Southern Cooking!

[KittyT]

Many thanks Kitty, that was hugely helpful :eusa_clap

So it's basically a scone then. Never tried them with gravy though, just cream and jam!

In texture they are similar to a scone but they are not sweet (or at least they shouldn't be, by accounts of every Southerner I know) and also they tend to be a lot moister than scones. I think that's really the big difference. A scone is usually kind of crumbly and a good biscuit should be flakey. They are absolutely delicious and incredibly quick and easy to make. You should try using one of the recipes here to see what you think.

Biscuits and gravy is absolutely divine. I've never made gravy in my life, so I won't attempt it, as I know making gravy is a fine art. The gravy used is traditionally made with sausage.

Actually, any tips on making gravy would also be appreciated!

 

[Big Man]

... Can any Southerners here weigh in on cast iron cornbread? ...

You mean there's something other than an iron skillet used to cook cornbread ?

We use a "third generation" cast iron skillet for cornbread. There's no telling how old that pan is, but my grandmother began using it when she started keeping house in 1904.

 

[KittyT]

You mean there's something other than an iron skillet used to cook cornbread ?

We use a "third generation" cast iron skillet for cornbread. There's no telling how old that pan is, but my grandmother began using it when she started keeping house in 1904.

Yes, I have an old cast iron that belonged to my grandmother and who knows where she got it from. She grew up in Virginia, so chances are it was passed down to her.

My family is all from Missouri and my parents have always made cornbread in a pan. I didn't know until recently that you could make it in cast iron. I think I'm going to have to get a smaller cast iron skillet, though, because mine is about 12" in diameter, which is just too big.

EDIT: I would also love to hear how you all season your cast iron skillets. There is SO much varying information out there. Some say vegetable oil. Some say you should only use lard. Some say 5 hours, some say 2, skillet right side up, upside down, etc, etc.

 

[Big Man]

Talking about Southern cooking ...

... Also what's a biscuit? ...

I bet the term "cat head biscuit" really throws you off.

 

[Smithy]

I bet the term "cat head biscuit" really throws you off.

I don't think I'll be putting one of those on the same plate as the Tim-Tams mate

 

[Big Man]

I don't think I'll be putting one of those on the same plate as the Tim-Tams mate

A "cat head biscuit" is a biscuit that's "as big as a cat's head". It's a term used in my area (mountains of western North Carolina), but I don't know how wide spread the usage is in other parts of the country. The majority of the biscuits you see are about 2 inches in diameter, but a "real" biscuit is 4 or 5 inches (or about as big as a cat's head).

Biscuits and gravy is good, but if you really want some good Southern eating, there's nothing like hot biscuits, butter, and molasses.

 

[Big Man]

... I would also love to hear how you all season your cast iron skillets ...

Use a slow oven and lard. Keep the pan in the oven, right side up, for three or four hours. This works for new pans as well as for touching-up an old pan that may have had some of the seasoning worn away from a too vigorous cleaning.

 

[TheDutchess]

I think that cat head biscuit is indigenous to western NC lol That's the first I have ever heard that term. I think i'll use it from now on.

 

[Fletch]

Can you put lil ears on them?

 

[AlanC]

Southern cornbread should have zero sugar and very little flour (if any). Sorry, but the initial recipe is for Yankee cornbread, which is basically like cake.

A "cat head biscuit" is a biscuit that's "as big as a cat's head". It's a term used in my area (mountains of western North Carolina), but I don't know how wide spread the usage is in other parts of the country. The majority of the biscuits you see are about 2 inches in diameter, but a "real" biscuit is 4 or 5 inches (or about as big as a cat's head).

Biscuits and gravy is good, but if you really want some good Southern eating, there's nothing like hot biscuits, butter, and molasses.

I grew up with 'cat head biscuits', but I'm from the mountains of E. Kentucky, so maybe it's an Appalachian thing.

 

[KittyT]

Southern cornbread should have zero sugar and very little flour (if any). Sorry, but the initial recipe is for Yankee cornbread, which is basically like cake.

Actually, it's not like cake at all, and even though the recipe has sugar in it, there is no sweetness at all in the final product.

