Sunny's Kitchen (7 page)

 

tip!
For a fun appetizer, make sand-dollar-size hoecakes and top them with bacon, or a bit of fresh corn tossed in maple syrup with a tiny pinch of salt.

o
kay, let’s talk biscuits. In my family we fight for the “center biscuit,” steaming hot from the oven. My cousin Monique often wins the battle because she is smart to call it as it goes in the oven. It’s soft like a pillow, with no rough edges, but really, if Grandma is making them, there are no losers because I’ll take her edges any day. Her recipe is “a big scoop of flour” and “a handful of lard” with “some buttermilk.” It stumped me for years, my attempts never tasting quite right. I then discovered her specially milled flour with butter flakes, which made all the difference. It’s hard to find; in a pinch I make these. They’re perfect with dinner, but a smear of jelly makes for a great brunch. And there’s no fighting over these, because they’re all the same!
MAKES 10 TO 12

1
Mix the dry ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, and onion powder. Mix to blend, then make a well in the center of the bowl.

2
Prepare the biscuits.
In the center of the dry ingredients, add the milk, butter, bacon, cheese, and scallions. Mix gently with a wooden spoon, or channel my grandma and use one hand in a squeezing motion. The dough will be wet and sticky, so scrape off your fingers or the wooden spoon. Use a ¼-cup measure or ice cream scoop to portion the batter onto a baking sheet, spacing the biscuits an inch or so apart.

3
Bake the biscuits.
In a small bowl, beat the egg and 2 tablespoons water. Brush this mixture on top of each biscuit, then bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a biscuit in the middle of the pan comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. If you notice uneven browning, rotate the pan halfway through baking.

w
hen I make these muffins, they take me back to my childhood. My daddy would get a pint of strawberries, hull and chop them, sprinkle generously with sugar, and put them in the refrigerator. The next day, a thick syrup would appear! We’d pour these strawberries over cereal, ice cream, pancakes, anything really. No matter where we lived, this sight in the fridge always made me feel at home. When I moved to Rancho Cucamonga, California, I wanted to get a little bit of home in my kitchen. I’d just left my radio career and moved for a love that ended up not working out. So, finding comfort in my daddy’s strawberries in syrup it was. I had surplus, so I came up with these most delightful, moist muffins. This is one of the first recipes I pitched to the Food Network when I moved back to New York, chasing a dream. Now no matter where or when I make these, it’s bittersweet, but they feel like home.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS

1
Macerate the strawberries.
In a large bowl, mix the strawberries and sugar. Toss and stir a bit, until the strawberries give off their juices, about 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

2
Make the batter.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt. To the bowl of strawberries and juices, add the banana, eggs, oil, sugar, and lemon zest. With a wooden spoon, gently mix the dry ingredients into the strawberry mixture until combined. Fold in the blueberries and walnuts. Allow to rest while you make the topping.

3
Make the topping.
Put the sugar, flour, lemon zest, butter, and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until combined, but not pulverized.

4
Bake the muffins.
Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups, then top each with an even sprinkle of topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with a few crumbs but not wet, about 30 minutes.

5
Make the compound butter.
While the muffins are baking, combine the butter, cinnamon, raisins, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Blend with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon until the sugar becomes less granular. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Serve softened.

 

tip!
I play with compound butter all the time. Try a savory twist on these muffins by substituting plenty of fresh thyme and lemon zest for the cinnamon and raisins, then leave out the sugar and add a pinch of salt instead. Also try almonds and a drop of vanilla with sugar, or hazelnuts and sugar.

b
read is baaad. To quote the great poet LL Cool J, it’s “not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good.” The English often have something called “fried bread” for breakfast and that’s it, no frills, just bread fried to a crisp in fat! When I lived in New Orleans while attending Loyola University, my sophomore twenty could easily be attributed to the Creole answer to fried bread for breakfast, pain perdu. I make my own kind of fried bread, known by most as French toast. This is one of the recipes I never have to measure, and I find plenty of ways to play with the flavors. The dash of pumpkin pie spice really warms up the flavors.
MAKES 8 SLICES

1
Make the batter.
In a shallow dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, and sugars.

2
Mix the coating.
In another shallow dish, combine the cereal, pecans, and a pinch of salt.

3
Dredge the bread.
Place the bread slices in the egg dish and soak on each side until well coated and soaked through, but not soggy. Immediately place the bread in the coating and press down on both sides and the edges to coat. Repeat with the remaining slices, place on a parchment-lined plate, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

4
Make the syrup.
In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the butterscotch and pecan liqueurs and bring to a simmer, then add the maple syrup and stir. Taste the syrup and season with a tiny pinch of salt. Keep warm over low heat.

5
Fry the bread.
In a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. Remove the bread slices from the refrigerator and cook until golden, turning once, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Add 1 more tablespoon of butter and oil for each batch, if needed.

6
Serve.
Serve warm with the butterscotch syrup. Refrigerate any remaining syrup in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

 

tip!
If you want to make your own pumpkin pie spice blend, start with cinnamon, then add a little ground allspice, ginger, and nutmeg until you like your personal blend.