Making Dinner "Out of Scratch"

I believe that everybody has a special skill that makes them unique in all the world. A skill that makes them a superhero to someone. A skill that can seem like magic.

My special skill is making dinner "out of scratch."

I am very lucky to live close enough to one of my sisters that I can stop by and hang out with her and her lovely children on any given warmer-than-usual, late February, Thursday afternoon--such as today. Her husband was working late, and my sister was working on costumes for a production of Annie which both of my nieces are in next month. She asked me if I wanted to stay for dinner.

"Sure," I replied. "What are we having?"

"I have absolutely no idea!" she exclaimed with more exasperation than seemed necessary.

But then I opened her fridge.

She had milk and butter and eggs and cheese. And seltzer water. And quite a few condiments. Not much else.

Hmmmm.

That's when I decided it was time to pull out my special skill set and take charge in the kitchen.

It started with biscuits. My grandmother always made biscuits, and some of my favorite memories of big family holiday meals were of eating her biscuits. I'm sure lots of other food was on the table, but to me, the biscuits were the meal. If there are biscuits, there is dinner.

Flour, baking powder, spices, salt, butter, cheese, egg, milk: everything I needed was there in my sister's kitchen. In the fifteen minutes it took to preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, the dough was made and ready for the oven.

In the twenty minutes it took to bake the biscuits, I found some salmon fillets and asparagus in the freezer.

And just as the biscuits were coming out of the oven, there was pan roasted wild salmon with lemon butter and fresh cracked pepper, roasted asparagus, and two rogue sausages for my youngest niece, who has not yet developed a taste for fish.

As we sat down to dinner, my niece's eyes were wide with wonder, as if she was experiencing some deep, mystical magic. "Wow," she breathed, "did you make these out of scratch?"

"Yes, Michele, I sure did."

This recipe is not my grandmother's. I only have one of her biscuit recipes written down--one for "Angel Biscuits" which call for yeast and baking powder. She used to make them at her church for their weekly suppers, but that is another story.

This recipe is for cheesy garlic biscuits, which I first started making with my youngest sister when we were both living in the Pacific Northwest many many moons ago. It is best to buy block cheese and grate it yourself (as packaged grated cheese are coated with an anti-caking agent which prevents it from melting properly; it also doesn't taste as good). I like to vary this recipe by throwing in a variety of fresh herbs when I can, and switching up the cheeses. But here is the recipe as I made it last night.

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits "Out of Scratch"

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt (non-iodized)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 stick (8 tbsp) butter, cut into 16 equal sized pieces
1/2 cup finely shredded yellow cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 400 F

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well to combine.

2. Rub in the butter with your fingers until well incorporated. There should be small pieces about the size of a flake of oatmeal, and larger pieces about the size of a pea. This is as it should be.

3. Add the shredded cheeses. Using a fork, gently toss the cheese into the flour mixture until well incorporated.

4. In a separate small bowl, combine the egg and milk and whisk well.

5. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour in the milk mixture. Using a fork, lightly stir just until the dough holds together.

6. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Using a spoon, drop the dough into 12 equal sized biscuits (about a scant 1/4 cup each), leaving space between them on the baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops with melted butter, or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

7. Bake in preheated 400 F oven until they smell delicious and are lightly golden, about 20 minutes.