An oldie but goodie, with a side of biscuits and gravy
I grew up with very Southern cooking. There was never a lack of black-eyed peas, grits or different foods cooked with a ham hock (even when my brother and me wished there would be). Fried chicken with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and homemade biscuits was a favorite meal of the family, and we spent many Sundays gathered at my grandparents' house stuffing ourselves with it, followed by a game of Canasta or Back Alley, with the Braves on in the background.
When we had time to gather for breakfast on the weekends, the meal was just as big and varied. The steaming homemade biscuits made another appearance, along with fried eggs, bacon, slabs of ham, and bowls of sausage gravy.
I could eat just sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast every day for the rest of my life and be happy, I think. Because now, living so far from home and those big family gatherings, biscuits and gravy is more than food to me -- it's emotional sustenance as well, a time machine transporting me back to the laughter and tears around the table with my family. It's my dad teasing me by stealing a biscuit off my plate when I turned my head, or my mom getting aggravated with my grandfather for picking on the food she cooked as he wolfed down every bite. It's my grandmother trying to ask my brother about some girl in his life, and then embarrassing him even more by asking him why he was so red.
Biscuits and gravy is what I cook when I'm feeling down, when I'm missing my folks or I'm worried about how we're going to choose between paying the rent and fixing the car. It's comfort food in its purest form.
There's not much to it. I haven't had the courage to make homemade biscuits yet -- I know they won't taste anything like home. So I use canned biscuits (gasp!) and a sleeve of Jimmy Dean maple sausage. I pop the biscuits in the oven first, so they'll be done about the same time as the gravy.
Break the sausage up in a 10-inch skillet and cook it on medium heat til it's brown all the way through, stirring it occasionally. Add 1/2- to 3/4-cups of flour, and stir the sausage til the flour coats it well. Add whole milk (I'll explain the importance of whole milk in a minute), covering the bottom of the skillet and almost covering the sausage. Add salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down, and stir frequently to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Once it thickens up, remove from heat and serve over biscuits.
The good thing about this recipe is that you almost can't mess it up. If it gets too thick, add some more milk. If it won't thicken up, whisk some more flour into it. The whole milk is important, though, I learned. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't thicken up like my mama's used to. I only drink skim milk, and I usually use it in recipes. However, one day only my husband's whole milk was left, and I used that to make the gravy. It thickend right up. Turns out whole milk does make a creamier gravy.
For some other tips, check out this site. The Southern Angel has a ton of Southern food tips and recipes, as well as some great Southern humor.
Comments (6)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
Doggone it, Mel, I'm on a diet! Just reading this post just made me gain a pound.
Biscuits were a big part of my life too. The big debate was whether my Mamo's or my Mama's were the best. I voted for my Mama's - little flaky biscuits made with Crisco.
Posted on October 23, 2005 2:10 PM
Man, now I'm hungry. Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow! (My husband, who's from NY will love it lol)
Posted on October 23, 2005 2:13 PM
This was a delicious post! I make pretty decent scratch biscuits, but rarely bother anymore since Pillsbury started selling frozen ones. Better than the canned ones by a mile, and almost as good as mine!
Posted on October 23, 2005 6:19 PM
Biscuits are fairly easy, but it is in knowing the length of time to knead them that makes or breaks the batch. You basically just fold the dough over about 5 times at most before pinching them off and rolling them around (as my mom did) or rolling the dough out and cutting them with a biscuit cutter or glass.
I'd be happy to show you sometime....
Ron
Posted on October 23, 2005 7:51 PM
I think that's my problem -- I like to cook fast and loose, and having to worry about timing scares me. I just need to put aside a day and attempt it, along with some loaves of bread and pie crusts, which I've been putting off trying. And if the biscuits don't come out very well, well, my husband's not going to complain ;-) If I have problems, I'll let you know. :-)
Posted on October 23, 2005 9:28 PM
Another Southern culinary secret out of the closet. I'm too embarassed to tell you about my lame attempts to pair 'sausage' with 'gravy.' My husband will love this.
Posted on October 25, 2005 10:36 AM