Cheddar Jalapeno Scones

I made these Jalapeno Cheddar Scones a while ago to accompany this black bean soup. The recipe, which I adapted from this one at smitten kitchen, made enough to accompany the leftover soup as well, so I was happily eating this delicious combo for a few days. I wish I had saved some scones, or at least saved some cheddar cheese (I still have plenty of jalapenos from my garden) so I could have tasted and/or made them again before writing this. It’s not that I forgot how good they are in the meantime. It’s just that the nostalgia is almost painful. I want some more.

As a basic scone recipe this one is very nice, with a good ratio of butterfat to flour that makes an almost flaky scone that goes a little past biscuit texture. To me, that’s how a scone should be (although I’d probably be content to eat them even if they miss this mark.) The diced jalapeno chiles and tiny cubes of cheddar cheese are fabulous additions that bump up the flavor and in the case of the cheese, bump up the richness and, well, the butterfat, too.

 

Some of that cheese couldn’t help but leak out of the scones and onto the pan as they baked. I decided to take this as a gift. A gift of crispy, toasty sharp cheddar bits reminiscent of Parmesan fricos. Plenty of cheese stayed right where I put it inside the scone to make little, slightly gooey sharp cheddar-y pockets. Even though I used two whole jalapeno chiles, their spiciness did not overwhelm the scones. The cheese is still kind of the main event with the chile pepper taste as a background flavor.

I didn’t really change this recipe much from the original, except to add a bit of stone-ground cornmeal. I liked the addition of that flavor along with the chiles and I liked the added grainy, slightly crunchy texture as well. These are really a winner, and I think I might be making these scones instead of cornbread to go alongside bowls of chili or stew. Of course, that would mean getting out to get some more cheddar cheese. While the rain and gloom of the very day that I’m writing this make it a perfect day for a warming stew with a savory scone accompaniment, those same characteristics make it a day unfit for going out to acquire cheddar. Some days, you just can’t win!

 

Cheddar Jalapeno Scones

Adapted from this recipe at smitten kitchen

I made these scones into 8 large triangles. You could cut them smaller or cut them with a biscuit cutter to make them round.

Since scones quickly lose their prime texture, I recommend freezing any leftover scones as soon as you can. Defrost in the microwave to enjoy the leftovers.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided

½ cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, divided
½ cup heavy cream
2 eggs
¼ pound sharp cheddar cheese, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the diced jalapenos and cook, stirring often until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

2. Place the cheddar in a small bowl. Add the cooled chiles and about 1 tablespoon flour. Toss to coat. Set aside.

3. In a medium-size bowl, combine the remaining flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add the remaining butter pieces and cut in with a pastry blender, or with a knife or fork, or rub it in with your fingers until the butter is all coated with flour in pea-size pieces. Stir in the cheese and chiles.

4. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the cream until well-combined. Add to the flour mixture and gently mix together to form a rough, crumbly dough. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and gently knead until it all comes together.

5. Shape the dough into a disk about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 triangles. Arrange the triangles on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Bake at 400 F for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or just cooled.

Makes 8 fairly large scones.

Another recipe like this one: Spinach and Feta Scones withDill

One year ago: Broccoli with Sweet and Spicy Almond Sauce and Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Bacon and Cheddar

Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce

My chili pepper plants may have overachieved. Like some kind of tiger mother, I encourage such behavior, especially since Bon Appetit magazine published a simple recipe for homemade hot sauce with nothing more than fresh chiles, salt and vinegar. I made half of the original recipe. Even though my pepper plants produced plenty I’d planted just a pair. The 8 ounces of fresh red chiles I used made about a cup of sauce, which will be plenty for us to use in the months to come.

This recipe is simple and its deliciousness is entirely dependent upon the flavor of the chile peppers. Fresh chiles with their stems removed are processed to a rough paste with coarse salt and then mixed with white distilled vinegar and allowed to stand for a few days. The mixture is processed again to form a puree and strained. That strained liquid is your hot sauce.

My chiles are pretty spicy, so my sauce is quite fiery. It’s mostly pure liquid hot chile essence, which is what hot sauce is all about.  I was surprised that it didn’t taste more vinegary, like a buffalo sauce, since there’s quite a bit of vinegar in the recipe. It must be that the pure hot hot hotness takes over completely. I don’t have a problem with that.

While I had lots of small, red chile peppers, you could use whatever chiles you like. If you’re a hot sauce or chile pepper enthusiast, you could try a variety of peppers or combinations. I’m thinking of making some jalapeno sauce from the other pepper plants I’ve got. (They’re doing well in my garden, too.) I’m also thinking of trying other varieties in the garden next year, just to expand my hot sauce experimentation.

I recommend some pretty serious caution when working with chiles in this recipe. Every time I touch a cut chile, the spicy oils get on my hands and don’t come off for hours, even with serious scrubbing. Sometimes my hands start burning after supper. Actually, it’s really weird. But seriously, the pepper paste and puree created in this recipe are even more potent when it comes to chile power. It’s also fairly volatile, so be careful where you breathe, too. And for the love of all that is good and decent, don’t touch your eyes until you’re absolutely certain there’s no more hot stuff on your hands!

 

You probably don’t need me to tell you how to use this stuff. It goes with everything, depending on your personal taste. Since there’s now plenty of it in the refrigerator, I’m going to have to start using it in more places. I’ve put it on my eggs so far and, as all you enthusiasts know, that’s a delicious application for hot sauce. It looks like things are going to be a bit spicier around here!

Homemade Hot Pepper Sauce

Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine

Be very careful when handling chiles, chile paste, and the resulting hot sauce in this recipe.

8 ounces fresh chile peppers, any variety
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1. Remove the stems from the chiles and place them in the bowl of a food processor. Add the salt and process to a coarse paste.

2. Transfer to a glass jar. Loosely cover the jar with a lid and let stand at room temperature for at least a day and up to seven days. (I let mine stand about 5 days or so.) You can taste the mixture regularly and decide when to move on to the next step. The longer the mixture stands, the more chile flavor you will have.

3. Pour the mixture into a blender. (You could also use a food processor for this step.) Process for about 1 minute or until smooth.

4. Strain the pureed mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a funnel placed in a jar or bottle. Press the thick mixture through the sieve with a rubber spatula or spoon to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Store in the refrigerator for up to four months. The hot sauce is likely to separate upon standing, so shake before using.

Makes about 1 cup.

One year ago: Zucchini Wheat Bread