Biscuits

THE HOLIDAY trees displayed at Savage Mill announce the approach of a new festive season. The trees are decorated by schools and community agencies and highlight the services they offer.Check out the tree by Bethel Christian Academy of Savage, which won third place in a competition last week.The names of the school's teachers are written on miniature blackboards tied to the branches.First-place winner Fidos for Freedom has a tree decorated with glass, plastic and porcelain pooches and dog biscuits -- just the right thing for these helpful dogs.

Item: Hungry Jack biscuitsWhat you get: 8 biscuitsCost: About $1.40Preparation time: 8 to 11 minutes in ovenReview: My husband would eat biscuits at every meal if I let him. Since I don't have time to make biscuits from scratch on a regular basis, I rely heavily on the rolls of dough that fill nearly every supermarket's refrigerator case. Hungry Jack has added to the variety with a new Honey Butter flavored dough. Though the company is billing these and its Cinnamon Sugar biscuits as a breakfast alternative, we found the Honey Butter biscuits go just as well with lunch and dinner.

As traditional as apple pie in autumn, strawberry shortcake is an early summertime classic. In the American Midwest and New England, the ripening of the local strawberries in late May and June calls for a celebration: biscuit shortcake -- not angel food or sponge cake -- and cream to go with the berries. Heartlanders generally make their shortcake richer and sweeter than regular biscuits; New Englanders tend to spare the sugar to accent the berries' natural sweetness.Serve this warm biscuit shortcake lavished with strawberries and cream for breakfast or dessert.

Lional DaltonPosition: Defensive tackleHeight: 6-1Weight: 320Age: 23College: Eastern MichiganYear: RookieHighlights: Dalton, a two-year starter at Eastern Michigan, was signed as a free agent and may make an impact on the defensive line and on special teams. Earned first-team all-Mid-American Conference twice and was selected co-defensive MVP for the Eagles last year as a senior. Recorded 46 tackles as a senior and two fumble recoveries despite triple-teaming at times. Also competed for the indoor track team as a sophomore and broke the school record in the shot put at 56 feet, 2 inches.

Light, flaky biscuits historically have been the hallmark of a fine cook, especially in the South and the heartland. The key to good biscuits has never been a secret: The butter or other fat must be cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two knives, to distribute it uniformly. As the biscuits bake, the fat melts, forming tender, falky layers.A well-made muffin has a gently rounded, pebbled top and golden crust; a moist, fine crumb; and excellent flavor. All the more appealing when they pack a surprise, muffins can be spiked with blueberries, dried cranberries, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon bits, herbs, nuts, cheese, jalapenos or other amendments.

IT BEGAN WITH the merry jingle of horse bells in the alley. This distinctive jangle echoed off the brick walls, touched the back porches and shot across garage roofs.Soon you'd her that word bellowed in the deepest of bass voices: "StrawbeRRRRR-ies." Then came the noise of the metal-rimmed wheels grinding against the patched alley pavement. Dessert was on its way.Some Baltimoreans call them hucksters. Others say they are A-rabs. I never bothered with names, except for the Strawberry Man. It was maybe 1958 and early June.

"Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes and Honest Fried Chicken" by Ronni Lundy (Atlantic Monthly Press, $15) was published in 1991, but somehow I made its acquaintance only recently. The book, subtitled "The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens, Seasoned With Memories and Melodies From Country Music Stars," is, happily, still in print.Some of the most appealing recipes are the ones for cornbread, biscuits and other hot breads -- the kinds of things country cooks have always whipped up from a few ingredients to stretch meals when unexpected company drops by.Country people treasure stories and love to retell them.

A train journey into the Scottish Highlands brings you into a world of breathtaking scenery, a land of legends and a larder of interesting food.Diet in the remote parts of Scotland is largely determined by availability. Cities like Aberdeen may carry the occasional exotic fruit but the story is different off the beaten track.You can pick abundant wild strawberries in summer and probably follow in the path of Prince Charles strolling out from Balmoral Castle, but generally the menu is determined by ingredients that keep.

It was Christmas Day a couple of years ago, and I had been slaving in the kitchen for hours while the rest of the family sat in the living room by the fire. I had stuffed the turkey, prepared endless elaborate side dishes and was just starting the gravy.My husband came in the kitchen, a glass of champagne in hand, to give me a little moral support. I looked at him balefully and said, "I have just four words for you: 'Next. Year. Palm. Beach.' "So last year we did spend Christmas with cousins in Palm Beach, where the temperature dropped to the 20s and the electricity went out on Christmas Day. We ate turkey cooked -- and not very successfully -- on the gas grill.

