Brie + Dark Chocolate "Biscuit Beignets" with Spicy Cinnamon-Sugar + Homemade Strawberry Preserves

Brie + Dark Chocolate "Biscuit Beignets" with Spicy Cinnamon-Sugar + Homemade Strawberry Preserves

Brie + Doughnuts? Yes, it's true. And they are life-changing. Whowouldathunkit amirite? Well, apparently Brie cheese pairs beautifully with dessert/sweet flavors. I ended up throwin' it together with some dark chocolate, spicy cinnamon, and strawberry preserves. THESE CANNOT BE MISSED. Even better, they have a short cut! What? Who? Where? Wait... What? Yep, I actually can come up with easy recipes, despite every other thing I have ever posted. Instead of making a beignet dough recipe (which I heard can be quite finicky + lengthy), I used a good 'ole can of big store-bought biscuits. They fry up perfectly golden brown, crispy on the outside, and light & fluffy on the inside. It's amazing that something I normally would scoff at, could impress me so much, ya know? However, when something anything stuffed with cheese + chocolate can't taste bad. The Brie cheese starts to burst through the second you bite into it, and then it just slowly drip down your fingers, while the chocolate is quite sneaky and ended up on my t-shirt 1 or 2 times (and by 1 or 2, I mean 9 or 10). Possibly the best part of these beignets, besides the easiness of it, is the spicy cinnamon-sugar. I am a sweet-heat girl and will be till the end of time. So, when I was whipping up some of the spiced sugar mix, I thought that it would be amazing with the addition of cayenne, paprika, + chili powder. Oh it was sooooooo good, it was almost similar to Mexican Chocolate that includes similar spices. It all flowed togetha y'all, dontchouworry. We dipped these puppies into homemade strawberry preserves and it was perfection. But, don't feel tied down to strawberry or any homemade jam for that fact, grab whatever is in your pantry/fridge!! Enjoy :)

For the Spicy Cinnamon Sugar:

¼C Granulated Sugar

1T Cinnamon

¼t Paprika

Pinch of Cayenne & Chili Powder (to taste) 

Big Pinch of Salt (this is optional, but I love the balance)

For the Brie + Chocolate “Biscuit Beignets”:

Peanut Oil, For Frying

1 Can of Store-Bought Extra Large Biscuits (cut each biscuit round in half)

Pieces of Creamy Brie Cheese, Cut into Chunks (about the size of a teaspoon or more)

Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, Roughly Chopped into Small-Medium Pieces

Prepared Spicy Cinnamon Sugar, For Tossing

Homemade Strawberry Preserves, For Dipping (any kind of jam or preserve can be used)

Directions:

1. Preheat the peanut oil in a deep fryer or deep skillet to 350 degrees.

2. For the Spicy Cinnamon Sugar: Mix together all of the ingredients and pour it into a paper bag, for tossing, or leave in the bowl and use a spoon to toss the finished beignets.

3. For the “Biscuit Beignets”: Open up the can of biscuits and cut each biscuit round in half. Using a rolling pin, gently thin and flatten the halves, just so they are slightly larger. Place a rolled half in the palm of your hand, followed by a piece of brie and some chocolate pieces, making sure that you do not over-fill the dough or they will open up when you fry them. Fold the excess dough over the Brie & chocolate, so that they are completely covered & sealed. Roll them slightly to make a nice, small round ball. Place the rolled balls onto a plate and place it in the refrigerator. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients and continue placing them onto the plate in the refrigerator to keep them cold until everything has been finished.

4. Frying the Beignets: Fry the stuffed beignet balls, in batches, in your preheated oil until they are golden brown, slightly crisp on the outside, but also melty & gooey on the inside, about 1-3 minutes, depending on the heat of your oil or fryer. Once they have browned, quickly remove from the oil, let them drain of excess oil, and drop them into the spicy cinnamon-sugar filled paper bag. Shake the bag or toss them in the sugar mixture until they are evenly, and heavily, coated.

