Caramelized Mushroom and Onion Biscuits

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This is not my first rodeo. Ive been around the block a time or two when it comes to biscuits. Sometimes I call them dumplings and put them on top of warm vegetables with savory gravy. At Lent I hot cross my biscuits.

Bacon and Brown Sugar really know how to make out with biscuit dough. Creamy Chicken Pot Pie topped with Chive Biscuits will win the hearts of friends and lover. I have proof, but I dont have a diamond ring. I have yet to figure out the recipe for diamond rings. No hurry on the real.

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Ive been around the block a time or two. but this spot, this biscuit THIS! I cant even deal.

Golden and caramelized mushrooms and sweet onions mixed with buttery carbs! Dangerous. Delicious. Take a ride around the block with these bad boys. Theyre everything ever.

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Mushrooms and onions get cooked separately in a mixture of butter and olive oil. When ca! ramelizi ng and browning, its best not to overcrowd the pan.

What flavor! Olive oil keeps the butter from burning in the pan during cooking. Thats partnership.

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I love to mix butter and vegetable shortening. Shortening adds a different denseness and flakiness to the dough. You might also use lard in these biscuits. Are you feeling extra indulgent? Go for it!

You can also use all butter I often go that route. Any way its a win. Just stay away from margarine. No good.

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Earthy mushrooms and sweet onions turn into the glossy sweet life.

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I added a few bonus items to the caramelized mushrooms and onions.

Fresh chopped thyme, balsamic vinegar reduction, and coarse ground black pepper.

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Biscuit cutting is about as satisfying as it gets.

These get brushed with a bit of beaten egg, sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and baked like little maniacs.

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In looking for a word to describe these, I really do have to settle on two: THE BEST!

This recipe calls for a mixture of butter and vegetable shortening. If you dont have vegetable shortening on hand, feel free to use all butter.

Also make sure to completely cool the mushroom and onion mixture before incorporating them into the dough. Hot mushrooms will melt the butter in the dough. Everything should stay cold before it goes into the hot oven.

Id like to suggest these little treasures be turned into breakfast sandwiches, topped with gravy, and/or eaten in excess.

Caramelized Mushroom and Onion Biscuits

makes 12 biscuits

Print this Recipe!

1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar reduction

salt and coarse ground black pepper

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cut into cubes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup buttermilk, cold

1 egg beaten for egg wash

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and allow to cook until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Remove from the pan. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in the same pan. Add onions and cook down until tender and browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add the mushrooms back to the pan along with thyme, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, sift t! ogether flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In another bowl, combine egg and milk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. Add the cooled mushroom and onion mixture and blend together.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 22-inch squares. Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place on an ungreased baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm as an egg sandwich or with gravy. These biscuits are best eaten the day theyre made, but will last up to 2 days.


Black Bottom Cupcakes

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Chocolate and banana cupcakes with a cream cheese banana topping.

Yum!

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And with lots of chocolate chips mixed in, too.

But anything with chocolate chips mixed in automatically moves the yumminess up a notch, right.

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For the topping

Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg and banana together and then stir in the chips.

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Jump on in there little ones. Get nice and cozy.

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For the cake layer youll need

Flour, cocoa, sugar, bananas, soda, salt oil and vanilla.

Sift the dry ingredients together and then add the wet. Easy as pie. Or Cupcake.

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Plop. Pureed bananas look kinda gross, dont they?

T! hank goo dness it all gets blended.

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I used these lovely parchment paper baking cups. (Found at Hobby Lobby)

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And I also used these freestanding muffin cups. (Found at cakeart.com)

Why? Because Im indecisive. I may not have mentioned it before, but I have a problem making decisions. Even something as simple as cupcake liners. It seems like I can never bake all my cupcakes in the same papers. (Unless Im taking them somewhere of course.) I know. Kinda weird. But I can never decide which to use or worry that I picked the wrong one and the one I didnt pick is going to look better. So, Ill sneak a few options in there to satisfy my compulsion.

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But anyway, when youre ready to fill your liners, just use a scoop to get evenly filled papers.

Fill with chocolate first.

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And then with the cream cheese mixture.

In one kind of baking cup if your normal.

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Then bake away.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Cream Cheese Mixture
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 small banana, pureed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Mixture
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large bananas, pureed
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the cream cheese mixture:

  • Beat cream cheese and sugar until nice and fluffy.
  • Add banana, egg and vanilla and mix together until combined.
  • Stir in chocolate chips and set aside.

