Thursday, February 21, 2008

Scones

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup cold buttermilk
1 tsp flavor extract: lemon, vanilla, almond etc ( optional )
2 tsp. finely grated lemon rind or as desired ( optional )
extra melted butter and sugar fresh grated nutmeg ( optional )

Directions:Make dough (see http://www.pipeline.com/~rosskat/wizzn.htm for excellent instructions). Cut dough in half. Pat each dough part into a circle onto a lightly floured surface, about 1/2 inch thick. Or you can pat the circle directly on a greased baking sheet which I prefer. Brush top of dough with some melted butter. Sprinkle liberally with sugar. Grate on some nutmeg if desired ( totally optionally but I love it ).Using a sharp knife, cut circle into even wedges ( about 6 to 8 wedges ) cutting through the dough but not separating the pieces. Bake 425F about 15 to 20 minutes or golden and tested done. Remove scones to rack and separate completely when warm. Split in half and serve as desired.
Note: vary the flavor of scone dough by adding flavor extracts such as a tsp. of vanilla, almond, orange flower or rose water etc. Finely chopped candied fruits, nuts, raisins or currants are also nice additions to scone or even biscuit dough. There are other varieties of scones also. Some scones are baked on the griddle and are quite delicious. However, they are not as tender or flaky as other kinds of scones in my opinion.

Chicken a la King

Ingredients
3 tablespoons Unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoon Instant chicken bouillon
2 cups Cooked and cubed chicken
1 cup Frozen pea 1 jar
(2oz) pimento
1/8 teaspoon Pepper

Combine flour with 1/2 of the cup of cold milk in a covered container and shake well to prevent lumps. follow directions below.

Pour above into sauce pan along with the rest of the milk and the chicken add bouillon and water
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick. Lower heat and add remaining ingredients.
Continue cooking till peas and chicken are heated through.