5. For Serving: Place the coated beignets on a serving plate with a bowl of preserves for dipping.

Red Velvet Buttermilk Biscuits with Southern Chocolate Gravy + Whipped Cream Cheese Butter

Red Velvet Buttermilk Biscuits with Southern Chocolate Gravy + Whipped Cream Cheese Butter

I hope all of y'all had a wonderful Valentine's Day... and I'm sorry it has taken this long to post a new Red Velvet inspired recipe!! As I mentioned in my last post, my Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls were the perfect breakfast-in-bed-with-your-honey meal, and I just had to come up with another one for this year. I racked my brain for breakfast ideas that could be turned into a red velvet recipe, but I didn't want to do one that had already been done... a lot of people have done waffles, pancakes, & crepes. And then it hit me, RED VELVET BISCUITS. Why had I never thought of that before?! Who knows. Well, I started building from there, and immediately remembered enjoying Southern Chocolate Gravy with Buttermilk Biscuits as a child. What kid doesn't want chocolate for breakfast? This kid over here does! So along with the Red Velvet Buttermilk Biscuits, that brings in the red and buttermilk component of this cake classic, the chocolate gravy would sub in for the cocoa powder element, and lastly, the Whipped Cream Cheese Butter mimics the ever-popular cream cheese frosting. So, this dish is practically Red Velvet Cake... deconstructed... in breakfast form... with some Southern lovin' added in for good measure as well. There aren't many things that are as comforting as biscuits + gravy, especially if chocolate and sugar are thrown into the mix also. The biscuits turned out to be a gorgeous "God Bless 'merica" red and were utterly + effortlessly fluffy. As for the chocolate gravy, I called my mom asking if she remembered her recipe and she couldn't find it in the millions of recipe cards shoved into the drawers in our kitchen. So, I found a recipe online that had gotten a lot of great reviews, and it certainly didn't disappoint. If you're like me then you'll want to split the biscuits in half and spread on some of that cream cheese butter until it melts into the hot bread, and drown them in the chocolate gravy until they are completely covered. And just for presentation, I sprinkled on some toasted pecan bits over the top. Honestly, I don't know if there is more in my belly... or more on my face and hands because I got knee deep in this meal. But, that's half the joy of it all, isn't it? Finger lickin' good gravy always cheers this girl up. What an awesome meal this was on Valentine's Day with my Mountain Man. Oh and P.S., I need to be officially dubbed the "Queen of Red Velvet", o'tay? Good, glad y'all agree with me because having this many red velvet inspired recipes is just plain unhealthy!! Enjoy :)

Chocolate Gravy Waterfall  

biscuits + gravy... red velvet-style 

Homemade Whipped Cream Cheese Butter 

Garnish with some Toasted Pecans!

For the Red Velvet Buttermilk Biscuits:

2 ¼C Cake Flour, Sifted

1T Baking Powder

1T + 1t Sugar

1t Salt

6T Unsalted Butter, Cut into Cubes & Frozen

¾C Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

Red Food Coloring (to your liking)

2T Melted Butter, For Brushing

For the Southern Chocolate Gravy:

4T Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

2T AP Flour

1C Sugar

1 ½C Whole Milk

4T Unsalted Butter

1t Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

For the Whipped Cream Cheese Butter:

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Softened

4oz Cream Cheese

¼C Sugar

½t Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

Directions:

1. For the Red Velvet Buttermilk Biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add in the frozen and cut the fat in using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, but pea-sized pieces of butter still remain. In a measuring cup, pour in some red food coloring, and then fill up the measuring cup to ¾C of the liquid mixture (this will make sure that you don’t add too much extra liquid to your biscuits). Whisk together the food coloring and buttermilk until it is red. Pour in the red buttermilk and use a fork to mix it until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead with floured hands, and pat into a thick square. Using a large, floured biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits from the dough and place them about 1-2inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (I made about 6-8 biscuits). Brush the tops of the biscuits with some melted butter and bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on their side, or until the tops are golden brown. Just before serving, brush the tops of the biscuits with more melted butter.

