Summer Projects (Pina Colada Scones)

Happy First Full Day of Summer!!  It's been a busy few weeks - I started my new job two weeks ago!  So far, I love it.  It's interesting and challenging, and I'm learning more from my preceptor than nursing school ever taught me.  The other nurses on the floor are extremely helpful and sweet, and I'm starting to feel like I fit in.  The twelve hour shifts have taken a little getting used to, but I'm loving the schedule of working 3 days a week.  Not having to wear bright yellow scrubs that scream "student!!  student!!" is pretty sweet, too.

We've also been organizing, cleaning, painting and moving furniture to get ready for Hennebaby's arrival.  I know we have plenty of time before November, but Hubby and I are too excited to wait any longer.  Our next ultrasound is scheduled for the first week of July, and we should be able to find out Hennebaby's sex then.  Then the real fun begins!!  :-)

In the midst of all this, I have been in the kitchen occasionally, but until today I haven't made anything else.  I had a craving for Pineapple Slush and Blueberry Tarts, which I indulged, but until today I hadn't made anything new.  This morning, I opened my fridge, pushed past the the milk, the half empty cartons of strawberries and the chicken leftovers to find these little guys:

Some assembly required (Ham and Cheese Scones)

What should I do on this lovely Saturday afternoon?  I weeded the backyard.  I sat outside and read.  I threw the tennis ball for the Layster.  I made some scones.  What else should I do? 

Giant box of grill.

How about putting together the grill?

Ooooohhhh...so shiny!

It'll be a great way to surprise hubby when he comes home from work.

How hard can it be?

Just a few pieces.

I'm not allowed to put things together.  It has something to do with an entertainment center from IKEA that was backwards and a dresser drawer that was inside out.  Honestly, these things just happen.  Not my fault.

Today ended up much better, though. 

Ta da!  So proud of myself!

Won't the hubster be surprised when he comes home?

Maybe he'll be so happy, it'll stir up his man-sized appetite and grill us up some steaks.

*Crosses fingers and hopes*

These are my backup plan.  In case the steaks have to wait until tomorrow.

Scone?  Biscuit?  Who cares.  Ham and cheese!

Hey, girl's gotta eat, right?

Ham and Cheese Scones

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Generous pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, cold and diced

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1/3 cup chopped, sliced deli ham

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

3/4 cup sour cream

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Can never go wrong with ham and cheese.

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and powder, sugar and salt.  Rub the cold butter into the flour mixture until the consistency is that of damp sand.  Fold in ham, cheese and dill.  Whisk sour cream, egg and mustard in a small bowl.  Add all at once to ham mixture, stir with a fork until incorporated.  Be careful not to overmix.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough holds together.  Roll or pat to 3/4 inch thickness (or thicker, if you like).  Cut into 3 inch circles (I use the bottom of a drinking glass).  Bake on a baking sheet for 18 minutes, until golden around the edges.  Cool on wire rack.  Use to surprise someone you love.

Bread Week: Scones

Next week is finals, so you may not hear much from me until that craziness is all over.  In one last little fit of procrastination, here is your final Bread Week recipe:  scones!!  I've been reading Mr. P's blog Delicious Delicious Delicious for some time now, and his recipe for English Scones made my mouth water - I knew I had to try them for myself.  When I mixed these up and had them on the cookie sheet ready to go into the oven, I realized that they looked very familiar to me.  They looked like a tray of biscuits.  Which led me into the age old debate:  what's the difference between a scone and a biscuit?  

Scone?  Biscuit?  English muffin? Delicious.

 I could easily launch into a discussion of what the international (non-American) English speaking community calls "biscuits" and "scones" and "digestives" and whatever other names we have for the same 6 ingredients, but honestly I would have no idea what I'm talking about, so let's not even try.  Instead, my take on the "biscuit or scone" issue is this:  these little guys are definitely not biscuits.  Biscuits, to me, are a little salty, a little crumbly and a little greasy.  They taste amazing drizzled with honey.  These little guys are more cakey, dessert-like and taste amazing with cream cheese and jam.  English Scones they are.  Even if I did eat them with coffee instead of tea...

True English Scones
(converted from Delicious Delicious Delicious)
*For my fellow spoiled Americans, I converted the metric into household measurements*
4-1/4 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
4-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup cold butter, sliced and quartered
1-1/4 cup cold milk, plus 2 tablespoons

Butter rubbed into flour should be soft and slightly sticky.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.  Add the cold butter, and mix with your hands by rubbing the butter into the flour mixture, until it becomes a little crumbly and there are no more small pats of butter left.  Add the 1-1/4 cup milk, stir with a fork until incorporated.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until you have a dough ball.  Roll the dough to about 1 inch think, then cut into 3-4" circles.   Place onto a cookie sheet, brush the tops with the reserved milk, and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Cut in half and top with some fruity preserved goodness.  I also toasted them slightly the next day to warm them up again.

Enjoy the finer things in life.