French Table.

After looking through the book, I decided to bring an appetizer to the party.  There were several that caught my attention, but one in particular stood out - Saint-Germain-des-Prés Onion Biscuits.  Named for her neighborhood in Paris, Dorie considers these her "house specialty" when she is entertaining.  These biscuits, like any other biscuits, were quick and easy.  They are all-American baking powder biscuits filled with butter-sautéed onions.   I forgot that you're not supposed to twist the biscuit cutters when you're cutting you're biscuits, so mine did not rise very well :(

Still, these biscuits were delicious.  They had a great onion flavor without being too overwhelmingly onion-y (though I don't think there really is such a thing!).  I think these would be great if you added some cheddar to them as well.  Next time, I may try adding caramelized onions instead, too.

I will definitely be making these again.  I also think I'll be following Dorie's lead and make a batch to freeze and bake "on demand." Once the dough is cut, you can put the unbaked biscuits on a lined baking sheet, slide the sheet into the freezer and, once the rounds are solid, just pack them airtight. That way you can simply slide the frozen biscuits into the oven and bake them on a moment's notice.

If you'd like the recipe, you can find it below.  You'll have to get a copy of Around My French Table for most of the other recipes from this blogging event, but since this one can easily be found on Amazon I've posted it below. Make sure you visit Holly's blog, Phe.MOM.enon, to see what everyone else cooked up for Dorie's birthday.

While you're here, if you haven't already entered, check out the giveaway I'm doing here.

And of course a very big Happy Birthday to Dorie! I'm looking forward to meeting you this afternoon!!!!!!!

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Onion Biscuits
from Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan


6-1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 small onion, peeled, trimmed, and finely diced (about 1/2 cup) (I found this to be just 1/2 of a small onion!)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold whole milk

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Have a biscuit or deep cookie cutter, one that’s between 1 and 2 inches in diameter, at hand.

Put 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet or saucepan and cut the remaining 6 tablespoons butter into 12 pieces.

Set the pan over low heat, melt the butter, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, just until it softens, about 3 minutes. Pull the pan from the heat.

Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients to combine. Drop the butter pieces into the bowl and, using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour mixture until you’ve got a bowl full of flour-covered pieces, some small and flakey and some the size of peas.

Scatter the cooked onions over the mixture, then pour over the cold milk and, using a fork, toss and turn everything together until you’ve got a soft dough. If there are some dry bits at the bottom of the bowl, reach in and knead the dough gently a couple of times.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour, turn the dough out, and dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour. Pat the dough down gently with your hands (or roll it out with a pin) until it is about 1/2 inch thick. It doesn’t have to been an even square or round; it doesn't even have to be an even 1/2 inch thick. Just do the best you can and do it quickly.

Dip the biscuit cutter into the flour bin and cut out as many biscuits as you can--cutting the biscuits as close to one another as possible – and transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. Gather the scraps of dough together, pat them down, and cut as many more biscuits as you can; put these on the lined baking sheet, too. (You can make the biscuits to this point, freeze them on the baking sheet and then, when they're solid, pack them airtight and freeze them for up to 2 months. Bake them without defrosting--just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.)

Alternatively (and perhaps more economically), you can pat or roll out the dough, then, using a long knife, cut square biscuits, making each biscuit about 1- to 1-1/2 inches on a side.

Bake the biscuits for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are puffed and lightly browned.

Serving: 
Biscuits are always best right out of the oven or still warm. However, these are also good at room temperature--the deep onion flavor is enough to compensate for whatever is lost, namely some fluffiness, when the biscuit cools.

Storing:
While unbaked biscuits can be frozen for up to 2 months and baked straight from the freezer, once the biscuits are baked, they're best eaten quickly.

Tender Shortcakes (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Cathy of The Tortefeasor: Tender Shortcakes.  Who doesn't love strawberry shortcakes? Sweet, buttery biscuits topped with sugared strawberries and whipped cream? Yum.  It's the perfect treat to enjoy when strawberries are in season.

I took Dorie's suggestion on this one to spice up the shortcakes a bit so I added 1 teaspoon of ground ginger and about 3 tablespoons of diced candied ginger pieces.  While I enjoyed this variation and found that it definitely added another dimension of flavor to this dessert, I think I prefer the classic, unadulterated version.

I've made strawberry shortcakes from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book in the past, and while both recipes are quite similar, I think I slightly prefer Dorie's version over Melissa's.  Not so much for taste, but more for ease of execution.  With Melissa's recipe, you turn the dough out, pat it into a rectangle, then slice and bake. With Dorie's recipe, you simply scoop the dough out of the bowl and pat them into biscuits on your baking sheet.  Not a huge difference, but enough to make me more inclined to make Dorie's recipe from here on out.




Thanks Cathy, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this classic, summery treat!

