Notre Dame Football and Thyme Drop Biscuits

Football season has not been kind to Notre Dame so far. My beloved Irish are starting the season 0-2 for only the 7th time in the history of the team. This afternoon, we are playing Michigan State and I hope that we can pull off a victory. As painful and embarrassing as the game against Michigan was last weekend, I hope the team can walk out onto the field with confidence and dignity and beat the tar out of those Spartans. Both Paul and I strongly dislike Michigan State. Hate them, actually. While we were undergraduates, the Michigan State fans who flocked to our campus for the game were extremely antagonistic and disrespectful, trashing certain portions of campus and uttering unsportsmanlike jeers at passing Notre Dame students. And of course there was that whole flag-planting business in the middle of our field during the 2005 season. Grrr. We have to win today.

Before game time, Paul declared that he was starving. Which is basically Paul language for "make me something." He is incapable of seeking out his own snacks. He may realize that his stomach is growling, but usually will choose to go hungry rather than expend the energy to pick himself up off the couch and make the long, treacherous journey to the refrigerator. So lazy. But to his credit, it can be quite dangerous to walk across our living room without attention since Master Matthew often booby-traps the place with various trucks, blocks, kitchen appliances, books, and magazines. I decided to spare Paul the trouble, especially since I had been planning to make some biscuits with the abundance of leftover fresh herbs we have in our refrigerator.

I chose to make some simple drop biscuits infused with fresh thyme and cracked pepper. Paul's favorite spices are thyme and rosemary so he was positively giddy to eat these. They were ready in less than 30 minutes start to finish - just in time for us to settle in to cheer our team to victory!

Thyme and Pepper Drop Biscuits

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Whisk together flour through thyme in a bowl. In another bowl, stir together butter and buttermilk. The mixture should be lumpy. Gently stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Grease a 1/4 cup dry measure and use it to scoop and drop the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. You should be able to form 12 biscuits.

Bake at 475 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Brush with additional melted butter if desired and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.

The result? One happily munching husband.

As I type this, he's about halfway through the basket. I think he likes them.