The Art of Biscuits

Photo by Landon Neil Phillips 2016

THE ART OF BISCUITS 

Carbs make people feel better, that is by now a well-covered fact. Another current fact is that yeast is difficult to find. The first and foremost beauty of the biscuit is no yeast is required.

Find the Academy’s best Biscuit recipe HERE and CONTACT to schedule a virtual class with the Dean on this or any other subject under the domestic sun…

The Beauty of Biscuits

Oh, what the mighty little biscuit can do if you just ask him. He serves a purpose all day long. What other food can bring satisfaction all day, every day? Especially something so easy to make?

• Breakfast biscuits - split (never cut) and slathered with marmalade or honey. 

• Lunch - split and covered with gravy from fried or roasted chicken.

• Herb biscuits - fresh herbs either folded in dough or stuffed inside. A version of a salad. 

• Tea time - wipe heavy cream on top, sprinkle a lot of sugar on top, and Voilá!  You have a version of scones. (You could even add dried fruit if you are feeling fancy.)

• Cocktail hour - ham biscuit with lots of cheese and/or freshly ground black pepper in dough. Hot mustard optional.

• Don’t forget about dessert! Split and serve with strawberries and freshly whipped cream.

See below for recipe adjustments...

The Beauty of Biscuits Part 2

Perfect to make ahead the morning of, the day before, the month before — simply freeze and bake as needed. It's called being Ready for Anything.

The Beauty of Biscuits Part 3

Not daunting to make if you follow instructions and learn to handle the dough 'til it resembles a baby’s bottom. Practice a few times and you will become as good as Bash, the Biscuit Baby, Academy alum.

Why I came up with my particular recipe:

The first time I tasted a croissant, visiting Europe from Africa, my head spun! I fell in love for life. I’d never tasted anything as light and airy as a croissant. However, as love affairs tend to do, I became a prisoner. I skipped school for two days and made croissants. I promise, if you are learning to bake croissants, even now, you are planning to open a French bakery. They are so hard it’s unbelievable. There is a great probability they will turn into hockey pucks. 

Biscuits will not. I never had a biscuit until I moved South. My head spun once more. They are friendly, probably because they are not as sophisticated and as haughty as the elegant croissant. Croissants are the couture pastry. I took what I learned during my croissant cooking try and added that to biscuit making. 

Only takes 8 - 10 minutes to bake so bake them fresh. 

The Pleasure Biscuits Bring

To see your loved ones happy and smiling when they first smell the baking, then bite into the biscuit is the greatest pleasure; to say nothing of your own satisfaction later when everyone wonders where all the biscuits have gone and you can tell them matter-of-factly, Straight to your stomachs.

Biscuit Basics

What to use if you can get it:

• Use full fat buttermilk

• Use European style butter.

• Any kind of flour - I have made 1,000,000,000 biscuits. White Lily is good and so is King Arthur’s unbleached white. King Arthur has a little more structure, While Lily, sort of similar to cake flour, is a little softer. What can I say? I like structure in everything. 

Alternatives when your grocery store is out of buttermilk:

• Sweet milk - biscuits made with whole milk.

• Yoghurt or sour cream - fresh thyme leaves are super good in these!

• Heavy cream - more like scones. Add a cream wash and sugar to the top.

• Cheese - add 6 ounce any kind of cheese to the 3 cup flour biscuit & use 4 tablespoons of butter. Roll a little thinner, but not like a cracker. I like spicy with cheese but prefer freshly ground black pepper instead of cayenne. Split and stuff with country ham and hot mustard. These are delicious hot and at room temperature. 

• Sweet potato - add 1/2 cup mashed cold cooked sweet potatoes. Dough will be heavier so roll out thinner. Delicious taste and color.

Charleston Academy in Cosmopolitan

“And remember: In a sea of square-shaped biscuits, always make a heart-shaped one.” -T.A.

In her article “This Instagrammable Hotel Will Make You Forget Literally All Your Responsibilities,” Taylor Andrews writes about “errrything you have to do when you stay at The Beach Club, no matter what time of year you go….”

And guess what #7 on her list happens to be? “Learn how to throw a Southern Dinner Party. [The Dean] taught us how to throw a proper dinner party that included creating the perfect fluffy biscuit and shrimp and grits, but you can organize any sort of etiquette or cooking event with her if you’re interested in a different kind of Saturday-night rendezvous.”

We loved having Ms. Andrews visit while in town. Read her complete list via Cosmopolitan HERE!

