Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy

This is not a “light” breakfast. This is the absolute opposite of a “light” breakfast. This meal is completely filling, ridiculously decadent, and oh-so-bad for you.

It started innocently enough. After Thanksgiving, Maria insisted I take back the remaining carton of Buttermilk. I did not protest. But on the way home, I thought, what am I going to make with these? Steve gave me a few ideas: “buttermilk pancakes? buttermilk dredged chicken or onion rings? buttermilk biscuits?”. And that got me thinking. Biscuits might be a great idea- but what to have them with? Eggs and Bacon for breakfast? No- these biscuits needed something more special- something different. And I knew just the thing!

The first time I had these was when I went to visit my family in Charlotte. They boasted on our way to breakfast at Bob Evans- “Chris, you’re going to love these.” And They were right. I doubted them at first. The gravy looked so thick. And it was white. And you put it on the biscuits? No butter? No jam? But I gave it a try anyway. And wow. Just wow. I felt like I was in a country cabin next to a roaring fire in my footie jammies enjoying the most comforting breakfast ever. I was feeling very,very country.

I hadn’t had them since but I never forgot (how could I) and when I wanted to recreate them I knew exactly who I would google first. Paula Deen, obviously! Well she didn’t let me down. This recipe is almost step by step hers and it does not disappoint!

Buttermilk Biscuits with Gravy – serves 6

barely adapted from Paula’s Kitchen

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted and divided

Sausage Gravy:

1 pound Breakfast sausage or plain pork sausage without casing
3/4 cup flour
4 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or mezzaluna (one of my best friends in the kitchen!). Gradually add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Dough should be sticky. Do not overwork dough!!! I did a little bit and my biscuits didn’t rise as much as I would have liked. Do not overwork the dough!

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2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness with a floured rolling pin. Cut 12 biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter or a sharp knife (I cut them with a cup and I think this also stopped the biscuits from rising as I would have liked… rookie mistakes!!) . Place biscuits in a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Brush the tops of the biscuits with 1/2 the butter. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Brush with remaining melted butter before serving.

3. While biscuits are baking, start gravy. In in large saute pan or cast iron skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly. Add butter and cook for a minute until the butter begins to bubble (Paula adds the butter at the end but I think this is super important for the sauce to begin to form.) Reduce heat to medium and add flour to sausage; mix thoroughly. Cook until flour browns, about 4 minutes stirring constantly. Add milk slowly and increase heat to medium-high. Continue to stir. Add pepper and salt to taste (Add enough. You want this to be really flavorful and peppery). As the gravy comes to a boil, it will thicken. If too thick, add additional milk. After boiling, reduce heat to a simmer.

4. To serve place two of the buttermilk biscuits on each plate and top with sausage gravy and garnish with freshly cracked pepper.

I’m a Winner!!

What am I doing on here? Why am I writing a blog post? What’s wrong with me? Didn’t I get enough last month??

No! And, as a treat for being so good last month, I won a prize! You heard me- I won a prize for participating in NABloPoMo. Aren’t I lucky?

I won a handmade semi-precious stone earrings and necklace from Mim at Mim’s Muddle. I have the choice of these awesome prizes:

A) Moukaite jasper necklace with gold-plated beads, bead caps and toggle clasp. Length 49.5cm. With matching earrings.

Click on the photos for bigger images.

B) Snowflake obsidian and riverstone necklace with silver plated bead caps and sterling silver toggle clasp. Length ~49cm. With matching earrings.

Click on the photos for bigger images.

C) Sodalite and riverstone necklace with pewter beads and sterling silver toggle clasp. Length 52 cm. With matching earrings.

So I thought about it all night and my final choice is: (A) The Moukaite jasper necklace with gold-plated beads, bead caps, and toggle clasp, with matching earrings. Mim made these from scratch which makes them ultra special and absolutely unique. Thanks for being so generous Mim!

30 Posts in 30 Days

I did it! 30 Posts in 30 days!

And don’t worry- even though I won’t be posting every day (because that was crazy!!!), this didn’t turn me off from blogging in general.

Blogging has really become a part of my life. I can’t wait to share more recipes and stories here as the days go on.

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

I built this dish around 1 ingredient- but it’s the least obvious ingredient in the dish. It wasn’t the mushrooms, even though they had been in my fridge for a week and would have stayed there longer had I not thought to make this. It wasn’t the parmesan, even though it was the last of it and the perfect way to finish up what I had left. It wasn’t even the scallions- those were thrown in because I was out of shallots. No, this entire dish was built around 1 thing: Parsley.

I’ve become insanely obsessed with parsley recently – constantly trying to throw it into any dish I can. Not because it makes the dish prettier or because I like to use fresh herbs (both of which are true), I just think it has a bad reputation and has so many awesome uses. I put it in my eggs, in my soups and in my pasta dishes- the possibilities are endless people. I remember being a kid (ok- I was like 19) and picking parsley out of my dishes- being absolutely annoyed that the chef would even add it to the dish on the side. Those days are long gone. And don’t get me wrong- the mushroom is the star in this dish, but the parsley plays a strong supporting role.

This is a quick snack, appetizer, or side dish. Instead of the usual, super heavy and dry stuffed mushrooms, this recipe is light and refreshing. The lemon juice gives it a real zip and the parsley gives it a great herby flavor.

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(for about 8-10 small mushroom caps)

1 small package of small mushrooms (should include 10-12 mushrooms)
3 garlic cloves- minced
2 tbsp onions – finely chopped
2 tbsp scallions – chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp italian breadcrumbs
1 tbsp – freshly grated parmesan, more for topping
The juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper – to taste

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400. Brush dirt off of the mushroom caps and carefully remove stems, making sure not to break the mushrooms. Heat 2 pans, 1 small and 1 medium, over medium heat with a tbsp of olive oil in each. Add the mushrooms to the first pan and allow to saute.

2. In the other pan, add the garlic, scallions, and onions and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and parsley and cook for another minute. Add the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and parmesan and mix well. Turn off the heat and set aside.

3. The mushrooms should be cooked at this point. Remove them from the pan and add them to a baking dish. Generously spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and cover with a sprinkle of parmesan. Bake uncovered for about 10 minutes.

4. Remove from baking pan with spoon and serve immediately.