Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Warning: highly addictive!

Say hello to our newest bad habit: cheddar bay biscuits. I mentioned that I had made some in a blip post last week, and several people wrote to ask what they were. So here is a photo of the most recent batch, which I made Sunday evening as our final weekend snack treat.

Cheddar bay biscuits were originally served (and still are) at the American seafood restaurant chain, Red Lobster. There they might accompany a lovely seafood meal such as this one (photo from a prior blip).

Then, someone had the brilliant idea to sell the mix in a box so that we might make them ourselves, at home. Coolness! So about two weeks ago, I bought a box of mix at Sam's Club. A box that costs about $6 contains three packets of biscuit mix and three packets of garlic/herb seasoning. (I'm told that single packs may also be found for sale at WalMart.)

Instructions are simple, and the biscuits can be made very easily and quickly. You take one packet of biscuit mix, and stir in some water and a half-cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Place spoonfuls of mix in biscuit-sized globs onto a sheet and bake in the oven till golden brown. Makes about a dozen biscuits.

Mix packet of garlic/herb seasoning with a half-stick of melted butter and brush the tops of the finished biscuits with the mix. (I sometimes pop the biscuits back in the oven for about two minutes after this step to let the butter/garlic/herb topping soak in.) Then serve. Yum!

Also delectable later when heated up in the microwave for 20 seconds. And I'm sure you can think up many things to stuff in them, or to top them with. Welch's grape jelly is my husband's current fave: something about the sweetness of the jelly being a nice contrast/complement to the salty garlic/herb butter seasoning, he says.

And note that when we say "biscuits" in the U.S., this is the sort of thing we are thinking of, not cookies. See this useful link for translating cooking terms between and among US/UK/AU/CA/NZ.

Now, you may be wondering what sort of song I might come up with to accompany these biscuits. And of course the first thing that came to mind was the King Biscuit Flower Hour, a radio show that aired in the U.S. from 1973 to 2007. Many famous artists appeared on it. And do you want to guess who appeared on the very first broadcast of the show? Yep! Bruce Springsteen! (Isn't it amazing how many paths lead back to Bruce Springsteen?)

Recordings of Bruce and several other artists were featured on the first broadcast in February 1973 (the Bruce song was from a late January performance in NYC), and this was the only song of Bruce's they aired. It's called Bishop Danced, and I admit I had never heard it until now. Amazing what you learn on the Internet! This song can also be found on Bruce's CD, Tracks.

Additional note: many other wonderful performers appeared on this show, and the guest list is a veritable who's who, especially in the show's early years. For a treat, google King Biscuit Flower Hour on YouTube, and see what all comes up: Humble Pie, Pat Benatar, The Band, Boston, Yes, Frank Zappa, Fleetwood Mac, Blue Oyster Cult, Uriah Heep, Canned Heat, J. Geils Band, Deep Purple. (And that's just the first page or two of results.) Enjoy!