She has an unusual, but very pleasant voice. Her laugh is infectious and she laughs often and heartily. She reminds me of Mrs. Santa before her hair turned gray. She is absolutely approachable and down to earth ... and she is the most incredible cooking teacher I ever experienced.
Shirley O. Corriher (pronounced KAR-e-er) has a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and was additionally a biochemist at the Vanderbilt Medical School. After Vandy she and her husband had a boy's school where she prepared three meals a day for 140 boys. Following that she assisted in classic French culinary classes, gaining an in-depth education in French cuisine.
As Shirley says of herself, "Because I have applied science know-how to hands-on cooking through the years, I have been able to solve cooking problems. As an article in Food and Wine put it, 'If it's about food and you want to know why, Shirley Corriher is the person to figure it out.’ Over the past 25 years, food writers, chefs, teachers and, even our beloved Julia Child, call me with cooking questions."
Almost 25 years ago I attended a weekend workshop for professional caterers taught by Shirley. During those three days, I felt I received about three years worth of culinary school instruction. Shirley doesn't just teach you a recipe, she tells you why it works. Her illustrations are remarkable - and memorable. When she claps her forearms together in a hand-to-elbow clasp with a resounding "thwak" to illustrate how gluten is formed when water and flour proteins bond together, the sight and sound are unforgettable.
Shirley has authored two “Bibles” of cookbooks. The first, published in 1998, is titled “CookWise: The Hows & Whys of Successful Cooking with Over 230 Great-Tasting Recipes” (the second is “BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking”). More than 10 years of research went into this book. Shirley tells the story of being at an American Wine & Food event with Chuck Williams, founder and owner of Williams-Sonoma cookware stores, and Etta Brennan, matriarch of the New Orleans restaurant dynasty. Over several glasses of wine, Shirley told these friends about the most recent chapter she'd written. It was about certain foods that contain a red compound called anthocyanin. This compound is contained in red cabbage and also in walnuts. These foods can turn blue under certain conditions.
Shirley left to get the next round of drinks. When she returned, Chuck Williams told her the name of this prospective cookbook should be “How to Keep Your Nuts from Turning Blue.”
Quoting Shirley, "the stuffy New York editors" said no.
Shirley Corriher’s ‘Touch of Grace’ Biscuits
Called this because when she was learning how to make these from her grandmother, Shirley complained hers didn't taste right. Her grandmother's answer: Did you remember to add a touch of grace?
• Butter for greasing, or nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups spooned and leveled self-rising flour - preferably White Lily
• 1/4 cup sugar (or less if you prefer your biscuits less sweet)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup buttermilk, or enough for dough to resemble cottage cheese
• 1 cup plain all-purpose flour for shaping
• 3 Tblsp. unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
Preheat the oven to 425 and arrange a shelf slightly below the center of the oven. Butter or spray an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the self-rising flour, sugar and salt. Work the shortening in with your fingers until there are no large lumps. Gently stir in the cream, then some of the buttermilk until dough resembles wet cottage cheese. It should be a wet mess -- not soup, but cottage-cheese texture.
Spread the plain all-purpose flour - NOT SELF RISING, because the leavener will give a bitter taste to the outside of the biscuits- out on a plate or pie pan. With a medium (about 2", #30) ice cream scoop or spoon, place three or four scoops of dough well apart in the flour. Sprinkle flour over each. Flour your hands. Turn a dough ball in the flour to coat, pick it up and gently shape it into a round, shaking off the excess flour as you work. Place this biscuit in the prepared pan. Coat each dough ball in the same way and place each shaped biscuit scrunched up against its neighbor so that the biscuits rise up and don't spread out. Continue until all dough is used.
Place the pan on the arranged shelf in the oven. Bake until lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Brush with the melted butter. Invert onto one plate, and then back onto another. With a knife or spatula, cut quickly between biscuits to make them easy to remove. Serve immediately.
Fran Ginn is former chef/owner of The Back Door Café, who retired after 31 years in the food industry to be a grandmother. She can be contacted at fran@franginn.com.
