Ugly Biscuit - In My Mom's Words

 When the morning biscuits were cut and resting on a pan blackened with age, my grandmother shaped the dough scraps into a small, flat cake.  And in a pre-dawn ritual that never varied, she whacked the cake three times with the butt of her rolling pin, creating a trio of crescent moons that rose into soft dimples when the bread baked.  The three whacks were my summer alarm clock, soon followed by the call of “breakfast” from my grandfather standing at the foot of the steps leading up to my bedroom.

One summer morning, long before sunrise, I thought I heard the three whacks of the rolling pin.  I decided to surprise my grandfather by getting up before he beckoned.  But when I made my way down the steps, I found the house still and without the faint odor of wood smoke from the kitchen stove.  This would be an even better surprise, I thought, rising before either of my grandparents, and so I sat down on the bottom step to wait.

 When I awoke the second time, my grandmother was gently shaking my arm.  I told her about hearing the three whacks of the rolling pin.  She laughed softly and said I hadn’t been dreaming.  What I had heard, she explained, were apples falling onto the tin roof.

Me at age three, my mom, and my great-grandmother

Mom's Southern Cooking - Biscuits and Gravy

A traditional Southern breakfast in my house was a big plate of biscuits and gravy. We didn't have it often, but when we did, I knew it was a big deal! I have always thought that biscuits were a labor intensive process, but it turns out it's rather easy. Not as easy as opening a can of Pillsbury biscuits, but easier than I had originally thought.

My mom made her first round of biscuits at the age of 10 while my great-grandmother Bessie Tedder looked on. According to mom and her mother, no matter how long it's been since you've made a biscuit, if you've made a biscuit, you can always make a biscuit. There's a sweet story I'm going to share later this week about my mom wanting to make biscuits at a much younger age. It's in her own words and it's a story she shared the year my great-grandmother passed away. My mamaw was an incredible woman!

So, let's get to making biscuits and gravy! This post is a little lengthy so hang in there! Here's what you'll need for the biscuits: Buttermilk, shortening, and self-rising flour. (The champagne and orange juice are optional, however we always cook with them!)

Measure out two cups of self-rising flour and four tablespoons of shortening. 

 

Now, take two butter knives and cut the flour and shortening together in a criss-cross method. Do this until all the shortening has been combined into the flour.

Now, using a fork, create a small well in the center of the flour.

And pour your 3/4 cup buttermilk into that well.

Use your fork to stirring the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Stir until the mixture forms a dough in the bowl. (It will be sticky.)

Now, just go in with your hands and start forming a ball of dough. 

Once you have a nice ball of dough, it's time to start rolling it out. You want to roll it to about a 1/2 inch thick. 

This biscuit cutter was made by my great-grandfather, Earnest Tedder. It was originally a PET milk can. The story of how he made them is coming later as well.

When it comes to cutting your biscuits, simply place the cutter over the dough, push it down, and simply lift out. Do not twist! My great-grandmother said you don't want to "worry the dough" and that's what happens when you twist!

 

Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. You will get roughly 10 biscuits.

 With the little bit of extra dough, we make what we call the "Ugly Biscuit" and it's truly the best biscuit of the lot! Just roll out the dough slightly and form an oblong shape. Take the end of your biscuit cutter and make three half moon shapes. 

And here they are!! 

Now comes the gravy. Here's what you need: Grease (like bacon or sausage), flour, and whole milk.

After you've fried up bacon or sausage, set aside the grease from the pan. You can use the same pan or use a clean one. We used a clean one. 

 Add four tablespoons of grease to a pan and let it get really hot.

Once hot, add four tablespoons of flour. (To test the heat of the oil, add a little flour to the grease. If it starts to bubble, it's ready.)

Whisk together the flour and grease.

Start adding the two cups of milk, slowly, to the pan. Add a little, whisk, add a little more, whisk. Once you have a nice gravy formed, add the remainder of the milk.

Whisk, whisk, and whisk until there are no lumps! Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Add a lot of pepper if you're like us!

 

And here it is! 

And here is our traditional Southern breakfast! A post to come on cooked apples! 

 Remember that secret ingredient from the Macaroni and Cheese post? As a child, my dad would add a little sugar to the top of my biscuits and gravy and I thought everyone did that! Apparently, it all started with his grandfather. He was a bee keeper and he put honey on his. So, sugar was passed down to me and that's how I eat mine today. Again, don't knock it 'til you try it!

And that's it! One of my favorite breakfasts! And honestly, so easy to make. Doesn't it look yummy?

Happy Eats!