* Recipes notes:
- Just remember that "less is more" when making biscuits and don't over work your dough and you will end up with fluffy shortcakes.
- You may want to make 15 smaller biscuits instead of the 10 that Dorie recommends in this recipe, as I found them to be quite large. Perhaps scooping 1/4 cup for each biscuit instead of 1/3 cup?
- For tips from other TWD bakers, click here.

Sweet Cream Biscuits (TWD)

First, let me say that I've got a BIG giveaway coming up on my blog! You'll have to keep coming back to check over the next few days to find out what it is, but I promise it's something you don't want to miss out on! :)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Melissa of Love At First Bite: Sweet Cream Biscuits. But wait you say... it's not Tuesday! It's Saturday, and basically almost Sunday! Ok, ok, you're right. I'm super late this week with my post, but better late than never right? Really I have no excuse for posting late this week, especially when the recipe takes just minutes to prep... but, seems like I hardly have any time for baking these days :(

At first I thought I had made a mistake when I realized I had not put any butter in these biscuits. It's no mistake! These biscuits have cream instead of butter in them. I wasn't sure how they would turn out but they were surprisingly very similar to traditional biscuits.

If you look closely in the photo, you'll see that my biscuits were flower shaped :) That's because I used a cookie cutter to make my biscuits since I don't have a biscuit cutter. So how did these taste? These aren't as sweet as the name implies, and I think I may miss the nice buttery taste that comes with traditional biscuits, but if you're making biscuits at the last minute and realize you're out of butter, then these would make a great alternative.

I enjoyed my biscuits with some wild raspberry honey that I won from Blake Makes courtesy of Bee Raw. They say that the flavor of the honey comes from the flowers that the bees have pollinated and it's so true. The floral raspberry flavor in this honey is subtle, but definitely there. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks Melissa, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this breakfast treat!

* Recipes notes:
- Make sure you add enough cream to get the dough moist enough to stick together so it doesn't crumble when you roll it out, but not too moist to where it's too sticky to work with.
- For tips from other TWD bakers, click here.

Sweet Potato Biscuits (TWD)

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise: Sweet Potato Biscuits. I love biscuits but have never seen anything like this, so I was eager to try this recipe.

I've never had any problems with making biscuits. The key is to use really cold butter and to not overwork your dough. When cutting the biscuits you also need to make sure you press straight down, as twisting the cutters can inhibit some of the rise in the biscuits.


This recipe presented a lot of problems for me though. Even though I used 29 ounces of canned sweet potatoes (instead of 30 ounces), my dough was super sticky and moist. Not sure where the extra moisture came from? It was so hard to work with; I had a lot of trouble cutting my dough into biscuits. Then after they went in the oven, they hardly rose at all. I know my baking powder isn't too old, so that wasn't the issue. I am not sure what went wrong, but my biscuits look pretty pathetic.

Thankfully, aesthetics aside, these tasted great :) I enjoyed them with some butter and brown sugar. These would be great to make the morning after Thanksgiving, when you want something besides leftovers but don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.


Thanks Erin for picking this recipe, I loved it. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this perfect-for-fall breakfast treat.

* Recipes notes:
- Consider putting your butter in the freezer to get it extra cold before using it.
- For more tips, click here.

Strawberry Shortcakes (SMS)

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Wendy of Pink Stripes: Strawberry Shortcakes. There is nothing that I love more when it comes to strawberries than strawberry shortcakes. To say that I was looking forward to trying this recipe is an understatement.



The recipe is simple and straightforward with the typical 3 strawberry shortcake components: the strawberries, the shortcakes, and the whipped cream. The strawberries are sliced and then sweetened with sugar. The whipped cream is just that - whipped cream; nothing fancy. The shortcakes are basically sweet biscuit dough, with a little lemon zest to add more flavor. The key to making good shortcakes is handling the dough as little as possible. Overworking the dough will yield very flat, not very flaky shortcakes. If you don't have a pastry cutter, use two butter knives to cut the butter in to the dough.



I had no issues with my dough rising, though the shortcakes did not spread quite as much as I thought they would. Melissa said to place them on the baking sheet at least two inches apart, so I was expecting them to spread quite a bit! Instead, they just rose to become nice, flaky shortcakes!



These strawberry shortcakes were delicious! The perfect spring and summertime treat! The biscuit dough is sweet, but not too sweet. Paired with strawberries and whipped cream, it is perfect. I love that the shortcakes require only a few minutes of prep time, and then a few more minutes in the oven. It's the perfect last minute dessert if you have some unexpected guests coming over.



Thanks Wendy, for choosing this recipe - I loved it! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the SMS Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this scrumptious dessert.

