For questions that aren’t answered here you can email me (elena {at} biscuitsandsuch.com).

Why did you start a southern food blog?

For years I’ve been using food blogs as my go-to for new recipes.  I love the incorporation of large photos to help the reader really work through a recipe.  However, one day I wanted to make my grandmother’s country fried steak, but needed some help filling in the recipe where I had forgotten steps.  Not for lack of trying, I couldn’t find a southern food blog that I liked.  So, I set out to fill a niche.  Since then it’s morphed into something much more, it’s become a mega-hobby that’s allowed me to cook and photograph as much as I wanted. Today, the Southern food community online has grown into something marvelous. I am proud to call myself a member of this community.

Your mother is from New Jersey, why don’t you write an Italian food blog?

I really did start this blog because I wanted to fill what I saw as a hole in the food-blogosphere.  The southern food presence on the internet was sub-par, and I wanted to create something that gave an authentic take on Southern food in a clean, informative setting.  I wanted to show the internet that there was more to southern cooking.  I am also a lot more comfortable cooking southern food.  I was raised in the south, albeit with a Yankee mother.  I identify myself as a southerner.

Is your last name really pronounced how I think it is?

Probably not.  My name, from start to finish, is Elena (e-laine-ah) Brent (bren-t) Rosemond (rose-mon-d)- Hoerr (her).  Dan (my husband) comes from a very German, very Pennsylvania Dutch family. He’s not related to the people that make Herr’s potato chips, though that would be kind of awesome.  I am, however, related to this guy.

What is so special about biscuits?

Biscuits are one of my favorite foods because they’re adaptable and delicious in so many different ways.  You can spread jam on them for breakfast, drench them in gravy for dinner, or throw them on top of a cobbler for dessert.  They’re also quintessentially southern, so when I was trying to come up with a name for my southern food blog including biscuits made sense.  Also, the Bojangles chicken biscuit single-handedly got me through the trauma of failing math my senior year of high school.

What is Bojangles?

Pure heaven in a chicken biscuit.  Actually, it’s a fast-food style chain restaurant in some parts of the southeast.  Born and breaded in North Carolina, the quality varies outside of the Old North State.  I will never stop loving their chicken biscuits.

What is a grit?

Grits are the coarser half of what is produced when corn is ground in a stone mill.  The finer half, what makes it through the filtering screens, is corn meal.  Do not mistake grits with G.R.I.T.S., or Girls Raised In The South.  One is a delicious anytime of day food, the other is a very proper lady.

Can I suggest a recipe?

Why yes, please do.  While I can’t promise that I’ll use every recipe suggested, I would absolutely encourage you to send them.  Just email elena {at} biscuitsandsuch {dot} com.

Are you open to product reviews?

I occasionally partner with companies to promote products that I use frequently and love.  For more information, please email elena {at} biscuitsandsuch {dot} com.

Kristen Stewart was just seen wearing this hot new tank top! Do you want hi-res photos for your readers?

Biscuits & Such, while technically a lifestyle site, deals only in food that I have cooked in my kitchen.  I am not ever going to share your photos (hi res or not) with my readers, or a press release that you have written for me.  Please do not waste my time.  I don’t care what the Girls Next Door are wearing for Super Bowl or that you just opened a new restaurant in San Francisco.  I don’t live there.  If you repeatedly send me suggestions for my Royal Wedding party or press releases about vegan cooking, I will send you this picture of Wil Wheaton collating paper.  I will never cook without butter, y’all.

How about link exchanges?

I keep a running list of blogs that I cannot go a whole day without reading, which you can find here.  I do not do link exchanges, rather I highlight blogs that I love. Feel free to send me a link to your blog!

Can I advertise on your site?

Our advertisements are currently run through the Platefull network, though we are open to running additional ads.  For more information about advertising rates, email elena {at} biscuitsandsuch {dot} com.

We *love* what you do and would like to feature you on our site/write about you!

Awesome. I am completely flattered by the wonderful press that sometimes falls in our lap.  If you would like to write (nice) things about me or this site or one of my recipes, please feel free to email me at elena {at} biscuitsandsuch {dot} com.

I tried your recipe and it failed horribly.  Were you plotting against me?

Despite the fact that I routinely elbow Dan while he’s sleeping, thus rendering me a villain, I don’t actually have it out for anyone. I promise that I wouldn’t ever post a recipe without first trying it out, and that I am always honest about my results.  If I set out to make danishes and they end up biscuits, I tell you when I post it.  That being said, there are a lot more factors than just following the recipe at work.  For instance, a recipe that works perfectly in my oven at 350 may explode in your oven.  Or a dough that rises at my altitude may fall at yours.  Something that cooks perfectly for 20 minutes on my stovetop in my pan with ingredients from my town may take an hour in your kitchen.  All I can suggest is that you make sure you follow the recipe using fresh ingredients, without substitutions (unless multiple options are listed).  Cook with confidence and when it flops, laugh about it.

I’d love to print/email/tweet your recipe, how do I do that?

If you scroll to the bottom of any post (not on the front page of the site, but on the actual post), between the directions and the comments you’ll see a row of images.  Move your mouse over the pictures and you’re given the option to print, email, or share the recipe on your favorite social media sites.

I commented on your post but it never showed up! What happened, you jerk?

Because of the crazy amounts of spam comments we receive, we run all comments through a spam filter.  Unfortunately, sometimes suspicious real humans get mistaken for robots.  If this happens, please comment again! Also, feel free to email/tweet me with problems like this.

What kitchen appliances/tools do you recommend?

Every once in a while I will suggest a new tool or product.  First of all, I can assure you that I don’t get paid for product placement, so if I’m recommending something to you, it’s because I love it.  However, as someone who really came into her own as a cook in college (read: without fancy equipment), I try and write my recipes so that you can use the tools if you have them, but won’t be left out if you don’t.  Whipping by hand is not as easy or fun, but it’s doable and you’ll have super strong wrists.  The same goes for kneading dough.  For a short list of some products we recommend, see our very own store.

What kind of camera do you use?

I use a Canon 60D with an 18-135mm lens. Prior to 2012 I shot with a Nikon D40 with an 18-55mm lens.  I also sometimes shoot with my iPhone, my Diana (120 or Instant), or my Pentax SLR film camera.

Do you edit your photos?

Yes and no.  I was formally trained to edit photographs through the lens of the camera.  That being said, I am a progressive person that loves technology and I often take advantage of tools such as photoshop.

Is it okay if I use one of your photos on my site?

All text and images are copyright of Biscuits & Such unless otherwise noted.  However, in this culture of reblogging it can be a losing battle to keep people from reproducing my content without permission.  I ask that you please link back to B&S and credit the photo appropriately, or I will be forced to send the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz after you.  Design Sponge has some great resources on photo usage here and here.  Please act respectfully.

Who designed/hosts/maintains your blog?

The design is a Dan Hoerr original, including the watercolored logo.  The sidebar watercolor/lettering is my hand.  All of our websites are hosted by Cloud Web.  Dan helped me a whole lot in the setting up of it, but I pretty much maintain it solo.  Every once in a while when it starts to talk back to me I have to call in reinforcements, but for the most part it’s happy as long as I feed it pictures of pie on a consistent basis.