Y’all, I must share my latest found treasure with you. Several weeks back my mother asked me to locate a cookbook for her online. I could hear the excitement in her voice as she said “It’s called Cooking up a Storm.” Instantly I knew it had something to do with Hurricane Katrina. Even though we are transplants by virtue of Hurricane Katrina and are grateful for our new beginnings…there are still times when we long for a tiny piece of days long ago.
I had book in hand within a few days. Mother has been making the cream biscuits from page 105 since she got the book. In fact, this is no lie…as I sat working on this article, she called and said, “I made you 20 biscuits, pick them up on your way home….”
In this cookbook are the lost and found recipes from the Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans. Each recipe has a short story…remind you of anyone?
Part of the Cream Biscuits story reads…“This recipe was a major sensation after Jolene Black shared it in 2005. Black’s inspiration was Velia Black, her husband’s grandmother who was a great country cook from Jasper, Alabama…” Jolene recommends the use of heavy whipping cream that is not ultra-pasteurized, if you can find it. And White Lily low-gluten brand self-rising flour. Y’all there are only two ingredients. Yep, it’s true. Try them and let me know what you think.
Here’s what ya need:
Makes 10 to 12 Biscuits
2 1/2 cups white lily self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
(Mom substituted cream with half and half.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, lightly grease baking sheet.
Put the flour in a medium mixing bowl and add cream. Stir until a soft sticky ball forms. (the dough will seem wet at first) On a very lightly floured surface, knead lightly with your well floured hands about 3 times, just until the dough comes together. Pat the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out with a 2 1/2 inch cutter. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
By: Shelley Underhill
