Gravy

Working overnight has it's perks. As it turns out, I actually enjoy being up early in the morning...though it tends to sour the rest of my day by making it seem unbearably long. One of my favorite things to do is shop, especially for groceries before 7 am. This morning, I decided I would have butternut squash soup and some sort of cabbage side. For breakfast I wanted biscuits with sausage gravy. I really haven't tried to make this, my favorite breakfast meal, so I figured it was time. I collected a few other random things at the store...this always happens when I shop.

Anywho, I got home, and immediately started on making the biscuits. I love having shortening in the house, because I feel like it opens countless culinary doors. Same thing with butter and bacon. Do you see a fatty trend here? :) My original plan was to just "eyeball" the ingredients for the biscuits. They really aren't complicated, so it wouldn't be hard to do. I'm not a big measurer, I cook using my senses...mainly sight and taste. As I was getting ready to dump some flour in a bowl, I noticed the biscuit recipe on the back of the can of baking powder, and decided to use it. I don't have as much experience as I'd like with making biscuits, so it's was smart to at least have a recipe to reference. It was quick and easy, and the biscuits were in the oven, baking up to buttery goodness within 5 minutes!

Now for the gravy. I heart gravy. I've had all kinds of gravy, from onion gravy (a staple of my childhood), to red eye gravy. Gravy makes me happy. My favorite is pork sausage gravy. I squeezed some pork sausage into a pot and browned it. The next step was where I experienced uncertainty. I still get a bit unsure about whether to use flour or cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Normally, I go for the starch, but I've noticed it doesn't always lend the best tasting product. I'm not saying it makes foods disgusting, but it does lend a little something...extra that people could do without if there was an alternative. So what did I use?

This was the morning of flour power! I added a few tablespoons of the stuff to the browned sausage, coating it well. I've realized adding fat to your thickener, rather than mixing the thickener to cold water yields a smoother, richer sauce. After I felt enough flour had been added, I poured in the heavy cream and milk. By the time it cooked up, the biscuits were done. The gravy took only a couple of minutes to thicken. Everything was FABULOUS! In case you were questioning it...yes, I did just spend a whole post talking about biscuits and gravy.