Lincoln County Biscuits

I've talked many times about how I love Santa Fe, but recently we decided to visit a different part of New Mexico.  We went to Ruidoso for the weekend and it was a great getaway.  It's located in the mountains and it was the perfect break from the summer heat of Oklahoma.  We stayed in the most precious little cabin overlooking the Ruidoso River (which is more of a babbling brook) and even had two massive elk right outside our door.  The town has some great shopping and art galleries and we even did a wine tasting or two.  If you don't know, Ruidoso is located in Lincoln County.  That might sound familiar to you from history.  The Lincoln County War was a conflict between two different factions that included such notable wild west figures as: Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett.  The famous battle made Billy the Kid not only a household name, but a fugitive.  In fact just 25 minutes from Ruidoso is Lincoln, New Mexico.  In the spring of 1881,  Billy was taken to the Lincoln County Courthouse where he was scheduled to be hanged.  Billy escaped, killing two guards in the process.  He was eventually shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garret in Fort Sumner, NM.  I've always loved history, especially the history of the wild west.  And I've always been intrigued by Billy the Kid.  Maybe it's my love for the movie, Young Guns, or maybe it's because my dad's name is Billy.  Either way I fell in love with Lincoln County and enjoyed it as much as I do my visits to Santa Fe.  On our last morning in Ruidoso we went to a small diner for breakfast.  The menu listed something called Lincoln County Biscuits, described as biscuits made with sausage and green chilies, topped with cheese and served with gravy.  You simply cannot go to New Mexico and not eat green chilies.  Especially at breakfast.  (The day before I had enchiladas and eggs for breakfast, topped with green chile sauce and served with refried beans.  No bran muffins for me.)  I ordered the Lincoln County Biscuits and I was surprised when they came to the table.  I was expecting a regular biscuit stuffed with a sausage patty and some green chiles.  What I got was the most delightful presentation of a "pinwheel" made with flaky biscuit dough, spicy pork sausage, flavorful green chiles.  Topped with melted cheese and served with gravy.   It's safe to say I had the best breakfast at the table.  I immediately came home and set out to recreate it for you.  We've already eaten this twice.  The biscuits are individually frozen so you can bake as many as you need.  I sure hope Billy the Kid enjoyed these biscuits back in his day.  A true taste of New Mexico!

My version of New Mexico's
Lincoln County Biscuits

Flaky biscuit pinwheels filled with
pork sausage, cheese and green chiles...

Serve topped with gravy...

Here are the biscuits I had in New Mexico.
The inspiration for this recipe.

Lincoln, New Mexico hosts a Billy the Kid Festival
every August, featuring re-enactments and
all kinds of fun.  I'm definitely going back for this.

The infamous Lincoln County Courthouse where
Billy the Kid made his escape.

Sadly, he killed two deputies in the process.

I highly recommend you rent the movie
Young Guns.  It will help you
brush up on your Billy the Kid history.

Check out the beautiful
wildlife right outside our cabin.
Two of these majestic guys were
almost close enough to touch!

If you can't make it to Ruidoso anytime soon,
I think my re-creation of the Lincoln County Biscuits
is spot on.  The perfect taste of New Mexico!

Lincoln County Biscuits

4 cups Bisquick baking mix
1 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into pats
3 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
1 (1 pound) package hot pork sausage
1 (1 pound) package mild pork sausage
1 (8 ounce) package shredded cheddar cheese

white gravy for serving (Do not tell my mother, but I used a gravy mix from a package.  That's a huge Southern no-no.)

In a large bowl combine the baking mix and milk.  Cut in the butter pieces with a pastry cutter until a smooth dough has formed.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the sausage, green chiles and cheese in a large bowl.  Let this mixture stand at room temperature while the dough chills. (This will make it much easier to spread if it is room temperature.)

Remove 1/2 of the dough mixture from the refrigerator.  On a floured surface, roll into a rectangle that is approximately 10-12 inches long, 7-8 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick.  Spread half of the sausage mixture over the dough.  Roll as for a jelly roll.  You'll should have a nice, neat log that is approximately 10-12 inches long.  Wrap this in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for exactly 1 hour.  Repeat with the other half of the dough and sausage mixture. 

