the linda beck blog: March 2011

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Artistic Biscuits: Thank You, Umiz Monterey Jack & Chipotle Biscuits

As a thank you for going above and beyond with sweetness, I made some savoury biscuits for my terrific coworkers at Nickelodeon's "Team Umizoomi":

Monterey Jack & Chipotle Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper flakes
1 cup well-shaken light buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, salt, ground pepper, and chipotle flakes in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in Muenster cheese. Add buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Form dough into 1 1/2" round balls and place about an inch apart on a large buttered baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until golden, roughly 10 minutes.

Check out some cool Umi stuff on the Nick, Jr. "Team Umizoomi" website!

Unitarian Universalist Chalice

The Flaming Chalice is the traditional "symbol" of Unitarian Universalism. Because the U.U.s are such a small part of the religion pie chart (less than 1% of the U.S. population, I believe one of our ministers at All Souls reported), Unitarian Universalist Chalices are not mass produced and therefore there isn't a wide selection from which to chose. Many of the handmade chalices, though beautiful, are a little too ornate for my taste.

For my son's dedication gift, I got him the above footed soup bowl, which I think proves a charming alternative. Here's a link to the very mainstream store where I found it.