Guanciale Parmesan Biscuits

Sorry that break was really long, I have been busy with stuff.

Another use for guanciale, right... that is what I promised.

Guanciale can often be substituted for bacon, it is just a little richer and maybe should be applied with a lighter hand. Because we are in love with breakfast, we invented these one sunny Saturday morning to use some tasty jowl and be a vehicle for some farmer's market eggs.

Guanciale Parmesan Biscuits

1/8 to 1/4 cup diced guanciale

1/3 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 to 6 tablespoons, cold unsalted, butter cut into large pieces

3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

2. Cook the guanciale in an oven safe frying pan, until it is crisp (we use a cast iron pan). Remove the guanciale from the pan and reserve the fat. I know, this is gross, but delicious.

3. Whisk the dry ingredients with the parmesean and the guanciale.

4. Cut in the butter with two knives or a pastry blender until the crumbs are the size of bread crumbs. I never really know what this looks like, but just sort of make it up. It starts to look more like coarse bread crumbs when my arm gets tired. Strange, huh?

5. Add all of the buttermilk and stir it in with a rubber spatula until all of the ingredients are moist. We use this buttermilk from a local dairy, it is really thick and creamy. The best I have ever used.

Then use your hand to gather the dough into a ball and knead it gently along the side of the bowl until the dough is in one ball. Do not over knead it, or it will be tough and gross.

6. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or knife to cut out the biscuits. Ball up the edges and roll them out again, etc. Do not overwork!

6. Place the biscuits on the non-stick skillet (the one with the guanciale fat). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Eat immediately, preferably with an egg on top.

Beaufort and Blackstone's Cafe

For the past week, I have been in Beaufort, SC. The home of Parris Island and a U.S. Marine Corps Air Base. We have been doing condition assessments at some cemeteries. These cemeteries are in absolutely beautiful locations, surrounded by marshes and giant live oaks. However, the cemeteries themselves seem very forgotten. They are covered with overgrown vegetation. Headstones are broken and most burials are unmarked. Many can only be identified as graves because of the giant depressions left when the coffins collapsed. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem in older cemeteries. I think the work we are doing is the first step in bringing attention to these locations.

Here is a collapsed grave (it is hard to see the 1 foot deep indentation in the photo)

This town is pretty and historic, and has some awesome food. I will start with our favorite spot so far.

Yesterday, on our day off, we went to Blackstone's Cafe in downtown Beaufort for brunch. Now, I can not take credit for stumbling upon this restaurant. I actually first read about it on the Stern's great website roadfood.com. They were right to recommend this place. I had the corned beef and hash and it was the best $8.50 I have spent in a long time. The waitress told us they make it all from scratch and it tasted that way. The texture was perfect and the flavor was a great combination of salty and beefy. They serve it with two eggs over it, which is really ideal because my slightly runny eggs made a sort of sauce for the hash. I can not claim great experience with corned beef hash, as this was my first time trying it, but I can tell this was delicious. Should you go to this locale, do not miss the homemade biscuits, delicious coffee, and wonderfully crunchy hash browns. This place made my Saturday morning. I am planning on going back before I leave town.