A Box of Bisquick in Every Cupboard?
by Kalyn Denny

[img_assist|fid=3372|thumb=1|alt=Bisquick]
Bisquick photo by Breadchick from The Sour Dough.

It all started when Mimi from French Kitchen in America reacted to a bit of food snobbery. Mimi was reading the food blogs and noticed a fellow blogger had been criticized for using a Rachel Ray recipe that involved Bisquick. Mimi's good-hearted nature was engaged and her brain started to work, and pretty soon Bisquick Day was born.

It's not about defending Bisquick, nor is it that Mimi was especially a fan of the bubbly Ms. Ray. It's about the idea of being kind to fellow bloggers. Such kindness could easily extend to food bloggers refraining from public criticism of other food bloggers, couldn't it? If you don't like what some else cooks, just don't cook such things yourself, right? Apparently Mimi wasn't the only person who thought so, and more than a couple of bloggers had fun showing what they could make from Bisquick and making a statement against food blog snobbery in the process.

Visit the Bisquick Day Roundup at French Kitchen in America to see all the recipes, but here are a few that caught my eye.

Tanna at The Half Cup wondered if she was risking arrest by the food blog police when she made Onion Cheese Supper Bread.

Sher at What Did You Eat certainly proved she was not a food snob when she decided to post this recipe, but only because someone triple dog dared her to do it.

The blogging team at My Husband Cooks rose to the challenge to create something interesting with Bisquick with their Bisquick and Beer Fried Fish.

Finally, a bit of history was offered by Breadchick from The Sour Dough, who made a pretty fantastic looking Impossible Coconut Pie and shared this history of Bisquick:

According to Bisquick and Harvey House lore, in 1930 a General Mills executive named Carl Smith was traveling on the Southern Pacific (Havery House was the company that ran the food services for railroads from the late 1800 - 1960s) and ordered a late night dinner. He was served a hot meal that included two fluffly and freshly baked biscuits. Mr. Smith realized that the chef had used a pre-made mixture of shortening, baking powder, and flour to make the biscuits. All the way back to Minneapolis, Carl Smith was thinking how he could bring this concept of instant biscuit mix that wouldn’t go rancid to every American kitchen. When he got back to Minneapolis, he brought his idea to the test kitchens of Betty Crocker, who is part of General Mills, and in 1931 Betty Crocker’s Bisquick was born with the slogan “He Deserves Fresh Bisquick Biscuits Tonight”.

Contributing editor Kalyn Denny also blogs at Kalyn's Kitchen and is relieved that she has no idea who wrote the original post that started the Bisquick Day protest.

Submitted by Kalyn Denny (view blog) on Thu, 03/15/2007 - 22:48
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Comments

 

Bisquick Day!

Haha! I can't be a real food snob because I'm not a natural cook. By that I mean that I don't love to cook and seek it out, but when I do cook, I enjoy it.

I've made bread and biscuits from scratch and believe foods made from scratch taste better, but I also like short cuts. They come in handy for busy people. I remember the first time I used Bisquick. My son tasted hamburger pie at my aunt's house in Memphis, TN, and begged me to make one. Who was I to object since my aunt is a far superior cook to me. So, Bisquick ended up in my cupboard. I saw it as making me truly part of suburbia.

Today, I enjoy my daughter doing the cooking.

You know, as I write this I think I may be a little bit of a food snob. I saw a commercial for Philly ready-to-eat cream cheese cake filling and thought, So, you buy the graham cracker crust and then pour in the filling now. Hmm. What's the point? I thought that was cheating too much just to say, "I made it myself." ;-)

"Love is liquid. Brew and be drunkards!" ~~Nordette And here's a link to the blog.

Submitted by Nordette on Thu, 03/15/2007 - 22:22
 

I love this!

I wish I had known! Even I could have contributed Bisquick talk!

Heh

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High and Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 06:17
 

Thanks, Kalyn, for posting

Thanks, Kalyn, for posting this. We had fun, and I am willing to bet that the dishes and desserts prepared were pretty good.

Denise, I am sorry you did not know about it! I sent notice of the event in to a blog that lists food blog events, but either it got lost in cyberspace or did not make the final cut.

Mimi

Submitted by Mimi on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 08:15
 

GAH - we eat, breath and

GAH - we eat, breath and live Bisquick in my house - I can't believe I missed this! Oh well, off to check out these cool recipes...YUMMY!

--------------------------------------------
For more from Liz Thompson, read:
C.E. Fashion & Shopping
This Full House
The Imperfect Parent
Posts from the Couch

Submitted by Liz Thompson on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 10:05
 

From cobbler to breakfast biscuits

If I didn't have a box of Bisquick, my family would not eat. No kidding. I even use it to thicken sauces for asian food.

So thank you -- I'm going to save this post!

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 10:53
 

Saucy!

I've never considered it for thickening sauce. I'll have to try that!

Moe
BigGirlBlue
Large & Lovely

"Women are going to form a chain, a greater sisterhood than the world has ever known." ~Nellie McClung, 1916

Submitted by biggirlblue on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 20:46
 

It's a staple in our house!

I love Bisquick! We often have soup and "bisquicks" for supper. It makes great pancakes and waffles too -- and oh! I forgot the shortcake! The shortcake is superior. Mmmmmmm....

The Blog: Red Nose
The Book: Girl Clown

Submitted by maryrwise on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 11:15
 

A Very Fun Event!

How fun to hear that there are so many Bisquick fans. It was a very fun idea for a blog event, wasn't it? And I thought it was great to make the point that food blogging doesn't need to be about food snobbery. I rarely use Bisquick, only because I don't eat white flour very much, but I do cook with cream of chicken soup sometimes, and some food bloggers turn their noses up at that humble ingredient too.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen

Submitted by Kalyn Denny on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 12:54
 

I grew up with Bisquick

Oh, I'm sorry I missed this event too. I grew up with Bisquick. Bisquick coffee cake, bisquick strawberry shortcake. Though ever since I learned how to make a good biscuit from scratch, I've been doing that instead. Fresh homemade biscuits taste better, in my mind, and are worth the extra effort, again, in my opinion.

Doesn't it drive you crazy when the food police step in? If you don't like it, change the channel!

Elise Bauer
Simply Recipes
Learning Movable Type

Submitted by Elise Bauer on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 16:42
 

Biscuit Baking Mix Day

Ok, well, I guess we'll do it again!

And we've all got brand new boxes of Bisquick or similar mixes to use up.

There are a lot of other options besides Bisquick out there — I was amazed at the selection in my hometown supermarkerts. Who knew?

Submitted by Mimi on Fri, 03/16/2007 - 17:15
 

Pst....

My oldest daughter is going through a divorce, moving from one apartment to another and flat broke. She's been living on peanut butter sandwiches for a month. So this weekend, TW and I stocked her new kitchen with a ton of food. Bisquick was a must buy. ;-)

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High and Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Sat, 03/17/2007 - 17:49