Easter Breakfast with Rebecca Lang

Here I am, the prodigal daughter – almost back. I can’t say that I’m really back because I’m still stranded in a sea of boxes. Anyway, I’m here now and I have missed you. The past two months have been a blur of packing, renovating and looking for stuff. And I’m still in the "looking for stuff" phase. I will certainly be writing a post about moving and my beautiful new kitchen (that I still can’t believe is mine) soon!

For now, we have pressing matters. Sunday is Easter and I have not even thought about what we are going to eat. I feel like it would be a travesty if we did not have ham. Why is it ham and Easter go hand in hand? Seriously, I have no idea what we will be eating for lunch or dinner as I still cannot find some of my pots and pans, but I do have some ideas for breakfast thanks to Rebecca Lang. I had the pleasure of meeting her last week and watching her demo some Easter breakfast/brunch fare at the Cook’s Warehouse in Atlanta (Midtown). I had never taken a class at Cook’s Warehouse before – and what a treat! That store is heaven for anyone who likes cooking and baking tools and gadgets.

Rebecca Lang is a chef, food writer and contributing editor for Southern Living and the author of several cookbooks. Her most recent is Southern Living’s Around the Southern Table. Rebecca was kind enough to provide me a copy and I have to say, I love this book. The intro begins, “I was a girl fascinated by biscuits, fried chicken and pound cake.” (Hey, me too -- and I still am!) I love how she writes about cooking with her grandmothers, her cherished family heirloom dining room table and the gift of Southern hospitality.

Rebecca has a very warm and engaging manner and her recipes are as down to earth as she is. She showed us how to make her cathead biscuits – made with bacon grease, whole buttermilk and White Lily flour, of course. She ingeniously used the biscuit crumbs in a skillet casserole that was so yummy. (The recipe is in her book.) She spoke of her grandmothers making biscuits and the big influence they had on her life. I really did feel we were kindred spirits –and afterward when we spoke, we discovered that her husband is from my hometown and I know his people. I love how the South is such as a small world!

Definitely check out Rebecca’s book and blog. I will definitely keep you posted on any of her recipes I try. (Country Ham Jam and Tomato Gravy are recipes that definitely must be investigated!) For now, I leave you with the Sausage and Cheese Soufflé recipe she shared with our class. It is a make ahead breakfast casserole and in my current chaotic state, I think I can handle it. I can put it together tomorrow night and pop it in the oven Easter morning while the kids gorge themselves on candy. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and/or simply a glorious spring weekend – and I will be back soon.

Sausage and Cheese Soufflé

1 pound ground pork sausage

4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar cheese

8 large eggs

2 cups milk

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (Cayenne)

1 pound croissants (about 20 medium) cut into one-inch cubes

Garnish: minced fresh chives

1. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, 10 to 13 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Grate cheese on the large holes of a box grater.

3. Whisk together eggs and next six ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in croissant cubes. Add sausage and cheese; stir well. Pour into a lightly greased 13-x9-inch baking dish. Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dish from refrigerator, and let dish stand at room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until set. Garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

Makes: 8 servings

Hands-on Time: 20 minutes. Total Time: 9 hours, 15 minutes

Recipe courtesy Rebecca Lang, Around the Southern Table (Oxmoor House, 2012). Special thanks to Gretchen Howard Public Relations for inviting me to attend Chef Lang's demo.

Sweet Potato Scones (For Your Sweet)

Nothing says lovin' like sweet potatoes. Skip the flowers and chocolates -- how about a heart shaped sweet potato scone for that special someone? Sweet potatoes have long been praised for their aphrodisiac powers. In ancient times, sweet potatoes were given to loved ones as symbols of affection. (I jest!!) But, sweet potatoes do have other powers of the, um, digestive variety. Let's just put it this way, they're really good for you and I'm kind of fan. I've already written an ode to sweet potatoes here and here, so I'll keep this short. I had some leftover sweet potatoes from dinner last night, and hence these scones.

A heart shaped scone for your sweetheart.

Mother to the Southern-style biscuit, scones have a special place in my heart. I'm also kind of an anglophile. (Are watching Downton Abbey? If you're not, you should!) I thought it would be fun to cut them into hearts, but you could cut them into circles or traditional wedges. Whip some of these up this weekend for the perfect  Valentine's Day brunch or afternoon tea. Stay tuned for something of the more indulgent, traditional Valentine's Day variety soon!

Care for a spot of tea?

Sweet Potato Scones
Adapted from Taste of Home
2-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup cold butter

1 egg

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon orange zest

In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, sweet potatoes, buttermilk, vanilla and orange zest; add to dry ingredients just until moistened. The mixture will still be very crumbly.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; with lightly floured hands, knead dough 10-12 times. Work in a little more milk if the dough seems too dry and crumbly. Pat into 8 inch circle and cut into eight wedges. Or, cut with a cookie cutter. Place wedges or pieces  1 in. apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm. Drizzle with glaze if desired. Yield: 8 scones. (Yield will vary for cut shapes depending on size of cutter.)

