Mmmmm....Gravy Biscuits.....

Ah, what a lovely week!

There's something about the days getting noticeably longer and getting a new start with the new year that is extremely refreshing.  Particularly when that is coupled with, for me, starting a new job on Monday and having a nice bunch of things to do.

Joel and I were very excited when early this week we had a knock at the door and a large box was delivered -- in that box sat most of the music the ward choir will be performing this year, shortly followed by the delivery of a further large envelope of music when the regular post came.  We are so pleased to be in the music callings that we are and are having a great time choosing and rehearsing music.  I suppose our only wish is for more members of the choir, especially as we're going to be doing some eight-part music this year and we want more than one voice on each part!

For a sampling of the music we're going to try out this year, check out the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU7o0OJQBJQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8og_kWv0as
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScQMxiyEIfs

The only thing that would make it better was if we actually had the Orchestra at Temple Square to complete the mix...

This week we had the fabulous opportunity to have some friends over for dinner.  Angus, Emily, and Chauncy joined us for my very-first-ever quiche Lorraine, jacket potatoes, and a nice rocket salad.  The quiche turned out really well, I was very pleased with it and likely to make it again very soon.

Angus and Emily, married in December, had a bit of a mishap with their wedding cake, so we pulled out the cake slice from our wedding and had them reenact the moment so I could capture it for eternity:

You can see Chauncy "hanging about" in the left margin...

(Emily made the cake, by the way, and it was delicious!)

Also this week we had the epitome of Southern comfort food, the illustrious Gravy Biscuit.

I'm not certain if Joel completely understood what the fuss was about biscuits and gravy until I made these.  He wondered about whether you could use normal British gravy (the thin, glossy brown kind) and why you would eat them as a main course.  Naturally, these are American biscuits, and you must use American sausage gravy.  I am glad, however, that he persuaded me to use the good British sausages instead of something else, as the gravy was perfect.

Last time I made biscuits we had them with stew, and Joel could barely stop himself from eating them before dinner even though I hadn't worked out the timing in the oven completely and they came out rather brown and dry.  This time they were decidedly better, so much so that when we followed up dinner with some biscuits and jam, Joel said it was almost a shame to have jam on the biscuits as they were so perfect.  Indeed they were, light, fluffy and buttery, perfection in bread.  They're actually very similar to plain British scones, but with almost a more cakelike texture.

Because I'm a nice person, I'll give you the secrets to this super-easy meal.  Really, it cooks up in something like 30 minutes, start to finish.


Mom's Buttermilk Biscuits
In a small bowl, add
1/8 C warm water
1/2 T yeast
Let yeast proof while you mix the dry ingredients.

Mix
2 1/2 C flour (any kind seems to be fine)
1/2 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/8 C sugar

Cut into the flour mixture
3/8 C of butter (yes, weird, but this recipe has been cut in half from the standard)

To the flour/butter mixture, add the yeast mixture and
1 C buttermilk

Mix all ingredients and knead for at least a minute.  The dough should be cold, soft, and feel very light.  It will be moist -- add a little more flour if needed, only until the dough holds together and doesn't stick too much to your hands when you knead it.

Roll out to about 1 inch thick on a clean surface and cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter or cup.  This size batch makes about 16 medium biscuits.

Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes.  To check doneness, lift the top of a middle biscuit and look at the inside.  Biscuits should be golden on top with the very littlest bit of golden brown.  Brush tops with butter straight out of the oven.

The buttermilk is key.  Don't try to replace it with something else unless you really can't find buttermilk!  If you can't find buttermilk, you can put a little bit of vinegar in a cup of milk and let it rest for a few minutes, and that will give a similar flavour.

The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until you're ready to roll it out, cut it, and bake it, which makes things even easier.  If you have a few minutes in the morning, mix it up and stick it in the fridge to bake for dinner.


Sausage Gravy
Remove skins from 3 medium sausages (3 inches long) and cook in a frying pan until brown, chopping into smallish chunks with spatula.  If there is any fat, drain it off.

In a small jug, whisk together
1 C milk
1 T flour
salt
pepper

When the sausage is cooked, pour in the milk mixture with the sausage and cook over medium heat until it starts to boil.  Cook another 2-3 minutes, or until gravy starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Halve biscuits and ladle some gravy onto each half.  One cup of milk will do enough gravy to cover about 4 medium biscuits, which is enough for two adults (and by enough I mean that at that point you know you should stop eating though you may perhaps want to continue).  Adjust the amount of liquid however you like to get the perfect balance of sausage to gravy.



Gravy biscuits are such a staple of Southern American life that I can't imagine going without them, even though I am most certainly not southern.  They're simply too good to pass up.  Unfortunately, you can't skimp the butter or buttermilk in the biscuits and there's really no way of making the gravy less fatty, so you're stuck with the calorie content unless you want to skimp on the flavour.  My advice: don't make it too often.  It's simply not advisable for the sake of your arteries.

But oh, they taste good.......