Tag Archives: rosemary

Rosemary Focaccia Biscuit Bread

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RosemaryFocacciaBiscuitBread@NancyCreative.com I’m not originally from the south, but I’ve grown to love southern food. And that includes biscuits–especially biscuits! I love them hot from the oven with some butter or topped with sausage gravy…mmm! So of course I was excited about reviewing the new cookbook 60239109877540LBiscuits: Sweet and Savory Southern Recipes for the All-American Kitchen by Jackie Garvin. This book starts off with a little biscuit history and then goes on to share tips and recipes for making all kinds of biscuits…rolled, patted, layered, or cut. Traditional favorites like Buttermilk Biscuits, Baking Powder Biscuits, Cornmeal Biscuits, Angle Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, and more. There’s a recipe for Gluten-Free Biscuits, too. As you look through the book, you’ll also find some wonderful creative recipes to make with biscuit dough–delicious-looking recipes like Raspberry Biscuit Pudding, Biscuit Donuts, Loaded Baked Potato Biscuits, and Skillet Toasted Biscuits. There’s also a section on Biscuit Toppings which includes recipes for Sausage Gravy, Bacon Tomato Gravy, Chocolate Gravy, and Country Ham and Redeye Gravy. Biscuit-related dishes and desserts for every meal are in this book too-Chicken and Dumplings, Hamburger Pot Pie, Double-Decker Strawberry Shortcake, Blackberry Cobbler, and Peach Raspberry Scones, to name a few. I decided to try the Rosemary Focaccia Biscuit Bread because, in addition to biscuits, I also love focaccia–so what could be better than a combination of both? And it looked like a simple, easy recipe anyone could make. If you’re not familiar with focaccia, it’s an Italian bread often served with olive oil for dipping. This recipe is a delicious, savory version of a biscuit in focaccia form–the fresh minced rosemary flavors it nicely with a subtle hint of garlic from the garlic powder. You will need some parchment paper for lining your pan when you make this. You’ll also notice that the recipe calls for soft winter wheat self-rising flour. Soft winter wheat is a variety of wheat that has a low protein and gluten content, often used in biscuit-making. The White Lily brand is a soft wheat flour and King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour is a soft wheat flour, too. If you can’t find soft winter wheat flour, just substitute regular self-rising flour.

ROSEMARY FOCACCIA BISCUIT BREAD from Biscuits: Sweet and Savory Southern Recipes Makes four 4-inch squares in an 8 x 8″ pan

  • 2 1/2 cups soft winter wheat self-rising flour (or substitute regular self-rising flour)
  • 1 Tablespoon finely minced fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450˚F. Place flour in a large bowl. Stir in rosemary and garlic powder. Add milk and olive oil. Stir until dough is wet. Cover the inside of an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Sprinkle dough with olive oil and spread dough evenly over paper. Make indentations over the entire top surface of the dough with your knuckles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 450˚F preheated oven for 15 minutes or until top in brown and inside of bread is done. Remove and let cool on cooling rack.

This recipe is great for breakfast or brunch when you want to serve something a little different. It’s really good and I’m sure your savory-loving family and friends will love it! And it is super-easy to put together, so there’s no reason not to try it! Are you a biscuit-lover like me and what is your favorite kind of biscuit?

Linked to Full Plate Thursday, Let’s Get Real Friday, Inspire Me Monday.

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Rosemary Garlic White Bean Dip

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This white bean dip was one of those happy accidents that happen every so often. I thought I had bought a can of garbanzo beans on my last trip to the grocery store, which I use for making hummus, but discovered instead that I had mistakenly bought a can of cannellini beans! So instead of hummus, I made some white bean dip. I hadn’t ever made this kind of dip before, but I’ve purchased it many times and have always liked it. So this was the perfect time to try making my own! I came up with this recipe, using olive oil and lemon juice like I do when I make hummus.

I thought some garlic and rosemary would be great in this white bean dip, too. I love the garlic-rosemary combination, and lemon juice gives the dip a nice zing. I also used two cloves of garlic but if you just want a light garlic flavor, one clove may be enough for you. This recipe makes a little over a cup, so if  you need a bigger batch you’ll want to double the recipe.

ROSEMARY GARLIC WHITE BEAN DIP by NancyCreative

Makes 1 heaping cup

  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can Cannellini Beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained
  • 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice (if using fresh, you’ll need 1 to 2 lemons)
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary, minced (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  • additional fresh or dried Rosemary for garnish

Combine  beans, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and minced Rosemary in a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Spoon dip into a small bowl and garnish with fresh or dried Rosemary. Serve with fresh veggies, crusty bread, or crackers.

I really like this white bean dip–I think I’ll be making it pretty regularly, along with the hummus that I love to make! Have you made white bean dip before?

Linked to Full Plate Thursday, Favorite Things Thursday, Foodie Friday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday.

Rosemary-Garlic Cream Cheese Spread

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Six years ago, I bought a little rosemary plant during the holiday season. It was pruned to look like a miniature Christmas tree. It was so nice to have the scent of rosemary in the house! When spring came, I planted it in a sunny spot in the front yard. It grew from a small little plant into a huge, huge bush. In the last few years, it even started getting pretty deep purple blooms on it–I didn’t know rosemary bloomed, so that was a nice bonus! I learned that rosemary helps keeps bugs away, so it was great to have it right next to the front porch. The bush stayed green all year long; it would stop growing in the winter months and then it would flourish with new growth in the spring. The nicest thing about having the bush was that I could pick fresh rosemary for cooking and baking anytime I needed it, year-round.

Well, this past winter was a lot colder and lasted longer than usual…so my rosemary did not make it through the winter. The bush gradually started turning brown, then totally dried up. I kept it in the ground for awhile with the hope that it would revive, but finally had to dig it out. The big bush actually came out pretty easily because it was so dried up! Recently, I bought another little rosemary plant that will hopefully do as well as my first one did.

One of the things I liked to make with my rosemary was a flavored cream cheese spread. It’s really easy, and if you don’t have fresh rosemary, you can use dried (but it’s better with fresh!). Here’s the recipe:

ROSEMARY-GARLIC CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

  • 1 8-oz. package softened cream cheese (light or regular)
  • 4 Tbsp. sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 2–3 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped (if using dried rosemary, you’ll probably want to use 3 tsp.)
  • 1/2–1  tsp. garlic powder (or even more, if you want it to have a stronger garlic flavor)

Blend softened cream cheese and sour cream or yogurt in a small bowl; add lemon juice and blend well. Then add the rosemary and garlic powder and blend well.

This makes a nice spread for bagels, focaccia bread or other kinds of flat bread–spread on warm bread, top with some tomato slices, add some sliced olives, and sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese–yum! You can use it as a dip for fresh veggies, too–add another teaspoon of lemon juice to thin it out a little more if using as a dip.

This recipe is linked to Sundae Scoop and Potluck Sunday.