Southern Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy

I fell in love with biscuits and gravy while at school in Tennessee. My life's goal for cooking was to find a good biscuit recipe. After years of experimenting I came up with this one. It's my son's Saturday morning favorite. The recipe is easy and the biscuits will magically disappear before your eyes.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour plus some for dusting cutting board

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 stick butter, cold

1 cup buttermilk, (shaken) plus some for basting

4 teaspoons baking powder (recommended - Rumford, it contains no aluminum which is suspected of contributing to Alzheimer's disease)

Gravy recipes below

Note: recipe may be increased or decreased as follows:
For more biscuits, use 3 cups of flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, and 1½ - 2 cups buttermilk.
For a larger batch – 4 cups of flour and 2 cups buttermilk.
For a smaller batch; 1½ cups of flour; 3 teaspoons baking powder and ¾ - 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Baking rack in middle of oven.
• In a large mixing bowl (the largest one you have), whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Mix well.
• Cut butter into thin slices then into smaller squares, avoid handling butter too much with your hands as it will soften – the butter needs to remain firm.
• Add butter pieces to flour mixture and ‘cut in’ with a pastry cutter or fork. The goal is to break up the butter into smaller pieces and incorporate with the dry ingredients. The butter will stick to the metal, scrape it off with a knife and keep going.
• After a few minutes of ‘cutting in’ the butter, its time to use your hands. Place a handful of the mixture between your hands and rub it back and forth over the mixing bowl. The idea is to break up the butter and coat it with the dry ingredients, until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
• Once this is done, make a shallow bowl shaped depression in the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk in. Gently mix with a spatula (a silicone spatula works great). Don’t overwork the dough, just until buttermilk is well mixed. The dough should be sticky. If there are dry parts in the dough add more buttermilk a little at a time and mix gently.
• Place parchment paper on heavy gauge (preferably steel) baking sheet.
• Dust your work surface with some flour. A large cutting board or pastry mat works well.
• Turn the dough onto the floured surface. 
• Knead dough for 3 - 4 minutes, folding each side toward the center and flattening repeatedly. Lightly dust the dough with additional flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the work surface
• I prefer to shape the dough into a long, thin roll about 2 inches wide for cutting. Some prefer a round shape. It’s your call. Shape the dough with your hands, pressing it down gently until it’s roughly ¾ to 1-inch in thickness.
• With a 2 -inch round cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits pressing the cutter straight downward. Place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. If you want larger biscuits, a 2 ½ or 3 inch cutter may be used.
• Re-shape leftover dough into a 1 inch thick piece and cut the last biscuits, placing them on the baking sheet.
• Using your fingers or a basting brush, lightly coat the tops of the biscuits with remaining buttermilk.
• Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 17 minutes.
• Serve with gravy.

There are some good packaged white gravy mixes available. I like them and they're easy to make. If you want to make your own there are 3 recipes below. The first is an authentic southern- style method. The second is probably the easiest. The 3rd adds a kick with some herbs and aromatics.

White Sausage Gravy
Ingredients:
1/2 lb pork sausage
Salt and Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons flour
Milk or half and half.
Directions:

• Brown sausage in a large skillet, on medium - high heat, breaking and crumbling as it browns.
• Add flour, stirring constantly with a whisk to make a roux.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Reduce heat to low. Add a little milk at a time while stirring constantly until creamy.
• Serve over biscuits.

Easy White Gravy
Ingredients:
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
Salt
Pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
Directions:

• Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat.
• Mix in flour, salt and pepper; cook, stirring frequently until smooth and bubbly.
• Stir in milk. Heat to boiling on medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir and boil 1 minute.
• Serve over biscuits.

Spicy White Gravy
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon diced chives
1 shallot finely chopped or 1/4 small onion
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sage
Directions:

• In a large saucepan on medium heat melt butter with olive oil.
• Sauté onions and chives, until onions are translucent.
• Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes.
• Add flour; stir for about a minute to make a roux.
• Quickly whisk in milk and cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk gravy constantly until it becomes thick and creamy.
• Serve over biscuits

Mocha Chip Scones

A wonderful morning treat - great with coffee.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 large eggs, lightly beaten separately
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup white baking chips
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 tablespoon heavy cream
White sugar
1/4 cup brewed coffee, double strength, cooled

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, combine coffee, cream, 1 egg, and vanilla extract; set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine baking mix, sugar, white baking, and chocolate chips.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and work into a crumbly dough.
• On a lightly floured surface, form dough into a 9-inch disk (approximately 1/2-inch thick). Cut into 12 wedges and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon cream and remaining beaten egg. Brush tops of scones with egg mixture and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with butter!

Beer Battered Cod and Grilled Pineapple

As good as you'll find at any restaurant.
One of my wife's favorites. You've gotta try it!

Ingredients:
Olive oil (spray can works well)
11/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2/3 cup beer (a good ale or stout)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons baking powder
Salt and fresh ground pepper
1 - 2 lemons
2 or 3 slices of fresh pineapple
Cooking oil - a deep fryer works best. Walgreen's usually has a good one for less than $30. Once you have it, you'll use it a lot. Otherwise heat the oil in a kettle.
1 pound of fresh cod cut into strips about 3 inches long and 1-2 inches wide.

Note on buying fish: Smell it before you buy it. Fresh fish should have a clean aroma, if it has a 'fishy' odor, it isn't fresh.

