I had the most surprising call yesterday. A call from a famous person no less! Really. Imagine my surprise when I answered my cell phone to hear the unmistakable voice of Niecy Nash, star of Style Network's Clean House, and her other zany show, Reno 911. I wrote about her in a blog post last week, and then I was talking to her! Go figger. You see, while I was digging around at her website for a link to include in the post, I decided to email one of her peeps in hopes that Mz. Niecy would somehow get the message. I wanted her to know how much my mother has enjoyed watching Clean House, and that she always perked up and smiled when she heard or saw Mz. Niecy fussing some messy homeowner about his/her "foolishness and chaos" involving an abundance of clutter.
When I got an email back asking for my phone number, I just assumed one of Mz. Niecy's assistants wanted to Google me to make sure I wasn't some kind of crazed stalker. No...it was so I could get a personal call from the star diva herself! The sweet words she shared about keeping Mom in prayer were touching, but the fact that she took time from what must be a crazy busy schedule of filming two TV series and a movie...well, what can you say? She made my day. I even got a smile out of Mother when I told her Mz. Niecy had called all the way from Hollywood to tell her she hoped she was doing okay and that she was praying for her.
So, if you ever stop by and see this, Mz. Niecy, you are the real deal, the sweetest thing, a bomb of a diva, and it's nice to see fame and riches haven't destroyed the goodness of your soul! Thank You!
Now, what sort of "expected goodness" am I talking about today besides the "surprise" kind I received? Well, it's recipe day, and today I'm sharing my all time favorite. It's a family recipe we hold near and dear to our hearts, as it came from my grandmother (Mom's mom), Bigmama.
The directions for making Bigmama's biscuits originally appeared in our inspirational book pictured over in the sidebar, along with the story of how she'd tried valiantly for years to teach me to make the biscuits, but i never mastered her techniques.
I hope you enjoy it. If you have success with the recipe, I'd dearly love to know how you did it!
BIGMAMA'S BISCUITS
Use a medium large bowl that will become your biscuit bowl forever. Fill it ¾ full with sifted Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour. “Doodle out a ‘waller hole’ in the middle of your bowl,” as Bigmama used to say. Make this well by gently swishing your fist in the flour. It will hold the other ingredients.
Pour in ½ tablespoon of cooking oil. In a standard drinking glass, stir together ½ cup buttermilk and ½ cup water. Add to your well.
Work the mixture gently with your fingers, pulling in as little extra flour as possible. Try not to handle or knead the dough very much. Prepare your heavy iron skillet by pouring in a thin layer of oil. Roll the skillet around to spread the oil evenly. Pinch off biscuits and place into skillet. (Dusting your hands lightly with flour helps.)
When the pan is full and biscuits rest gently against one another, sprinkle on a small amount of oil to the raw biscuit tops. Put skillet into a cold oven, and set at 400 degrees. Put your pan in the middle of the rack so biscuits cook evenly. When they are light golden brown, move skillet to top rack until darker brown. If your oven is true to temperature, the whole process, including preparation time, will take about 25 minutes. The first few times, watch the biscuits' progress in the oven closely to be sure.
Butter immediately...or cover with gravy...or drown in maple or cane syrup. Any way you like your biscuit, you'll love these!
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