Thursday, August 1, 2013

Buttermilk Biscuit Sliders with Sriracha Aioli, Scrambled Eggs, and Sauteed Spinach


A few weekends back, our plans to go hiking at Old Rag were rained out. This left our group bright eyed and bushy tailed with no direction. I could almost feel friends peeking out their respective curtains, staring at a cloudy, ominous sky. The texts messages began to fly as we all pondered the same question, "So uh... did you still want to do something today?" Thanks to mother nature, hiking was definitely out of the question. At that hour, the answer was obvious: brunch!

Mayhem broke lose as everyone pounced on their phones and laptops looking for the best spot on short notice. It soon became clear that if you want to go out to brunch in the DMV area- you need reservations. There were too many of us for any of the more popular spots to accommodate. Sure we could make brunch but quite frankly... I wasn't up for serving a pack of hungry homies!


In the end, Nolan found a spot that didn't have a wait nor required a reservation: Pizzeria Orso. A pizza joint- for breakfast? Why the heck not! Apparently this is a practice that they had started only a week prior. Almost everyone ordered from the "Eggs and Such" portion of the menu. You get your choice of egg style, sauce, and toppings. Entrees are brought out on individual wooden cutting boards  (bought one at World Market last night)- a current trend reminiscent of Europe. Overall, the service was great and we enjoyed the food. There was one teensy thing though that bothered me ....the biscuits.


When I think of a biscuit breakfast egg sandwich, the infamous buttermilk biscuit immediately comes to mind. Flaky, buttery, soft, and oh so delicious! They're the golden fluffy highlight of any meal! Orso's version was a little heartier and was more like a tiny loaf  if that makes any sense. They tasted fine but it left me dreaming of Southern style biscuits.


Hence, I was inspired to make our own version of the fancy egg brunch sandwich. The components include home-made buttermilk biscuits (White Lily flour), lightly seasoned scrambled eggs, sriracha aioli, and sauteed spinach. This was my first time using the below listed buttermilk biscuit recipe and it was killer! Mike is a huge biscuit lover and claimed that these are his new favorite. I enjoyed them because the directions are very educational in the art of biscuit making!

These little sandwich made staying in for brunch well worth the effort. Plus, it's not time-consuming to make so you can still take a drive out to get some cafe on a Sunday morning!


Buttermilk Biscuit Sliders with Sriracha Aioli, Scrambled Eggs, and Sauteed Spinach

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
from the above recipe or your own

Sriracha Ailoi
3 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha
1 teaspoon sesame oil

in a small bowl, combine the above ingredients- done! 

Scrambled Eggs
from the above recipe or your own

Sauteed Spinach
1 cup baby spinach
2 tablespoons beer
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 tablespoon water
dash of Paprika
dash of Kosher Salt
dash of Garlic Powder
dash of ground Cumin
dash of Chili Powder
1/2 Jalapeno Pepper, minced

In small sauce pan, heat the beer, water, chicken broth, spices, and minced Jalapeno pepper to a gentle simmer. Let it look for about 10 minutes on a low heat. Add the spinach and stir until wilted.