Overnight Yeasted Cheese Scones

These overnight yeasted cheese scones have cheese inside and on top. They make a delightful breakfast or snack or use them as sandwich bread. 

A couple of months ago in this very group, you might recall that we posted recipes from Poland. I made a very tasty potato pie called baba kartoflana in Polish. While I was researching for that recipe, I somehow came across these overnight, yeasted cheese scones from Hungary and made a note for later. 

According to the original author, these are called pogácsa in Hungarian and they are a popular bite-size snack served at the beginning of parties or get-togethers. Makes sense because they would be wonderful accompaniments to cocktails. Pogácsa are always made with a yeast dough. 

Since we aren’t really doing parties these days, I made mine normal scone/biscuit size. They are perfect on their own, especially warm. After eating one scone for breakfast plain, my husband also made sandwiches with a couple for lunch. He highly recommends salami and mustard on these. I think smoked ham would also be delightful. 

Overnight Yeasted Cheese Scones

In the original recipe, as mentioned above, a much smaller cookie cutter is used so that the scones are bite-sized. They also have half the cheese. In our house more cheese is always a good thing so I’ve doubled the cheese and put some in the dough and on top. 

Ingredients
2 tablespoons lukewarm milk
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 113g butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, separated into yolk and white
1/3 cup or 75g sour cream
3 1/2 oz or 100g extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated and divided

Method
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm milk. Set aside. 

Whisk the flour and salt together into a large bowl. Add the cubed butter and use a pastry blender to cut it into the flour. 

Add in half of the grated cheese and mix well. 

Make a hollow in the flour and pour in milk/yeast mixture, followed by the egg yolk and sour cream. 

Use a wooden spoon (then a clean hand) to mix the ingredients together. At first it looks too dry but just keep at it and shortly, it comes together into a stiff dough. Knead until smooth. 

Press the dough into a fat disk and cover it with cling film. Chill overnight in the refrigerator. 

The next day, when you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator so it can warm up slightly.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner and preheat your oven to 428°F or 220°C. Beat the egg white to loosen it, adding a 1/2 teaspoon of water.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 3/4 in or 2 cm thick. Use a 3 in or 7.5cm cm cookie cutter to cut out the scones.

Briefly knead together any leftover dough and roll it out again to cut more scones. 

Transfer all of the scones to the prepared baking sheet.

Brush the tops with the beaten egg white. 

Then top them with the other half of the grated cheese. 

Bake the scones in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Cool them on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving. 

Enjoy! 

Today's Baking Bloggers theme is yeast breads. Check out all the lovely recipes my blogger friends are sharing. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Bagels from Sneha's Recipe
• Connie's Swedish Rye from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Crunchy Herbed Whole Wheat Breadsticks from Cook with Renu
• Crusty No-Knead Oatmeal Bread from Making Miracles
• Hearty Slow Fermented Rustic Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Hveteboller (Norwegian Cardamom Buns) from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Overnight Yeasted Cheese Scones from Food Lust People Love
• Pizza Focaccia from Palatable Pastime
• Sourdough Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Confit de Gesiers

This confit de gesiers takes a tough, inexpensive part of the chicken and turns it into tender morsels that are a great appetizer for your cocktail party. 

Several years ago, my mom and I traveled to France to visit friends. While we were there, we hit all of the local markets and one of our favorites had a stall that served roasted rotisserie chicken, which was fabulous. But the very best part were the gizzards that cooked in the dripped fat in a pan at the bottom of the rotisserie. They were so tender they almost melted in our mouths.

I wanted to recreate those gizzards at home. These come pretty darn close. If you are serving picky eaters, just don't tell them these are gizzards until they've had a taste! They will love them. 

Confit de Gesiers

Confit is a traditional French method of slow cooking then preserving poultry, usually duck, in fat. If you have enough duck fat, you can certainly use that instead of canola oil in this recipe. Gesiers, of course, is French for gizzards.

Ingredients

3 1/3 lbs or 1500g gizzards, cleaned

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8-10 small cloves garlic, peeled

2-3 bay leaves

4 cups or 946ml canola oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 250°F or 121°C.

Pile the gizzards into a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Season them with the salt and both peppers and give them a good stir. 

Pour in the oil and heat the pot on the stovetop slowly until the oil is warm, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Poke in garlic cloves and bay leaves, making sure they all covered with the oil. 

Put the tight-fitting lid on the Dutch oven and put it in your preheated oven for 4 hours. Stir once midway through. 

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and put the gizzards in sterilized jars. Cover them with the cooking oil and store in the jars in the refrigerator. 

