Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

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Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

I think Biscuits & Gravy is one of the most comforting of comfort foods. It’s one of the first dishes I started making for breakfast, and even dinner, when first learning to cook. Even when making biscuits from scratch, it’s a meal that comes together quickly. Using simple ingredients, to boot. That seems to be a common thread among my favorite comfort foods.

I always make this for breakfast on those Sunday mornings when the last thing I feel like doing is making breakfast, due to one too many margaritas the night before. And it always makes things right with the world, and my stomach. In the past, I always used canned biscuits, and there’s no shame in that. But, if you have a little bit of time – try making them from scratch. This is a fabulous recipe that I’ve made time and time again, and they always turn out perfect. And, you’ll be beaming with pride – I promise!

I wish I could have made these for Jon this morning for breakfast. With the 49ers loss, he could have used this kind of breakfast to start his day. This one is sure to lift a man’s spirits. But, it was a great game and I say we should still hold up our heads high. Next year, boys! Hopefully a nice steak dinner tonight will help to ease his pain. Now, to see Maryland get painted purple. Congrats to the family in Baltimore!

Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

12 ounces bulk pork sausage (1 tube)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk
kosher salt
ground black pepper
Buttermilk biscuits

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes.

Add the flour to the skillet along with the sausage, and cook for 2 minutes to brown up the flour a bit. Slowly ppour the milk into the skillet, stirring constantly, and bring the gravy to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt with pepper. Split the biscuits in half and divide them among plates. Top each biscuit with some of the gravy and serve immediately.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

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Quick Vanilla Buttercream

Being a Maryland girl who is married to is married to one of the biggest 49ers fans around, we’re just a wee bit excited about the game tonight. Last year, we hoped against hope that we’d have this matchup – only to be disappointed in the end. But this year, it happened!

Kind of puts me in an odd place, actually. You see, I’m a Redskins fan – born and raised. For a long time, Washington was all we had. When the Ravens came to town (or, back to town – I should say?) I felt like I couldn’t just change my loyalty to a team like that – so for years I’ve kind of hated on them. But, when you’re in a place who’s town is going to the Super Bowl, well you can’t help but soften up a bit. Everyone is wearing their purple, but we here in the Davis house are proudly rocking our red and gold (which is incidentally the Redskins colors too). It’s been fun jabbing all the Ravens fans, and showing our support in the heart of the so-called “Ravens Nation”. frostyBut, I have to say I’d be happy to see either team win. Both have had a terrific season, and the fact that they are brothers? So cool. So, I had to do something extra-special to mark the occasion. And, what better way to do that than with cupcakes? I did a standard red velvet with cream cheese frosting for the 49ers, glazed with some gold dust, then topped with a #7 for our star quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. I ran across the idea for these “kaepcakes” last week, and thought they were so cute! They turned out great. For the Ravens cupcakes, I did a simple chocolate cupcake and topped with an even simpler buttercream frosting – with white and gold embellishments, and a royal icing football on top. They’re very festive, and didn’t take much time. Will make a great centerpiece on our munchie table tonight!

This quick buttercream frosting is my go-to standard frosting. A few ingredients, and you’ve got a homemade frosting that will crush anything that comes from a can. I hope you all enjoy game day, and have some great food in your future today! Go Niners!

Quick Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Reduce mixer speed to low, and add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract and a pinch of salt and increase speed on mixer to medium. Beat for 1 minute. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Frosting adapted from Wilton, “Kaepcakes” inspired by Frost Bakery & Fine Foods

Blueberry Chocolate Scones

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Blueberry Chocolate SconesCan you believe that before I made these, I’d never had a scone in my life. Which is pretty lame considering a majority of the blood running through my veins is Scottish and English. When given he opportunity I always go for the muffin, or the doughnut – and pass over the scones without a second glance.

I was watching an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” last weekend, a show which every time I watch it, I swear I’ll never watch it again – because after every episode I have a list of things that I need to make, like – right now! Anyway, this guy was on there making nectarine scones that looked absolutely fabulous. It made me sad that I’d never had one! So, I decided then and there to make them for breakfast on Sunday morning.

A few weeks ago, Brookside Chocolate contacted me asking if I’d be interested in trying some of their products. Free chocolate? Well, that’s a no-brainer! They sent along the nicest little kit that included three bags (Blueberry with Acai, Pomegranate, and Raspberry with Goji) of their chocolate covered fruit juice pieces. Which, I promptly devoured most of. They’re so good. The fruit pieces inside are just sweet enough to really let the flavors in the chocolate come through. The chocolate is high quality too, just as rich and smooth as can be. I had pulled a recipe for blueberry white chocolate scones, but thought adding some of the dark chocolate blueberry-acai pieces would be fun! So, that’s what I did.