You can always tell when it's peak strawberry season. The supermarkets have huge displays next to the strawberries with packaged round "shortcakes" that look like sofa casters.I always pass on these casters. They taste like foam rubber. And a few nanoseconds after the strawberry juice hits them, they look like something a 2-year-old has squished between his fingers.The shortcake itself is so easy to make that it's almost criminal not to. Shortcakes are really biscuits. Though almost any biscuit will do, such as baking powder or buttermilk, sweeter biscuits are traditionally used, ones that have been enriched with cream.

Editor's note: Each Wednesday we'll bring you a Q&A with a Ravens player to help you learn a little more about the team. The second installment of this series is an interview with wide receiver Mark Clayton, whose 42-yard touchdown run during the first quarter of the Ravens' 17-10 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7 was the longest rush by a nonrunning back in team history. Clayton discusses expectations, a career outside football and one of his first jobs. What was your welcome-to-the-NFL moment?

Barbara Kempisty of Baltimore was looking for a recipe for biscuits that can be made completely in the microwave. She wanted to be able to prepare the dough in advance and take it to an elderly aunt who is in assisted living and does not have a kitchen but does have access to a microwave. Hope Weiner of Rapid City, S.D., sent in a recipe for whole-wheat microwave biscuits. These biscuits are made with a combination of whole-wheat and white flour. The dough can be made in advance, and the biscuits can be made in the microwave.

Audience directs The lowdown -- At Baltimore Improv Group (BIG) performances, there are no directors hissing forgotten lines or demanding costume changes. BIG creates a setting, dialogue and characterization based solely on audience input. The group will create a series of skits at the Hamilton Arts Collective on Saturday. If you go -- Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.. The Hamilton Arts Collective is at 5440 Harford Road, and tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and military.

For trance-fusion jammers the Disco Biscuits, the past six months were loaded with loss and gain. Original drummer Sam Altman played his last gig in August, before leaving to pursue a career in medicine. Soon after, the three remaining band members auditioned and hired a new drummer, settled into a new studio and released a live, two-disc album. They are past the tumult - re-energized and back on the summer touring circuit. They will headline this year's Starscape Music and Arts Festival in Fort Armistead Park on Saturday.

Rotisserie chicken is my family's default dinner, largely because it automatically provides good stuff for leftovers the next couple of days. When I have time, I make chicken potpie. When I don't, I make chicken stew and serve it over freshly baked biscuits. The secret is to make the stew quite thick, much thicker than gravy, and to pack a lot of vegetables into it. A bag of individually frozen biscuits in the freezer lets you grab the right number for dinner with no waste. You can slide lots of different vegetables into this: zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, mushrooms, sweet potatoes (cut into 1/2 -inch dice so they will cook quickly)

Kitchen tip When buying clementine oranges, make sure the skin is a bright, shiny, brilliant orange. The fruit should be firm, but with a slight give. If you buy clementines by the box or crate, check for consistent color throughout. Chicago Tribune Know a helpful shortcut in the kitchen? Send it to Kate Shatzkin, Food Editor, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278 or e-mail it to food@baltsun.com. EVENTS Italian soup -- Find out how to make hearty Italian soups at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1 at Donna's in Columbia, 5950 Waterloo Road.

Long before Governor Terminator, before Congressman Gopher and Congressman Cooter, even before Governor Gipper, there was Governor Pappy. W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, host of a popular daily music program on Texas radio, swept into the Texas governor's mansion way back in 1938. In years to come, other entertainers would also become governors, in Louisiana, Connecticut, California, Minnesota and, now, California again. Not only did O'Daniel get to be governor, he was re-elected in 1940 and, in 1941, won a special election to the U.S. Senate, narrowly defeating a young congressman named Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Can you ever get enough blueberries during the summer? If you're like me, the answer is no. Why even try to limit yourself? Summer blueberries are plump, satisfying and wholesome. And local berries, which are coming to markets soon, are so much juicier than imported crops, you'll want to experience the delicious difference. Depending on where you live, you should be seeing home-grown blueberries now through August or early September. Of the seasonal berries, such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, I prefer blueberries for baking.

Amid the suffering, the urgency and bore- dom of a World War I ambulance service- man's routine, U.S. Army Pvt. John August Wachter had at least one thing he could hang onto. In the spring of the Great War's last year, he had chocolate. From "Somewhere in France" on May 23, 1918, he wrote home to Pennsylvania and told about that. "I am eating a piece of Hershey's chocolate just now. I have saved it for almost three weeks and take it from me, I am glad I did as the water is very bum up here.

Dorothy G. Kinder of Glen Burnie wrote, "I am looking for a recipe for biscuits which calls for buttermilk, dry yeast and which are refrigerated overnight." Karen Hindman of Laurel responded with a recipe that she says is "for the biscuits Dorothy wanted. There are other variations of `angel biscuits,' but this is the best one using buttermilk! I am from North Carolina and love this book, Woman's Club of Hamlet, NC Cookbook. Hope you enjoy this recipe!" Recipe requests Laurel Stevens of Baltimore is seeking a recipe for chicken or shrimp curry.