Cheddar Sourdough Biscuits #SundaySupper

These cheesy, flaky biscuits are made tangy with sourdough toss-off and rich with sharp cheddar.

Even though I have a sourdough starter in my fridge (and have for almost 10 years) I sadly don't bake with it a lot. It's a shame, really - mom loves a good, crusty sourdough loaf as much as I used to (before all that allergy nonsense), and the smell of one baking is definitely bliss. Instead, I feed it every few weeks, keeping it at a low enough hydration that only minimal feedings are required.While I can keep the tossing off and replenishing frequency down, there's no denying that eventually it becomes necessary, and I always feel guilty for throwing away a perfectly good ingredient.

Ironically it was an excess of shredded Cheddar, not sourdough starter, that led me to this recipe. It's been a long time since biscuits were on the menu, especially since we really only like buttermilk varieties. There's something about the tang and richness of buttermilk that sets the scones apart from the regular storebought tea biscuits. My original recipe calls for not only buttermilk, but shortening, which made for a fluffy, tender result, but I actually has neither on hand - buttermilk is not a weekly grocery item for us, and unfortunately the mice inhabiting our walls think that shortening is delicious (seriously - they ate almost entire boxes of the stuff, leaving only the ends of the carboard and parchment behind). Instead, this recipe used sourdough toss-off as the acidic "liquid" - genius if you ask me! Since I was going for a rich, tea-time treat and not a simple accompaniment to soup, I knew I'd have to fill in the creamy dairy component with butter. While I love shortening in plain biscuits, it lacks the richness that I seek in a scone.

As luck would have it, we not only had a good stash of butter on hand, but a god stash of good butter on hand! I'm pretty used to the grocery store blocks in my cooking, and truly they taste fine, behave well in pastry and cakes and are workhorses in the kitchen. However, for my mom's birthday party a few rich dishes were on the menu, including a browned butter and sage pasta and chicken Marsala, and we splurged on two pounds of high-fat, European-style cultured butter for the occasion. While most of it went into birthday cake batter, frosting and the two aforementioned dishes, we did have leftovers - and I just had to try them in biscuits. After all, if pedestrian butter is good, the higher-quality stuff must be better!

I was not disappointed - between the light tang from the cultured butter, the sourdough with just a little bite and sharp, aged Cheddar cheese, these scones were definitely hitting the mark flavour wise. They were buttery enough to not need an accompaniment, yet not so rich that you couldn't spread jam or honey on them for brunch.

This week for #SundaySupper we are embracing the "cheesiness" of the cooking world. We have a great range of savouries here, from Irish Nachos to risotto and even a souffle (Pies and Plots is brave!). Take a look at our offerings and give them a shoutout!

Cheesy Appetizers and Sides

• Cheddar Sourdough Biscuits by What Smells So Good?
• Guinness and Caramelized Onion Cheese Ball by Palatable Pastime
• Irish Nachos with Beer Cheese Sauce by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Cheesy Main Courses

• Bacon Macaroni and Cheese by Sunday Supper Movement
• Cheddar Cheese Souffle by Pies and Plots
• Cheesy Cheeseburgers by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Cheesy Spaghetti Stuffed Meatloaf by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes by My Fearless Kitchen
• Easy Chicken Parmesan Skillet by Jersey Girl Cooks
• Lemon Risotto with Asparagus and Zucchini by Caroline’s Cooking
• Saucy Beef and Cheese Stuffed Jumbo Shells by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
• Vegan Stuffed Shells by From the Bookshelf

The Sunday Supper Movement is committed to bringing our readers delicious recipes that encourage them to gather and eat together around the family table. Search for your favorite ingredients on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Sunday Supper Pinterest boards for plenty more ideas and inspiration.

Red Wine Brownies with Icing

While not visually impressive, these red wine brownies made with an easy home-made mix taste ethereal and will delight any chocolate - or red wine - lover!

If you read yesterday's post, you know my family' love for brownies and my quest for a quick and easy homemade brownie mix to rival the boxes out there. The mix makes dense, chewy and chocolatey plain brownies on it's own, but since we're coming up to the first major birthday circuit of the year I wanted to try something a little more frou-frou with it - and adding red wine to anything is an automatic plus in these parts! Oddly enough, I always seem to have a bottle of red around, even though I don't drink - one of the perks (?) of being a teacher is that at least once a year a decent bottle of wine falls into your possession as a thank you gift! This time, I broke into a nice Chianti (no, not Hannibal style...) for both the brownies themselves as well as the icing, and the flavour, while subtle, added just enough "grown up" flair to earn a position on the dessert table.

Icing, you say? What icing? OK, you got me there - I swear I took photos of these brownies fully iced and decorated, gorgeous in their glossy glory. However, my relationship with technology (in particular, computers) lately has been nothing if not problematic (I spent most of January and half of February on a borrowed laptop after the hard dive, followed by the motherboard, on mine crashed) and the transition between camera and computer seems to have some gremlins in the works. I would say voles, but they're busy chewing up our yard at the moment and don't have time for wires. In any case, all I have is a shot of the corner of these bars, where you can just see a hint of the redness shining through. The icing is dark and rich, as chocolate should be, and carries more of the fruity notes of the wine than the tannins - a major plus.

