Garlic Cheese and Bacon Biscuits

I have no intro to this recipe, really.  I love cheese and garlic biscuits.  I wanted some.  Been on a bacon kick.  Decided to add bacon.  Made them.  They rocked!

(As much as I love bacon, I don't think I'm ready to make this monster yet, though.  Look, two recipes for the price of one!)

We both reeeeeeeeally liked these biscuits; they didn't last long at all.

Don't remember what I was listening to when making these - it was a while ago; I've been slacking with the posting.  But as I wrote it up tonight, I was listening to a little Lars Frederiksen and The Bastards (and some Rancid, and some Choking Victim, and some Minor Threat...)  But here's a little Lars and a little biscuits.  -jen

GARLIC CHEESE AND BACON BISCUITS

• 10 strips bacon
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dill, dried (optional)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup monterey jack cheeese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Chop uncooked bacon into small pieces.  Cook over medium high heat until crispy.  Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, dill, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.  Mix well.  Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and add milk, butter, bacon and cheese.  Mix by hand just until dry ingredients are combined (mix as little as possible!)  Using a 1/4 cup measurement, drop biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet about an inch apart.

Bake until golden brown, 20-22 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  I recommend removing them from the pan immediately (or at least flip them and let them rest on their tops).  Otherwise the bottom of the biscuits continue to cook and can get too dark.

Makes about 8 biscuits.

Check out that fancy paper plating!  Hey, I've got the rustic veggie thing going on behind it!

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

We'd had some blackberries in the freezer that we picked last summer.  We didn't have enough to make a crumble or a pie, so Justin decided to make a barbecue sauce out of them. Came out great!  Playlist: Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards on Pandora. -Jen

BLACKBERRY BARBECUE SAUCE 

• 2 cups blackberries
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup minced ginger
• 5-6 dashes hot sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.  Pour into saucepan and simmer for 20-30 minutes until reduced. 

Some simple variations on this recipe would be to substitute chipotles in adobo sauce for the ginger in order to give it more of a smokey, chili flavor.  Agave syrup could be substituted for the honey or a little molasses could be added to give it more depth of flavor.  Limes or other citrus zest could be added; cloves, cinnamon, or a myriad of other spices to give it more of a range of flavors.  The variations are limited only by your imagination at this point. -Justin

Serving suggestions: served as a warm sauce for chicken, pork, or egg rolls. (Haven't baked or grilled with it yet, so not sure if it'd burn too easily or not with the sugars that are in it - you've been warned!)