A Christmas Post: Holiday Recipe: Fig and Toasted Almond Scones

Photo: King Arthur Flour

A Christmas Post: Holiday Recipe: Fig and Toasted Almond Scones: From Denny:  Autumn is here - and so is daylight savings time this Sunday when we "fall backward" one hour - so don't forget to set your clocks back one hour!

For some reason I've been enjoying the vegan scones over at Whole Foods the past couple of weeks now that the weather has cooled.  So, that sent me on The Scone Recipe Chase to see what is out there in recipe database land.  Found these little autumnal gems over at King Arthur Flour.

Figs are quite popular here in Louisiana where many a backyard grows a fig tree.  Almonds are popular in California where they supply the nation! This is the time of year when the nation's nut orchards are releasing their bountiful harvest of pecans (Louisiana and Texas), almonds, walnuts and macadamias so we are all tempted to start our holiday baking early! At least I believe that's their marketing strategy to sell more nuts. :)

Scones are an easy way to try out some fruit and nut combinations to see how the family and friends enjoy the idea.  While I love my blueberry and lemon scones of the summer it's time for something different for the fall season so we wanted to try these fig and almond scones at our house.  Of course, if figs or almonds are not your preference, know that you can always try figs and walnuts or cranberries and almonds or whatever grabs your fancy this baking season.

Don't feel like the extra effort and time of slicing the scone dough into proper triangles?  Try the method the King Arthur Flour bakers suggest:  bake them into rounds just using 1/4 cup of dough for each scone, leaving 2 inches between them.  That amounts to the idea of a drop scone, much like a drop biscuit...

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Red Lobster Restaurant: Cheddar Bay Biscuits

A favorite recipe from a famous seafood restaurant chain.

From Denny: It's funny; I was just thinking about making some drop biscuits when the tasty ones from Red Lobster Restaurant came to mind. It's been years since I set foot in one of their stores but somehow the vision of fluffy hot biscuits remained uppermost in my mind, not dimmed by time. :) (This post is starting to sound like the beginnings of a food poem.)

What's also amusing is that as I was perusing the Amazon cookbook sections, looking for recipes within the book reviews, there it was: a book containing famous restaurant recipes. While Amazon didn't have the recipe, it sure didn't take but a few moments to run it down on the web.

Drop biscuits are an old Southern tradition. They are also so ridiculously easy to make because you don't have to roll them out. There are those cooks who have never mastered the light touch required for rolling out biscuits. Well, drop biscuits are the perfect answer to that dilemma. Drop biscuits are also a real crowd pleaser and can be made in no time, great when you are in a rush. The beauty of it is you still get a hot bread, all without too much effort.

Drop biscuits go well with breakfast eggs, soup at lunch, stew at night or for a snack with a little butter and jelly. If you prefer plain biscuits, just omit the garlic powder and Old Bay seasoning. For a different cheese taste, try Parmesan or Romano.


Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning


Directions:

Heat oven to 450. Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheddar cheese. Stir together.

Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

In a small sauce pan combine butter, garlic powder and old bay seasoning. Heat until butter is melted. Spoon butter mixture over hot biscuits.


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Recipe: Savory Meat Roll

Similar idea of a meat roll, our meat roll has a biscuit crust rather than a meat crust, no photo for our recipe up on Food Network - Image by Gio JL via Flickr

From Denny: I just got through watching this Food Network show called Guy's Big Bite and he is quite the entertainer. He also loves calorie monster food! He loves comfort food of all kinds. Though I'm not the heavy meat eater and high calorie consumer he is, I liked this recipe for a few reasons.

One, it's something simple you can easily cook up for a family or a large crowd. Two, you can break down the steps and do them over a few days if you like. It's that kind of recipe that can be interrupted and resumed and still tastes just fine. Three, this recipe is one of those you can change the ingredients from meat savory to vegetarian friendly if you desire.

In the summer heat we don't eat a lot of meat. Why? Meat is harder to digest which means your body heats up hotter and for a longer period of time than if you are eating plant proteins and cheeses. Today I'm going to work on developing a Mexican refried bean version, using the same principles in this recipe, and will get back to you as to how it went! (Sorry, no photo up on their site yet and no video up. Will check back and embed if they do put it up.) Enjoy this killer recipe!

Savory Meat Roll

From: Sarah Simington, Blue Moon Cafe, Baltimore, Maryland

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 7 to 8 rolls plus ends

Ingredients

For the pesto:

1 small bunch fresh basil (about 2 cups packed)

1/2 cup cashews

4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup grated Asiago

Fresh lemon juice, to taste

Salt

1/2 cup olive oil

For the filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 pounds country sausage

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups grated Asiago

For the topping:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

6 Roma tomatoes, diced

10 button mushrooms, sliced

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup grated Asiago

For the biscuit:

5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and kneading

3 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, cubed

2 cups milk

To slather on the biscuit dough when assembling the roll:

1 stick butter, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the pesto: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until mixture turns into a smooth paste. Set aside.

To make the filling: In a saute pan over medium heat, add oil and then the sausage. Saute the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until it cooks through and it turns golden brown. Cool slightly and drain the fat. Set sausage aside in a bowl. Keep mozzarella and Asiago cheese on standby.

To make the topping: Heat a large saute pan with oil, add the peppers, onion, granulated garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Don't overcook the tomatoes. They should retain their shape. Set aside.

To make the biscuit dough: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and with your fingertips or with a pastry blender blend together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk, using a fork, until the dough comes together. Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface, remove the dough from the bowl and knead several times on the floured surface. Add small amounts of flour, as needed, so that dough will be easy to roll out. Roll the dough out to roughly 15-inches in diameter.

To assemble: (Good thing I proof read these recipes as they forgot to include the obvious for you! Make sure you slather the biscuit dough with the softened butter stick before assembly! The butter will act as a barrier to keep the biscuit dough coating from becoming gooey and help hold the filling properly.)

Sprinkle the top of the dough evenly with the sausage and top with the mozzarella and Asiago. Roll the dough into a log. Cut the ends off to create even edges then cut the log into 7 or 8 pieces, depending on the length of the roll. Place slices (on their side so the spiral design shows facing up) on a baking sheet and press the tops down. Put the ends on the baking sheet and press those tops down. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until biscuits turn golden. Transfer the rolls to a serving platter. Serve topped with the sauteed vegetables and sprinkled with remaining cheese.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.