Friday, October 19, 2012

The Best Biscuits and Good Ol' Southern Jelly

The Belle, here. Well, I had promised a pumpkin recipe but never got to make it. So, in celebration of all things pumpkin, I want to start with something yummy I tried this week...


A Pumpkin Pie Moolatte from Dairy Queen!



It even had nutmeg grated on top!

Now for my "recipe" for today. ;)

My favorite biscuits. Are you ready for this? Here are the ingredients:

1 Bag of frozen Mary B's Biscuits! :)


Yep. That's it. I promise you these are about the best biscuits ever. They make several styles of biscuits, but my favorite is the Tea Biscuits. They're just a couple of bites each and have the best texture. A little crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

YUM! And easy peasy--perfect for someone like me whose homemade biscuits always turn out like hockey pucks.

Preheat the oven to about 400. You can just put the biscuits on a cookie sheet frozen.


Bake 15-20 minutes.


And voila! You have beautiful, golden brown biscuits. Quick, while they're hot, split them and add a nice thick pat of real butter!


Here are our favorite Georgia-style toppings...


Muscadine jelly! (This jelly is actually made with muscadine wine as well as grape juice.) Muscadines are a type grape that are grown around here. In fact, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension website says that in 2006, Georgia was the largest producer of muscadine grapes with 1400 acres of them. The grapes are high in resveratrol, the compound found in red wine that's supposed to lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. So we'll pretend eating the jelly is healthy, too! :)

I have to tell you a funny story. When I first moved here and started working, I went on break with my coworkers, and one of them asked me if I'd like a scuppernong. She held out a baggie of huge grape looking things. I looked at her like she was crazy, I'm sure, and asked what she'd just said! LOL Such a strange word. I just now did a bit of research and found it's a variety of the muscadine. However, some sites calls the red grapes muscadines and the white ones scuppernongs. Either way, they make fantastic jelly!

Another local jelly we love is mayhaw jelly. I had to do a little checking to find out what in the world a a mayhaw is (I'm originally from Kentucky so had never heard of them either). They're tart red berries (aren't technically a berry but are in the haw or apple family) that grow in the swamps and bogs of southwest Georgia.

So, you've had your tasty lesson for the day! Hope you enjoyed a visit to the south. :)

Missy
www.missytippens.com



17 comments:

  1. Ok, I've always wondered about this line...


    Sometimes things don't go, after all,
    from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
    faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
    sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

    A people sometimes step back from war;
    elect an honest man; decide they care
    enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
    Some men become what they were born for.

    Sometimes our best efforts do not go
    amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
    The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
    that seemed hard frozen: may it happen to you

    ~ Sheenagh Pugh ~


    Sometimes MUSCADEL FACES DOWN FROST... I think he meant muscadine!

    Or better yet, scuppernog!!

    That word is so awesome I want to name a baby SCUPPERNOG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing that poem! A great one.

      Virginia, you need another baby. You haven't had enough yet. ;) So have at it!

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    2. But please, don't name that poor baby Scuppernog!

      It would be a great nickname, or a name for a dog, but think of your 20-something year old offspring, finally meeting the love of his life, and having to tell her his name is Scuppernog.

      Worse yet, he has visions of it being a family name that lasts for generations, so he wants to name his son Scuppernog.

      It can only lead to tears.

      Delete
    3. Oh, and yes, I loved the poem, too!

      Delete
    4. How fun as a dog name, Jan! I'll have to remember that! :)

      Delete
  2. Thanks, Missy.

    I've heard of scuppernong wine so I'm guessing it was made from those grapes. See the things you learn reading historical fiction. ;)

    Happy Friday all. I sure need this to be Friday. It's been a looooong week.

    On the up side, my class and I made a glacier yesterday to show how glaciers created the landforms of New York. It's always a popular class - for me and the students.



    ReplyDelete
  3. Mary, sounds like a fun project! I'm sure you're such a great teacher.

    You know, I've been amazed at how much I've learned from historical romance novels! I've answered questions my family has had about homework and vocabulary and even a couple of Jeopardy questions! LOL

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  4. Biscuits are so easy, and you've just made them easier, Missy.

    I've been disappointed with my biscuits turning out like hockey pucks since we moved, but I recently read an article about high-altitude cooking. It was a duh-moment. Our house is at about 3500 feet, so I need to cook differently.

    Duh.

    I've never lived above 700 feet before - no wonder I was having problems :)

    And I love the different kinds of jellies. I'm always wanting to try new ones. I'll have to look for these on Amazon...

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  5. We love Mary B's biscuits and always keep a bag in stock. Our favorite topping is homemade blackberry jam! Mmmm! Mayhaw and Muscadine always go over well!

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  6. Frozen biscuits?

    Oh mylanta, I finally get back to the cafe after a crazy week of bane and blessing, and I find frozen biscuits.

    Mary B's....

    Well, I like the NAME.... Do we have these up here? I must check... But I'm still working on my home-made kind-of biscuit recipe, guaranteed to make us fat.

    Sigh.

    I love me some biscuits, Missy Tippens!!!!

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  7. Jan, I can't blame my hockey pucks on the altitude around here. :(

    Natalie, I'm so glad you can back me up on how good they are! :) Do you make your jelly or buy it? I've never made jelly (other than freezer jam).

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ruthy, welcome back!. I pulled a bag out of the freezer in your honor. ;)

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  9. Missy says we can have more kids!!

    WOOT!

    I think that means she's gonna rub my feet and listen to me whine and hold my hair as I yack every morning-noon-night.

    We'll do the easy part and the birth. You get the 9 months of griping in between. :D

    SCUPPERNOG, due Friday, July 26th, 2013. Mark your calendars.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No yacking allowed, Virginia!! I think I'll just save the name for my next dog. Ruthy, that's a perfect nickname. :)

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  10. Can we call him/her "Scup" for short? Or Scuppy.... I like that better. And it's gender-neutral. ;)

    I'm loving biscuit and jam talk. Ever since I visited the Loveless Cafe last December with Dave, I've been on a mission to perfect the perfect biscuit...

    Melt-in-your-mouth good which is the only reason to eat white flour stuff. But for a good biscuit, I'll break the rules!

    I love fun jams and jellies. I used to make all kinds of them and can them in pretty little jars. Then I discovered that if I made them, I'd eat them...

    We all understand the outcome of THAT SCENARIO.

    Who has money to buy new pants that often???????

    :)

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  11. I don't think jam would really make that much difference. You'd have to eat jars and jars of it.

    Now, the biscuits you put the jam on, that's a different story!

    Nobody eats jam by itself... Always on soemthing truly yummy.

    I spent a summer in South Carolina once and I remember eating jalepeno jelly. It was pretty darn tasty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Virginia, the best thing to do with jalepeno jelly is to pour it over a block of cream cheese and eat with crackers!! A great, simple appetizer.

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