Prosciutto and Cheese Biscuits — The Side I Baked While Counting Down the Days

Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred and thirty-six hours. I'm counting and I can't stop. The way I counted weeks to graduation, the way I counted weeks to the wedding, but this time the number is going the wrong direction. Instead of counting toward something, I'm counting away from something. Away from Ryan. Away from normal. Toward seven months of alone. Ryan's been packing his deployment gear. His seabag is in the living room — a massive green duffel that takes up half the floor. I hate that bag. I hate what it represents. I hate that it's been in our apartment for a week, sitting there like a green reminder that the man I married is government property and can be sent to the other side of the world with three weeks' notice. Military wife anger. It's a real thing. You can't be mad at your husband — he didn't choose to deploy. You can't be mad at the Marines — he chose to serve. You can't be mad at the country — you love the country, your father served the country, the flag on your porch means something. So you're mad at... the bag. The big green bag. You're mad at a bag. Jen understands. She's angry at Eric's bag too. We sat on her couch while Dylan napped and ate ice cream straight from the container and she said, 'Some days I want to set the bag on fire.' I said, 'I want to throw it in the ocean.' She said, 'I want to throw the whole Marine Corps in the ocean.' We laughed until we cried, which is the military wife special. Ryan and I are trying to make the last two weeks count. Date nights — nothing fancy, just dinner at the Italian place in Jacksonville where he proposed. Home dinners where I cook his favorites and he eats everything and tells me it's good. Nights on the couch where we don't watch anything, just sit together, his hand on my belly where nothing is showing yet but everything is happening. I made Mom's meatloaf tonight. The one with the onion soup mix. Ryan's favorite of my recipes, which he says tastes 'almost exactly like your mom's,' which is the highest compliment he can give and the one that makes me proudest. The meatloaf. The man. The bag. Two weeks. I'm going to cook every meal with everything I have. I'm going to memorize the way he eats, the way he reaches for seconds, the way he says 'this is so good, Rach' with his mouth full. Memories. I'm making memories. Because memories are what get you through seven months.

Mom’s meatloaf was the main event that night — it always is when I need to feel like I’m giving Ryan something real to hold onto — but I needed more to do with my hands, more to fill the kitchen with warmth, more reasons to keep him at the table a little longer. These prosciutto and cheese biscuits were what I pulled together from what we had: salty, flaky, golden, the kind of thing that makes a person reach for a second without even thinking about it. He had three. I’m going to remember that.

Prosciutto and Cheese Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 10 biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing
• 3 oz prosciutto, torn or chopped into small pieces
• 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until evenly combined.
3. Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Do not overwork — cold butter is what makes biscuits flaky.
4. Fold in the fillings. Stir in the prosciutto, shredded cheese, and chives (if using) until evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture.
5. Add the buttermilk. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir gently with a fork just until the dough comes together. It will look shaggy — that’s exactly right. Do not overmix.
6. Shape the biscuits. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it gently into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle. Using a 2.5-inch round cutter (or a glass), cut out biscuits and place them on the prepared baking sheet, sides just touching. Gather and re-pat scraps once to cut remaining biscuits.
7. Brush and bake. Brush the tops lightly with buttermilk. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until the tops are deep golden brown and the edges are set. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 218 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 390mg