Comments on: Drop Biscuits – And How Your Mama Did It Just Right

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:09:19 +0000

Hi There !!

As a single dad, i have always been searching for good food for the family.. Cooking never was my calling, but.. I must say, what i have done, is now so much easier because of you… My last one soon leaves for college, so I have been introducing her to my “stash” of recipe’s. and where I got them.. from the back of boxes to Emeril and to then to you, Christy. WOW.. you have really made feeding a family simple, good tasting and hardy.. for this i thank you.

Ok.. on to the drop biscuits, you make them the way my granny and mom used to make them.. company gets real “nosey” when they see me pour oil on a pan.. such great biscuits they are.. and the HOE CAKE? My granny used to make it and serve it with homemade maple syrup. we went nuts for this.

Later i have learned to improvise and want to share one with you.. make your drop biscuits, place them on the hot pan.. then wet your thumb, and press into the center of each, making a dimple, fill this with, jalapeno cheese, or blackberry jam, or marmalade. Just a drop is all it takes. Then wet your fingers and pull the top of the biscuit back over the filling.. bake as normal… then stand back.. Hope your folks enjoy as much as we have.. God Bless.. Jim

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:10:06 +0000

These are very similar to my mama’s biscuits. She used the well in the middle of the flour technique with oil and whatever kind of milk she had on hand. I still make this for my children. I don’t like the fancy cookin’ that is popular these days. I am just a southern girl that likes simple southern cookin’, too. I hope one day my children look at my meals with affection.

Thanks for sharing your life with us

Cheryl

By: Linda

Linda — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:18:39 +0000

My mama made something very similar and she always called it “Lazy Bread”. I guess that came from them not being rolled and cut, but just plopped on the pan. Delish!

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:59:58 +0000

My response perhaps won’t be like the others you have received. My mother was not much of a cook, nor was she affectionate and loving. She had a hard life, and did the best she could with what she had at the time, which was not a lot. She didn’t have the ability to “see” anything good in her circumstances. But I have to tell you, that finding your site is like finding a MOM, and I know I am much older than you, but it is such a blessing to read about your life, and get to “share” your recipes and insights. It is like having a loving Mom wrap her arms around me and say, “Come on in, and sit a spell. Have a glass of tea. Now, what are you fixin’ for dinner tonight?” I’m really glad you are here. Kathleen

By: Sandy

Sandy — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:41:08 +0000

Hey! I made these but didn’t have shortening and my husband said just use stick butter. So I did and they turned out great. Just wondering what the difference would be in using shortening? I haven’t tried it yet but wondering if you ever used stick butter in these?

By: Cathy D

Cathy D — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:18:22 +0000

First, I’d like to say these were the perfect compliment to the apple butter! And, so quick & easy! I am sure these will be made in my home time & again! I also liked the suggestion for tossing in shredded cheese & herbs. The biscuits are basic enough that I’m sure there are lots of variations one could come up with.
I say “one” not “that I could come up with” because I’m one who won’t make a recipe unless I have EXACTLY what the recipe calls for! I’m not brave enough to try my own substitutions! LOL. BUT!! I have come a long way… When I was first married 5 years ago, I could make grilled cheese & hamburger helper! Now I’ve been making quite a few meals from scratch (following recipes exactly, however! hehe).
I say all that just to get to “my mama” – I love her dearly but a good cook, she is not! . She had a knack for making spaghetti taste like it was boiled in water from a rusty pipe – a sort of aluminum aftertaste! LOL. So, I did not learn any great culinary skills growing up! However, she was amazing with a sewing machine! She would make make my clothes and then even use the scraps to make matching outfits for my Barbie dolls! I’m 31 now and just had my own baby girl so while I’m still trying to learn the art of cooking (& am thankful to Christy for helping with that!), I’ve also been inspired by my mother to learn how to make clothes for my baby girl