2. For the Southern Chocolate Gravy: In a medium sauce a whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour in the milk and whisk vigorously to combine. Heat over medium-high until the mixture bubbles. Turn heat down to medium and stir until mixture has thickened to a gravy consistency. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Let cool slightly then transfer to a gravy boat. Serve warm over buttermilk biscuits.   

3. For the Whipped Cream Cheese Butter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until smooth & creamed together, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on high, add in the sugar, pinch of salt, and vanilla. Beat on high speed until light & fluffy like a whipped frosting. Refrigerate until ready to use.   

4. For Serving: Place some Red Velvet Buttermilk Biscuits onto a plate and pour the Chocolate Gravy over the top. Garnish the top of the gravy with some toasted pecans and serve the biscuits with the Whipped Cream Cheese Butter.   

source: southern chocolate gravy.

Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes with Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits, Fried Chicken, Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream, & Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves

Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes with Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits, Fried Chicken,
Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream, & Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves

I have totally lost track of time lately. So much so, that I even forgot this little blog's anniversary. I'm officially on my third year of sharing my recipes, and I didn't even realize it. What a sad day. How do you celebrate a "blog-a-verisary"... do you bake a cake for it? I should probably find out if that's the case. Instead I baked a shortcake for it, a savory shortcake in fact. Have y'all ever seen or had a savory shortcake? I haven't seen many or tasted any, so I though it would be something I would want to make. Why not put some fried chicken on a shortcake, that's the normal thought process, isn't it? Well, for all y'all skeptics out there, it's wonderful!! It's like a play off of chicken & biscuits, but slightly sweet... and you can eat it for dinner. I made light-as-air, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and topped them with crispy, fried chicken, a whipped cream made with boursin cheese, and an eat-it-with-a-spoon strawberry jam. By the way, I'm so into pickling, preserving, and processing right now. I just got the hang of it, but I've already made Candied Jalapenos, Spicy Pepper Jelly, Triple Citrus-Champagne Marmalade, Blood Orange-Vanilla Bean Marmalade, Pickled Mean Beans, and the Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves that I'm posting today. Here is a picture of everything I've canned...

Homemade Pickles, Jams, Preserves, & Jellies

Borderline obsessive, right? Oh well, they are all delicious and it is my new favorite hobby. Now I just have to think of recipes to use all of them. My Fried Chicken Shortcake was inspired by these strawberry preserves, that's how much I liked it. I thought to myself, "Dang, this jam would be damn good on some fried chicken." And it was. Strawberry + Balsamic are a match made in heaven. The vinegar really brings out the sweetness of the berries and the crushed pink peppercorn adds a depth of flavor that cannot be matched! Just a note, while I was making the huge batch of strawberry preserves, I reserved some that I didn't thicken as much, so it would be more of a sauce. The rest of them I reduced down to a thick jam that would be spreadable on toast... it's honestly up to you, but it does make an awesome strawberry sauce. I think it would be heavenly on some homemade goat cheese ice cream (odd, i know). Anyway, make these preserves... put them on everything. Especially this shortcake. All of the elements go together, I promise. I can guarantee it will be weird eating a salty whipped cream though. You definitely need the creamy, herbed element though. It creates such balance. We loved everything about this meal, and heck, why not make a dessert into dinner? It totally works!! Enjoy :)

Marinating the Chicken:

1Q Buttermilk

¼C Hot Sauce

1T Cajun Seasoning

4-6 Chicken Cutlets (pounded thinly)

For the Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves:

1Q Strawberries, Cut into Halves or Quarters

2 ½C Sugar

1 Lemon, Zested & Juiced

2T Balsamic Vinegar + ¼C Balsamic Reduction

½-1t Crushed Pink Peppercorn (start off with a little and add until your liking)

For the Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits:

2 ¼C Cake Flour, Sifted

1T Baking Powder

1T + 1t Sugar

1t Salt

6T Unsalted Butter, Cut into Cubes & Frozen

1T Bacon Fat, Frozen

¾C Cold Buttermilk, Well-Shaken

Melted Butter, For Brushing 

For the Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream:

6T Heavy Whipping Cream, Cold

4oz Herbed Boursin Cheese, Softened

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Fried Chicken Cutlets:

1C AP Flour

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

2 Eggs

1C + 2T Buttermilk

2T Hot Sauce

1C AP Flour

2T Cornstarch

1T Salt & Pepper

1t Cayenne, Paprika, Cajun Seasoning

Vegetable Oil, For Frying

For the Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes:

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits, Baked until Golden Brown

Fried Chicken Cutlets

Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream, Chilled

Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves, Warmed

Chives, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. Marinating the Chicken: Place the chicken cutlets in a large plastic bag and add in the buttermilk, hot sauce, and seasoning. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

2. For the Strawberry-Balsamic-Pink Peppercorn Preserves: Rinse the berries and slice them into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Combine the berries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and balsamic vinegar. Toss to coat the berries. Cover and let them macerate in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, put the berry mixture into a large saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves then remove from heat. Using a sieve, separate the berries from the juice. Return the liquid to the pan, along with the balsamic reduction, and bring it to a boil. Cook on high until concentrated or the mixture reaches a temperature of 221 degrees. Add the reserved strawberries and pink peppercorn back into the syrup and allow the mixture to boil for about 10-15 minutes. (Start off with a small amount of crushed pink peppercorns and keep adding until you have reached your desired strength). Process the jam immediately or refrigerate until it is thick.

3. For the Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add in the frozen butter and bacon fat, and cut the fat in using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, but pea-sized pieces of butter still remain. Pour in the buttermilk and use a fork to mix it until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead with floured hands, and pat into a thick square. Using a large, floured biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits from the dough and place them about 1-2inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet (I made about 5-6 very large biscuits). Brush the tops of the biscuits with some melted butter and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on their side, or until the tops are golden brown. Just before serving, brush the tops of the biscuits with more melted butter.

4. For the Boursin Cheese Whipped Cream: In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks. Slowly add in the softened Boursin cheese and beat until a whipped cream is formed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

5. For the Fried Chicken Cutlets: Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a deep sauté pan. Next, you have to set up a battering station. I use 3 pie tins. For the first station, I mix the flour with salt and pepper. For the second station, I whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce. For the third station, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and seasonings. Drizzle the 2T of buttermilk into this last pie tin, and using a fork, mix until little shaggy pieces form (these will help build a nice crunch to the chicken). Now, place the marinated chicken cutlets into the flour mixture, then into the egg wash, and finally the shaggy flour mixture. Fry the breaded chicken cutlets for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Once cooked, remove from the oil to drain and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

6. Assembling the Fried Chicken Strawberry Shortcakes: Cut a warm biscuit in half and top the bottom half of the biscuit with a fried chicken cutlet, a spoonful of strawberry-balsamic-pink peppercorn preserve sauce, a dollop of Boursin cheese whipped cream, and top with the other half of the biscuit. Garnish the top with more strawberry sauce, whipped cream, and minced chives. Enjoy immediately.

The Ultimate Fried Chicken Biscuit with a Homemade Black Pepper-Buttermilk Biscuit, Spicy Fried Chicken Breast, Smoked Cheddar Cheese, Red Eye Glazed Bacon, & a Fried Egg

The Ultimate Fried Chicken Biscuit with a Homemade Black Pepper-Buttermilk Biscuit,
Spicy Fried Chicken Breast, Smoked Cheddar Cheese, Red Eye Glazed Bacon & a Fried Egg