Cinnamon Orange Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of half and half 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

grated orange rind (just a touch)

dash of salt

Whisk together ingredients and add milk in small increments to reach desired consistency. If the icing gets too runny, add a little bit more sugar. Really, you can't go wrong! 

The Biscuit Chronicles

There's a story I've been wanting to tell for a long time now about biscuits. Mention the word and Southerners melt. I think it is the most Southern of Southern foods - a foundational ingredient to all meals. Both of my grandmothers used to make them every morning for breakfast, and of course, eat on them all day. Before the days of "Lunchables," it's what kids carried to school for lunch. My Papa fondly recalls his mama packing him a biscuit smeared with a little bacon grease or stuffed with a little piece of meat. There were always biscuits, and no one seemed to get tired of them. My family likes to laugh about my uncle, the baby of the family, getting real upset in kindergarten one day during a collaging project. The children were to cut pictures out of magazines that represented what they ate for breakfast. His teacher called Granny and explained that he was beside himself because he couldn't find a picture of "syrup n' biscuits" to glue on his page - his favorite.

Ah, biscuits! One of my first food photography efforts long before the blog.

What is so magical about the seemingly boring biscuit -- a mass of flour, shortening (or butter) and milk? Maybe it's the simplicity. Maybe it's what you put on it. Maybe it's the memories of the hands that faithfully made them day after day, year after year.

Seven years ago when I was in grad school, I took an American Folkcrafts class. For my final project, I examined the biscuit as a work of folkcraft -- a skill that was passed down from generation to generation and adapted over time.  I got my Granny, Mama and Aunt Alice together in the kitchen where they at one time all time honed their craft -- and we made biscuits. My husband took pictures and documented how we each made them. Then, of course, we had the pleasure of eating them!

Although we all ultimately had learned biscuit-making from Granny, who learned the craft from her mother-in-law, we each made them slightly differently. We agreed that my aunt's biscuits were the best. She made them big, tall and fluffy -- what some call "cathead" biscuits due to their size. Of course, some things were consistent in all of our biscuits. We all used White Lily flour, shortening and buttermilk, and at some point, we all got our hands in the dough. (You just have to!) None of used a written recipe, either. Honestly, I wouldn't know how to write a recipe for biscuits. So much of it is in the touch and texture. It comes with practice. I imagine when you make them every single day you get a pretty consistent product. My Granny and all the biscuit makers who came before her were truly masters at their craft.

Armed with flour, buttermilk and Crisco, Granny demonstrated her craft.

For as long as I can remember, Granny had the "flour drawer." She stored all her flour and her well-seasoned 50-year-old wooden biscuit bowl. That thing is a treasure!

Granny butters her biscuits.

Mama got fancy with a pastry cutter. She didn't use one of those when I was a kid!

My aunt has perfected biscuit placement - close together but not quite touching so the edges get crispy.

Patting them out like mama taught me. 

An example of each finished product. Mine are the flat and crispy looking ones.

Maybe it's taken me a while to write about this experience because so much has changed in the past seven years. When we had our biscuit making day, I was a bit queasy and carried a secret that only my mama knew about -- my now six year old son. Mama had just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and was undergoing chemo at the time. It was right before Christmas and everyone was busy and had a million other things to do, but in spite of it all, we got together and made biscuits. I taped recorded the whole process and half of it is laughter. It is truly an experience I will always treasure.

Three generations of biscuit makers.

The years that followed brought both joy and sorrow. My son came into the world, but I lost my mom just before his first birthday. Struggling with Alzheimer's disease, Granny can longer remember how to make biscuits or even turn the oven on for that matter. But, I have this memory -- and another little boy, too. Our family has grown and changed, but the biscuit remains.

To celebrate a year of my blog, I want to launch a new storytelling series called "The Biscuit Chronicles" and would love to feature your stories. Do you have a favorite biscuit making memory or story about the importance of biscuits in your family? Do you have a family photo you could share? Maybe your grandmother's biscuits were the best in the world -- or maybe she couldn't make them to save her life. Or, maybe there's a restaurant in your town that is carrying on the tradition of homemade biscuits. I want to hear about it! Please leave a comment and/or send your photos and stories to me at rachel at timeforgoodfood dot com. This could be SO much fun and I hope you will participate -- and share this post with others who you think may have a great biscuit story. All submissions must be received by February 25, 2012. Everyone who participates will be eligible to win a "biscuit soppin' kit" with my favorite Georgia honey, sorghum syrup and jellies. I can't wait!

The fine print: By submitting a story or photo, you are signifying that you own the content. I reserve the right to edit for grammar and length. If you happen to be a blogger or food artisan, I will gladly link to your site provided that it is food or family related and fits with the mission of Time for Good Food.