What’s the best thing I ate all weekend?

Beautiful Aquidneck Farms steak, perhaps, simply seared in our iron skillet and served with a baked potato and no cream creamed spinach?

Or the downright sinful herbed butter Mike made to serve on top of the steaks? (So hard to believe our last meal at Marlow & Sons was almost a year ago.)

It might have been the simplest thing – freshly baked Pain de Campagne, Mike’s latest project from Peter Reinhart‘s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, served with some of my latest batch of homemade butter.

I toasted some up to go with our Saturday morning bacon and eggs, and it was just like heaven on a plate.

A little antipasti plate is always a strong contender, particularly after a long walk in the sunshine spent taking photos.

This pasta, I must admit, was kind of amazing – my best work yet, I’d say.

It was even better after being layered with Bolognese and bechamel and a layer of grated parm and baked until the top was browned and crusty at the edges.

Sigh. I would want this again, right now, if not for the biscuits.

These babies were SO delicious fresh from the oven on a chilly Sunday morning. Mike’s got his recipe for these down now, and it really makes some of the best biscuits I’ve ever tasted. In fact, I’m going to tuck into one now for breakfast. And if you care to make them at home, here’s how:

Mike’s Biscuits, full batch

3 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1½ tablespoons sugar
6 oz. cold butter or lard, cut into 1-inch pieces
1½ cups buttermilk

Whisk the dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter either with a pastry cutter or by hand. When mixture is mealy and butter is well incorporated add the buttermilk. Stir with a wooden spoon and then pull dough together by hand, being careful not to over mix. Pat out biscuit dough to 1.5 -2 inches thick. Using a biscuit cutter or glass cut into rounds (for more rustic biscuits like the ones pictured, you can pat the dough into a rectangle and cut them by hand). Bake in a 350 oven until golden.