Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

During my training to become a teacher, I was taught one cardinal rule–the one rule everyone must obey to maintain their sanity, well-being, and unity as a disseminator of knowledge.

Steal. Steal, steal, steal.

If that sounds like a weird thing to do as a role model, you’re right. And then again, not quite. See, our pedagogy instructor (bless his soul) thinks that the surest way to success as a teacher is by learning from others’ and, when we like what we see, by taking it and using it for ourselves.

I can’t say I’ve done a splendid job of that at my, well, job. I’m too much of a prideful perfectionist to copy other people’s lesson plans, no matter how wonderful they are, and I usually spend many hours before a class trying to disentangle the hopelessly jumbled threads of a lesson plan I’ve been intricately weaving.

But when it counts and there are hot, buttery, awesomely cheddar-filled biscuits on the line, apparently I am very good at stealing. For anyone who has ever sunk his or her teeth into a Red Lobster’s famous cheddar bay biscuit, that person will know that I am not kidding. These things are killer, phenomenal, and absolutely steal-worthy. I took one of my favorite Southern buttermilk biscuit recipes and, by brushing it with an awesome butter-parsley-garlic glaze, transformed it into these Red Lobster copycat biscuits. And they may even be better than the real deal. Trust me, you’ll want these on your holiday platters this year.

So what are you waiting for? Steal this recipe now (with creds, of course!)  and see who you can wow with restaurant-style biscuits, right from your home kitchen!

If you could recreate a copycat version of any recipe, what would it be?

Copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Biscuit recipe adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting board
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, chilled and cubed (needs to be very cold)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sharp shredded cheddar
• For butter glaze:
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and garlic salt in a large bowl.
3. Add very cold butter cubes to dry mixture. Using a fork, cut in butter evenly so that the entire mixture resembles a coarse meal.
4. Add buttermilk and mix in until just combined. Be sure not to overmix, or your biscuits will not be soft and flaky! As you work about half of the buttermilk in, add the cheddar cheese and gently fold in throughout the mixture until everything is just combined.
5. Very gently turn dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board. Pat (do not roll!) your dough out until it is about an inch thick. Don’t worry about it being even!
6. Use a round cookie cutter or the open end of a lightly floured glass to cut out biscuit dough. You can make these as large or small as you’d like–I made mine about 3 inches in diameter. (Note: Red Lobster’s biscuits are drop biscuits, so jagged edges rather than perfectly round ones will work beautifully!) Continue gently cutting out biscuits and gathering your scraps until all your dough is finished.
7. Place biscuits 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
9. While biscuits are baking, make butter glaze by combining 2 tablespoons melted butter, garlic powder, and dried parsley in a small bowl.
10. Remove sheet from oven and immediately brush each biscuit with butter glaze. Allow biscuits to cool slightly before serving. These stay good in a sealed paper bag; just reheat them before eating!

Mediterranean Couscous and Kashk E-Bademjan

Happy belated Mid-Autumn Festival!

To celebrate, we went Greek. Which makes no sense if you don’t think about it–but if you do think about for just the teeniest bit, it starts to make a little sense.

…And if you do happen to find that nugget of sense, please let me know what it is, because I haven’t thought of it quite yet.

Last night I invited over the new recruits for our program (hooray, fresh blood!) who live in the same graduate student complexes as me. Mind-melting weather aside–a whopping 95 degrees in the dead of night–our motley crew really was a melting pot that made me glad I’d pulled my dishes so many different cuisines. We chatted over couscous and Kashk E-Badjemajan (a Persian eggplant and fried onion dip), Chinese garlic eggplant and honey “walnut” tofu (I used tempeh because one of the guys had a nut allergy), homemade sweet bread and cucumber salad. And of course, we had moon cakes.

Flour Power: I first ran into Kashk E-Bademjan in a Persian restaurant and just needed to make a copycat recipe…and now that I’ve done it, it feels great eating this scumptious dish in the comfort of my own kitchen! Next time you go out and have a great dish, go home and do some research, or go straight to your kitchen and give it a try if you’re feeling bold. You never know what you might come up with!

Do you know how absolutely terrifying it is cooking for somebody with nut and dairy allergies? I wouldn’t touch anything with nuts in them for the entire day (ever hear the story of the guy who died kissing his girlfriend, who had eaten peanut butter the day before? Holy. Cripes.), and I shoved anything with dairy in it to the wayyy back of my fridge so I wouldn’t accidentally, you know, use it.

That being said, I love challenges. It was a vegan sort of night in the household.

So when are you coming over so I can have an excuse to cook like this again? I’m already bored of the stuff in my fridge, and it’s only been…about 12 hours.

Although that might be because I’ve already finished all of the leftovers–they were pretty darn good.

I just realized I was going to offer you some, too. Sorry. None for you.

I think the highlight of my night was when one of the girls said we should do this often, and a guy responded, “We should do potlucks!”

A guy. In my department. Wants to do potlucks.

It’s like we’re blood siblings or something.

Oh, and they know what Sailor Moon is. And they want to watch the 2013 release of a new season with me.

I have a feeling I’m going to like this new crew very, very much.

What’s your go-to dish(es) when you have a potluck or dinner? Feel free to link me up!

Happy reading, and happy eatings!

Mediterranean Couscous (Vegan-Friendly)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried whole wheat couscous
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine or apple cider vinegar (any mild or fruity vinegar variety will work well)
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 1/2 large cucumber, diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup cashews or peanuts (optional)
• 1/4 cup feta cheese (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring broth to a boil. Stir in couscous, then cover with lid and allow to steam for 5 minutes. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and cumin. Add cucumber and tomatoes, and toss until completely coated.
2. Fluff finished couscous with a fork, then add to the liquid mixture. Add raisins, nuts, and cheese as desired, then toss all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.

Kashk E-Bademjan (Eggplant Fried Onion Dip)*

Ingredients:

• 1 large Japanese eggplant, diced into small chunks
• 2 small onions, thinly sliced
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 2 tablespoons soy yogurt (see note)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat up oil and start frying onions. When they begin to brown, add eggplant and continue frying until eggplant is completely tender, and onions are caramelized. Set aside to cool briefly.
2. Set aside some of the fried onion (for garnishing); place the rest of the mixture, as well as the soy yogurt, into a food processor. Pulse until the eggplant and onion is still chunky but relatively paste-like. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scoop out from food processor and garnish with reserved onions, as well as a drizzle of yogurt. Serve warm and enjoy!

*Note: This appetizer traditionally contains whey, the liquid byproduct of yogurt. Since my friend is allergic to dairy, I substituted a small amount of soy yogurt for the whey.