(I never know what might inspire a blog. This one was inspired when I saw a bottle of Karo syrup in the cabinet last night.)
You haven’t had a Sunday dinner, until you’ve sat down at my mother-in-law’s table. It is quite a spread. On most Sundays, the menu goes something like this….tender roast beef, lump-free gravy, fluffy mashed potatoes, the cheesiest macaroni and cheese, cabbage, rice, acre peas, fried okra, cornbread and melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. Not one thing comes out of a can. That’s pretty amazing! It’s also quite amazing to see how she times everything so that it is hot and ready to come out of the oven, or off of the stove at just the same time!
I remember the first time I watched her make those home made biscuits. I’d never seen it done quite that way before. I was raised mostly on canned biscuits. Mom would occasionally make the home made kind, but for the most part, we popped open the package from the little dough boy and ate those. I’m not complaining at all, because I loved (and still do) a good canned biscuit. But now, having discovered the perfect home made biscuit….I must say I lean a bit towards that. I only wish that I could make it. I certainly watched her do it enough. She pulls out a big tupperware bowl of flour. She adds some Crisco and some buttermilk with one hand and stirs with the other until this perfect dough begins to form on top. She continues to incorporate the flour until it has just the right feel. I wish I knew what that “feel” was. I tried to learn to make these biscuits, but I guess I never got the right “feel” because mine never turned out to be soft and flaky…..mostly hard and crunchy!
She pulls a piece of the dough off and rolls it between her two hands and forms a ball; she places that ball on her greased black iron skillet and pats it down into a flat biscuit shape. Not too flat, just the perfect thickness for the perfect biscuit! When the skillet is full, she pops them in the oven. In about 20 minutes, a wonderful smell fills the kitchen and you know the biscuits are done. When they get to the table everyone starts to butter them, except me. Oh no, butter just messes up the great biscuit taste. I prefer mine plain, thank you. But AFTER the meal, there’s always room to put a little butter in a bowl, add some Karo maple syrup, stir that up and then I dip my biscuit in and enjoy!
I’m spoiled, I know it. Having a delicious meal prepared for us every Sunday is not something I take lightly. And it’s not just about the food. For over 19 years now, we’ve enjoyed getting together as a family and spending time together. Ben’s folks, Ben’s sister and family, and our family. We’ve had lots of laughs at the table and we’ve shed some tears. We’ve gone from having crying babies to having teenagers sitting at the table. Three years ago an empty chair was left at the table when Ben’s dad passed away. It’s still hard to believe that he’s gone and we hold on to all the good memories of Jimmie as we share at the table. Now there’s a new person at the table as Ben’s mom has begun to care for her 88 year old sister who is suffering from Alzheimers.
Two years from now, Ben’s mom turns 70. She’s been telling us that she’s going to pass the “cooking baton” to us when she turns 70. I can only hope she’s joking. Do you think she would ever get tired of cooking? Hummmm…….I better start practicing on those biscuits again!