By: Kathy V

Kathy V — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:48:00 +0000

My mother has five of us kids, and she’d make a pan of biscuits and a pan of gravy every morning for us to eat for breakfast before we left for school. We’d have a variety of gravy (tomato is my favorite)- that would change depending on what was on hand – but always homemade biscuits! Sometimes, we’d just dunk our biscuits in coffee! That is so much better than it sounds! Kathy

By: Georgia Peach

Georgia Peach — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:48:13 +0000

Hi again Christy. Thank you again for this website. I have sent you a couple of emails but I haven’t heard back from you. They would show as being from L & B Smith. I also subscribed to your newsletter Friday night but haven’t received a newsletter. Have you sent any out since then? I tried to subscribe again but it says something like I am already subscribed. Anyhoo, I hope you get my emails.

My best food memory of my mama is her slow-cooked ham and I just read your recipe for that. I am so leery of cooking with aluminum anymore because of the link to alzheimer’s and gulf war syndrome. I am also afraid of the plastic cooking bags because of all the news lately about plastic. But maybe that is just microwaving plastic? I am going to get a stainless steel roasting pan with lid to try to make the ham like mama did, using your recipe – minus the aluminum foil. I will let you know how it turns out. Hers would just fall apart and it was so moist. It was so not good manners but whenever she’d take it out of the oven and it would cool down a bit, we’d just pull it apart with forks, standing at the stove. It eventually looked like a dog or two got ahold of it. *blushes profusely*

I have too many food memories of my grandmothers to even try to write about. Those women lived in a teeny tiny little town in middle Georgia and used such different ingredients. One never ever cooked with tomatoes or cabbage and the other did frequently. One hardly ever made cakes or pies and the other did frequently. Both lived on farms with cows, pigs, and lots of vegetables. One churned her own butter and the other didn’t. But we dined like southern royalty every Sunday, no matter which dining room table we were seated at. I always fretted about it when I spent the night with one of them and they let me sleep until I woke up on my own. By that time, there were already a couple of cakes or pies that were done, or dinner (the noon-time meal) well on its way to being done. Now that I am a mom, I understand why they let me sleep, preparing such a big meal like that.

I have a couple of really special recipes I would love to share with you, if we can just get our Es together.

You are a joy, I can tell! What a blessing you must be to those who are in your everyday life.

Thank you.

By: Terrie Lovell

Terrie Lovell — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:13:40 +0000

Mama made biscuits everyday for years. She would add everything together including the milk and work it all together with her hands. Mama fixed enough in the mornings for all three meals, covered the pans for later and put them in the frigerator. I liked the biscuits that set in the frig all day the best. My daddy liked biscuits with his meals better than cornbread, of course, Mama would fix both.

We ate the biscuits instead of loaf bread (I called it Daddy’s work bread). Everyday when we got home from school, we would have a biscuit and jelly to tie us over until supper. For a special treat, when Mama had left over biscuits, she opened them up, put butter and sprinkled sugar over them and put in the oven to heat.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:23:18 +0000

I’m gonna have to make these. Biscuits are a treat around here because my little one can’t have milk. I’ll bet I could do these with his soy milk, though.

I have many fond memories of growing up with my momma. My momma was a single mother for most of her life. Even when my stepdaddy came into the picture when I was 8 years old, he never had much to do with me. He’s only recently started really taking an interest in my life and I’m fairly certain that it’s because I have a five year old son (his only grandbaby, who he brags about constantly) and he’s realized what he’s missed in recent years.

My momma was an awesome cook. She’s had to slow down due to her arthritis. She made awesome homemade cinnamon rolls that make me drool just thinking about them. She also used to make homemade noodles for her chicken and noodle dumpling soup. Oh, my word. She is awesome. I have a few of my momma’s recipes and I use them often. Momma said I’m not allowed to have the rest of her “secrets” till she’s gone. She thinks that if she gives me her recipes now that I won’t need her anymore. No matter what your age, you always need your momma!

My husband doesn’t have a relationship with his mom. She basically threw him to the curb when he was 11 years old and she’s never looked back. It’s sad, but I guess that’s the way life goes sometimes.