Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Itty Bitty Biscuits and Sweet Cherry Barbecue Chicken

Post Edit:
My poundcake recipe will be up and ready, bright and early tomorrow morning. Get it while it's hot!I was on hiatus from cooking this weekend, since we had two family birthdays (my niece Annie Laurie, and my mom, Barbara Ann) and two consecutive nights in restaurants. I'm one of those people that would weigh approximately 2 and 1/2 tons if I ate out every night. If someone puts food out in front of me, by golly, I feel duty bound to eat it all. For Mom's birthday, we spent about 3 hours, eating course after course, starting with mini sliders, and ending with birthday cake and sugared donuts with jam and pastry cream. But still, the highlight of the night was non edible. My Dad suprised my Mom with a new violin. She doesn't play the violin, but she likes collecting instruments to fiddle around on (ha!) and for all of her visiting grandchildren. Sailor pulled out my Mom's new violin and played the obligatory Happy Birthday and a couple of rousing rounds of "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow." Excuse us for our merry revelry, if you happened to be at a neighboring table.
The day after, I laid in bed, over satisfied. Full. Maybe even a little guilty. All that merry making has made for tight jeans and a chilling terror of swimsuit season. Time for some action! First in order, a portion size adjustment. That's my favorite easy change, since it doesn't make me feel deprived. (Although a little deprivation might be in order soon.)
In keeping with my assignment and new healthful adjustments, I made my Tuesdays With Dorie biscuits, but bite-sized, and with whole wheat and half and half, instead of cream. Those were easy little changes; especially since half and half is already a decadent indulgence. I filled them with a tangy barbecue chicken, with sweet cherry preserves and bright yellow mustard. A couple of them, with a green salad, for dinner really hit the spot. It's a lot easier to be virtuous when you cook at home. Especially when it's good old-fashioned real food. Even good old-fashioned real itty bitty food.
Itty Bitty Biscuits slightly modified from Dorie Greenspan
Estimated Cost: $1.50 for about 2 dozen itty bitties
2 cups all purpose flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup half and half, plus more if needed
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. In a medium bowl, combine flour, powde, sugar, and salt. Pour in 1 cup half and half and stir. Add half and half by the tablespoon if dough is too dry. Grab it with your hands and knead a couple of times so it can come together. Pat it down onto a floured surface, making the dough about 1/2 inch thick. Cut biscuits about 1 inch in diameter. I use an empty prescription pill bottle. Place biscuits on cookie sheet. You should get about 20-25. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly and serve with butter and honey, or shredded chicken.
Crock Pot Sweet Cherry Chicken
Estimated Cost: $4.50
Quick and Easy!
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1/4 cup yellow mustard
Combine all ingredients and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. Shred with a fork and season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
Next Up:
My Secret Pound Cake Recipe
(from Friday to Sunday only-then it's going back in the Top Secret File)

13 comments:

Joyful Noise said...

No butter or shortening? And they are still flacky? Hmmm.... Never tried anything like this. Hmmm...

Prudy said...

Joyful Noise:
Yes! They are flakiest of all with pure cream, but they turned out nicely with half and half too. Mine were a little sturdier, because of the adjustments, but that's perfect for shredded meat.

The JR said...

Looks good. Luv biscuits.

Julie Harward said...

Thanks Prudy...this will be good to serve at my daughters baby shower! Come say hi sometime :D

Nichicakes said...

Sweet Cherry BBQ Chx sounds awesome stuffed into the little biscuits.

Catherine said...

This looks delicious. I think my family would love it and I think Heidi's kids would want to marry it!

I'm so glad Babs got her violin.

Katie and Mark said...

This one is RIGHT up my alley! It looks SO delicious. I wish I had the Cherry preserves because you better bet I would be changing dinner plans! :) At least I know what we are having tomorrow now. Mmmmm.....I can't wait!

Michal said...

oh, prudy. sigh. these look wonderful. unfortunately i am going through serious (but intentional) deprivation at the moment. frankly, it's torture to come over to visit your blog, but i can't keep away, either!:) can't wait to try these when i ease back into smaller portions of not-as-good-for-you fare!

Rich'n'Rach said...

That chicken is definitely on my to-make list for this weekend! Your sweet & spicy chicken is already a regular of ours, I have no doubt this will be a new fave.
p.s. you are my hero.

Barbecue Recipes said...

I'm not so sure about making the dough myself, but the barbecue chicken I can very well handle. This looks delicious, by the way. I wonder if pulled pork will work with your recipe here.

Julie said...

That chicken sounds wonderful! I love that combo of flavors together.

Nabia said...

These look so good! I love Cha Siu Bao (chinese steamed buns). This recipe kinda reminds me of that! Plus it's a lot easier to make :-)

Janssen said...

This looks SO good. Mmmm.