It’s time to huddle indoors in your flannel jammies, light a fire and sip something warm while enjoying the snowfall. The Danes call it “hygge.” I call it getting cozy.
I remember a cold winter day in Paris at a cafe with steamed-up windows and diners huddled around tables, scraping melted cheese from big wedges and eating it with pickles and little buttered potatoes. It’s called “raclette,” and it’s very cozy.
In Tony’s birthplace in Northern Japan, where a 10-foot-deep snowbank is no big deal, I saw diners gathered outdoors around tables skirted to the waist with quilts that sealed out the cold and sealed in the warmth from electric heaters. Why don’t our restaurants copy the Japanese kotatsu tables? They’re cozy.
When I want American-style cozy, I make a pot of chili. It may be our version of raclette and kotatsu tables. We have slews of chili contests in the winter and use the spicy stew as the centerpiece of potlucks and fund-raisers. What we don’t have is a go-with to round out the traditional meal. Until now.
I knew what I wanted when I began searching: A cornmeal biscuit that wasn’t just cornbread, with an assertive flavor and flaky texture. I wanted something special to look forward to alongside the chili.
The Cheddar-corn drop biscuits I made from a cookbook recipe were just OK. I kept searching and found several recipes for Cheddar-corn biscuits made with creamed corn as well as cornmeal and flour. I started tinkering and finally produced a chili-worthy biscuit that has lots of flavor and a nice texture, too.
Now, get in your jammies and make some.
CHEDDAR-CORN BISCUITS
2 cups flour
1 cup minus 1 tbsp. yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground red chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter cut into small cubes
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup canned creamed corn
1/4 cup half and half
Milk for brushing
Place flour, cornmeal, baking powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cubed butter and toss to coat each cube. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or use your fingers to rub into pea-sized pieces. Add the cheese and toss to separate and coat.
In another bowl combine creamed corn and half and half. Add half of the creamed corn mixture to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork. Add remaining corn mixture and stir gently. If dry patches remain, toss with the fork until moistened.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle. With a bench scraper or spatula, fold the dough in half, and in half again. Try not to work the dough too much. Pat to a rectangle again and fold in fourths again.
Lightly flour the dough and pat into a large rectangle that is about 1 inch thick. Cut out with a floured biscuit cutter (2 1/2 inches in diameter) or glass. Do not twist the cutter — punch straight down. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart. Gather scraps of dough, pat out again and cut out more biscuits. You may need two baking sheets.
Cover the sheets of biscuits with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. They may also be refrigerated overnight at this point. When ready, brush tops of biscuits with milk and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until golden brown. Brush tops with butter if desired. Makes 12 to 14 biscuits.
GUT CHECK
What I cooked last week:
French toast and ripe honeydew melon; brown-ale shepherd’s pie; grilled filet mignon, garlic potato wedges and Champagne; tuna and octopus chirashi (Tony made it); Japanese pork curry over steamed rice (also Tony); grilled herbed sausage sandwich and grilled corn on the cob.
What I carried out:
Warm chicken tacos made with fresh corn tortillas and marinated, slow-roasted chicken from Tortilleria Gallo de Oro in Stuart, Fla.; tossed salad with blue cheese, strawberries, candied walnuts and chicken from Publix Super Market; margherita Pizza (sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) with prosciutto from The Grove in Hobe Sound, Fla.; a Detox smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Stuart; a vanilla cone from McDonald’s (while using the wi-fi in the parking lot); a giant gyro from Mr.Gyro in in Stuart.
THE MAILBAG
From Jim S.:
I agree with your hamburger toppings: mustard, heavy onions a la Hamburger Station of sainted memory. Even better than Swenson’s. I add dill pickle, too. Enjoy Florida. I hope you don’t have to wait in a line overnight for a vaccination.
Dear Jim:
Right you are. I don’t mind burger variations such as blue cheese and mushrooms, but the classic is mustard and onions.
Regarding the vaccinations, I can’t even FIND a line to wait in. Going to a grocery store here is an exercise in terror. Packed aisles, no social distancing, masks down below the nose. It’s curbside pickup for me from now on.
From Cindy W.:
For your chile rellenos quiche, I’m wondering why you don’t suggest blind-baking the crust part way before filling.
Dear Cindy:
What do you know that I don’t? Although I usually use an egg glaze and five minutes in the oven before filling dessert pies, I usually don’t blind-bake a pie shell for a quiche. Does the extra crispness make a difference?