A few weeks ago Pillsbury contacted me and asked if I wanted to try some of their product for the blog.  I have never been one to turn down free food, right, so I said sure.

They sent me instant potatoes and eagle brand milk.

Now, y’all know I don’t use the instant potatoes and that type of thing but if you  ever once use it in bread and such you will keep it on hand always. Potato bread is awesome but when it is made with the potato flakes rather than real potatoes it is incredible.  Much lighter and more flavorful that when made with the real thing.

I wanted to see how this translated to biscuits. I was really pleased with the results.

The biscuits are not as flakey as what you think of with biscuits but they are tender and flavorful..and perfect for sopping you up some red eye gravy for breakfast.

• 1/2 cup Pillsbury instant mashed potato flakes
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 6  tablespoons butter
• 1 cup  buttermilk or sour milk
• 2 1/2 cup flour
•  1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs cracked black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the potato flakes, flour, baking powder,baking soda, sugar, salt, and cracked black pepper.
3. Grate in the cold butter and mix well.
4. Add the milk all at once and stir into a soft dough. Knead lightly a few times until the dough holds together. You may need a little more milk.
5.  Roll out and cut with biscuit cutters.
6.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
7. Brush tops with milk, sprinkle with some French Gray sea salt, and bake 10 minutes or until golden.

Makes 2 dozen biscuits.

What in the heck are ya waiting for?  The grocery store is still open…if you hurry you can have them for breakfast!

If you want another awesome recipe with these potato flakes check out Potato Bread

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I need my life to slow down..even as I am rapidly hammering away at the keys Kyrie is asking me to tie something…Nick is cranky about putting on a new shirt (touch sensitivity) and I need to leave the house in 5 minutes to pick up Matt at Driver’s Ed.

Whew.

I spent the day with Ethan at a mall (eww).  We shopped for some necessary gear, got our hair cut, and bought a new Christmas tree. Yep..I use fake trees.  Our last one was bought in 1984 and just now bit the dust..I think I am o.k. with the environment.  With those kinds of statistics I should have this one until the nursing home.

I just got a deep condition and a trim.  My hair is very curly and since I have gotten older it has gotten even more brittle.  I end up with it long on the sides and short in the back if I don;t keep it trimmed up..So..I splurged (HA! Andrea if you are reading this..there is THE word)  and had it done at Tony and Guys by someone who was a specialist with curly hair..and oddly enough her best friend did Erin (my oldest daughter’s) makeup for her wedding.

O..k…so this has NOTHING to do with food, right? Wrong…It is the lame excuse to let you know that I made potato and black pepper biscuits, they were awesome and I will post the recipe a little later…

LOL!

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About two weeks ago I attended a special party and I needed to bring something…Hmmm…I was in a rush, as always…what to bring?

SCONES!

I love scones.  They are so versatile, so easy, and so delicious (with Devonshire and lemon curd!) that I could make them everyday..except then I would be charged extra by the airlines and I would have to wear a “wide load” sign when I walked through the grocers.

Anyway…

Dried cherries are such a unique cherry flavor.   I think I like them better than fresh.  They seem more complex, more intense..more cherry.  These are rich, buttery, and sweet with a light almond flavor and a lingering cherry taste.  Breakfast? Brunch? Tea? Supper?

All the time.  I used a chocolate drizzle on them but you could certainly do a glaze or leave them plain.

One thing I learned from  PBS cooking show… GRATE your cold butter into the flour mixture.  It changes the texture in an amazing way, and makes it more light and more buttery.  Once you have the butter grated in just mix it lightly with a fork, don’t use your fingers as you might normally.

Dried Cherry Scones 

3 1/2 c flour

2 tbs baking powder

1/2 c cold unsalted butter (freeze it for 5 minutes or so)

1/2 c sugar

1 1/3 c half and half

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond

2 cups dried cherries

1 cup dark chocolate, melted with 1 tablespoon butter

Mix the dry ingredients, except cherries, together.

Grate butter into the dry ingredients. Add cherries and stir to mix in evenly. Add vanilla, almond and1/2 and 1/2  and mix until you have a soft dough that holds together.

Roll out gently to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut out with a biscuit cutter. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to stand for 20 minutes. During this time preheat oven to 400F.

Bake for 12 minutes or until done.

Remove from oven.

Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave.

Drizzle over warm scones with a fork.

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This came out very moist, very banana-y, very good. The flavor is a little different than regular banana bread -but in a good way.  I baked it in a ring mold pan because I wanted it to look a little different than normal.

I did add chocolate chips to this because Erin is here and that is her favorite..but I much prefer the banana chocolate chip recipe posted here 

All in all I liked it. Give it a try if you didn’t like the other one..Oh…I used organic, extra virgin coconut oil along with the butter in this. You can substitute all butter if you like..I am using coconut oil more to see if I feel like the health benefits are worth the 10 bucks per pint cost… :/

Banana Bread

2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 c unsalted butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp frontier natural banana extract

1 c mashed banana

1/2 c chopped pecans, walnuts, peanut butter chips, or chocolate chips

Grease and flour a tube pan.

Melt coconut oil and butter together. Whisk sugar, eggs, vanilla, and banana flavor in until blended. Add mashed banana.  Add dry ingredients and nuts and spoon into pan.