After one hour, remove the logs from the freezer and unwrap.  Place on a cutting board and slice into 1/2 inch slices.  (They will look kind of like a cinnamon roll.)  At this point you can either bake the individual biscuits or freeze until ready to use.  (I placed them on a cookie sheet until they were frozen solid and then stuck them all in a freezer bag.) 

When you are ready to bake the biscuits place the frozen slices on a well-greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Serve with gravy and enjoy.

NOTE:  This will make approximately 20-30 biscuits and we found that 2-3 is a nice portion.  I love that the rest freeze well and you can bake them from frozen.  You don't even have to thaw them out.  The sausage wants to stick to the pan even if it's well-greased so you'll need to be patient and carefully remove them with a spatula.

Prep Time:  Approximately 2 hours (need to chill)  Cook Time:  Approximately 25 minutes

Raspberry Champagne Floats

Desserts that combine alcohol and ice cream intrigue me.  A few years back we were in San Francisco and decided to pop into Hubert Keller's Burger Bar.  When the elevator door opened there was a giant picture of Hubert, and I said, "I wish he was really here." We had stopped in for dessert and a drink. Interestingly enough the restaurant combined the two.  My husband ordered the Irish Sweetness which was a float made with Irish Stout and coffee ice cream, topped with whipped cream.  I had a Berry Float which combined Berry Lambic, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream.  Truthfully I do not remember what I ordered.  I had to look it up on the Burger Bar menu for this blog post.  And I'll tell you why I couldn't remember.  It WAS NOT because the dessert wasn't memorable.  It was because Hubert Keller himself walked into the restaurant while we were there.  If you aren't familiar with Chef Keller, he's an award-winning French chef with world-renowned restaurants.  He's been on Top Chef Masters and many other cooking shows.  He's published cook books, consulted on all kinds of restaurants.  Cooked at the White House.  You get it.  He's like the Rolling Stones of cooking.  Normally I would not be star-struck and fall off my bar stool, but I'm a food nerd and meeting Chef Hubert was one of the coolest experiences in my life.  And yes I asked for his autograph because I'm a total dork.  He was very gracious and very French and very awesome. He influences chefs everywhere and he even motivates little 'ol homecook me.   Inspired by Chef Keller's grown up floats, I decided to create my own version at home.  Raspberry Champagne Floats feature vanilla ice cream, champagne, fresh raspberries and my yummy homemade Raspberry Coulis.  You won't be disappointed with this bubbly, sweet adult treat!

Raspberry Champagne Floats...
Inspired by Burger Bar

Add Raspberry Coulis to a glass. 
Top with ice cream.
Pour champagne over all.

Garnish with fresh raspberries and more sauce.

Such a pretty dessert.
And perfect in my OU wine glasses...

Enjoy a grown up treat!

What kind of dork asks a Top Chef Master
for their autograph?  Me.  That's who.

Raspberry Champagne Floats

Vanilla Ice Cream (we used Breyer's)
1 Bottle Good Quality Champagne or Prosecco
Fresh Raspberries
1 (10 ounce) Bag Frozen Raspberries, thawed
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar


To Make the Raspberry Coulis:

Combine the package of thawed raspberries and granulated sugar in a blender.  Process until smooth.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.  You'll have a thick, delicious sauce.  This sauce is fantastic over ice cream, chocolate cake, brownies or anything else you can think of. 

To Make the Raspberry Champagne Floats:

Place 1-2 tablespoons raspberry coulis in the bottom of a glass.  Top with two generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Spoon on some more raspberry coulis and pour champagne over all.  Garnish with fresh raspberries.

NOTE:  I didn't want to break my champagne flutes by trying to eat the ice cream with a spoon, so I made the floats in some larger wine glasses.  I added a GENEROUS amount of champagne to fill the glasses for the photographs.  How much you use is up to you!

