Sweet Potato and Pecan Biscuits
I haven't posted much lately because we went on a vacation to the New England states. I couldn't post from the road so now I have some catching up to do. Are you all of a sudden getting that panicky feeling like you did in the 1970's when Uncle Ralph pulled out out movie projector screen and began showing home movies from his last vacation??? or better yet, remember the old slide shows of Aunt Ruth's garden club outing you had to endure? Well, never fear. I promise not show you every one of the nearly 1000 pictures I took...I'll keep it to about 800. Ha!
Our first stop was the City Tavern in Philadelphia. I loved it.

Here are the actual brick floors from 1773. Guess whose feet trod here?

...Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin and many, many more. Unfortunately the tavern burned to the ground in the 1800's and the current tavern itself is a meticulous reproduction of the original building.

Here is a view looking up the four flights of the the stairwell.

We ate upstairs in what was called the ballroom. There is a fireplace on each end.

I loved the pewter mugs. Do you think George Washington drank out of this one? Would this cold teeth-jarring metal feel better against his wooden teeth than they do against mine?

The waiter brought out a tray of traditional breads. We had Anadama bread, Sally Lunn, and Thomas Jefferson's very own recipe of Sweet Potato and Pecan Biscuits. I bought one of their cookbooks so here is the recipe for the biscuits.

Thomas Jefferson Sweet Potato and Pecan Biscuits
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups cooked, mashed and cooled sweet potato (about 2 large potatoes)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice. Add the shortening and cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives until crumbly. Stir in the sweet potato. Add the cream and pecans and stir until just moistened.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to 1-inch thick and cut out the biscuits with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Set the pans in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
My main course was a pan-fried pork chop with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was quite good.

Here is a link to the City Tavern if you would like to read more. The side view of the tavern shows how large it is. This restaurant was a great start to our northeastern adventure. Oh, and notice the blue sky and fluffy clouds because that was the last time we saw them for the rest of the trip! It was a week of rain, rain, and more rain. See you next in New York City.
Our first stop was the City Tavern in Philadelphia. I loved it.

Here are the actual brick floors from 1773. Guess whose feet trod here?

...Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin and many, many more. Unfortunately the tavern burned to the ground in the 1800's and the current tavern itself is a meticulous reproduction of the original building.

Here is a view looking up the four flights of the the stairwell.

We ate upstairs in what was called the ballroom. There is a fireplace on each end.

I loved the pewter mugs. Do you think George Washington drank out of this one? Would this cold teeth-jarring metal feel better against his wooden teeth than they do against mine?

The waiter brought out a tray of traditional breads. We had Anadama bread, Sally Lunn, and Thomas Jefferson's very own recipe of Sweet Potato and Pecan Biscuits. I bought one of their cookbooks so here is the recipe for the biscuits.

Thomas Jefferson Sweet Potato and Pecan Biscuits
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups cooked, mashed and cooled sweet potato (about 2 large potatoes)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and allspice. Add the shortening and cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives until crumbly. Stir in the sweet potato. Add the cream and pecans and stir until just moistened.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to 1-inch thick and cut out the biscuits with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Set the pans in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
My main course was a pan-fried pork chop with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. It was quite good.

Here is a link to the City Tavern if you would like to read more. The side view of the tavern shows how large it is. This restaurant was a great start to our northeastern adventure. Oh, and notice the blue sky and fluffy clouds because that was the last time we saw them for the rest of the trip! It was a week of rain, rain, and more rain. See you next in New York City.





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