Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits with Chunky Potato-Crab Chowder

Here is another score for the 'Baked' boys.  These biscuits were awesome and complimented the Chunky Potato Corn Chowder that I made wonderfully.  They were super easy to make and the smell was amazing.  Chipotle has a really smokey peppery smell and it tastes the same way (ha).  These are definitely going to be my new 'go to' for soups...tomato soup with these would be amazing.  Plus, they taste impressive and are really easy to make.

chipotle cheddar biscuits.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chipotle powder*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups grated and tightly packed sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
Kosher salt for topping

*I looked everywhere for chipotle powder.  I had actually never heard of it before this recipe.  I ended up finding it in a Safeway grocery store but it was $7.49. That's expensive, but I will definitely add this to other recipes and it is really good and flavorful, so definitely worth the price.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, pepper, chipotle powder, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and the 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Add the butter and, using your hands or the back of a wooden spoon (I used my hands, I think it would be difficult with a spoon), work the butter into the flour mixture.  The mixture should look like coarse sand.  
4. Add the cheese and stir to thoroughly incorporate it into the dough.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.  Add to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.  As always, don't over mix.
6. Use a small ice cream scoop or 1/4-cup measuring cup (I used the measuring cup and got perfectly sized biscuits) and scoop the dough into mounds on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
7. Sprinkle with kosher salt and bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes (mine took exactly 20 minutes...these 'Baked' boys are so good). Rotate the baking sheet halfway through the baking time.  Biscuits should be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. 
8. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm.*

*I would try to serve them after they cool a little and are still warm.  They taste okay when they cool but they are definitely better warm.  I put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds the next day and they were pretty good but they lost that crispness to the outside.  

Corn, Crab and Potato Soup: Chunky Potato-Crab Chowder with Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

I am so stoked that the weather is finally warm and this weekend was perfect...made me think of beer and crabs.  I had a really big craving for both so I decided to test my hand at cooking again.  A few weeks ago acquired a 3rd degree burn on my hand from trying to cook a steak in a frying pan.  The oil splashed out and let me tell you, it was not a pleasant site.  Regardless, I am glad I got past that little fear because this soup was awesome.  I found it in an old copy of Cooking Light magazine.  I am always a little skeptical about Cooking Light recipes because they always seem to be hit or miss and after spending $16.99 on 8 ounces of crab meat, I did not want to end up with a nasty soup.  BUT...the recipe seemed promising enough so I gave it a try and I'm so glad I did.  I paired the soup with Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits, another fabulous recipe from 'Baked' Cookbook.  The night ended with Miller Lite, Biscuits, Crab Chowder, my good friend Allyson, and of course...GLEE.  Needless to say, it was a good night.


chunky potato crab chowder.
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Cup chopped onion
3/4 Cup chopped celery*
1 Garlic clove, minced
3 1/2 Cups cubed red potato (I used baby red potatoes and cut them into quarters, worked well)
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 1/2 Cups of 2% reduced-fat milk (I used skim, the thickness was still good)
2 Teaspoons chopped fresh thyme*
1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 Teaspoon grated whole nutmeg*
1 (14 and 3/4 oz) can creamed style corn
1 (14 oz) can fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth
8 oz lump crab meet (shell pieces removed)
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Teaspoon salt

*I didn't put the celery in for 2 reasons: A) I didn't have any. B) I don't know, it seemed weird with crab to me.  I very well could be wrong, if you make this and use the celery, let me know how it turns out, maybe I will add it next time. Make sure not to skimp on the thyme.  It adds a really good flavor to the soup.  As far as the grated whole nutmeg, maybe I'm an idiot but I had no idea what that was supposed to mean.  I just used ground nutmeg from my spice rack...seemed fine to me.

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, garlic and celery; saute for 4 minutes.
3. Sprinkle with flour; stir for 1 minute.
4. Stir in milk, thyme, pepper, nutmeg, corn and broth; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender (20 minutes worked well, it probably could have simmered for a few minutes less if you like a little more texture in your potatoes); stirring occasionally
6. Stir in crab, parsley and salt; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This was so good and the biscuits were a really nice compliment to it.  I reheated it for dinner tonight, didn't taste AS good as yesterday but I would definitely not let it go to waste! Biscuit recipe is here: Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits 

Avocado and Egg White Salad

I know this isn't a baking recipe and has nothing to do with cookie dough but I threw this together so quickly last night for dinner and it was so good I had to share.  I found this recipe in a random 'Food' magazine that had been sitting on my bookshelf for who knows how long and who knows why.  I had some lump crab meat that I bought to make soup and I added a little bit. This was amazing and so easy to make.  The avocado takes place of the egg yolks, which is good because egg yolks make me gag.  Also, this recipe is so versatile.  You could add chicken or tuna even and I bet it would be great.  Put it on crackers, bread, toast, a bagel. I put mine on an english muffin and I ate some plain. Yum.

avocado and egg white salad.
1 teaspoon light mayonnaise* (I used the light Olive Oil Mayo)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard *(Grey Poupon anyone)
1 teaspoon light sour cream*
4 egg whites from hard boiled eggs (discard the yolks. or eat them if they don't make you gag)
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup red onions, diced**
1/4 cup crab meat

Mix everything together...and thats it. That simple.

*So, the story here is that sometimes I'm an idiot, so I actually used a tablespoon each of mayo, mustard and sour cream.  It actually wasn't horrible, but it was a little too creamy for me so I just added two more egg whites and a little bit more avocado.

**I didn't put the onions in the recipe.  I don't really like raw onions and I don't think I would have missed them.

Mint Chocolate Angel Food Cake

I finally got a chance to appease my angel food cake craving this weekend.  I probably could have made it prettier but I was feeling slightly lazy, however; I did put my own twist on it and made mint chocolate angel food cake.  The best part about this recipe is that it tastes amazing and there is no butter in it! Imagine that.  Egg whites and sugar...that means there are no calories correct? Correct.  Anyway, here it is, my own recipe:

mint chocolate angel food cake.
2/3 cup cake flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups super fine sugar
12 egg whites (room temp)
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 tsp peppermint extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, cocoa, the salt and 1/2 of the sugar.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, extract, water and cream of tartar on medium speed.  
4. Add the sugar to the mixture that had not yet been combined with the flour mixture and continue to beat until medium peaks form. 

5.  Sprinkle flour mixture over the top of the egg white mixture and fold in with a spatula.  Continue to  do this with the rest of the flour mixture until it is completely incorporated.
6. Pour batter into a 10" tube pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.
7. Let cool upside down on a cooling rack for at least one hour before removing from pan.