Homemade Bierocks (German Stuffed Rolls)

I first discovered this recipe when we lived in Omaha, Nebraska.  Not surprisingly since that area is  home to a rich heritage of Eastern European immigrants.  Lots of delicious German and Czech treats abound there.  One of our favorites was the Bierock.  It's also known as kraut kuche or kraut bierock.  It's a soft roll stuffed with a tasty filling of ground beef, onion and cabbage.  As I've mentioned previously in my Slow Cooker Sausage and Sauerkraut recipe, sauerkraut and really cabbage in any form is one of my favorites.  I went to college near Hermann, Missouri and let's just say I spent my fair share of time celebrating Oktoberfest and enjoying my share of the local beer, wine and sauerkraut.  So when I learned about these hearty little sandwiches stuffed with cabbage, I knew immediately it was something we would enjoy.  It's filling, delicious and since it is easily hand-held it is a great snack for sporting or beer drinking events.  When we have attended football games in Nebraska and Kansas, in the past, we found them everywhere.  Lots of locals were kind enough to offer these lovely homemade rolls as we were walking by their tailgates on both the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln as well as the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan.  I'm thinking these tasty little treats are something I need to bring to the Sooner campus this tailgate season.  Perfect along side a beer, they will fill you up, keep you warm and introduce your friends to a new regional treat.

San Francisco S'mores

I love San Francisco.  It's my second favorite city after Santa Fe.  I could spend days and days there.  The atmosphere, the architecture, the history.  THE CHOCOLATE.  In case you didn't know, San Francisco is the home of  Ghirardelli Chocolate.  The company started there more than 160 years ago, making them America's oldest continuously operating chocolate maker and my personal hero :)  When you visit Ghirardelli Square, the original chocolate manufactory, they give you a square of Ghirardelli chocolate upon your entrance.  You can buy any and all things chocolate-related there.  I have their cookbook and a big tote bag.  If sampling the candy isn't enough for you, they have a soda fountain where you can enjoy all kinds of treats.  My favorite is the Sea Salt Caramel Hot Chocolate.  It is rich and amazing and sprinkled with sea salt and of course one of their signature chocolates with caramel filling is served on the side.  Their Monterey, California location in Cannery Row has a balcony that overlooks the bay.  Sitting outside watching the waves and sipping on that hot chocolate is one of my favorite memories.  Another way we love to reminisce about our San Francisco vacations is enjoying some San Francisco S'Mores.  If you can't make it to Ghirardelli Square, at least you can enjoy a little taste at home! 

Decadent.
A S'more unlike any other.

Quick! Follow that sign!

Ghirardelli Square
San Francisco, California

Here's the Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa
I was telling you about.

Here's me at one of the happiest places on earth.

Here's Mr. DD's chocolate shake.
Wow.

I think he was pretty happy too!

Enjoy a taste of San Francisco at home!

How To Make Canned Enchilada Sauce Taste Like A Restaurant's

I'm all about shortcuts in the kitchen IF they don't taste like a shortcut.  While I do enjoy preparing a lot of things from scratch, sometimes it just isn't feasible to soak dried chiles to make a sauce when we're craving enchiladas.  My pal Michaela over at An Affair From the Heart has a great blog post on How To Make Canned Refried Beans Taste Like A Restaurant's.  In fact it's one of her most popular posts, which tells me everyone appreciates tasty shortcuts.  A while back we made this sauce for some chicken enchiladas and it was fabulous.  You would never know the recipe starts with a can of prepared enchilada sauce.  Don't get me wrong, canned enchilada sauce tastes just fine.  But it doesn't have the depth or richness you'll find in a restaurant's sauce.  Between this sauce, and Michaela's Refried Beans, you'll have a restaurant quality Mexican meal in minutes!

This tastes just like a restaurant!

I'm in love with my Cherry Red Le Creuset Saucier pan.
It's perfect for making this sauce...

Don't forget to serve the
Refried Beans from An Affair of the Heart
with your enchiladas!

Just like a restaurant's and ready in minutes.

How To Make Canned Enchilada Sauce Taste Like A Restaurant's

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1 cup chicken broth (I use Better Than Bouillon)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a saucepan over medium-high heat melt the butter until it becomes foamy.  Add the flour and stir constantly for one minute.  Stir in the canned enchilada sauce, chicken broth and salt and pepper.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened.  (Approximately 10-15 minutes.)  Keep warm over low heat until ready to assemble enchiladas.

Prep Time:  Approximately 5 minutes     Cook Time:  Approximately 20 minutes