Liquor Free Zone Tonight

First off, since you may be wondering, the vichyssoise turned out perfectly. It was the base for tonight's dinner, along with chicken-and-four-cheese ravioli topped with Emeril's Roasted Gaaahlic pasta sauce, and a side of garlic toast. The children, who turn up their noses at cold soup, had fried catfish, French fries, salad and raw carrots.

The fig tree in my backyard is heavy with fruit and this year the tree has been discovered by a family of mockingbirds. I don't mind sharing with them, though. They aren't taking bites out of all of the figs, just eating a few of them and I think they're taking care of any bugs that may also be interested in my Celestina figs. Last year I had enough of a harvest to make a few jars of fig preserves, so I'm hoping for that much this year as well, but the mockingbirds may have other plans. In the meantime, I'm enjoying fresh figs for dessert and breakfast and taking some to my friends (who respond with fresh cantaloupes and tomatoes).

By the way, speaking of that bread machine, a great use of sweet bread dough (in addition to making rolls or a loaf out of it for dinner) is to roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick, spread butter on it, heavily sprinkle a mixture of brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon, roll it up and cut it into cinnamon buns, to be baked the next morning at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. It makes the house smell wonderful, too, like a bakery. Or you can put a loaf of bread on the night before, set the timer, and awaken to the smell of fresh baked bread.

Or you can make biscuits with little or no trouble. The absolute EASIEST recipe is from the Ultimate Southern Living cookbook, but it's been making the rounds since at least the 1970's, when I lived in Australia and got the recipe from a little old lady in Sydney (who called them cream scones). Ready? Here you go:

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup whipping cream

Mix well, pat or roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness on a floured surface, cut the biscuits with a biscuit cutter, greased glass, or cut with a knife. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes until light brown on top.

Trust me, it doesn't get any easier than that.