What's for Breakfast?

I really need to turn on my time alarm. I’ve been waking around the latter half of the mornings, say 12 noon. Speaking of recipes, a few weeks ago I was watching one of my favorite programs on the Food Network, Giada at Home, and she made these savory biscuits called Crispy Parmesan Biscuits. Actually my favorite chef on Food Network is Paula and I love all her shows. Anyway, as I was saying, I then told myself I must try this recipe. Would you believe this was my first attempt at a biscuit recipe? Yes people, could you believe it, having studied this discipline you would think I would have made some biscuit recipes by now but I have known about biscuit recipes for ages but I never attempted one. I live in the beautiful islands of Trinidad and Tobago so we usually make our local breakfast meals such a fried bake and buljol, shark and bake, aloo pies etc.

At home I love to try my hand at all types of international cuisines which I love to do. I’m a big Italian food lover so I just had to attempt Giada’s version of Crispy Parmesan Biscuits. To my joy it came out extremely well and my entire family loved it. My only regret is not taking pictures at the time. Oh well I just have to make it again and post pics later. Now I must confess I did alter Giada’s recipe a little by adding cheddar cheese. You can reduce the amount of parmesan to facilitate for adding the cheddar cheese. I also served it with some delicious Guava and Pineapple Jam, I just had to add some Caribbean flavour, and with a cup of Jasmine Slim Tea. You can also use cheese paste, which is a Trinidad favorite, or chicken paste or any filling you like. It all depends on what you like to eat with your biscuits for breakfast. It’s your choice. Enjoy!

Here is the Recipe taken directly from Food Network Website:

Crispy Parmesan Biscuits

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

Prep Time:

12 min

Inactive Prep Time:

hr min

Cook Time:

20 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

12 biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups (5 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup Lemon Butter, at room temperature, recipe follows
• 3 cups baby arugula
• 10 ounces smoked salmon or prosciutto

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the butter. Using fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the Parmesan and green onions. Add the buttermilk and olive oil. Stir until the mixture forms a dough. Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 12 equal-sized pieces. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden. Cool the biscuits for 10 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Slice each biscuit in half and spread the bottom half with 1 teaspoon of lemon butter. Add some arugula leaves and place a small slice of smoked salmon on top. Add the top half of the biscuit and serve.

Lemon Butter

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 lemon, zested

In a small bowl, mash the butter and lemon zest together using a fork. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Prep Time: 1 minute

You can go directly HERE to view this recipe.

Happy Eating!

Jannishal