Southern-style biscuits sport so many guises. From my childhood I remember light and flaky biscuits made with molasses and sweet potatoes, golden biscuits speckled with bits of ham and sausage or bacon, tangy buttermilk biscuits flavored with a spoonful of aromatic crushed herbs, such as sage or rosemary.
When I was growing up, tiny biscuits stirred with a few tablespoons of chopped watercress or parsley accompanied shrimp or chicken salad or slivers of ham at "ladies" luncheons, afternoon teas, missionary club meetings or the plethora of showers and graduation dinners that crowd the spring calendar.
Years ago when the preacher came for Sunday dinner, Mama often added a little finely minced onion to the biscuit batter and then scattered the tops with a few pinches of grated sharp Cheddar. And when I was finally allowed to make the biscuits all by myself for Sunday company, I knew that I had "arrived" as a cook in my mother's kitchen. I learned many variations over the years. My Aunt Mary, who lived on the Gulf Coast, made delectable sugar-crusted biscuits that were redolent with cinnamon and orange peel.
During the summer, Mama and I often made shortbread-style cornmeal biscuits that were served with the Sunday roast chicken or loin of pork, or enjoyed as dessert when topped with sugared fruit.
But it was a batch of angel biscuits that took the cake. This Southern specialty, which supposedly owes its name to the fact that they are made with both baking powder and yeast -- a double rising -- are light and "heavenly."
But all of these biscuits of yesteryear are stellar. They are full of flavor, made with unbleached flour, ideal for company or family meals and sure to warm body and soul during these waning days of winter -- easy to make, too.
