Tuesday Test Kitchen & Blue Plate Special with Phineas

Last night I did a mash up of my Tuesday Blue Plate Special, my very first test recipe for Clio's Test Kitchen and In the Kitchen with Phineas.

Basically, Phin had cooked black-eyed peas, I received my first test recipe - sweet potato biscuits - and it all converged on a Tuesday. The writing on the wall was clear: make a southern-themed meal this week as the Blue Plate Special, incorporating what Phineas had already cooked, the biscuits and some country ham that was in the freezer.

Here's dinner: Sweet potato biscuits with country ham, black-eyed peas and collards (ok, ok, it's sauteed spinach, not collared greens, but close enough for this country feast).

I have never really been a sweet potato lover. I find them too sweet, and that is before people pile on the even sweeter ingredients like maple syrup and marshmallow. The times I have really enjoyed sweet potatoes have been when they are used as a sweet counterpoint to something spicy or highly seasoned.

But these biscuits were delicious. The addition of cider vinegar balanced out the sweetness of the spuds perfectly. Instead of coming across as sweet, they came across as buttery. You cannot even imagine how good the kitchen smelled as they baked. Also, the clever use of cake flour instead of all purpose flour made for very light biscuits - how they are supposed to be rather than the hockey pucks that they usually are. Really, the flavor and texture was right-on: delicate and crumbly, light and buttery.

However, the biscuits were not without problems. The bottoms scorched before the tops browned and they were *just* done in the center. In fact, I probably would have baked them a bit longer if the bottoms weren't scorching. My oven tends to run cool, not hot, so I am not sure why this happened.

Mmmmm... sweet potato biscuits

The remaining biscuits are now tucked away in the freezer for future use as breakfast sandwiches. I filled out the feedback survey and I can't wait to see the recipe come out in the Cooks Country magazine (in 6 mos or so), knowing that I had insider knowledge. I wonder if they will change anything. Oooh, I am so excited.