* Recipe tips:
- Be careful with your shortcake dough - handle it as little as possible. Also make sure your butter is very cold before cutting it in. This will ensure your biscuits rise well and are perfectly flaky.
- Start your strawberries as the shortcakes go into the oven. By the time they're done baking and cooling, you'll be ready to go.
- The shortcakes are best eaten the day they are made, but they can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and frozen for up to 3 weeks. Do not unwrap before defrosting.
- For more tips, click here.

TWD: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Amanda of Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler. While I've certainly had my fair share of fresh cherries, I've actually never baked with them before.


I've actually never tasted or baked with rhubarb either. Most of the time, I've seen strawberries paired with rhubarb, so I was interested to see how Dorie's cherry and rhubarb pairing would turn out.


I'm not sure how much rhubarb normally costs, but I found it at Central Market (a grocery store similar to Whole Foods) and the 12 ounces required for this recipe was just under $3 (seemed a bit pricey). I've always known rhubarb to be the red-looking celery-like stalks, but never knew that their leaves are actually poisonous! While rhubarb is technically a vegetable, most of its uses make it seem more like a fruit. Some of the stalks I bought were reddish pink through and through, while others were red on the outside but green in the middle (not sure if that affects their taste?).


Just like celery, you trim the ends of rhubarb when preparing it for baking. Unlike celery, you have to peel away the stringy outside layer before chopping it up (at least that's what I gathered from various online sources). I used a vegetable peeler for this task, and could not help but notice how pretty this process looked as I was peeling the rhubarb.



When I finished all the peeling, it looked like I had a pretty plate full of ribbons. My husband saw it and commented on how I was beginning to go a little overboard with my food blogging, as he thought I had cut a bunch of ribbons for the cobbler 'photo shoot.' While I reassured him that it was simply the rhubarb peels, I really do wish that I could improve upon the plating of everything in my blog, but our tiny apartment just doesn't have the storage space for me to buy a bunch of cute dishes, back drops, and props! Some day... :)


Dorie's recipe is very simple. Trim, peel, and cut the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces.


Pit and halve a pound of cherries, then mix the rhubarb and cherries together with some sugar, cornstarch, and ground ginger. Not sure how to pit cherries? No problem. You can use a decorating tip, or any long, rigid object (i.e. chopstick). Simply remove the stem from the cherry and hold it firmly in one hand while advancing the decorating tip through the insertion site of the stem.


Continue pushing through until the cherry seed pops out completely.


Voila! It's as simple as that.


After you mix the filling together, the topping comes together in just minutes. Aside from pairing cherries with rhubarb in this recipe, Dorie also changes it up a bit with the cobbler's biscuit topping. She uses brown sugar and whole wheat flour with just a hint of ginger. You just pulse the dry ingredients together, then pulse in the butter, followed by the whole milk. I have to say that I enjoyed this cobbler topping much more than one from the Mixed Berry Cobbler. I could absolutely see myself using the cobbler topping recipe alone to make biscuits and enjoying them with a small pat of butter :)


Since I was bringing this in to share with my co-workers, instead of one large cobbler, I decided to make eight individual mini cobblers. I only have three small oven safe bowls, so I used tea cups for the rest!


I really enjoyed this cobbler, although I think my favorite is still peach and blackberry cobbler. The rhubarb didn't have much texture to it, though it had quite a prominent flavor. It was extremely tart and was a nice contrast to the sweet cherries. I can see why Dorie would say that a plain cherry cobbler can be a bit bland otherwise. While I haven't quite fallen in love with rhubarb yet, I also don't see why so many people seem to hate it. I never realized how many people disliked rhubarb until this recipe was chosen!

I baked the mini cobblers for about 30 minutes, 5 minutes less than indicated for the full size version. I checked them at 25 minutes, and the topping was nice and golden brown at that point, but the fruit juices weren't bubbling away quite yet.


Thanks again to Amanda for choosing this cobbler. It was my first time baking with and trying rhubarb. Will I make this again? Probably not exactly as written. But I may have found my new favorite cobbler topping and I am eager to try it with my favorite peach and blackberry cobbler filling. If you would like the Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler recipe, you can find it here (with recipe tips here). Make sure you visit the TWD Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed this sweet and oh so tart treat.

TWD: Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

I had mixed feelings when I found out that this week's recipe, chosen by Ashley of eat me, delicious, was the Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits. I love biscuits and I loved how quick and easy the recipe looked. On the flip side, I don't like nuts, and I have very little experience making biscuits from scratch. Most of the biscuits I've made in the past were from Bisquick. So I wasn't sure if I would be successful with this recipe.


Funny thing is, I grew up in California, so the only biscuits I knew growing up were from KFC! Then I met my husband who grew up in the South. I remember the first time I was treated to his mom's homemade biscuits... oh my. I rarely come across a biscuit that is as good as hers. The only biscuit that is better is his grandmother's!


