Nana's Stew & Garlic Biscuits

Remember way back when I was hung up on the idea of getting a new camera? One of those "look I'm a hipster and can take really cool pictures of things without having to use instagram!" (but not actually) cameras. The kind real food bloggers use. The blogs I lust over and pin things from. Well that was over 1 year ago. And just two days ago I finally took the plunge and purchased the Canon EOS Rebel T3. I have no idea if this is a technically considered a "good camera" but my friend owns it which really helped. I was able to try hers out beforehand, get a feel for it, and ended up completely falling in love with the quality of photos it takes. While I'm still trying to get the hang of it and figure things out as I go along (I have no idea what half the buttons do), so far I'm loving it!

Once I bought the camera and all the accessories (can you say expensive?) I couldn't wait to get in the kitchen to make delicious food and take some quality shots.  It's been way too hot lately to have the oven on for too long but today we were in luck - cool, rainy weather. The perfect day for hot beef stew and biscuits (gluten-free adaptations at the bottom).

The best part of tonight's dinner was the recipe itself. This was my Nana's recipe, preserved in her own handwriting.

What's stew without biscuits? I found this recipe from Jane's Sweets & Baking Journal with slight adaptations. I love the flakey texture and hint of garlic in every bite.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
2/3 cup buttermilk (or if you don't have buttermilk on hand, mix 2/3 cup milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice in a separate bowl and let sit for a few minutes)
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425. Blend dry ingredients, add in garlic, and cut in the butter until the pieces are roughly pea-sized (having lots of butter gives the biscuit the flakey texture). Be careful not to over mix or  your dough will become tough. On a floured surface, roll out the dough until 1 inch thick. Fold in half, turn it, roll again, and repeat 2 or 3 times. Finish with the dough being 1 inch thick. Using a knife or large cookie cutter, cut the dough into approximately 12 pieces (will vary depending on the size of your biscuits). Place on a silpat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes (again, will vary depending on the size of your biscuits. The tops and bottoms should be lightly browned).

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

KEP

PS. Gluten-free variations: 1/3 cup brown rice flour in the stew and here is the best ever millet biscuit recipe from Celiac Teen.