Yummy Wednesday - Strawberry and Grand Marnier Country Biscuits

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."

--Jasmine Heiler

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."

-Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright

Here is another of my favorite recipes! This one is a great, easy breakfast treat: "Grand Marnier Strawberries over Country Biscuits" found in the cookbook "InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook," by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge. Don't be scared away by the name of the cookbook - it's a yummy recipe!!! (And if you do buy the cookbook, it's a fun conversation-starter to say the least!)

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES:
½ cup strawberry preserves
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 quart (2 pints) fresh strawberries, stemmed, hulled and quartered
½ cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
Sugar to taste (optional)

FOR THE BISCUITS:
⅓ cup Crisco shortening, plus more for greasing
2 cups self-rising fl our, preferably Dixie Lilly or Martha White
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup low-fat (1 percent) buttermilk
Scant ¼ teaspoon baking soda
**Or if you're lazy like me, you can use refrigerated buttermilk biscuits.**

Heat the preserves in a small saucepan on medium-low to liquefy.
Remove from the heat and stir in the Grand Marnier.
Add the strawberries, stirring gently to coat. (If used right away, the sauce will have a thicker
consistency. If made ahead of time, the sauce will macerate the berries and have a more liquid consistency.)
Whip the cream until soft peaks just begin to form.
Add sugar, if desired, but the unsweetened cream tastes nice next to the syrupy berries.

For the biscuits, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease the parchment with shortening.
Combine the flour and baking powder with a fork in a large mixing bowl.
Combine the buttermilk and the baking soda in a measuring cup, stirring well to combine.
Cut the shortening into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter (or 2 table knives) until the butter is distributed throughout and is the size of coarse meal.
Add the buttermilk to the shortening mixture and stir until just mixed.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead 2 to 3 times just to bring the dough
together.
Flour your rolling pin well.
Roll out the dough to a ¾-inch thickness.
Cut out the biscuits with a 2½-inch circular cutter.
Don’t twist the cutter, as that crimps down the edges and may keep the biscuits from rising. Place the biscuits on the greased parchment and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
**Or just bake the refrigerated biscuits according to directions on the package.**

Split open the hot-from-the-oven biscuits,spoon with the berries, and top with a spoon of the whipped cream.
Yield: 10-12 biscuits

Things I am thankful for today:

1. Email.
2. Caribou Coffee hazelnut lattes.
3. Bryan's help for worship this coming Sunday.
4. Support from friends.
5. Working, mostly, from home today.
6. My elliptical machine.
7. A walk in the rain.
8. Figuring out that our energy bills have been messed up!
9. Egrets.
10. Looking forward to lunch with Norma tomorrow.