I played around with this recipe a little. I omitted the pecans, as I don't like nuts. I also used buttermilk instead of whole milk because I didn't feel like running to store to pick some up. Oh, and I also don't have a biscuit cutter, so I just used a small glass instead. You can use cookie cutters if you don't have a biscuit cutter (I don't even have cookie cutters!).


Dorie describes these as "too good" and "caramelish because of the brown sugar." I was hoping that they would be sweeter from the brown sugar, but the "caramelish" flavor was very subtle. I was extremely cautious not to overwork the dough to avoid warming the butter too much, and while my biscuits did puff up, they weren't quite as flaky as I had hoped. Not sure if it's the recipe, or just me... since I am new to biscuit making. I also forgot to check the oven a little early, so by the time my timer went off at 14 minutes, my first batch was already a little too browned. I'm also not sure why, but my biscuits browned a lot on the top, but not the sides (is that typical?).


I would call these biscuits good, but I wouldn't jump to calling them "too good" like Dorie does. Perhaps that is because I omitted the pecans and I didn't get to experience these as they were intended. I enjoyed them by spreading some butter over them and then drizzling some honey on top. To me, the best biscuits are super buttery and flaky; they can be eaten alone, without the need for any butter, honey, jams, or jellies. If you want to read an interesting article about how to make good biscuits, click here.


Thanks Ashley, for picking this week's recipe and showing me that I can easily make my own biscuits at home. As the group continues to grow weekly (we've got 50 now!), make sure you check out the blog roll on the Tuesdays with Dorie blog to see how everyone elses' breakfast creations turned out.

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup cold sour cream (I used light sour cream)
1/4 cold whole milk (I used buttermilk)
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted (I omitted these)

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between-- and that's just right.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

Yield: Approximately 12 biscuits

Try some goat cheese!

I had never had goat cheese until about a month ago. In general, I do not like the more pungent cheeses like gorgonzola and bleu cheese... so I am very reluctant to try new and different cheeses. However, after hearing so many cooks on the What's Cooking? Board rave about how wonderful goat cheese is, I finally decided to try it. I love it, and wish I had tried it sooner :) It is a very creamy cheese, and is slightly tart. Since trying it, I have been looking for various ways to cook with it.

I love anything with sun dried tomatoes, so when I saw this recipe for Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes on MyRecipes.com, I knew I would like it. The balsamic glaze is a great compliment to the dish too.

This was my first time making a stuffed chicken dish, and to my surprise, it was very simple. After I cut the 'pockets' into my chicken breasts, however, I realized that I was doing it wrong. I started out thinking it was supposed to be like a chicken breast cut almost completely in half but left with a sort of 'hinge' that would sandwich the filling.... and then realized it's just supposed to be a small hole on one end of the breast. Oops! At least it didn't change the taste... next time I'll make it look prettier :)

I served this chicken with orzo and Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits. When I saw these biscuits featured on Oprah, I knew I had to try them. They were good, but I have to admit that the Cheesy Garlic Biscuits I made recently are easier and taste better :) Still, they were a great compliment to the stuffed chicken.

I should add that shortly after I discovered my love for goat cheese, my husband told me that he does not like it! Determined to show him how good it is, I did not tell him that there was goat cheese in this dish until he had finished his plate ;) Needless to say, we'll be adding this dish to our rotation and I will be looking for other ways to use goat cheese in our meals now :)

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
from CookingLight


1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots, divided (I didn't have any on hand, so these were omitted)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (I didn't have any fresh basil on hand, so I used 2 tsp dried)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and finely chop. (I had the kind that are packed in oil so I simply drained the oil and omitted the boiling step.)

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup shallots, sugar, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl; stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar.

Combine chopped tomatoes, shallot mixture, cheese, basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm. Add broth, remaining shallots, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and thyme; bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over chicken. (Approximately 2 tbsp per chicken breast.)

Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits
from Art Smith


2 cups self-rising flour (if you do not have any, use 2 cups all purpose flour + 3 tsp baking powder + 1 tsp salt)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. (2 ounces) cold butter
4 Tbsp. (2 ounces) goat cheese
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
Extra butter to grease pan and top biscuits
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat your oven to 425°. Place one 10-inch cast iron pan into the oven while it is preheating. (I do not have a cast iron pan/skillet but found that my All-Clad pans are oven safe up to 500°.) Place flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl. Cut in the butter and goat cheese. Make a well in the middle of the ingredients and pour in the milk. Stir until the mix is moistened, adding an extra tablespoon of milk if needed.

Remove the hot skillet from the oven and place a tablespoon of butter into it. When the butter has melted, drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter into the pan, (use a muffin scoop to drop the batter if you have one). Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Bake from 14–16 minutes until browned on the top and bottom. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Enjoy warm!