Chicken 'n Biscuits


The in-laws are celebrating a belated Thanksgiving up at the cottage, but between my day job and the short film I'm doing on the side I had a ton to get done at home and actually relished in the idea of a bit of alone time this weekend.  Today was horrendously cold and wet day.  The kind of day where it's comfort food you crave.

In case it wasn't clear from previous posts, I LOVE comfort food.

The cool nights of fall and winter are my favorite times to cook.

If I can spend the day in the kitchen roasting meat, working on sauces.  Putting together a stick to your ribs kind of meal, I'm happy.


Unfortunately I didn't have the time for that today, between the chores I already had planned and an unexpected visit to the vet, I didn't have alot of time.  It was then that I remembered a recipe for Chicken 'n Biscuits that was posted over a year ago on Eat Live Run.  It sounds ridiculously delicious and super easy to put together.  Especially because I had a slew of leftover smoked chicken from a couple weeks ago that was still tasty but I knew wouldn't last much longer.  It seemed like the most serendipitous coming together of leftover and an easy recipe.

Here's the problem, this recipe serves 4 and I am home alone.  How was I to make this so that the Boy can have a couple of meals this week while I'm working insane hours.  That's when I decided to portion it out in individual ramekins and froze the fresh made biscuits so that he could easily make some for dinner on his own.  I served mine out of the ramekin because I always make a mess with a hot bowl like that I knew it would work out better if I did.

One note on the recipe I think this more accurately serves 6, because after serving it into 4 good-sized ramekins I have a good amount leftover.  I packed it up and put it in the freezer to use another day, maybe I'll even turn it into a  stew later in the fall.  Stay tuned for that!


Chicken 'n Biscuits
adapted from Eat Live Run


1 quart chicken stock
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
12 oz leftover roasted or smoked chicken - shredded
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 large red potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
6 T all purpose flour
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
6 T unsalted butter
2 cups sliced mushrooms
For the biscuits:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 T COLD butter - the cold is key in getting flaky biscuits
2 T COLD shortening - same here, some time in the freezer won't hurt
1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
In a dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the onions and the mushrooms and saute for about seven minutes, or until both onions and mushrooms are soft. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Keep cooking for about five minutes, making sure to scrape the flour from the bottom of the pot so it doesn’t burn. Now, slowly pour in the remaining stock, whisking as you pour. Crank up the heat to high and whisk your heart out for about five minutes as the sauce thickens and boils. Add the thyme, parsley, white pepper and nutmeg and stir. Pour the sauce over the chicken and veggies and toss gently to combine.  Portion into individual ramekins and set aside while you make the biscuits. 
Now, preheat the oven to 450. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter and shortening and use your fingers to mix until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in the cheese. Break the egg into a measuring cup and add the buttermilk to the egg. Whisk and then pour the mixture into the flour mixture and mix so that you have a relatively smooth ball of dough. On a floured surface, knead the dough four times only and then roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with a water glass or cup . Place biscuit rounds on top of each ramekin and brush the tops of the biscuits with egg wash (or just a bit of cream if you are making one portion at a time) and prick with a fork.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and the chicken mixture is bubbling. Serve hot.
If you want to do like me and make enough for a couple dinners during the week.  Place the unbaked biscuits on a cookie sheet and into the freezer for a couple hours. Then transfer into a freezer bag and keep until ready to use. 

Comments

  1. Ohhh this looks so good! I 'll give it a try..
    Congratulations Ladies on your great blog!
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

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