March 14th, 2010
by Dena
Well, this weekend was Mother’s birthday weekend, and we threw her a birthday celebration. Per her request, the main dish for the meal was chicken spaghetti, that has been previously posted on here, with garlic biscuits on the side. Of course it’s not a birthday party without cake, and we indulged Mother in several varieties so that she could have a good sampling of things that she liked.
Joy was in charge of the salad and the relish platters, and she did her absolute best to make them as decorative and Martha-like as possible. And then she made sure to tell everybody that she was in charge of it so that everybody could fawn over her decision to stick onions in a vase.
However, the big hit of the party was neither salad, cake, nor the main course. It was the delicious cheddar biscuits that our niece Whittney (also the organizer of the party) had made to serve on the side. They are fairly simple to make, and thankfully they had the good sense to triple the recipe because the 20 people at the party motored through them! Pictured below is the starting point of the glaze that goes over the top, and the glaze being drizzled over the top of the hot steamy biscuits.
To get some of these you need 2 cups of Bisquick, 2/3 cup of buttermilk (the buttermilk makes ALL the difference on these, don’t sub with regular milk). and 1 1/3 cups of finely grated sharp cheddar cheese. Mix all three ingredients together, and be mindful that Bisquick can sometimes run a little dry, and you may need to add a little more buttermilk if you feel like it’s not quite moist enough. Drop them by the tablespoon on a cooking sheet, and bake for about 10 minutes at 350. When they come out, while they are still hot and steamy, brush over a glaze of 1 stick of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of parsley and 1 heaping tablespoon of garlic powder.
These were so good, our dad ate 4 and actually told one guest to ignore the bread sticks and just have the biscuits! Overall the party was a great success with lots of great food and gifts, and we couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you all so that you could devour a pan yourself!
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February 15th, 2010
by LanaJoy
A few years ago when I was teaching preschool, on what just happened to be Fat Tuesday, one of my coworkers said, “Hey Community Bakery donated a king cake to us, you should try some.” I didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention at the time because I had tasted king cake before and wasn’t impressed. Of course I had never had it from Community Bakery and at the time I didn’t know what I was missing.
For those of you that don’t know what a king cake is, it’s a cake that is used to celebrate various celebrations around the world, most specifically the festival of the Epiphany in Europe, and in the US it’s used to celebrate Mardi Gras. Traditionally it is a ring cake that is colored in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of yellow, green and purple. It also has a little baby baked inside and the person who finds the baby gets the honor of providing the king cake for next year’s party. Depending on where you get your cake, it can be more like a brioche bread covered in a frosting, or a puff pastry stuffed with nuts.
Before I had tasted the one from Community Bakery in Little Rock, the ones I had eaten were more like a bread, somewhat dry, and had a thick layer of frosting on it. Anybody that knows me knows that I have an aversion to bakery icing because I tend to find it somewhat bitter, and so my experience with those king cakes was not what I would call a good one. However, my mind was forever changed about king cake with the one from Community Bakery. Theirs is a delicious cinnamon and cream cheesy pastry that is so fluffy and delicious I could eat the whole thing. Then as if the cake itself wasn’t good enough they frost it with a thin and not overpowering icing, and top it off with crunchy colored sugar. I got this picture snapped very quickly before my accomplice dove into it face first.
there it is in it's delicious glory
I have never been so happy to have to get food for research for this blog! Also, in addition to perfect pastries, Community Bakery also makes all sorts of goodies, and has a cafe and coffee shop. While I was in there picking up this cake the place was full of patrons enjoying the baked goods and atmosphere at their downtown location. Their website is very good and can tell you everything you need to know about their services. Being that Dena is the photographer and not me, I will direct you to their site so you can see for yourself how cool their shops are. I hope that you and yours have a fantastic Fat Tuesday!
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