The Studio Mama Rebecca Wood, the chef at Zac Brown's Southern Ground Nashville recording studio made Sweet Potato Biscuits. The Studio Mama Cookbook: A Collection of Cherished Southern Recipes, Real-Life Stories and Star-Studded Menus from the Music City is a collection of these menus, each created for an artist who worked at the studio. It’s a combo plate of music, food, people, and stories. The Studio Mama Cookbook will be release on Tuesday, June 7 wherever you buy books. Preorders available now via Rebecca's own Hearts in the Mix online storefront. Click here to preorder: https://www.heartsinthemix.com/collections/studio-mama-wares/products/preorder-the-studio-mama-cookbook.
SWEET POTATO BISCUITS
Makes about 18 biscuits
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled
1 1/2 cups smashed sweet potato
1/4 cup whole milk or buttermilk
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Set aside a greased baking pan or pizza stone.
2. Place the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Using a box cheese grater, grate the stick of butter into the flour mixture and stir with a fork to coat the butter with the flour. Stir in the sweet potato. Add enough milk so the dough pulls together and is a little sticky but not wet.
3. Turn the dough out onto floured surface and pat with your fingers or roll out to 1⁄2-inch thickness. Cut into 3-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass. Re-roll the scraps and continue to cut out the rest of the dough. Place on the pan with sides touching and bake until the tops just start to brown, about 18 to 20 minutes.
BAKED SWEET POTATOES
When I’m planning to add baked sweet potatoes to a menu, I always overbuy and add a few extras to the oven. I love having leftover sweet potatoes for the freezer or to toss into another meal I see on my cooking horizon. Here’s how I cook them: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wash the sweet potatoes well and rub with vegetable oil. Cover the bottom of the rack with foil to catch any drippings. Place the whole sweet potatoes cross-wise on the middle rack so they don’t fall through the rack as they bake and soften. Bake until a butter knife will puncture all the way through with no resistance, about 45 minutes to 1 hour or more (depending on size of sweet potatoes). Serve them whole, skins split, with loads of good-quality salted butter.
To freeze, cool completely and remove the skins. Place them in freezer bags or other airtight containers. Thaw and add to lentil or beef stew. Bake sweet potato biscuits! Heat up and serve as-is or with a little goat cheese and grated fresh ginger. Or cut into wedges and bake again, seasoned with ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and cinnamon.