Mom's Southern Cooking - Butter Noodles

My mom was forever making chicken. Chicken, chicken, and more chicken. And I often replied, when I asked what was for dinner, "Chicken again?" But, it's super versatile and inexpensive! And even though we ate a lot of chicken, my mom was great at varying up the sides. One of my favorites was butter noodles. Another really easy recipe for a quick, yummy side.

I made a new recipe from the Sandra Lee magazine, an apple and fennel pork butt in the slow cooker, and wanted to keep the sides relatively uncomplicated. I thought the pork, apple, and fennel were fancy enough. I decided on steamed green beans and butter noodles. (Don't get excited. The steamed green beans came in a frozen steam-in-the-bag from Green Giant!) The noddles, I made on my own.

Here's what you need: Egg Noodles, Butter, Seasoned Salt, Black Pepper, and Parsley Flakes (not shown. I couldn't find them in my mess of a spice cabinet).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add a nice amount of salt to your water. (This is the only chance your pasta/noodles will get a healthy dose of flavor). Cook to past al dente. You want a soft noodle for this recipe!

Once done, drain your noodles and add to your serving bowl.

Simply add a small amount of butter, seasoned salt, and black pepper to taste. Add a small amount of parsley flakes for color! Voila! Your side is ready!

Now, here's the God's honest truth. I didn't take a picture of the final meal because after I took the pork out of the crock-pot, it looked so gross to me! So gross, that I didn't even eat it! I dined on green beans and noodles. My hubby dug in, cleaning his plate, but he did report that it wasn't his favorite meal. If I were going to serve a roast, next time just make it like I always do. He loved the sides though!

Let me know what you think of the butter noodles. One of my favs!

Happy Eats!

Mom's Southern Cooking - A Simple Fruit Cobbler

As I continue my quest to cook like my Southern mother, last night I made a super, simple cherry cobbler. She first made this cobbler at the age of 15 when she learned the recipe in home ec! Now, when I think of mid-week desserts, I think of not eating desserts during the week because they can be too complicated to make. Not the case with last night's cobbler!

If you've seen Steel Magnolia's then you know all about this cobbler. It's a cup, a cup, a cup, kind of dessert and one you can easily remember. No need to write it down. Just remember, a cup of self-rising flour, a cup of sugar, a cup of whole milk, and a stick of unsalted butter (melted). It's that simple.

Here's what you need: Self-Rising Flour, Sugar, Unsalted Butter, Whole Milk, and the fruit of your choice. The best ones are cherry, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, or a mix of berries. 

Per my mom, mix the flour and sugar together before adding the milk. If you add the milk before mixing, the flour clumps up. I believe her!

Once the dry ingredients are mixed, add the cup of milk. Now, if you are baking, you must measure! And remember, measuring cups for the dry ingredients. A glass measuring cup for liquids. It's a must!

Melt your butter in a little under a 9 x 13 baking dish while the oven is preheating to 350. 

Swirl the melted butter around the pan to coat, and then add the butter to the batter.

Add the batter to the pan. Drain your berries, and then add them to the batter. (If using frozen fruit, make sure it's thawed before using.)

 Spread the berries around as evenly as you can.

Sprinkle a little sugar on the top of the batter, if desired. It's not a necessary step.

Bake for an hour at 350. Tent with aluminum foil if the cobbler starts to get a little brown. 

Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream! What was so great is that this went in the oven at the start of dinner, and once dishes were loaded and washed, the cobbler was out and had cooled long enough for a bite! Honestly, this is the best, and easiest way, to serve your family a little unexpected treat in the middle of the week!

Happy Eats!

A Little Mommy Time

April will mark McKinley's third birthday! I can't believe we will have a three year old running around. It sounds cliche, but where in the world did the time go? How is he three already? And, how has it been three years since I've hit the gym, performed in a show, taken a craft class or any other activity that I used to do before I had him. I don't resent him for it. I don't blame him for it. I just felt that I needed to be there 100% of the time, that I wasn't at work, in order to be the best mom to him I could be.

McKinley is going through what I can only imagine hope is a phase. If he and Joel are in a room together for a while, without me, and I come in to join McKinley will say "Go away, Mama." Or "Go back to the kitchen, Mama." Or back to whatever room I came from. He's also saying things like "Don't look at me, Mama." Or, "Don't talk, Mama." Or don't do anything around me mama. It's grating on my nerves! I've sat him down, looked him in the eye and say, "I don't like you saying these things, McKinley. Mama doesn't like anyone telling her what to do, just like you don't like us telling you what to do. I will look at you, dance in front of you, sing what I want, and I'm not going anywhere." For the record, when I do leave the room (and not at his request), he is usually following me within five minutes of my departure.

