Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits

Who would like to join me for some Sausage Biscuits and Gravy this morning?  I’m from Maryland but when it comes to food, I am a true southern girl through and through. My Mom was born in Kentucky and raised in Tennessee and all I ever knew was her southern cooking growing up. You can’t claim to be southern if you don’t know this next recipe. I am crazy about Gravy and Biscuits and make them all the time.

    
 Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits

1 pound sage pork breakfast sausage , or any kind you like

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the sausage until brown and crumbly. If excess oil, drain while keeping a tablespoon of the sausage oil in the pan. Add the butter and stir well until melted.

   

  



















Sprinkle sausage with flour, stir, and allow to cook for several minutes.  Add the milk and stir. Continue stirring occasionally over medium heat until gravy thickens, 5-10 minutes

Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup very cold butter, cut into small chunks about the size of sugar cubes
1 cup very cold buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Toss the butter chunks into the flour mixture.   Using a fork or pastry cutter, mash the butter chunks into quarter-sized pieces.  

Mix the cold buttermilk into the flour/butter mixture, tossing briskly with a fork to evenly distribute the buttermilk so no dry bits of flour are visible.  The dough will be sticky but should clear the sides of the bowl.

Scrape the biscuit mixture out onto a lightly-floured work surface and gather, with floured hands, into a ball.  Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.  Fold into thirds and rotate dough 90 degrees, dusting work surface with flour.  Roll out to about 1-inch thick. 

Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, press down on the cutter, but do not turn or twist, dipping the cutter or glass into the flour after each cut.  Place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet, close together.  Bake approximately 15 to 20 minutes, without opening the oven door, until the biscuits have risen and the tops are golden brown.  Remove from oven and split or cut the biscuits in half and top with the prepared hot Milk Gravy. Serve warm.

Biscuits Making Hints and Tips:

For tender and flaky biscuits, make sure the butter is as cold as you can get it. I keep mine in the freezer.  Try to use your hands as little as possible. Excess handling causes tough biscuits.  

Always bake biscuits on cookie sheets or pans without sides.  The heat will circulate more evenly than on pans with sides.  Remove from oven and immediately remove from baking sheet.

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Mushroom and Gnocchi Marsala

I love this quick little recipe. One day a friend called to say she was stopping by and I said, “I'll make lunch.” I knew she was now a vegetarian so I had to think fast. I remembered she loved my Chicken Marsala and mashed potatoes supper I made when she came for dinner the last time. Why not put together something similar without the meat? I did come up with something that took me all of 10 minutes to make. It has now become a big hit for all my guests. It is delicious! I serve it as a side dish or a main dish for lunch and dinner. Everyone loves this dish. You will too!

Mushroom and Gnocchi Marsala

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

6 oz. mushrooms (I use white button or baby bellas, sliced

1 green onion, sliced

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup Marsala cooking wine

1 package 16 oz. potato gnocchi

    

Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, sliced green onions, oregano, and salt and  pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken broth and the Marsala Cooking wine and scraped the bottom of the skillet making sure you get all the brown bits.  Add in the potato gnocchi.

Cover the skillet and increase heat to high. Cook for about 3 minutes. The liquid will boil and the cooking wine will burn off. Remove lid and garnish with green onion if desired. Serve immediately.   

Total time to make this recipe is about 10 minutes. This is a keeper my friends.

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Vanilla Crepes with Strawberry Filling

I love making crepes on Sunday for breakfast or for brunch. They are actually very easy to make and so much healthier than pancakes. The ingredients are very simple and once you get the idea, you’ll find they are easier to make than pancakes too.  Fill them with whatever you like chocolate, whipped cream, cream cheese and blueberries.  Here’s my favorite….

Vanilla Crepes with Strawberry Filling

Strawberry Filling

2 lbs strawberries

1 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Wash the strawberries and remove the stem. In a saucepan, put the strawberries cut into small pieces together with the sugar and the cinnamon stick. Mix with a wooden spoon and simmer over low heat about 1 hour until it thickens, stirring occasionally. 

Turn off the heat, remove the cinnamon stick and let cool completely. Put small portions of the filling on each crepe, spreading a single line on the middle across the crepe. Roll the crepe over the filling, garnish with powdered sugar and serve.

Vanilla Crepes

1/2 cup milk

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons melted butter

Powdered sugar

Whipped cream (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together the milk, egg yolk and vanilla. Sift together the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl. Add the melted butter and stir until well blended.

 

Heat a round, smooth 9-inch pan over medium heat until hot. Coat lightly with cooking spray or melt a small amount of butter. When the pan is hot, pour 1/3 cup of batter into the pan, and slowly tilt the pan to evenly spread the batter in a circle, until the bottom is completely covered.  

Cook for 45-60 seconds, or until the batter is just set and the bottom is lightly browned and then flip to brown the other side. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the rest of batter.

Place the crepe on a plate, fill with 2 tablespoons of strawberry filling, and fold the bottom up and over the filling, tucking in both sides as you go and roll.  You should end with the seam side down. Repeat with rest of crepes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.  Top with whipped cream if desired.

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Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs and Rice

You know, sometimes you want to make something for dinner that doesn’t take a lot of time and fuss.  You want something that doesn’t require a lot of prep time or a lot of dishes and utensils to make it.  You know…. something you can throw in a skillet and put on top of the stove and then go turn on some music and read a few chapters in your favorite book. But not so fast there….you still want a hearty dish that is comforting and full of all the delicious flavors as if you had cooked it all day.  I got it.  This is it. Takes only a few minutes to get it started and then you can walk away and forget it.  Go get that book ready.

Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs and Rice

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 cup flour for dredging

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup uncooked white rice

2 1/4 cup chicken stock

Pat the chicken with paper towels to remove moisture. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Add flour to a shallow dish then season liberally with seasoned salt and pepper. Dredge each chicken thigh into the seasoned flour, tapping off any excess, then place onto a plate.

Heat extra virgin olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs and sauté until the skin has browned on both sides…..about 2-3 minutes per side. Thighs do not need to be cooked through as they will continue cooking later.  Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic and sauté until just tender. Add the chicken stock to the same skillet and heat on medium high. Stir in the uncooked rice. 

Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet to blend in with the rice mixture. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. 

Place the chicken on top of the rice mixture, cover with lid and let cook an additional 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is done, rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.  

Sprinkle with additional parsley and serve.

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