Review of the "New" Southern Living: A Missed Opportunity for the "New South"

Yesterday my mother mentioned to me that Southern Living had updated their look and some of their content in response to feedback they'd gotten from busy readers who wanted to cultivate their 'own Southern style'. Being my compulsive self when it comes to these things, I decided I needed to go out and get the new, 'font-tastic' October issue. Like right now. Who knows what treasures awaited!
I wish.

This issue, redesigned with 'great care and respect for our heritage', missed an amazing opportunity. Lately, I've been consumed with reading books on the history of Southern cooking as well as numerous Southern cookbooks. I miss home and this is my way of trying to stay connected. So when I picked up this magazine I mistakenly thought I would get a modern hit of these old and new cookbooks and guidebooks. I was expecting some fresh grits made with real cheddar cheese and instead I got instant grits that had been sitting in a food warmer all day. I feel like this issue was a half-hearted attempt at giving the modern Southern cook something to really sink her teeth into. To me, the South has a unique perspective on history and this issue barely gave it a nod. It was a one-liner, a cop-out, a mere shadow of an amazing culinary tradition that seems to erode day by day by separating us more and more from our food.

What I did appreciate about this issue is that they kept the Southern Living House Plans segment (which I loved as a teenager), the beautiful travel photography, gardening tips and the piece on the baptism traditions in the Mississippi Delta. That was truly lovely.

On the other hand, not a single recipe piqued my interest. And I was particularly horrified by the "Mama's Way or Your Way?" segment they introduced. They compared an apple dumpling recipe made by a "Mama" named Peggy that took a total of 40 min to make and the daughter, Anne's, 'quick' recipe that took 20 min. The mother's recipe included making the dough yourself, cutting up the apples, and measuring out all the spices. In the daughter's recipe 3 out of 6 ingredients were pre-packaged and/or processed. Granted, I have definitely used frozen pie shells, and I completely understand why a busy woman would want to spare herself the time of making dough, but seriously pre-spiced and chopped frozen apples?

Is this really how a Southern magazine 'updates' itself? Is this staying true to our Southern heritage? Does 'update' mean using as many processed foods as we can find? Does adhering to Southern ways mean feeding our children trans-fats and food dyes, propylene glycol and corn syrup just so we can save 20 minutes? Being the food purist and the believer in Southern foodways that I am, I think the answer is no. I thought being Southern was taking your time, respecting culinary traditions, and enjoying every second of it.

If anything, this issue took a step backward and certainly didn't push us forward. Nothing can be compared to the food we cook ourselves. Everything changes when we prepare a recipe from start to finish, when we know exactly what each ingredient is and how to pronounce it. I heard once that simply by starting to cook again, we take something back. We take something back unto ourselves and we become healthier for it. I think cooking from scratch reminds us of what it actually means to be a Southerner, represents everything that being a Southerner is.

If I was the editor of Southern Living, here are some of the stories I'd feature, based on the book by John Egerton, "Southern Food". What do you think?

1. Heirloom Recipes with a Modern Twist. Yes, you can really make that pie dough in no time at all. Here's how.
2. Charleston's Bessinger's Barbecue....reveals the decades old secret to its famous sauce!
3. Backyard Recipes: How to Grow, Harvest, and Cook Foods from your Fall Garden.
4. The History of Pork and Corn in the South.
4. The Top 25 'Down Home' Restaurants You Have to Try Before You Die.
5. The South's New Farmer's Market Scene.
6. The War Between the States: BBQ styles from Texas to North Carolina.

I am disappointed. There is nothing like a good magazine that takes you an entire Sunday afternoon to get through because it's packed full of interesting bits of information, nearly every page dog-eared because there's something you want to remember, learn about, cook, cut out and hang on your wall for inspiration, and most of all pass on.

This is just my opinion. If you happen to pick up this issue and have been a reader of Southern Living, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Biscuit Experiment 01: Scott Peacock's Classic Buttermilk Biscuits

The Great Biscuit Experiment

I think biscuits will do. They'll do for my very first post. You'll discover as this blog continues that I love to try all kinds of recipes for the same bread in order to find perfection. Right now, I have ongoing testings for Banana Bread, Sally Lunn Bread, No-Knead Bread, cornbread and biscuits, of course. I mean, who doesn't love biscuits? If you don't, well, maybe you should keep that to yourself. Nah, it's ok, I'll forgive you.

Where I'm from, the standard for biscuits is a light, fluffy, flaky version of gosh, I don't know, one of the best reasons for being alive? In LA, they seem to be more scone-like, more in the vein of hard pucks of lumpy bread. I think they should name them something else because those are not biscuits. Then again, I'm persnickety.

Unfortunately, there are few folks who still make homemade biscuits. You either get them from KFC, the Cracker Barrel (which I admit, I love) or you buy those cold tubes of pre-cut dough that explode when you hit them with a spoon. Seriously,what would your grandmother say if she saw you using those? She'd probably duck and run for cover. Smart lady. It's a shame because home-baked biscuits are a joy on so many levels.
Level 1: Frugality. You can now justify why you bought that long-neglected rolling pin that's been sitting in that kitchen drawer for how long now?
Level 2: Feeling like a kid again. Flour hands! Rolling out dough and using cute biscuit cutters! It's just like playing with playdough! But without the funny smell!
Level 3: Serious ego boost. Your guests will be mighty impressed. I guarantee it.
Level 4: Sensual gratification. Sense of taste? Check. Sense of smell. Absolutely. Sense of touch? Duh. Sense of sight? Are you blind? Sense of hearing? Ok, this one is a little bit harder to fulfill, but hey, at least you don't have to listen to the sound of that tube of biscuits exploding, right?

So let's get to cooking those biscuits.
Here's the first recipe I've tried that I feel is worth posting. These are from Scott Peacock who is the chef at Watershed Restaurant in Decatur, Georgia and is a Southern food expert. His book that he co-wrote with the venerable Edna Lewis, The Gift of Southern Cooking, is a must-have.

Scott Peacock's Classic Buttermilk Biscuits as posted by the NYTimes.com

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

1 ‌1⁄2 teaspoons baking soda

5 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed lard or unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

2 cups chilled cultured buttermilk, plus more as needed, *see note about making buttermilk.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.

1. Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Sift together the cream of tartar and baking soda to make baking powder. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the lard or butter. Working quickly, rub it between your fingertips until half is coarsely blended and the remaining pieces are 3/4-inch thick.

2. Make a well in center of the flour. Add all the buttermilk and stir the mixture quickly, just until it has blended and a sticky dough forms. (If the dough appears dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons buttermilk.)

3. Immediately turn the dough onto a generously floured surface. Using floured hands, briskly knead about 10 times until a ball forms. Gently flatten the dough and, using a floured rolling pin, roll to 3/4-inch thick.

4. Using a fork dipped in flour, pierce the dough through at 1/2-inch intervals. Flour a 2 1/2- or 3-inch biscuit cutter. Stamp out rounds and arrange on a heavy, parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. Remove and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.

Makes 12 to 16 biscuits. Adapted from Scott Peacock at Watershed Restaurant in Decatur, Ga.

*Note: Making your own buttermilk is unbelievably easy and is cheaper than buying a quart of buttermilk at the store. You can also make just as much as you need rather than buying a big carton and having it go bad on you because you only used a small amount for one recipe.

Making buttermilk:

Add 1 tblsp of vinegar or lemon juice for every cup of milk. Mix together and let sit for a few minutes. The acid of the vinegar or lemon juice will curdle the milk. Voila! There's your buttermilk.