I've decided that maybe for the last almost three years I've been too available. I pick him up every day from my parents so that I can see him as soon as I get off work. I put him to bed every night, because he asks. We go to the store together on the weekends. I involve him in almost every aspect of my life. And maybe that's too much together time. So I've decided to make a change.

I am going to start taking a little more time for me. Even if it's an hour or two, I need it. And maybe he does too. So, I am working out one day a week which allows Joel to pick him one day a week. I would like to take a craft class and soon. I think learning to knit would be fun, since crocheting didn't work out so well. I would like to retake some of the Wilton cake decorating classes to refine old methods and learn new. I'm not interested in performing right now. And maybe not again. I am however, looking into taking a ballet class. I just purchased a Groupon from the Kansas City Ballet for unlimited classes for a month. I'm really excited about that!

Who knows if this will make a difference? Over the course of the past week, there have been less "Go away, Mama" and more "I want Mama to do it." Last week it was hard to even leave the room without my shadow, and in the back of mind, I rejoiced! But, I'm still going to take some time for me. Selfish or not, I think we both need it. I could really use new creative inspiration right now. And, some time on the treadmill!

Wilton Revisited - The Final Cupcake

A week ago I blogged about how I was asked to make cupcake's for a baby shower. I was thrilled! I really want to try and take my cupcake decorations up a notch this year and I decided this shower was as good a time as any. After looking through my Wilton cake decorating books, I took the courses years ago, I followed the "directions" from book two on how to make the Apple Blossom. They don't really look like an Apple Blossom, but they did end up looking like sweet little flowers.

I was leery of using them, experimenting with the cupcakes that weren't needed for the shower, and I ended up loving them! The colors were hot and pale pink and the little white flowers looked so sweet against the pale pink frosting. But, I wasn't convinced how sweet they would look against the hot pink. I played around with sanding sugars in white and pink. It did nothing for the presentation. I ended up using white beads and hot pink dusting. Loved it! And, I alternated using flowers on both shades of pink, the white beads, and dusting. I loved how they turned out!

Here are is the final result. And, the ladies of the shower were happy. A perfect ending!

 

 

Mom's Southern Cooking - Macaroni and Cheese

As a child, I never had macaroni and cheese from a box. Never. My mom always made her own and it was divine. And, as it turns out, incredibly easy to make! The first time I ever served McKinley my macaroni and cheese, he turned up his nose. And, to this day, he will not eat it. Nor will he eat my moms! He is Kraft macaroni man! Even Joel told him he didn't know what he was missing!

When I started dating my husband, I wasn't much of a cook. I literally lived off a gallon of skim milk and a box of cereal! But, he was a guy who made dinner for himself every night, super self-sufficient, so I decided I needed to do so as well. Okay, I actually only cooked when he came over and that was generally on the weekends. During the week, I still lived off the milk and cereal diet.

The first time I made the macaroni, he didn't see me use the "secret" ingredient. He simply ate the meal, compliment my cooking, and said it was definitely something he would eat again. (To this day, when trying something new, I always ask if it is something he would eat again. It's generally a yes.) So the next time I made cube steak with mac and cheese, he happened to be watching when I added the "secret" ingredient. And, his response had a hint of confusion and disgust. You see, unbeknownst to me, my mom always added a little bit of sugar as a finishing touch to her macaroni and cheese. So, when she told me the ingredients, as you will see below, she told me she added a spoonful or two of sugar. I followed suit. Joel was shocked! I told him I added the exact same thing to the dish the last time I made it and he had eaten every single bite. He hasn't complained since!

The ingredients are fairly complicated! Here's what you'll need: a box of macaroni (any version will do), sliced American cheese, and sugar!

You also need a pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, add a nice amount of salt, and then your macaroni, or for those fancy chefs out there, pasta. Cook to a little past al dente. Drain the macaroni, or pasta, and return to the pot.

I like my macaroni a little on the cheesy side so I use between four and five slices of cheese. Break up the slices into squares for easy melting. Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Once your macaroni achieves your preferred cheese consistency, add the sugar. Honestly, don't knock it until you try it, but if it's just not your thing, leave it out the next time.

And here is the complete meal! Cube steak, macaroni and cheese and those yummy triple berry muffins! 

If you give the recipe a try, let me know your thoughts! I would love to get feedback on the secret ingredient and if it was a big a hit in your home!