Food on Fridays: Birthday Biscuits and Gravy

fof

(smaller button below)

For the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe. We’re pretty relaxed over here, and stories and photos are as welcome as menus and recipes.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button to paste at the top of your post. It ties us together visually.

Then fill in the boxes of this linky tool to join the fun!

Food on Fridays with Ann

Birthday boys and girls at our house get to request a special breakfast on their big day. I used to be able to guess pretty accurately who would ask for crepes and who would want chocolate croissants.

But times and tastes have changed, and my 16-year-old daughter surprised me by requesting biscuits and gravy.

This surprised me not only because she usually requests crepes, but also because my biscuits are inconsistent—they turn out dry and hard frequently enough that I asked if she was sure she wanted to take the risk.

She assured me that she likes them even if they turn out like hardtack. “After all,” she pointed out, “we’ll be putting the gravy on top, so that will moisten them up.”

So I pulled out my recipe and mixed up a double batch of biscuits.

While they baked, I pulled out a package of frozen sausage for the gravy.

And it worked. It all worked.

The biscuits were light and fluffy.

The gravy was rich and flavorful.

I usually request a Trader Joe’s chocolate croissant for my own birthday breakfast, but I might rethink that selection, because I seem to be getting the hang of biscuit-making.

Biscuits Supreme
(from Better Homes & Garden cookbook)

Ingredients:

  • 2 C flour
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 4 t baking powder
  • 2 t sugar (I left out the sugar)
  • 1/2 t cream of tartar
  • 1/2 C shortening (I used half butter, half applesauce)
  • 2/3 C milk

Directions:

Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well, add milk (and applesauce). Stir quickly with fork till dough follows fork around the bowl. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently 10-12 strokes. Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick. Cut with cutter (I used a juice glass). Bake on ungreased baking sheet, very hot oven (450) 10-12 minutes.

Gravy

Gravy instructions: Brown 1 pound thawed breakfast sausage. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup flour (maybe less) into the pan. Stir to make a kind of roux. Add milk and stir on low to medium heat until gravy thickens to preferred consistency (add milk if it thickens too much). Salt and pepper to taste. Add additional sage if desired.

:::

Credits: All photos by Sophie Marie. Used with permission.

  • There’s always more to come: subscribe to Ann Kroeker by e-mail
  • Want to slow down in our fast-paced world? Check out Not So Fast.
  • “Like” me on Facebook.
  • Follow me on Twitter.