You may notice the entire recipe is vegan (check your wine if you're not sure, all ours are), which definitely makes it a crowd pleaser! The visual appearance of the brownies unadorned won't make your jaw drop, but that's what icing is for. It worked for Little Debbie, it can work for me! Of course, if the glossy, boil-and-pour icing isn't your thing, a fudge, cream cheese or even peanut butter frosting would be awesome on these. Too much? Dust with a little icing sugar and munch on!

Homemade Brownie MIx

This brownie mix makes rich, chewy brownies and by swapping the liquid you can make a variety of treats.
 

One of my old school friends was a diehard Brownie and Girl Guide, now her daughters are too!

We are a brownie-loving bunch here - dense, chewy, or fudgy, iced or not, full of chocolate chips or cocoa alone. Now my sister and I are brownie purists, eschewing the "textural" chunks present in most store-bought brownies - I'm talking to you, pecans and walnuts - and since they often find their place in packed lunches frosting simply isn't practical. In terms of overall practicality, brownies are not the most difficult thing in the world to whip up, however I am somewhat ashamed to admit that we have at least ten boxes of mix in the pantry right now (my sister only likes one kind, homemade be darned). 

While I have no problem making a batch of brownies from scratch (melted chocolate included) on a weekend or for a once in a while treat, it is hard to beat the convenience of a boxed mix. However, I'm not necessarily a fan of the quality of the ingredients in mixes - too often have I bitten into a brownie and been greeted with nothing but a crumbly saccharine mess. Making my own, then, was the answer, and since I based the "mix" off one of my favourite vegan brownie recipes making the bars afterwards is even easier than your usual box. I used a mix of flours - all purpose for structure, whole wheat for a delicate nuttiness and fibre, and sweet rice for fudginess - as well as both white and brown sugar for the perfect balance of crispy top and rich, moist crumb. I do implore you to use the best cocoa you have available for this - after all, you want to taste chocolate, not sugar, in a well made brownie.

Stay tuned tomorrow for how I took this basic mix and elevated it for a special occasion!

Chili-Spiked Green Tomato Chutney

A ridiculous amount of chilies go into this green tomato chutney, with just enough sweet and sour to even the playing field.

I have yet to meet a Canadian homegrower or farmer who can finish the growing season with all ripe produce. At the end of the summer, we're often left with at least a few unripe peppers, cucumbers and squash - but nothing is so prevalent as the green tomato crop. Where I live, we have essentially three and a half months of decent growing weather outdoors, and when you grow from seed as I do even starting in March won't guarantee full production. Luckily, I've become pretty well versed in ways of using up those green tomatoes that will never ripen, no matter how much windowsill love you give them (if they've started to turn red, though, into the window box they go) - mincemeat (times three) and baked goods are definitely great, if surprising, sweet options. But what if you want to embrace the unripe fruit's tart and crunchy side?

Well, if you're like me, you turn to a different kind of preserve - chutney. I love making chutney almost as much as my mom loves eating it, which is no surprise given it's irresistible sweet-sour-savoury flavour. Last year when I canned up this batch, I added a punch of heat with the last of our garden's chilies - serranos and Thai bird peppers. Understandably, straight out of the pot this condiment is hellfire-like in spice (especially if you don't de-rib and seed the peppers), but I (and those I gave jars of this to) are glad to report, after hanging out in the pantry (if you can it) or fridge (without a waterbath) for at least a week, the burn mellows to a pleasant zip in amongst the sour and sweet. It has enough flavour to stand up to hearty creamy curries and meat dishes as well as create works of delicious art when mixed with plain rice or quinoa and a veggie or two. As I've mentioned before on this blog, my mom likes nothing more than mixing chutney into a plain stir fry, but she also dunks pita or naan into it as a side dish.

Winter Vegetable Stew

This Winter Vegetable Stew is hearty and rich tasting thanks to caramelized onions and lean beef, and full of nutrition from local kohlrabi and homegrown cabbage and carrots! A wild rice blend seals the deal.

February is always one of the longest months to get through. It's grey and dreary, the weather alternating between biting cold, freezing rain, blowing wind and snowing buckets.  Not only does the weather work against us, but for me as a teacher knowing March Break is this close makes time drag on even slower - yes, even though we had a 2 1/2 week break in December! Unlike last year's unseasonably warm (yet welcome) temperatures, we've been on the chilly end this year, delighting the skiers in our midst. I, on the other hand, am always cold (as in, I have a heated blanket on almost 24/7 and wear a heated jacket inside), so until the temperatures crest over 20C I am sticking with warming, hearty comfort foods.

Thankfully, the foods best suited for warming us up in the chilly seasons are also some of the cheapest to make - take this stew for instance. Even though for me the cabbage, carrots, broth and tomato sauce were essentially free (garden hauls that kept exceedingly well in the fridge along with homemade ingredients), if I needed to buy them it would have still been pennies out of my pocket. My original idea was to make an "unstuffed cabbage roll" soup, but as I kept cooking and adding things the whole medley morphed into a celebration of all the winter vegetables and warming flavours I loved. A bowl of it freshly made was perfect alongside a slab of rye bread (homemade of course), but like all good things, this actually tasted better a few days later and even after being frozen. Good thing, too, because with all the veggies, beef and rice, this recipe makes more than enough food to go around!