Everyday Cooking at the Restoration

We are so excited for the upcoming Everyday Cooking Class with the Dean at the beautiful Restoration Hotel! "Nothing expresses the warmth and charm of classic Southern Hospitality better than a delicious home cooked meal. Join us for a cooking class that will lovingly walk you through every part of the process, from shopping to chopping to serving. It’s guaranteed to be a class you and your family will treasure for many years (and meals) to come."

But this is NOT just an ordinary cooking class. We will also discuss the importance of structuring daily meals, rituals and traditions. We will talk about manners, dinner conversation, dealing with boredom, and different food cultures. Hopefully students will leave with some delicious recipes and a few new skills, plus a new perspective on the time and energy spent in the kitchen as a way to make life more rich and rewarding. 

THURSDAY OCT 26 | 6–9PM THE EXCHANGE SUITE AT THE RESTORATION

For tickets, please click HERE to go to Eventbrite or contact the Concierge at 843.518.5119. $175 per person.

Girls Night Out, In

Dean Pollak gives Southern Charm star, Cameran Eubanks, a lesson on how to host a pre-party with your besties before a Charleston Fashion Week event.

Richard Avedon said style is based on repetition, not duplication.  All you need are a few signature recipes and drinks - and own them.  No need to reinvent the wheel every time you entertain.  Guests will look forward to your specialty.

Instructions as per the Deans:

• Serve one specialty cocktail -- for this party we recommend making a pitcher of a refreshing tequila, citrus & soda mixture
• Pass 3 hors d'oeuvres -- steak bites, warm olives & cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto
• Make sure you have all items in place -- ice on the bar, powder room ready, and party music playing
• Don't forget cocktail napkins

The Many Benefits of Hosting a Pre-Party Cocktail Hour:

1. Party where you get all the credit with very little work.
2. Party takes less than a half hour to put together.
3. Party is so easy it can be last minute (some of our favorite parties have been last minute).
4. Party is over before you know it.  One hour and your hosting is done.
5. Party expense is minimal, but impact is big, lasting and fun.

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A PITCHER OF COCKTAILS

INGREDIENTS

1  1/2 cups tequila

1 cup citrus juice (mixture of freshly squeezed lime, orange, lemon & tangerine juices)

3/4 cup (or more) soda water

Ice cubes

1.  Combine all the ingredients in a pitcher and stir.

2.  Pour into cocktail glasses and serve over ice.

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WARM OLIVES

INGREDIENTS

1 cup olives with pits (use assorted colors)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 strip orange peel

1 chili

1 teaspoon fennel or Herbs de Province

1.  Heat small sauté pan over medium heat for a minute; add olive oil, and then remaining ingredients.

2.  Cook over low heat, stirring, for a few minutes until olives are warm.  Turn off heat and pour olives in a small bowl.

3.  Place a smaller bowl, or cup, near the olive bowl for the pits.

An Ivy League Grad Learns How to Build a Beautiful Life

Sebastian thought he had learned all he needed to learn at Columbia. Double majoring in Classics and History—and graduating with honors, mind you—he believed his education had been as broad and as profound as any young sophisticate's could hope to be. 

He was wrong.

What Sebastian didn't realize was that there was a world of knowledge waiting for him outside the halls of academia. And, perhaps not entirely by chance, he stumbled upon the very heart of that world: the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits.

At the Charleston Academy, we welcome pupils at all levels—including slightly arrogant intellectuals. But there is one trial that all pupils must undergo:

The Charleston Academy Southern Biscuit Preparatory Exam

Our Columbia grad passed with flying colors, despite being a total neophyte to the art of the Southern Biscuit.

Watch his trial below and marvel at the mouth-watering portraits of the final product. 

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CHARLESTON ACADEMY SOUTHERN BISCUIT

MAKES 12 to 18, depending on size of biscuit cutter

INGREDIENTS

3 cups self-rising flour, preferably White Lily

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 4 equal pieces

1  1/2 cups whole buttermilk

1.  Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it forms pea-size pieces.  Add the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough almost forms a ball.

3.  Place the dough on a silicone baking mat and begin folding up the sides, right and left, until a ball forms.  Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/2-inch thickness.  Fold one side of the dough into the center and then fold in the other side.  Roll out again and refold in the same manner three to six times.  (Each roll and fold creates flaky layers within your biscuits.)  Roll out one final time until the dough is 3/4-inch thick.

4.  Cut the biscuits with a 2-inch biscuit cutter or an inverted glass.  Place the biscuits on a nonstick baking sheet.  Gather the scraps, re-roll, and cut out more biscuits until all of the dough has been used.  (At this point, you can cover the unbaked biscuits with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or freeze up to 3 weeks.)

5.  Bake until lightly browned on the top and bottom, 10 to 12 minutes.  (Bake frozen biscuits at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes.)

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