For the chocolate mixture:

  • Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, soda and salt using a wire whisk.
  • Add bananas, oil and vanilla and mix together on low until combined.
  • Use a large scoop to fill cupcake liners with batter.
  • Repeat topping the cupcake batter with the cream cheese mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.

Makes about 18 cupcakes.

Recipe adapted from Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook, 1993.

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And enjoy!!!

And if youre wondering. I liked how these looked in the parchment papers best.


Daniel Boulud's db Bistro Moderne, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

After lunch at Gunther's and teatime macarons from Antoinette, I have to say so far I was pretty impressed with Singapore's dining scene. Our original plan for dinner was to visit Jason Atherton's Esquina (on Chui Chak Road - I am a big fan of Jason Atherton having eaten his food at Maze when he was Executive Chef there), however we sort of overran on shopping time and because I've read a review that there was limited seating at Esquina and you had to get there early if you wanted a seat, we have to improvise on our plans.

Another restaurant high on my "to eat" list was db Bistro Moderne in Marina Bay Sands (which we were planning on going the next day if we could find time) owned by the famous Daniel Boulud, best known for his 3-star Michelin restaurant Daniel in New York. We got to kill two birds with one stone since Hubby also wanted to view the impressive structures around there.

db Bistro Moderne, Singapore

I think the MRT in Singapore is pretty good (and cheap for transport). We started our journey at Ion Orchard (all nicely lit up in the evening) and stopped at Marina Bay, and from there it was a short 10-minute walk to the The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands where db Bistro Moderne is located. The journey felt pretty short, since we got a nice picturesque view of the banking district and its surroundings.

Ion Orchard, where we started our MRT journey

A view from afar taken from Raffles Hotel in the afternoon


Our first sighting of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel .. pretty impressive, right?



Banking district


Across the water

We didn't make a reservation and were lucky to get a table as th! e place was pretty packed. The table for two here is pretty small though, so space is limited. The menu here is composed of "seasonal, classical and casual dishes in the spirit of Lyon-New York bistro." You can view the full menu here.


db on the floor

db on the napkins


Hanging globe lights, interior design by Jeffrey Beers

Nice, casual ambience

< br>I don't usually go into much detail about the bread basket, but I have to say the bread here is really good. They have a slight saltiness to them, for me that makes them very palatable.


A glass of red (S$24)

Other than the dinner menu, they also have a specials menu. We decided to share the Spanish Bluefin Tuna Duo (S$32) from the specials as our appetizer. The dish is very vibrant and all the flavours melded well together. On the left is the Moroccan tartare and on the right is the Provencale carpaccio.





db Bistro Moderne is famous for their burgers. Since Hubby was ordering a burger, I decided to try something else and picked the Roasted Nantucket Bay Scallops with truffle risotto, glazed salsify and turnip with chicken jus (S$46). Nantucket Bay scallops are smaller in size, but very tender. The scallops portion were generous, cooked to perfection and the truffle risotto was very good. All my favorite ingredients in one dish - scallops, risotto and truffle. YUMS!



Scallop, truffle and risotto.. heavenly

There are 4 types of burgers here, but we went for the Original db Burger (S$38). It is a sirloin burger, filled with braised short ribs and foie gras, served on a parmesan bun. Don't exp! ect the patty texture to be same as regular burgers, when you bite into it, you will actually get 3 different textues from the sirloin,short ribs and foie. The foie is pretty small though (a small bit in the centre). This is an excellent gourmet as a burger... very juicy.

Best gourmet burger we've eaten



Couldn't get a better photo, but it was good

Fries

Since we were already full, we skipped dessert and had a walk around the shops. Here are some photos from The Shoppes in Marina Bay Sands.

They have a large water feature and canals around the mall, and I think you can take a sampan ride if you wish.

The Rain Oculus by Ned Kehn

Dior, Marina Bay Sands


Louis Vuitton, Marina Bay Sands

Chanel, Marina Bay Sands

Taking the underground passage to LV Island Maison

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Across the water

LV Island Maison (impressive glass structure)



The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

The Rain Oculus from the outside (you can stand in opposite directions and talk to your friend though this is! not its main function)


Verdict: Another great meal in Singapore! Nice ambience and good casual, fine dining.

Full set of photos available to view here.

Service: Good.

Price: Total bill was S$167.13.

Location: db Bistro Moderne, B1-48, Galleria Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956.

Tel: +65 6688 8525