If that recipe is no good, why don't you provide me with a recipe for good Southern cornbread? That's really what I'm looking for here, and I'd love to have other, better recipes to try. As I mentioned before, this thread is useless without recipes

 

[AlanC]

^ Will do. Cast iron skillet required.

 

[KittyT]

^ Will do. Cast iron skillet required.

Thank you, I'm looking forward to it, and to Scotrace's biscuit recipe. And yes, there is a purchase of a smaller cast iron skillet in my future, just for cornbread.

 

[scotrace]

Baking powder biscuits

2C All purpose flour
1Tbsp baking powder
1teasp salt
1/3 C solid veg shortening
1C milk (not 2% or skim)

Oven to 425F
Lightly grease or spray a round cake pan or metal baking pan, or use a cookie sheet
Mix the dry ingredients, then cut in the shortening, than add the milk and mix with a fork JUST until you can turn the chunky, floury mix onto a board, and no more. It'll be sticky.
Flour your board and your hands, and knead the dough a max of ten times. Pat or roll the dough out gently to a thickness you like (I like it rather thick), then cut out and place into pan, right up against each other. Roll out remaining dough again and repeat, trying not to handle the dough any more than needed.

Bake 12 -15 minutes.

In this part of the country (Amishland), we eat them with butter and apple butter, but I love them with butter and South Carolina honey.

A note re: cornbread - Leftovers are excellent the next day warmed a bit in the microwave, then broken up into chunks with milk and honey. Holy smoke!! (and I also find that southerners add no sugar to their cornbread mixture. Seems like a northern thing)

Dratted Atkins diet.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Southern Cooking?! Where!

Fellow Angelinos: Who else cannot stop going to M&M Soul Food? And who else soon thereafter is forced to stop eating at M&M Soul Food due to a spike in cholesterol?

I'm still looking and curious to try "REAL" Red Velvet Cake. Someone told me that "REAL" Red Velvet Cake contains neither food coloring nor cocoa powder. I need the putting.

 

[KittyT]

I'm definitely still waiting for that cornbread recipe.....

 

[duggap]

Ye Ole Sweet Potatoes

Hey gang, home made biscuits are really not that hard to do. Just takes a time or two practicing and you will have it. Now let me give you a clue for turning your sweet potato dishes into a gourmet dish. Substitute Vanilla Butter and Nut for your regular Vanilla. Don't get too heavy handed as it is pretty powerful in your dish. Try it. And for a good dessert, try a cobbler. Next time use blue berries and peaches. Sounds goofy but the taste is wonderful. And as southern as it gets.

 

[Cricket]

My Granny always used the Jiffy corn muffin mix for our everyday cornbead.
Little salt, sugar, egg, butter, milk, and baked it in an iron skillet.

An iron skillet is the only way to go. People will tell you different, no, they are wrong

Its texture was between a cake and a scone. Too firm to be cake, not dry enough to be a scone. Perfect

LD

Jiffy was the only way to go in our house. And I am talking about a country backwood Mississippi rural town. Add some more sugar to the mix and ALWAYS use an iron skillet. We have like eight skillets in our house now. We cook cornbread in them. And bacon on Saturday mornings.
We save the grease from the bacon in the skillet. You can add that grease to a pot of fresh snap beans and you are in business.

 

[Cricket]

Southern Cooking?! Where!

Fellow Angelinos: Who else cannot stop going to M&M Soul Food? And who else soon thereafter is forced to stop eating at M&M Soul Food due to a spike in cholesterol?

I'm still looking and curious to try "REAL" Red Velvet Cake. Someone told me that "REAL" Red Velvet Cake contains neither food coloring nor cocoa powder. I need the putting.

Try this site out. It lists food coloring but it tells you that the older folks used beets from the garden for the coloring.
My Maw Maw, who was about as southern as it gets, still used the food coloring. But I wish I knew what she did because I can never make mine as good as her. Southern grandmothers just know things that we can't imagine.

http://southerncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/red_velvet_cake_recipe

 

[KittyT]

Substitute Vanilla Butter and Nut for your regular Vanilla.

What is "Vanilla Butter and Nut"?