Story by Chef John D. Folse and Michaela D. York
Recipe by Chef John D. Folse
Photography by John O’Hagan
Food styling by Vanessa Rocchio
Styling by Maggie Ratliff
Thirty years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Napa Valley, California, with Chefs Dean Fearing, Stormin’ Norman Van Aken, and Stephan Pyles. The real celebrity in our motley crew was Julia Child. To my recollection, Stormin’ Norman was at the wheel and Julia rode shotgun.
Our route ran from Napa to Calistoga, California, along Route 29, with some fairly sharp curves along Saint Helena Highway. Fearing, Pyles, and I were in the backseat of the convertible, and with every curve, we got a bit antsy with the speed. Julia heard us mumbling about our near-death thoughts when she piped up and said, “Boys, don’t worry! If we crash, I’ll be on the front page of every newspaper in America and you’ll be memorialized as the best chefs in the country.”
Finally, we reached our destination: Robert Mondavi Winery. I was honored to meet the seminal icon of Napa Valley. Robert welcomed us, poured us wine, and gave us a tour of his estate. As the evening concluded, I invited him and the other chefs to visit me in Baton Rouge—and they came! I had planned everything to a tee, but there was one wild card that I failed to anticipate: my 70-year-old dad, Royley Folse.
I caught a glimpse of Daddy sauntering across the patio, glibly chatting with Julia Child. The next time I turned around, there he was visiting with Robert Mondavi. To my surprise, the two were chatting as if they were old friends.
Robert offered Daddy a glass of his latest vintage, which he sipped and then remarked, “You want to taste some good wine? My son makes a great strawberry wine. John, go get a bottle of Larry’s strawberry wine for Robert to taste.” The wine was poured, and Robert politely sipped the concoction. But Daddy wasn’t finished.
“Strawberry, now that’s a good wine. My son makes it a few miles down the road.” To which Robert replied, “It doesn’t travel well, does it.”
I was mortified, Robert was dignified, and Daddy was delighted to have educated a so-called winemaker from California. Oh, from the mouths of babes and septuagenarians!
- 1 quart fresh strawberries, stems removed, sliced lengthwise
- ½ cup sugar or to taste
- 1 cup strawberry wine, optional
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup whole milk (for brushing tops of biscuits)
- 1½ cups Creole cream cheese or sour cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- For strawberries: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar, and wine. Mash with a potato masher or a fork just until the strawberries release their juices, being careful not to mash them into a pulp. Set aside.
- For biscuits: Preheat oven to 425°.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Slowly add cream and stir mixture until it just forms into a dough. Gather dough into a ball and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat dough into a ½-inch-thick sheet. Using a 2½-inch pastry cutter (see note), cut out as many rounds as possible and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Gather scraps, roll remaining dough into a ½-inch-thick sheet, and continue cutting out more rounds until all dough has been used. Brush tops of biscuits lightly with milk.
- Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes.
- For whipped cream: In an electric mixer, combine Creole cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Whisk on medium-high speed until mixture starts to slightly thicken. Slowly add sugar and beat until very soft peaks form. Take care not to create a stiff whipped cream.
- Split biscuits horizontally with a fork, arrange bottom halves on serving plates, and spoon macerated strawberries evenly over each biscuit. Top strawberry mixture with whipped cream and cover with biscuit tops. Serve remaining cream separately.
