Biscuits & Gravy

Now that we have 1 o'clock church (boo), Alex and I have taken to making Sunday brunch each week.  Alex makes the best buttermilk bisuits, and his sausage gravy isn't too bad either.  :-)

This is one of Alex's favorite meals, and for good reason!

 

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Recipe from Food.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
• 1 cup buttermilk (approx)*

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.  Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.  If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet (*we always add a few more tablespoons of buttermilk).
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1/2" thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
4. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.  If you like"crusty" sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.
5. Bake for about 10-12 minutes- the biscuits will be a beautiful light golden brown on top and bottom.  Do not overbake.
6. Note: The key to real biscuits is not in the ingredients, but in the handling of the dough.  The dough must be handled as little as possible or you will have tough biscuits.  I have found that a food processor produces superior biscuits, because the ingredients stay colder and there's less chance of overmixing. You also must pat the dough out with your hands, lightly.  Rolling with a rolling pin is a guaranteed way to overstimulate the gluten, resulting in a tougher biscuit.
7. Note 2: You can make these biscuits, cut them, put them on cookie sheets and freeze them for up to a month.  When you want fresh biscuits, simply place them frozen on the cookie sheet and bake at 450°F for about 20 minutes.

Down Home Sausage Gravy
Recipe from Very Best Baking

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) package fresh breakfast sausage
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• hot pepper sauce to taste

Directions

1. Combine sausage and onion in large skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink. Stir in flour; mix well. Stir in evaporated milk, water, salt and hot pepper sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Serve immediately over biscuits.