I have a small obsession with biscuits.

It doesn’t matter if they are covered in gravy or served piping hot with butter, I want them in my mouth. Growing up, we perfected the canned biscuits, but they were a far cry from the deliciousness that could be found in restaurants. After I found this recipe, I always make sure to bake a batch whenever I have buttermilk in the house.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Makes around 1 dozen biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450F degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Use your fingertips to rub the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like crumbs. 
3. Make a well in the center and pour the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
4. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times.
5. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter. Place the biscuits on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
6. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting (Only reform the dough once. Reforming it anymore than that will result in tough biscuits)
7. Bake until the biscuits are tall and light gold on top. 15-20 minutes.

May is a busy time of year for my family. Not only is Mother’s day just around the corner, but both Stephen’s mom and my mom both have birthdays this month. And what is a birthday without cake?

Before I start, making a cake is my Everest in the baking world. I think I have a really high standard for how cake should taste, and I constantly seem to (at least in my mind) fail to meet that goal. However, this recipe for buttermilk spice cake turned out quite nicely. Not perfect, but it was delicious. And with Mother’s day this weekend, it makes the perfect dessert for Mom to enjoy.

Buttermilk Spice Cake with Italian Meringue Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients:

• 2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 5 large eggs, separated
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Cut 2 (9-inch) parchment paper rounds (easy guide to cutting parchment paper rounds) and line the bottom of the pans. Once placed in the pan, grease and flour the parchment rounds.
3. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream the brown sugar and butter. Then add the oil in a steady stream.
4. Then, add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
6. Alternating the flour mixture and the buttermilk, add it to the batter until just combined. Make sure to begin and end with the dry ingredients.
7. With a stand mixer and a separate bowl (or electric mixer if that’s what you have), beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
8. Fold the egg whites into the cake batter in thirds.
9. Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake until the center springs back when touched, about 25-30 minutes.
10. Remove cakes from the oven and cool on wire racks. After the cakes have cooled, invert them onto sheets of parchment paper.

Italian Meringue Cream Cheese Frosting:
Recipe adapted from Whisk-Kid

Ingredients

• 5 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup sugar, divided (You will be cooking 1 cup with water to make your syrup and whipping the eggs with a 1/4 cup)
• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

Directions

1. Place your candy thermometer on the edge of a small sauce pan. Pour in 1 cup of sugar first and then pour the water over top to moisten. DO NOT STIR.
2. Turn the heat up to medium. While the sugar is cooking, poor the egg whites into the bowl you plan to whip the icing in. Then wait for the syrup to come to about 230F-235F.
3. At this point, and only at this point, should you begin to whip your egg whites using the whip attachment. Start on slow until they get frothy, then increase the speed to medium-high. Add the remaning 1/4 cup of sugar in a slow, steady stream just after the eggs begin to stiffen. Continue to whip until the meringue no longer slides in the bowl.
4. When the sugar reaches 245F (which should happen right as you are done whipping your egg whites), or the firm ball stage, turn off the heat and turn the mixer up to high speed.
5. Begin to pour the syrup into the bowl at a very slow and steady pace, making sure to avoid hitting the whip with the syrup.
6. After the sugar is added, beat the icing for 10-15 minutes until the bowl is cool to touch.
7. Once the meringue becomes light and fluffy, it is time to add the butter. Divide the butter into tablespoon pieces and add 1 at time to the icing with the mixer running on slow. Make sure that each piece is incorporated before adding the next.
8. After all the butter is added, turn the speed up to high. It should take about 10-15 minutes for the buttercream to form. If your buttercream does not progress from the soupy stage, place your work bowl and whisk in the fridge for 7-10 minutes before whipping again.
9. When the buttercream is thick and luxurious, pour in the vanilla extract and whip to combine.
10. In a separate bowl, whip up the softened cream cheese. Once it is whipped, fold it into the buttercream. Be careful, this frosting can be delicate when the cream cheese is added. When the cake is iced, I recommended keeping the cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. 

Now that it has finally started to be nice outside, we’ve been grilling for dinner almost every night. In an effort to stop using processed foods, I went about trying to make my own barbecue sauce. Little did I know that to make it from scratch, I needed to let it simmer for a couple hours to allow the tomatoes to break down. That’s when I came across a quick and easy barbecue sauce in a Cook’s Illustrated cookbook. While it may not be completely unprocessed, it is at least a little better than buying a bottle of BBQ sauce from the store.

Easy Barbecue Sauce (makes about 1 1/2 cups)

• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup ketchup
• 5 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Process the onion with the water in a food processor until pureed and the mixture looks like slush. Strain mixture through a mesh strainer and press the solid with a rubber spatula until you have about 1/2 cups of juice. Discard the solids.
2. Whisk the onion juice, ketchup, molasses, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, liquid smoke, and black pepper in a bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Whisk in the ketchup mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 25 minutes. Cool the sauce to room temperature before using. (It can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.)