Question: The Old Homestead Restaurant in Burnt Hills, N.Y., bakes homemade buttermilk biscuits that are out of this world. I hope they will share the recipe with you. -- Joanne McFadden, Charlton, N.Y., and Debbi Kopp, Hagaman, N.Y.
Answer: Iroquois Indians knew of the healing properties of the mineral springs in what is now the Saratoga area long before the settlers made this discovery. To the Indians Saratoga was the "place of the swift water," a region of springs producing "natural medicine flowing from the ground" that they termed "Medicine Spring of the Great Spirit."Lincoln Baths, situated at the entrance to the Saratoga Spa State Park, is the oldest bathhouse in Saratoga and houses 20 individual baths. When the naturally chilly 53-degree carbonated spring water containing 16 minerals is warmed to body temperature, it's time to submerge and soak. The effervescent water creates a feeling of warmth and relaxation that continues after the bath, when you're dried with warm sheets and then wrapped in warm sheets for a 20-minute snooze. The baths are fun and medicinal, and church groups vie with wedding parties and high school reunions for soak time.
Many folks opt to spend the night at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in the State Park, which in addition to the baths offers golf, swimming, tennis, theatrical productions and concerts throughout the summer season. The Saratoga Performing Arts Center, summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra, offers special performances, as does The National Museum of Dance, next to the Lincoln Bath Building.
From the Gideon Putnam Hotel, it's only a 30-minute drive to the Old Homestead, which is in Burnt Hills in the southern foothills of New York state's Adirondack Mountains. The rustically comfortable 120-year-old renovated farmhouse, halfway between Albany, the state capital, and Saratoga Springs, a Mecca for thoroughbred racing, is a favorite spot for dining and lingering on those long, wintry nights that are so common in upstate New York.
Old copper, panels of stained glass and a crackling fire warm create an ambiance, which is enhanced with the aroma of freshly baked buttermilk biscuits. The yeasty and slightly sweet biscuits can be made ahead and refrigerated to bake later or frozen and stored in airtight freezer bags; the dough can also be rolled thin and spread with melted butter, sugar and cinnamon, then rolled up, sliced and baked as cinnamon rolls.
OLD HOMESTEAD BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons dry active yeast
5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Place warm water in small bowl. Add yeast and stir to combine. Set aside.
Sift 5 cups flour into work bowl of food processor fitted with mixing blade. Add baking powder, salt, baking soda and sugar. Add shortening and process until mixture is crumbly like coarse cornmeal. Add buttermilk and yeast and mix well.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured board to a thickness of 1-inch. With a biscuit cutter, cut dough into 2 1/2-inch rounds and place on a baking sheet. Bake -- no rising time is necessary -- in preheated 400-degree oven 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Yield is approximately 1 1/2 dozen biscuits.
Diane Howard is a columnist for Hunt House Syndicate. America a la Carte welcomes recipes requests. Send the complete address of the restaurant along with your name, address, and phone number to: America a la Carte, P.O. Box 5994, Austin, Texas 78763-5994, or fax 512-453-2145. Email: amercarte@aol.com.