Buttermilk biscuit sandwiches, it's what's for breakfast!

I set my alarm last night for a 2am wake-up call so I could catch the lunar eclipse. And the skies were clear, so I am VERY glad I got up to see it. A beautiful bright orange moon...

About 2:30am, I headed back to bed, not needing to get up until 5:00.

at 3:00am I got back up out of bed. oops. Guess that four hours of sleep was all that I needed!

So I decided to play with a recipe, and made fresh buttermilk biscuits for breakfast. I was planning on getting up to make a breakfast sandwich on an English muffin for my husband, but why not make biscuits? I need to find the perfect recipe for the cafe anyway, so it's as good a time as ever to get it done.

Buttermilk biscuits are one of the easiest breads to make. Simple ingredients, no difficult process. I love making them. You can use any buttermilk biscuit recipe you find, as they are all similar and all available online. I'm not posting this recipe yet. It's not perfect. It's close. But I have some tweaking to do! But whatever recipe you try, have fun! Biscuits are very forgiving, and the more rustic they look the better!

 Combine the dry ingredients

Add cubed butter and shortening, using a pastry blender until it's coarse crumbs,

 and add in the buttermilk, combining until the dough comes together.

Pat it out in a circle, cut your rounds, and bake!

It's that easy! Brush with a little melted butter once they're out, and you have a golden biscuit that can be a side for dinner, a base for a breakfast sandwich, end up smothered in sausage gravy, or simply enjoyed as is!

I got a little too ambitious with the breakfast sandwich though - using too much egg and ham. This is a two meal sandwich!

Celebrating Family

Not a normal blog this morning..

This morning we lay my father to his eternal rest... On March 14th, he ended a long journey, 88 years, that for the last decade included severe dimentia. Having lost my mother in 2006, this is bittersweet for sure. The end of a generation of our family. But it's also a reason to celebrate that family.

Last night 25 of us got together to share a meal, and an evening of wonderful story telling and laughing. A true celebration of life, of our lives, and our family.

Our family has a great history of amazing celebrations - around amazing meals.

So today I am dedicating this blog to my family. My crazy, dysfunctional, amazing family, that I love with all my heart.

A typical family gathering, circa 1976?

Celebrate your family - every day. They are yours. 

Now grab another cup of coffee and enjoy the day. :)

My question to you...what is the best cafe/diner food you've ever eaten?

I love to cook. You all know that. And I love eating foods from different areas of the country, different nationalities, etc.

My cooking is about to take a turn - as my husband and I have taken the plunge and purchased a cafe! We are looking to open our new cafe, the gathering place, May 1st, and I've been having a blast with menu ideas. I've been cooking ferociously, as we try different things, looking for the best to put on our menu. (My husband and son are happy to do the taste testing!)

I am so very excited. But so many options. It will be hard to hold back, but I know we have to take baby steps!

So my question to you... what is the best cafe/diner food you've every eaten? I'd love to hear from you!