Mary Martha Greene is back with a brand spanking’ new book, “The Cheese Biscuit Queen Kiss My Aspic!” I met Mary on Lowcountry Weekly’s porch during the Beaufort Water Festival several years ago. She showed up just in time for the opening night fireworks with a tin of cheese biscuits. It was a very large tin, loaded with the lightest, delightful cheesy morsels I had ever tasted. Mary shared her cheese biscuit receipt along with stories about her family, southern recipes, and sweet remembrances in her first book, “The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All.” As it turns out, Mary had more delicious recipes and saucy stories in her repertoire. She has written a new and hilarious sequel to her original food memoire. Mary’s new book retails for $27.99 plus tax and is available at many of our local bookstores and downtown shops. You can also order both books online at www.thecheesebiscuitqueentellsall.com. This week, I’m publicizing two new recipes from the Cheese Biscuit Queen’s new book along with her original claim to fame, her fabulous cheese biscuits. Be sure to pick up your copy of “The Cheese Biscuit Queen Kiss My Aspic!” today. Congratulations, Mary Martha!
Shrimp, Smoked Gouda and Bacon Dip
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
½ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, grated
2 green onions, white and green parts, finely minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
5 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
Toast rounds or vegetables for serving
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray or butter the dish. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 to 4 inches or water to a boil, enough to cover the shrimp. Add the shrimp and boil for 3 to 5 minutes until pink; do not overcook. Drain the shrimp and allow to cool. Roughly chop by hand or in a food processor. Set shrimp aside. In the large bowl of a mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the bacon, and blend well. Add the shrimp and stir well. Pour into prepared dish. Top with crumbled bacon. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until bubbly. Serve with toast rounds or vegetables.
Miss Ruth’s Mushroom Pot Roast
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 (3½ to 4-pound) beef pot roast
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced onions
½ cup water, divided
¼ cup ketchup
1 teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon seasoned salt
2 (6-ounce) cans sliced mushrooms
Cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes to serve
Dredge the pot roast in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and brown the meat on all sides. Add the sliced onions. In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup water, ketchup, garlic, and seasoned salt. Pour over the roast in the Dutch oven. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Remove the meat. Skim the excess fat from the pan juices. Add the mushrooms to the Dutch oven. Stir the remaining ¼ cup water into the remaining 2 tablespoons flour. Gradually stir unto the pan juices to make a gravy. Cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook until it thickens. Slice and serve over egg noodle or with mashed potatoes.
Aunt Mimi’s Famous Cheese Biscuits
Makes 10 to 12 dozen
4 sticks Land O’ Lakes margarine, at room temperature (see notes)
4 cups (1 pound) freshly grated Kraft extra-sharp Cheddar (see notes)
4½ cups all-purpose flour (see notes)
½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Set aside 3 ungreased baking sheets. Let the margarine and cheese come to room temperature, about 1 hour. (You can also warm both in the microwave for 20 seconds on high—you want them to soften, not melt.) Using a stand mixer on medium-high speed, cream the margarine. Place half the cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until it forms a ball or cream it by hand. Add the ball of cheese to the margarine and blend until the mixture is fully combined and creamy. Repeat with the other half of the cheese. Cream together the margarine and cheese until the mixture is smooth, has a light orange color, and resembles fluffy buttercream frosting. Add the ground cayenne pepper and the paprika, if using. As the mixer continues to run on medium speed, gradually add the flour (see notes), ½ cup at a time, to the cheese mixture. After you have added 4½ cups of the sifted flour, return any additional flour to the bag for the next batch. Place the Rice Krispies in a strainer with medium to large holes, if you have one, and shake any small pieces and sugar out of them. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the Rice Krispies to the mixture, 1 cup at a time. Drop the batter by rounded teaspoons or balls from a #70 scoop onto the baking sheets. Press down lightly on the balls, making them about ¼-inch thick. Bake until lightly golden brown on the bottom, about 20 minutes. (Mimi would bake for 10 minutes and then switch the baking sheets between the top and bottom racks so that they would brown evenly on the top and the bottom.) Remove from the oven. If you have a partial sheet of biscuits, they will not require as much baking time, so adjust as necessary, probably around 15 to 16 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, transfer the biscuits to paper towels spread on a clean countertop to absorb the grease. Set aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. As soon as they have cooled, serve or transfer the biscuits to airtight containers so they do not reabsorb any grease. Biscuits will keep in a tin on the counter for up to a week or can be frozen in the airtight containers for up to two months. Mimi used to reheat them for a few minutes on a baking sheet in a warm oven to “freshen” them up, and then act like she’d just baked them when anyone dropped by to visit. NOTES: Use Land O’Lakes and Kraft brands for best results. While Mimi always used margarine in her cheese biscuits, I now use 2 sticks of butter and 2 sticks of margarine. I find that using butter only makes them too greasy and not light and fluffy, like Aunt Mimi’s biscuits. It also makes them spread out too much. Do not use pre-grated cheese; it contains a wax coating that will ruin the consistency of the biscuits. Using a large, slotted spoon, fluff the flour in the bag before measuring it out. Sift it and then remeasure the flour.
The writer owns Catering by Debbi Covington and is the author of three cookbooks, Celebrate Beaufort, Celebrate Everything! and Dining Under the Carolina Moon. For more great recipes and to view her cooking demonstrations, visit and subscribe to Debbi’s YouTube channel. Debbi’s website address is www.cateringbydebbicovington.com. She may be reached at 843-525-0350 or by email at dbc@cateringbydebbicovington.com.