Directions:

• Heat deep fryer to highest setting or heat vegetable oil in kettle. The oil should be 2 inches deep, heat to 350 to 370 degrees (use candy thermometer), be careful not to overheat oil or it will smoke.
• Heat grill surface on high.
• In a dish, whisk together 3/4 cup of flour, beer, egg, and baking powder. Beer will foam up, and may flow over sides if dish is too shallow, you may want to whisk in a sink. Batter should have thick consistency, similar to that of shampoo.
• Place remaining 1/2 cup flour in a separate shallow dish.
• To prepare the food in the right sequence so that everything is done at the same time, take note of the following sequence and cook both the pineapple and fish simultaneously, both will cook in about 5 to 6 minutes:

1. Preheat oven to 200 F.
2. Season both sides of fish fillets with salt and black pepper.
3. Dredge the fish in flour, turn to coat both sides and then shake off excess flour.
4. Lightly coat pineapple slices with olive oil and place on grill that is on high heat.
5. Allow 3 to 5 minutes per side, until good grill marks appear on both sides. As soon as pineapple is on the grill:
6. Dunk fish in beer batter and turn to coat both sides. Keep batter dish near oil, as batter will drip from fish.
7. Add fish to hot oil, turn them over after a couple of minutes to cook evenly, until coating is golden brown. Depending on size of filets and temperature of the oil they should take 5 to 7 minutes to cook.
8. Remove fish from oil. If using a kettle with oil, use metal slotted spoon or "spider". Place on a paper towel lined plate for a minute.
9. The fish is cooked in several batches. To keep it hot and crisp, transfer fish to a baking rack on top of a cookie sheet in oven @ 200 F.
10. When all the fish is done, transfer to dinner plate and serve with pineapple. Slice lemons in half and squeeze juice over fish.

Greek Meatballs

Mediteranean meatballs in pita bread.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 pound lean ground lamb or beef or pork
1 slice of bread (pulsed in a food processor)
1/4 cup milk
The zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon fresh dill or mint (finely chopped)
1/4 cup feta cheese (crumbled, optional)
Salt & pepper to taste
Greek style pitas
1 tomato (chopped)
1/2 red onion (chopped)
1 cup Tzatziki sauce

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 F.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. If available use an oven-safe skillet.
• Saute the onions until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add garlic and saute 2 minutes, remove from heat.
• Mix everything in a bowl.
• Roll the mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet on meduim-high heat. Brown the meatballs, turning every 2 minutes. Browning should take about 8 minutes
• Remove meatballs from heat. If oven safe skillet was used, place in oven. If not, transfer to baking sheet and bake 10 minutes
• Lightly toast the pita in a pan.
• Place the meatballs, tomatoes, onions and Tzatziki sauce in the pita.

Italian Apricot Chicken

This sweet chicken recipe take on an Italian twist.

Ingredients:

Apricot Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken stock (broth)
1/2 cup apricot preserves
Salt and pepper to taste

Tomato Mixture:
1/2 lb roma tomatoes, cut into 1” pieces
6 basil leaves, cut into 1/2” pieces
1 tsp garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic Herb Seasoning:
3 tsp garlic pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 bunch asparagus (remove bottom inch of stems)
1/2 lb broccoli florets
1Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Chopped parsley to garnish

Directions:

• Combine Garlic Herb Seasoning ingredients in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
• Blend chicken stock and apricot preserves in a sauce pan. Add salt & pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
• Combine tomatoes, basil, garlic pepper and salt in a separate mixing bowl and set aside.
• Blanch asparagus and broccoli for 1 minute in a pot of salted boiling water. Transfer immediately to ice bath to stop cooking.
• Coat sauté pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. While keeping ingredients separated in pan, heat cooled asparagus, broccoli and tomato mixture and until hot. Do not overcook.
• Grill chicken until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Place grilled chicken on a platter next to hot broccoli and asparagus. Sprinkle Garlic Herb Seasoning on broccoli.
• Pour tomato mixture on top of vegetables.
• Top chicken breasts with apricot sauce and garnish with chopped parsley

Sweet Rice with Raisins and Almonds‏

I fell in love with this dish an Anthony's restaurant. Rice with a hint of sweetness from white raisins and a little crunch from almonds. Wonderful!

Ingredients:
2 c. water
1 c. uncooked long-grain white rice
(instant rice may be used if time is short - follow package directions)
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. slivered almonds, divided
4 tbsp. white raisins, divided
1 tsp. butter
1/2 tsp. sugar

Directions:

• In a small saucepan bring water to a rolling boil. Add rice and salt.
• Reduce heat to low; cook, covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender and fluffy.
• Stir in 3 tablespoons almonds, 3 tablespoons raisins, butter, and sugar. Cover and let stand 3 minutes.
• Spoon into serving dish or platter and garnish with remaining almonds and raisins. Makes six 2/3 cup servings.

Bacon Wrapped Pineapple Shrimp

In a hurry? Try this quick, easy and delicious shrimp recipe.

Ingredients:
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 fresh pineapple cut into bite sized chunks or 1 (14-ounce) can pineapple chunks in natural juice, drained
12 slices of pre-cooked bacon
12 wooden toothpicks
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

• Holding a shrimp, nest a chunk of pineapple in the natural curve of the shrimp then wrap bacon around the shrimp and pineapple and secure with a wooden toothpick.
• Wrap and secure all 12 shrimp.
• Heat olive oil in large skillet then place wrapped shrimp in skillet.
• Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until bacon is crisp and shrimp are opaque and firm.