To serve them, fry the gizzards in a little of the oil until browned and crispy. Sprinkle on some chopped parsley. Put the pan out with toothpicks.

(Another serving suggestion: Warm the gizzards and drain off the oil. Serve on a salad of spring greens that have been tossed with a light vinaigrette.)

Enjoy! 

Today I’m joining a new group of bloggers for a virtual event we are calling Sunday Funday, where we share recipes your families will love every Sunday. Many thanks to this week's host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Barbecue Smokehouse Almonds by Palatable Pastime
• Cheddar Horseradish Dip by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chunky Peanut Butter Dip by Sneha's Recipe
• Confit de Gesiers by Food Lust People Love
• Fontina Salami Bites by Making Miracles
• Olive Tapenade by Pandemonium Noshery
• Spiced Cheese Wafers by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Tomato Bread by Our Good Life

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Buttery Pearl Barley Mushroom Pilaf

This buttery pearl barley mushroom pilaf is a wonderful holiday side dish made with garlic, thyme, white wine and Pecorino. This recipe is easily doubled or trebled if you are fortunate enough to have family around this year.

Welcome back to Holiday Side Dish Week! My fellow bloggers and I have a whole new list of tasty recipes for you. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see them all. No more excuses for serving the same old side dishes! And in the case of my recipe today, the same old starches. 

I must confess that three starches - potatoes, rice and pasta – feature regularly on our family menu. And we love them all! Of course, all three can be used in a variety of recipes and cooking methods but they are still, at the end of the day, potatoes, rice and pasta. 

Do you ever get tired of the same old starches: potatoes? I do! That’s why I’m always on the lookout for other starches that can be served instead like bulgur wheat, Israeli couscous, chickpeas, lentils or freekeh, just to name a few. 

I had originally bought the pearl barley for the traditional British beef and barley soup but as I looked at the packet, I thought, hmmm, looks somewhat like risotto rice! And I created this dish instead. 

Buttery Pearl Barley and Mushrooms

This dish is rich and creamy, rather like risotto without the faff of standing and stirring forever. The pearl barley has a similar al dente bite that we love. I hope you’ll give it a try. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 110g dried pearl barley

8.8 oz or 250g small mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup or 60ml dry white wine

3 1/2 oz or 100g Pecorino cheese, finely grated

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

To serve: 

fresh thyme leaves

grated Pecorino cheese

good quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cover the pearl barley with about 1 1/2 cups or 355ml cold water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the fire down and simmer until tender, about 45-50 minutes, checking the water level from time to time and adding more, if needed. 

Clean the mushrooms cut off any hard parts of the stems then slice them. Thinly slice the garlic.

In a small saucepan, fry the mushroom slices in the butter until they release all of their liquid and turn a golden brown.

Add in the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Do not let the garlic burn!

When the garlic is softened, add in the white wine and cook the mushrooms for a few more minutes until the wine evaporates. 

When the pearl barley is just tender, strain it out of the cooking water, saving the water.

Add the barley to the mushroom pan. Stir well. Turn the fire down to a quick simmer. 

Add in about 1/2 cup or 120ml of the cooking water, the grated Pecorino and the fresh thyme leaves.

Add a few generous grinds of black pepper and salt to taste and simmer for just a few more minutes.

To serve, top the pilaf with a few more thyme leaves and a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil. Put out the Pecorino in case people want to add a bit more on top. In our family, they always do! 

Enjoy! 

Check out all the lovely holiday side dishes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.

• Air Fried Green Beans with Crispy Onions by West Via Midwest
• Apple and Kohlrabi Slaw by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Bacon by Lemon Blossoms
• Buttery Pearl Barley Mushroom Pilaf by Food Lust People Love
• Cheesy Asparagus Bake by The Fresh Cooky
• Couscous with Cumin and Pine Nuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Cranberry Pecan Cornbread Mini Bites by The Freshman Cook
• Creamed Corn by Savory Experiments
• Creamy Cheesy Brussel Sprouts with Bacon by Blogghetti
• Farro Salad with Apples, Arugula & Feta by Sweet Beginnings
• Lemon and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts by Palatable Pastime
• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole by Cheese Curd in Paradise
• Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes by Family Around the Table
• Persimmon Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette by The Foodie Affair
• Rice Pilaf with Dried Cranberries and Almonds by An Affair from the Heart
• Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad by Kate's Recipe Box
• Roasted Carrots with Goat Cheese and Pecans by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples by Devour Dinner
• Sausage Stuffing by House of Nash Eats
• Wild Rice and Broccoli Casserole by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Wild Rice and Sprouts Pilaf by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
  
  

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