Buttermilk Biscuits

So, a couple days ago, an interesting thing happened to me. I was on my way to to class and was waiting for the elevator to get to the Light Rail train station to China town. Then the most random guy began to talk to me saying how it's so windy and "You'll turn into an icicle if you don't get inside somewhere warm". We got into the elevator and he continued to talk about the wind. This guy had a lot to say about it!

You may think that the conversation would end after getting out of the elevator but noooooo. We were a good 30 feet apart and all of a sudden he comes walking up to me talking about his life. He was saying how he lived in California and the person down the street from him owned a rooster and it waked him up at 4 AM every morning. But wait! It gets better. He proceeded to imitate, yes IMITATE, what a rooster would do in the morning including making the sound they make. Who does that?!?! Really?!

Now at this point I began to say to myself "Oh my gosh. This guy is crazyyyyy". Then he let out this loud laugh and I began to nod my head and "laugh" quietly as well. I mean, you never know what's going to happen if you don't laugh when the other person begins to laugh. What else are you supposed to do? After taking public transportation for years, I've learned to always agree with the other person. You always have to be on guard. Luckily, a minute after he did his imitation the Light Rail came and I felt saved. 

So what do buttermilk biscuits have to do with this story? Well, when he did his imitation of a rooster, I began to think about what Country style food people would make on a farm and I thought biscuits, especially with saw mill gravy! I didn't have have sausage to make the gravy so I only made the biscuits that went with it using Alton Brown's recipe. 

When all is said and done, if you ever find yourself in a situation like the one I was in, all I have to say is agree, nod and "laugh"! ha

Buttermilk Biscuits

Recipe by Alton Brown

Ingredients
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

-Aaron John