I’m proud to announce that I am now a scone fan! I’d say the best way to describe them is halfway between a cake and a biscuit. Fluffy, and creamy – studded with delicious blueberries and chocolate. I honestly can’t think of a better way to start the day! Oh wait, maybe I can – the good people at Brookside have offered to give away a tasting kit to one of my fine readers! It includes:

1 pkg. Brookside Dark Chocolate Pomegranate
1 pkg. Brookside Dark Chocolate Açai with Blueberry
1 pkg. Brookside Dark Chocolate Goji with Raspberry
Crate & Barrel 3-part server with central loop handle
Crate & Barrel stainless steel cheese server
Crate & Barrel porcelain cheese board
2 stemless wine glasses
Grocery gift card ($30)
Gaiam exercise headband
1 year subscription to Fitness Magazine

All you need to do is leave one comment telling me which flavor you’re most looking forward to trying! Contest runs through next Thursday (2/7) at 12 PM EST. Winner will be chosen using a random number generator.

Congratulations to Meryl, with entry 37! She’s looking forward to trying the Dark Chocolate Pomegranate. Thanks to Brookside for sponsoring such a great giveaway!

Blueberry Chocolate Scones

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup Brookside dark chocolate blueberry acai pieces, chopped
3/4 cup buttermilk + 2 Tbsp
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Mix on low to combine. Add the butter, and mix on low speed until the butter pieces are the size of a dime.

Slowly add in 3/4 cup buttermilk and mix until it forms a stiff dough. Add in the blueberries and chopped chocolate, and mix until just combined.

Turn out dough to a floured work surface and pat down to a 9×9 inch square. Cut dough into thirds. Then, cut each third into three triangles and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the 2 Tbsp of buttermilk, then dust it with sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until starting to brown on the edges. Serve warm with butter or honey.

Source: adapted from Food.com (user Just Call Me Martha)

Lumpia

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LumpiaI have many good memories associated with lumpia and football. A family friend always made them for the Super Bowl party we went to, year after year, and everyone always loved them. They were out of the kitchen as soon as they came out of the fryer!

Most of the ingredients are fairly easy to come by, even for a country mouse like myself. You may have a hard time finding spring roll wrappers. I know I did, for years. Until finally I realized that we have an Asian market here in Salisbury. Subconciously, I knew it was there. But, I’d always avoided it because the mini-strip mall that they call home looks kind of skeezy. A month or so ago, I finally ventured in, and am kicking myself for not going in sooner. Everything was clean, and well organized – and ingredients that I’d been searching years to find (black vinegar! good fish sauce!) were on the shelves in abundance. Was so happy to see that they had spring roll wrappers, so I purchased a couple packages to stick in the freezer. Then came home and set out to try making my own lumpia!

They come together fairly quickly, as you don’t pre-cook the filling. Just make sure to chop the carrots and cabbage very finely – as this helps to lighten the texture of the ground pork. Also, keep in mind that lumpia should be a good deal smaller than an egg roll – because they’re almost exclusively meat, as opposed to shredded vegetables. It’s easy to find yourself wanting to put more filling in before you roll them up – but, resist that urge. About one fingers width and length is the amount of filling you want in each roll.

If you’re still looking for Super Bowl munchie ideas, definitely consider this one. They can be fried in advance, then kept warm in the oven for an hour or so – without having the crispiness of the roll suffer.  Which leaves you plenty of time to mix up some Hurricanes before your guests arrive! Also, GO NINERS!

Lumpia

1 lb ground pork
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup carrots, finely minced
1 cup cabbage, finely minced
1/2 cup green onions, finely minced
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
30 spring roll (or lumpia) wrappers

In a large bowl combine ground pork, garlic, carrots, cabbage, green onions, and ginger. Using clean hands, mix to combine.

To wrap the lumpia, place 3 teaspoons of the filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2 inch space at both ends. Fold the side along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the wrapper with water to seal the edge. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap to retain moisture.

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or dutch oven to 350 degrees. Place 3 or 4 lumpia into the oil. Fry the rolls for about 5 minutes, turning often, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels that are placed on top on a cooling rack. Serve immediately with sweet chili or soy sauce.

Source: inspired by our family friend, CJ