Way back from my days at the University of Alabama, my Mountain Man & I would always make a mammoth breakfast sandwich right as we woke up. This kept us full until lunchtime tailgate food and it also became a superstitious tradition that had to be repeated every game day Saturday. Well, back then, it was all store-bought ingredients, but dang, it was still pretty darn tasty. I finally got around to revamping that boring 'ole lucky breakfast sandwich into something even greater. The bagel changed into a Homemade Black Pepper-Buttermilk Biscuit that is perfectly flaky and buttery. I added a fried egg, so that the runny yolk would add some richness and moisture. Then, I made a spicy battered chicken breast, very similar to Chickfila, so it gives a a yummy spiciness to burn the tongue a bit. I wasn't quite sure what cheese would complement all these flavors, but I eventually picked a smoked cheddar because I thought it would balance these strong components and bring them all together. But what's the best part, you ask? Well, it's the Red Eye Glazed Bacon. I know some of y'al might not know of Southern Red Eye Gravy, but it's delicious and certainly a staple at breakfast down here in the South. So, I thought to myself, "why not reduce down some red eye gravy and turn it into a glaze?" Well, I did and it was awesome. I first cooked up the thick cut bacon until crispy, and then used a brush to cover the bacon slices all over. They became sticky-icky, sweet yet salty, but candied in nature. And what's not good about candied bacon? I declare that candied bacon should be on each + every dish in America. Okay, that's slightly extreme, but I'd probably do it in my household... that's for sure!! Well, I hope y'all enjoy this Ultimate Fried Chicken Biscuit because we sure did :)

Runny Fried Egg

Lots of Red Eye Glazed Bacon

There's everything just slightly peaking out...

Ahhh, the first bite is so good

Homemade Black Pepper-Buttermilk Biscuits:

2 ½C AP Flour

½T + ¼t Baking Powder

2t Salt

4T Butter, Cut into Cubes & Chilled

½C + 6T Chilled Buttermilk (you might need a little more depending on the texture)

Extra Butter, Melted (for brushing)

Fresh Cracked Pepper, For Garnishing

For the Spicy Fried Chicken:

4 Chicken Cutlets (season them with paprika, cayenne, chili powder, & Cajun spices)

1 Egg

½C Milk

1T Hot Sauce

¾C AP Flour

¼C WW Flour

1T Dry Milk

1T Powdered Sugar

1t Paprika

¼t Baking Soda & Dry Mustard

For the Red Eye Glazed Bacon:

8 Slices of Thick Cut Applewood Smoked Bacon

½C Coffee

¼C Coca Cola & Beef Broth

1T Honey

Salt & Pepper (if needed)

Splash of Water (if needed because the flavor might be too strong for some people)

 

For the Ultimate Fried Chicken Biscuits:

Prepared Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits, Warm

Spicy Fried Chicken Cutlets, Warm

Prepared Red Eye Glazed Bacon

Slices of Smoked Cheddar Cheese

Fried Eggs (or they can be cooked any way you like, scrambled eggs would be great too)

Directions:

1. For the Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits: Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine. Add the cold butter and, working quickly, coat in flour, and then using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it is coarsely blended and the flour-butter mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs, but small pieces of butter still remain. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Stir quickly, just until the dough is blended and begins to mass. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky and there should not be large amounts of unincorporated flour in the bowl. If dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons more buttermilk. Turn dough immediately onto a generously floured surface, and with floured hands knead briskly 8 to 10 times until cohesive dough is formed. Gently flatten the dough with your hands so it is of an even thickness. Then, using a floured rolling pin, roll it out to a uniform thickness. With a dinner fork dipped in flour, pierce the dough completely through at 1/2-inch intervals. Lightly flour a large biscuit cutter and stamp out rounds. (Do not twist the cutter when stamping out biscuits.) Cut the biscuits from the dough as close together as you can for a maximum yield. Arrange cut biscuits on a heavy, ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet so that they almost touch (I throw away the scrapes and don’t re-roll them because they become tough in texture). Brush the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle heavily with fresh cracked pepper. Bake in upper third of the oven for 8 to 12 minutes until crusty golden brown. (Check about 6 minutes into baking and rotate pan if needed to ensure even cooking.) Remove from the oven and brush with more melted butter. Serve hot.

