Brioche and Biscuits

My father was born in New York City, and raised in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. My mother was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. My parents were raised to believe that the path to success was to emulate as closely as possible the people that were in power. They believed the behavior, the externals were necessary to unlock the corridors of power. My parents met and married in New York City. We lived in Harlem, but my parents chose not to school us in Harlem. We moved downtown, and eventually went to private school for a few years. I frequented museums, the symphony, etc.

Not long after this, my father died and we moved to Tuskegee to care for my grandfather. My mother was elated to be home, I felt like I was on another planet. I traded symphonies for crickets and museums for muscadines. That era began the complicated relationship I have with the South. (Presently, I have a complicated relationship with this nation, but that’s a… never mind!)

There is a part of me that wants to whip up biscuits and cornbread, shell purple hull peas and sip lemonade on a porch on a hot summer day. I want to visit with neighbors and grow a garden and be able to tolerate heat for more than five minutes. One of my grandmothers made her own candy in a cast iron skillet, usually with pecans from the tree in her yard. My other grandmother made her own rolls and frenched her own green beans, and I would like to do that too. There is also a part of me that wants the big city life, too. You know, the New York City fantasy shown in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) or Working Girl (1988). (Can’t quite see Renee Russo whipping up biscuits on that Caribbean island!, but I can see them having breakfast with brioche and all the trimmings delivered!)

Back to the biscuits. For weeks, I’ve wanted one. Just. One. Biscuit. But in covid19 northern Virginia, that’s a lot to ask. I didn’t want to make a batch and have to deal with the leftovers, especially if my technique was off. I tried Bayou Bakery, but it was closed due to covid. A google search suggested I try McDonalds, Popeyes or Bojangles(???.) I didn’t want to drive to the next town to pay 3+ dollars for one biscuit, that wasn’t even satisfying when I tried it last year. I thought biscuits would be plentiful in northern Virginia, but they aren’t.

The researcher in me wouldn’t give up. I figured DC had to have biscuits, but I didn’t wan’t to face crazy DC traffic/potential protest road closures for my biscuit fix. I found a restaurant, Mason Dixie, that sold biscuits and scones and such - but covid caused them to close their brick and mortar location. Fortunately, they transitioned to a wholesale business. @masondixiebiscuitco now makes many varieties of biscuits that are available in my local market, and perhaps yours, too. Biscuit purist me wanted plain biscuits. So I purchased @masondixiebiscuitco frozen biscuit dough from Giant, and hoped for the best.

So this morning, I opened the freezer and pulled out a couple of biscuits to bake in my toaster oven. The biscuits were delicious, if a bit overdone. (My nose is more reliable than the time on the box!) I imagine my grandmothers would shake their heads at my purchasing frozen biscuit dough ($4.50 for six biscuits, on sale!) instead of making my own. But when I only want one (or two!) biscuits, this is the best solution. Win/win. The southern me gets biscuits when I want. The northern me gets convenience and value, paying less than a dollar a biscuit, rather than $3+ for unsatisfactory offerings.

Hmm. Wonder what a search for brioche would turn up?