Betsy & The Breakfast Sandwich

Jeff, Tracie and Betsy just moved to Denver and my mom sent a care package of Wolferman's English muffins to greet them- Tracie posted this photo as a thank-you, saying they made the perfect Betsy-sized breakfast sandwiches:

And I thought:

Betsy is so cute!
and
I really want a breakfast sandwich!

I had some sausage patties on hand that I had cooked for breakfast-for-dinner the other day (CSA beef sausage, which renders no fat during cooking and is so flavorful) - next step, biscuit.

Enter "The Best Buttermilk Biscuits" from America's Test Kitchen Baking Book:

3-3/4 (18-3/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered buttermilk*
2 T sugar
4 t baking powder
1-1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
12 T (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 0.5 inch chunks
4 T vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 0.5 inch chunks
1-1/4 whole milk*

*you can use 1-1/4 regular buttermilk for the milk and omit the powdered buttermilk, which is what I did.  The authors write that powdered buttermilk imparts the best flavor.

1.  Place oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Pulse the dry ingredients in a food processer to combine, about 3 pulses. Scatter butter and shortening over the top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, 15 pulses.
3.  Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl and stir in milk (or buttermilk) with a rubber spatula until flour comes together.  Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until dough is uniform, about 30 seconds.  Roll dough into a 10 inch round about 1 inch thick.
4.  Using a floured 2.5 inch biscuit cutter, stamp out 12 biscuits, reforming dough from scraps as needed.  Arrange biscuits upside down on prepared baking sheets, 1.5 inches apart.
5.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Rotate pan, reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

To make ahead: the cut, unbaked biscuits can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours; bake as directed.

The verdict: Delicious biscuits with a lean and flavorful sausage patty.  Mmm breakfast sandwiches!  Luke said, Those are really good biscuits, and I don't even like biscuits.

Breakfast breakthroughs abound  After watching this episode of Cook's Country, I wanted to try the fluffy diner-style omelet, which also appears in the Cook's Country cookbook, of which the Baltimore Sun wrote:

"The people who worked on this cookbook are fanatics about details, and they are not afraid to use cream."

Which pretty much falls in line with my personal ethos.

You'll need:
3 T heavy cream, chilled
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 t salt
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup shredded cheese

1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees with rack in middle position.  With an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes.  Set aside.  Beat eggs and salt on high speed until frothy and eggs have tripled in volume, 2 minutes.  Fold cream into eggs.
2.  Melt butter in 10 inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, swirling to coat sides.  Add egg mixture and cook until edges are nearly set, 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of cheese and transfer to oven.  Bake until eggs are set, 6-8 minutes.
3.  Remove pan from oven (handle is very hot!)  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cover until melted, about 1 minutes.  Tilt pan and slide half of the omelet onto a carving board, then use the pan to flip the omelet over onto itself. Cut in half and serve.

So fluffy

Luke makes a breakfast sandwich

 

Yum.  As Buddhists say, after the ectasy, the laundry.  To the gym!