Two Sided Southern on "Criscuits" & Carbs 101

[Credit: Landon Neil Phillips}

‘A couple days before Biscuits class, I received an email from Suzanne with my ingredients list, and a little note about why her biscuits should really be called “criscuits”:  

“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.”

-Suzanne

Mind you, heretofore my biscuit-making experience involved popping open that Pillsbury can with a spoon. Figuring this divine domestic dean would judge the you-know-what out of my equipment, I fired up the Amazon app and had brand new shiny biscuit cutters, a wooden rolling pin and silicone baking mats headed my way in no time. I masked up and hit Whole Foods with my list of ingredients, buying whatever looked like the best option.  

Day of, I cleared my countertop and found the optimal set up for my laptop. Mind you again, Suzanne and my classmates would have full view of my kitchen and me during this Zoom, and like the profile of my face, my kitchen tremendously benefits from a flattering angle (the resolution: set it up high on top of a stack of cookbooks, upon my sterling storage chest, angled down).  

There was zero need for the pomp. While the sneak peeks of Suzanne’s historic South of Broad charmer and other attendees’ kitchens (from Charleston to Manhattan to L.A.) were impressive, it was immediately clear that this wasn’t a stuffy group looking to one-up each other with their baking knowledge. Most everyone was in my Pillsbury-level experience boat. But we were all lovers of food and entertaining (dearly missing it), and we were all craving the same sense of community.

The most pleasant surprise was how much I loved this style of cooking class. It makes sense when you think about it: Of course you’re going to learn and retain more if you are cooking in your own kitchen, with your own tools. And having classmates asking the same questions you have. And having Suzanne preside over all by expertly instructing while also entertaining with stories of her worldly experiences. The end result:  Not even kidding, the best biscuits I’ve ever had. As Suzanne described them, “a cross between a refined croissant and a plucky little biscuit with a can-do attitude.” ‘

Many thanks to Tucker Berta Sarkisian for a wonderful, in-depth review of taking our Carbs 101 series last year! Check it out HERE on the Two Sided Southern site…