Buttery biscuits and hash...

Buttermilk biscuits are usually worth the effort of mixing up the dough, rolling them out in a dust storm of flour and using a cutter to get those perfect little circles. However, some days you just don't have the time to deal with the mess and crave those buttery biscuits - that's where these easy Best Drop Biscuits come in!

Now, I didn't name these and I can't say for sure if they are "the best" ever, but they were darn good and came together in a flash! Most of the other drop biscuits we've done have you cut cold butter into the dry ingredients - this recipe works a little different as it has you melt the butter and mix it into cold buttermilk. The butter instantly forms little droplets of fat that will evenly spread throughout the dough, giving the biscuits a little extra puff as they bake.

We used a large disher (about 1/4 cup worth) to divide out the dough - you could just used a greased 1/4 cup dry measuring cup for the same effect. The mounds of dough baked into very light, fluffy and tender biscuits that had a inviting crisp crust on the outside. As soon as they come out of the oven, they are given a generous dousing with melted butter for an extra touch of richness. Did they need that extra brushing of butter? Probably not - we left one by itself to see how they were plain and it was still tasty, if not a touch drier, but I would brush the golden biscuits again for that butter flavor as it doesn't add that many extra calories.

I'll be the first to admit that tonight's dinner, Smoked Ham Hash, is probably not that most attractive dish, however the flavor it had made up for its appearance! In a lump of melted butter, country-style hash browns (little chunky cubes rather than shredded potatoes) are sautéed with chopped onions and red bell peppers to doctor up the frozen potatoes with some fresh veggies. As the above start to brown, a mixture of chicken broth, half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup is added and allowed to bubble away until the liquids evaporate to finish the potatoes off. Cubes of smoky chopped ham are stirred in and the drab dish is completed with a sprinkling of color from thinly sliced green onions and fresh parsley. This very homely dish was comforting and surprisingly addiciting - we thought it could use a dash or two of cayenne pepper sauce or maybe a few shakes of crushed red pepper to spice it up a bit. If you don't like ham, how about trying it some cooked chicken or turkey?

Recipes
Best Drop Biscuits
Smoked Ham Hash