2. For the Spicy Fried Chicken: Place each cutlet between plastic wrap and pound until they are about ¼inch thick. Season the chicken heavily with spicy seasonings (you can make them as spicy as you like). Next, you have to set up a battering station. I use 2 pie tins. For the first station, I whisk together the eggs, milk, and hot sauce. For the second station, I mix the AP & WW Flours, dry milk, powdered sugar, baking soda, dry mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, heat about two inches of peanut oil to 325 degrees in a skillet. Working in batches, dip the chicken into the egg mixture, turning to coat, then dredge in the flour mixture, making sure to shake off any excess flour. Fry the chicken in the hot oil until golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

3. For the Red Eye Glazed Bacon: In a saucepan, heat the coffee, cola, and honey on medium high until the mixture simmers. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain a simmer. Cook this mixture for 30 minutes or until it is a thick syrup (add a splash of water or seasonings if needed). Pour into a jar and let it cool completely (to plain taste, this might not be the most amazing glaze, but when brushed on bacon, it really brings it over the top, just trust me on this one). Cook the bacon in a skillet until golden brown & crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and let them drain of excess oil. Repeat with any extra bacon slices. Once the bacon is cool enough to touch, remove the paper towels, and brush heavily with the red eye gravy glaze (on all slides). It is important to make sure they are completely glazed. Next, immediately layer onto the biscuits.

4. Assembling the Biscuits: Cut a buttermilk biscuit in half and top the bottom biscuit slice with a piece of spicy fried chicken, smoked cheddar cheese slice, red eye glazed bacon, and a fried egg. Enjoy immediately while still hot.

Revamped: Slow Roasted Tomato-Corn Pie with Bacon, White Cheddar, & Cracked Black Pepper Biscuit Crust

Revamped: Slow Roasted Tomato-Corn Pie with Bacon, White Cheddar,
& Cracked Black Pepper Biscuit Crust

Tomato pie is extremely popular in the South. I have always loved the flavor, but I have always hated the excess of tomato juice at the bottom of the pan. Sogginess + Me = Unhappiness. Almost a year ago, I made  this tomato-corn pie, and I really liked parts of the recipe, but I knew that I wanted to change up a few things the next time I made it. I didn't want to change the crust recipe because I loved the biscuit texture and the black pepper kick. The biggest difference between these two pies are the tomatoes. And don't get me wrong, nothin' is better than a heirloom tomato, like literally. But they have so much juice that it can make the bottom of a tomato pie very soggy. My solution? Axe the fresh tomato pie idea and use slow roasted instead. Slow roasted are an obsession right now. I made the best BLT with them a month ago, and well, they are amazing on top of everything. Well, slow roasted tomatoes are perfect in this pie, y'all. When they are mixed with fresh sweet corn, smoky bacon, creamy cheddar cheese, and green onion, it's a match-made-in-heaven. My Mountain Man, who didn't get to try a piece of my previous pie & who had never even tried tomato pie before, woofed down half of this pie before I could even cut a slice. So, he's officially obsessed with tomato pie now. This is the perfect summer dinner for us... we can just run over to the farmer's market and grab some tomatoes, corn, and green onion, and bake up one of these for dinner. It's perfect with a glass of wine!! Enjoy :)

Cracked Black Pepper Biscuit Crust

All Sliced Into

Look at those beautiful layers...

My Slice of Pie :)

For the Cracked Black Pepper Biscuit Crust:

2C AP Flour

1T Baking Powder

¾t Salt

2t Fresh Cracked Coarse Pepper (or a little more if you like, we liked a lot of pepper)

6T Unsalted Butter, Very Cold & Cut into ¼inch Cubes

¾C Buttermilk

For the Slow Roasted Tomatoes:

8 Barely Ripe Roma Tomatoes, Cut into ½inch Thick Slices

Fresh Rosemary

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Tomato-Corn Pie:

Prepared Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Room Temperature

2C Fresh Corn

6 Strips of Thick Applewood Smoked Bacon, Cut into Cubes & Fried until Crispy

¼C Sour Cream & Mayo

¼t Cayenne, Paprika, Garlic Powder, & Onion Powder (or seasoned to your liking)

2T Fresh Chives, Minced or Snipped

3 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced (divided)

2C Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

1T Melted Butter, For Brushing

Directions:

1. For the Slow-Roasted Tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and lay the slices of tomato onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with the fresh rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper. Bake for 3-4 hours until shriveled around the edge, but still maintaining their juice. If you have leftover tomatoes, simply cover the leftovers with olive oil and place into the refrigerator.

