SHEELAH’S SOUTHERN BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
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ational Buttermilk Biscuit Day is May 14. We went straight to Sheelah Kaye Stepkin, former owner of Torte Knox to talk about her very special recipe. “Jacksonville, Florida is the South. The very deep South. In less than the 45 minutes it took to get to Valdosta, Georgia, I could turn out a few skillets of buttermilk biscuits before age 10. At 12, Daddy died, my eldest brother was in the Navy and Mama was working for the first time in her life. I was in charge of dinner. Without biscuits, it wasn’t dinner. Thursdays were my favorite day because that was when Lana came to help with chores and a quick dinner. My favorite part of the day was when Lana 92
watched me make her biscuits the way she taught me. Her beautiful brown hands, covered in flour, would mirror every movement over my little hands, also covered in flour, like a marionette artist. “Fingertips, child, don’t heat that dough with your hands. It wants a chill,” she would instruct. In short, get in and get out, don’t play with the dough. For almost 18 years, I made Lana’s biscuits and took the credit. I made her fried chicken, too, which prompted more than one client of mine to drive in
from Manhattan when it was Fried Chicken Saturday at Torte Knox. I’ve handed the recipe out hundreds of times. When Paula called and asked for my biscuit recipe, I asked if she wanted a story, too. The recipe has remained steady over the years, although making it in a food processor is by far the best method. It comes straight from the South, from my heart to yours, as it was given to me by an old friend, from her heart to mine.”
