First off, I’d like to thank Zesty for asking me to do a guest post while he is away.  I was completely honored when asked and agreed immediately.  Thanks again Zesty!

My favorite part of Zesty’s posts are always his Zesty Tip at the end.  The tips are so simple, yet so helpful.  So, today I present you with my favorite Heather Tip as well as a recipe.

I know many cooks often find substitutions for the fat component in recipes.

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Middle of the week is here, can you believe it? It feels like I have been living at warp speed as of late but I am still loving it. I was wondering all day about what to post and then I realized that I had made some killer garlic bread for my simple pasta dish that I have yet to share with you.  This bread has a bit of love involved for simple garlic bread - but it is so worth it.

I used the bread maker to prepare the dough which makes it less fun but also allows you to do other things around the house while still achieving the great smell. Do you love the smell of fresh bread in your house? I am a huge sucker for the fresh bread smell.

To keep things simple I just shape the bread in a long loaf pan, let it double in size and then bake it off. Once baked, I let it cool slightly, cut it in two and then prepare the toppings before a simple broil to finish it off.

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Ever crave homemade bread but you don’t have the energy to do it from scratch?  I had this issue on Tuesday - so I decided to haul out the bread maker and let it do the work for me.  I am a little lazy at times or perhaps it’s better to call it efficient.  Neither here nor there, I want to share with you a very nice bread recipe for your bread maker.

Cheesy Cheese Bread sounded delicious when I read it and I had all the ingredients on hand.  What the heck, lets drop the ingredients into the bread maker and let it spin.

Remember with bread maker recipes you have to follow the measurements exactly or you could have a flop.

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Good morning!  The Christmas rush is slowing down and the New Year’s rush is picking up.  I hope you had a great weekend.  I had a great Christmas break and I cannot wait to share some new and exciting recipes with you.

When it comes to homemade biscuits…. I love them! I grew up around biscuits and I certainly can pack a lot of them away.  Warm or cold, butter or Jam… you name it Zesty loves them.

I thought I would share this very simple recipe biscuit recipe.  This is one of the first things I learned to bake when I was a youngster.  The biscuit is very easy to make yet very rewarding to taste.  These take no time to make and go great with almost everything.

Mixing of the ingredients is crucial in producing an excellent biscuit.  I prefer to mix the dough by hand using either a pastry blender, two knives or just your fingertips.  Mixing by hand helps to prevent over mixing of the dough.  My mother-in-law adds the cream of tartar to keep the biscuit very white during the baking process however the topping will encourage the outside to become golden brown and delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 1/2 Cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 Cup milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/8 Tsp. Cream of Tartar

Topping:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C) and place rack in center of oven.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cream of tartar and sugar.
4. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (use pastry blender, two knives, or fingertips).
5. Add the milk, slightly beaten egg and stir until just combined.  (The texture should be sticky, moist and lumpy.)
6. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently until it comes together and is a smooth dough.
7. Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
8. Cut out biscuits with a lightly floured cutter of your choice ( I use a small glass ).
9. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg and milk mixture and bake for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown
10. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
11. Serve warm with butter.



12. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I cannot stress enough that this dough should not be overworked and that a light hand is needed.  The test will be in the results.  If you end up with a hard and doughy biscuit, you will know to mix the dough less the next time.

So I have to ask… What is your favorite biscuit topping? I get so excited when I ask this question because I am so in love with biscuits that I am dying to hear what you have to add.  Has anyone tried whole wheat biscuits?  I’ve tried them in the past but I found them a little too heavy.

Have a great Monday and by all means I am open for suggestions… Anything you want Zesty to bake, cook or prepare?  Let me know and I will try my best to make it happen.

Take care

zesty

Hi readers! It is already Thursday - I keep asking myself where did this week go.  Only one day left to enter the giveaway for $100 Amazon Gift Card.  Everybody is so busy and the holidays are fast approaching. I am heading to my son’s Christmas concert this morning, it should be exciting as he is going to be singing a couple of songs. He is 3 1/2 and loves to sing just like his Dad.

On to the food of choice today. I prepared this tart as I had a hankering for cranberry.  When I was getting into the tart preparation I was matching flavors and noticed we had a couple of over ripe plums hanging out in the bottom of the fridge. I thought they would be a good combination in this tart. So ultimately, before you go on thinking I am a tart mastermind - this is basically a kicked up butter tart with some fruit in it and topped off with some seeds….. Pumpkin Seeds!!!

Let me know if you would like a slice, maybe topped with a dollop of your favorite ice cream or even some homemade whipped cream.

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