2. To Make the Biscuit Crust: Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the milk & coarse black pepper, and pulse until it forms dough. Split it in half and roll each out on a well-floured surface. Fit one of the pie crusts into a 9inch pie plate.

3. To Make the Tomato-Corn Pie Filling: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, fresh chives, 1 green onion, salt and pepper until incorporated. Stir in 1 ½C cheddar cheese until mixed. Place half of the slow roasted tomatoes on top of the crust, and then sprinkle with some of the corn, crispy bacon, and other two sliced green onions. Spoon on the cheese mixture on top of the tomato-corn-bacon-green onion layers and lightly spread it until it’s an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining ½C of cheddar cheese and some chives or green onions.  Fit the other piecrust on top, folding it over the edges of the bottom one and crimping to seal in the juices.

4. Brush the top of the pie with butter and cut slits in the top to let out steam.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling & hot.

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, Crispy Pork Belly, & a Fried Egg

A little known fact... I'm obsessed with sweet potatoes. Sweet potato anything. Especially sweet potato biscuits. I love them more than any other biscuit in the world. I always make sweet potato biscuits for holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. They are just a must in our house. So, for a while, I have been wanting to make sweet potato biscuits & gravy. I made some jumbo sweet potato biscuits this morning, and then stuffed them with some crispy pork belly. If you haven't had pork belly, you're missing out. It's wonderful. But, it's not the easiest thing to find, so I understand if you just want to substitute in some thick cut bacon. Do whatever floats your boat. After you stuff the biscuits, top it with lots of homemade sausage gravy and a beautiful fried egg. And, I love to garnish with fresh chives because it gives it a nice bite and contrast in color. This brunch was so filling that you really can only eat one biscuit, since I make mine soooo big. It's totally worth it though because nothin' is better than a Southern breakfast!! Enjoy :)

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, Crispy Pork Belly, & a Fried Egg

For the Sweet Potato Biscuits:

½C Sweet Potato Puree

½C Buttermilk, Shaken

2 ¼C AP Flour

1T Baking Powder

1t Salt & Sugar

¼t Black Pepper & Paprika

Pinch of Nutmeg

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Cubed & Chilled

For the Sausage Gravy:

½lb Ground Sausage, Cooked into Crumbles (save the grease)

4T Leftover Sausage Fat

3T AP Flour

2-3C Milk

Pinch of Paprika

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Biscuits & Gravy:

Sweet Potato Biscuits, Baked & Split in Half

Crispy Pork Belly (or you can substitute thick cut bacon)

Prepared Sausage Gravy

Fried Egg

Fresh Minced Chives, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Sweet Potato Biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the sweet potato puree with the buttermilk until smooth, and then set it aside. In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and seasonings until incorporated. Place the chilled butter into the flour mixture, and using a pastry cutter, blend in the butter by hand until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Next, gently stir in the sweet potato-buttermilk mixture until loose and sticky. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead until the dough comes together. Roll the dough out until the thickness you want and use a biscuit cutter to cut out individual biscuits (I like my biscuits thick & big, so we only made about 6 biscuits). Spray a small pan with Pam and place the biscuits close together (so they rise up, not out). Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits, or until puffed up and lightly golden. Keep biscuits warm until ready to assemble your biscuits & gravy.
2. For the Sausage Gravy: Fry the ground sausage in a hot, deep skillet. Once crispy and crumbled, remove the sausage, but still leaving the fat. Combine the fat with the flour in a skillet, continuously whisking, cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes until a roux is formed. Add the milk slowly to the skillet and mix the roux using a whisk. Turn the heat down to low and continue stirring until he mixture is thickened, 2-3 minutes. Add in salt and a lot of pepper to taste (and any other seasonings you would like to add). If the gravy is too thick for your taste, you can thin it by adding more milk, a tablespoon at a time. Add in the cooked sausage until combined. Keep warm until ready to serve.
3. For the Biscuits & Gravy: Split a baked sweet potato biscuit and place some crispy pork belly (or bacon) in the middle, and top it with the other half of the biscuit. Spoon some of the warm sausage gravy over the top of the biscuits, top with a fried egg, and garnish with minced chives. Enjoy immediately.