er Noodles, biscuits and scones JUST THE name of this column should bring to mind the wonderful smell of homemade biscuits you had when you were a child. Jeti . THE FRUGAL GOURMET At least I hope you had that kind of childhood. Actually, I did not. My mother rarely made biscuits, but her noodles and dumplings were wonderful. The following few recipes are just to get you started — or perhaps bacx to doing something you used tc: love to do: making biscuits, something very simple to do. RARRIET’S SOUTHERN BISCUITS (Makes 6 to 8 buscuits) Harriet Fieids is a dear friend ‘and a fine cook. One of the secrets to these little jewels is a very hot, oiled, black frying pan. | had never seen this ‘prior to my instruction from Har- riet. but now I can do these quite weil myself, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour 1 tesspoon baking powder ¥ teaspoon salt Ya teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons shortening ve cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon shortening for frying peu Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bows. Blend in the shortening until the mixture is coarse and grainy. Harriet uses a fork, but I have better luck with a ‘pastry blender. Then, using a fork, stir in the buttermilk. Do not overmix. Put out on a floured buard or marbie pastry board and knead just a few times, Pat out the dough to about @_ half-inch thickness. Cut with a biscuit cutter. Wednesday, Decem' pay ews ghota Cindy Goodman HOMEMADE SCONES anc biscuits are deliciously simple to make. or a glass. (Flour the cutter). Do not handle the dough too much or it will get tough. Preheat oven to 450°F. Use a heavy black iron frying pan. Place the tablespoon of shortening in the frying pan and put the frying pan in the oven for about seven minutes. Remove the pan from oven and place the biscuits in the pan. Turn each once in the oil and bake the biscuits at 500°F for :0 minutes or until light brown. NETTIE SMITI’S CHICKEN AND NOODLES . (Serves 8 to 10) Nettie Smith was my paternal grandmother. While she was a wonderful and exciting person, Grandma Smith was not a very good cook. However, the follow- ing dish was hers and she did it well: NOODLES 4 cups all-purpose flour S eggs Y2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons water CHICKEN 2 chickens (about 3/2 each), cut in half Chopped parsley fcr garnish STOCK 3 pounds chicken backs and aecks pounds 3 carrots, cut up (Gun’t bother to peel) 1 yellow orion, peeled and chap- ped 4 stalks celery, chopped 2 whole bay leaves 1 teaspoon whole thyme leaves 1 teaspoon whole sage leaves 19 whole peppercorns Sait io taste Prepare the noodles. Place the flour in a large bow! and add the eggs and salt, With your fingers pinch the flour into the eggs, then stir with a wooden fork until grainy. Add the wuier and knead into a heavy dough. Knead on a marble board until smooth. Cover and let rest 30 minutes. Divide the dough iato four equal balls. Roll each out to about 12 inches in diameter. Use plenty of flour. Leave each circle to dry on the counter for half an hour. Place the steck ingredients in a 20-quart kettle and cover with five quarts of water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Place the chicken halves in the stockpot and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes, then remove the chicken halves to cool. Separate the bones and skin from the meat and return the bones and skin to the pat. Keep the meat covered in a separate container. Continue cooking the stock for another 45 minutes. Place one of the noadle circles on top of another and roll up tightly like a jelly roll. Repeat with remaining circles. Slice into Y-inch-wide rolls, then separate inte anodles. Sprinkle more flour on the noo- dies and allow them to dry on the counter for at least one hour be- fore cooking. You can allow them to sit there up to a whole day be- fore cooking. . Drain stack from the pot and discard al! else. Remove the fat from the stock and return the stock to the kettle. You should have about four quarts. If not, add water to make up the dif- ference. Bring the stock to a rapid boil. Shake the excess flour off the nocdies and add them to the ket- tle. Boil gemly until the noodles are tender, about I! minutes. Add the deboned chicken meat to the nocdles and bring to a simmer again. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if re- quired. Serve in a large bow! with a chopped parsley garnish. This dish will be very thick and rich. AMERICAN RAISIN SCONES {Makes 12 scones) The simplicity and elegance of c Inguisitive ANNE GARDINER WILSON of an to of AMID THE = splendor holiday focds, there’s uncomplicated elegance the smeli and taste roasted chestnuts. In preparing this humble treat at Christmas we return (othe simple traditions of the season. Chestnuts are often gussied into fancy dishes, but their real story goes back as far in tins as the Roman Empire Long befere potatoes were known as staples, chestnuts were boiled, roasted and ground as flour, Historically they were con- sidered everyday sustenance for many and a basic food for the poor, Our ancestors would not have known about the high starch con- tent of chestnuts, but they recognized their appropriateness as a staple food. We now know that chestnuts are higher in starch and lower in fat than all nuts ex- cept almonds. Because of their starchiness, freshly gathered chestnuts are allowed to rest at room temperature for a few days. This short curing perind allows some of their starch te convert to sugar, making them sweeter. Today. more chestnuts are im- ported from Europe and Asia. Their curing is completed in the time it takes to travel to our mar- kets. Chestnuts are also higher in moisture than any other nut. And it’s held tightly by hard, satiny husks. Store them uncovered and retrigerated. At warm temperatures their moist interiors promote the growth of moids and bacieria. The best chestnuts are heavy for their size, feel firm and have unblemished surfaces. Always buy a few extra. Chestnuts can look fine, yet be spoiled inside. Before roasting, slash a long ‘x’ through the flat side of each shell with a sharp knife, Hot chestnuts can explode if their moisture turns so steam and can’t escape. The *x’ js the safety vaive on these miniature pressue cookers. Raw starch is unappetizing, so chestnuts are always cooked. Traditionally this meant roasting over an open fire. Today, roasting can be done on an indoor fire or an ouidoor barbecue. Use a per- forated chestnut roasting pan or a wire popcorn basket. ber 25, 1991 - North Shore News - 49 I remember these from the Puyallup County Fair when I was a kid. This is as close as I can come to that American biscuit product, the scone. 2 cups flour ¥2 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons sugar Y% cup cold butter Ys cup raisins, soaked water for ¥2 hour, drained Y2 cup half-and-half or cream I egg, beaten Sift the dry ingredients together. Cut the butter into the dry ingre- dients, using a pastry blender. Add the drained raisins to the flour mixture. Mix the half-and-half with the beaten egg and stir into the flour mixture, use a fork and do not overmix. It should take only a few turns to get a dough. Divide the dough into three balls and pat each out into a 4- inch-thick circle. Cut each into four triangular scones. Bake on an ungreased ‘baking sheets: at 450°F for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter and jam. WELSH SCONES (Makes 12 scones, depending on the size of cutter) I learned this recipe from Kitty Jenkins, who came to America from Wales and settled in Penn- syivania. It will convince you that a good rich Welsh scone is not to be confused with the mild biscuits made in this country. 4 tablespoons (1% stick) butter 1% cups all-purpose flour Y% teaspoon salt SV2 tablespoens sugar 1 teaspuon baking soda .2 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 eggs ¥Y% cup milk Using pastry blender cut the butter into'the flour and salt. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the sugar, baking soda and crean: of tartar. Mix well. : Beat the eggs with the milk and add to the flour, using a wooden spocn, to make a spongy mixture. Place the dough on a well-floured plastic countertop or board and pat it out to “%-inch thickness. Cut dough inte rcunds with a biscuit cutter. Flour your hands and place the rounds on a non- stick cookie sheet and leave for 10 minutes to settle. Bake in a preheated oven at 450°F for eight minutes. These should be served with butter and/or jam, or with cream and jam for specia) occasions. estnuts Watch them carefully, for chestnuts burn easily. Shake them often over the hot embers until they’ve softened. Sample ose oc- casionally to check its progress. in hot To roast in the oven, spread slashed nuts in a single layer in a shsllow pan covered iightly with foii, Bake at 400° F for about 25 minutes, shaking the pan several times. Turn the over ‘own to 150° F and keep the .emaindes _warm. ‘They're much harder to peel once they're cool, Savoring the chestnut’s subtie sweetness reniinds us how well simple things endure over time. During this special season, we too carry forward humble traditions calling for peace and good will among men.