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan

Top with a confectioners sugar glaze if desired.

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This Banana Chocolate Chip Bread recipe is my eldest daughter’s favorite. I usually give her a loaf of this along with a container of Russian Tea Mix ( you know, the kind with orange, clove, red hots, and tea?) and she is blissfully happy. Always a good thing.

It is a particularly moist and delicious bread, and unusual enough to make a gift that is different from what other people are doing. I swear one year I am going to try it with macadamias and white chocolate chips but so far I haven’t done so.

If you are giving it as a gift then make it in mini loaves and wrap in colored cellophane. Nestle several in a basket and add some coffee or tea. Toss in some Hershey’s Kisses and you have a really pretty basket. Another way I like to present gifts like this is arranged on a vintage plate. You can find beautiful vintage china for not much money and it does make for a special gift.

This bread freezes well, although it does not keep at room temperature long due to the moistness.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
1 c chocolate chunks
1 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 .

Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir in nuts and chocolate chunks.

Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

1 loaf

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Eggnog Christmas Bread with Buttered Rum Glaze
Makes: 1 loaf

2 eggs
1 cups sugar
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
1 1/2 teaspoons rum extract
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Buttered Rum Glaze
Make this after bread comes out of the oven:

1/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c unsalted butter
1 teaspoon rum extract

Melt butter and brown sugar together in a saucepan until smooth and sugar looses it’s graininess.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9×5x3 bread pans.

Beat eggs, add sugar, eggnog, butter,
rum and vanilla until blended.

In a bowl mix together flour, baking powder and nutmeg. Add to the egg mixture and stir until just moistened. Don’t over stir.

Pour into greased pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out
clean

Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Glaze with frosting while still warm.

Cool bread completely before slicing.

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1 1/2 c flour
1 c bran
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c oil or melted butter
1 egg
3/4 c buttermilk
1 c blueberries
1/2 c chopped pecans
confectioners sugar for dusting

Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in blueberries and pecans so they are coated with the flour mixture.
Mix oil, egg, and buttermilk beating well to make sure the egg is well incorporated.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture gently. Do not overmix.
Spoon into muffin liners. (I use the silpat ones from wilton..they are awesome! and you can microwave them too!)
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes
Makes about 16

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  This morning I decided to treat everyone to doughnuts. I used my normal recipe with some adjustments and these were really good. The kids said they tasted like that candy, Circus Peanuts, but I don’t think so.    Do you spell it donut or doughnut? Both are correct but I am seeing the first spelling more and more! Donut,doughnut…as long as they taste great who cares?

  The only trick to making really good doughnuts is a clean oil, temp 375F, and a dough that is so soft it is nearly, but not quite, impossible to work. Oh! And cut straight through the dough, twisting deflates it some even though it is not yeast risen.

 Banana Cake Doughnuts

      about 3 dozen plus doughnut holes (or donut holes if you are making donuts)

4 eggs beaten

2/3 c sugar

1/3 c buttermilk

1/3 c butter-melted

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp banana flavor (Frontier does a good one)

3 1/2 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg (FRESHLY GRATED!!!)

Combine eggs and sugar, beat until smooth and light. Add  buttermilk, cooled butter, vanilla, and banana flavor.  Sift dry ingredients. Add egg mixture and beat until smooth. Chill ( don’t chill the dough…it does make it MUCH easier to work. I just never have time)

  Roll out about 1/3 inch thick. cut with floured cutter. Let stand about 10 minutes.

   While waiting make icing:

1 c confectioners

1/4 c butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp banana

mix thoroughly and ad a little buttermilk to thin if needed or add more confectioners to thicken.

Drop doughnuts in 375 oil. Fry only a couple at a time. I have a large fryer and I do 4-5 at a time.  Turn when one side is golden.  Fry until done. Drain and place on absorbant surface (this is how I recycle my brown paper bags..) Glaze while still warm.

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  Crackers have a long and fascinating history…If you will recall the Israelites had matzah as they set out for their journey from Egypt…they had been instructed by God  to make bread without leavening…In 1801 Josioah Bent of Massachusetts apparently got busy and distracted and over baked biscuits, turning them into crispy breads which he named crackers due to the crackling sound that they made.   The first crackers as we know them were made in Vermont in 1828..and I guess they have just gained popularity from there..Can you imnagine tomato soup without crackers? Yeah, that’s what I am saying!

  But over the years the commercialization of all foods has brought crackers from a delicious treat to an insipid starch. Unless, of course you make them yourself.

Try these crackers with different flours, different fats, different seasonings…Sprinkle with sea salt, or cracked pepper, or chipotle…or….

 Saltines

4 cups flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/4 c butter

1 1/3 c milk

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and butter . If you are adding seasonings mix those in with the dry ingredients. Cut butter into flour mixture until it forms coarse crumbs. Add the milk and knead to form a ball. Divide in 4 parts and roll out paper thin on a floured surface. Cut the dough into squares (a pizza wheel works great for that!) Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and prick with fork…Sprinkle with salt (or cracked pepper ..or..)Bake at 325 until golden brown..about 20 minutes.

  Mmmmm. Yummy.

 You can also cut these saltine crackers into animal or fish shapes with small cookie cutters, and you might try adding dried cheese powder with your dry ingredients for homemade Goldfish…

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