Biscuits and Gravy

Growing up, the only thing my two sisters and I ever wanted to eat for Sunday morning breakfast was biscuits and sausage gravy. When given the option between pancakes or waffles or eggs or biscuits and gravy we always chose,without hesitation, the last. Both the recipes are classic southern dishes from my Dad's mom in the motherland of Kentucky. When Mom breaks out the White Lily flour (a self-rising flour specially imported from Kentucky by my uncle) and Dad breaks out the sausage, our mouths start watering. Even though we've all moved out to college, whenever we're all home, this meal is the first on our lists. In fact, this past Thanksgiving, we asked for this on more than one morning.

This Thursday, with no class until 2pm, I was naturally pulled towards the kitchen to make a breakfast worthy of the luxury of sleeping in. The first thing on my mind? Biscuits and Gravy. To start the gravy, I sliced open two links of Italian sausage and removed the outer skins (a technique I've seen my Dad do in the past). I then sautéed the loose sausage until cooked thoroughly and then set it aside. The gravy is milk based on a classic roux (butter and flour) as a thickening agent. This is cooked until the desired consistency is reached and then the sausage is added back in along with additional seasonings.

The biscuits proved a greater challenge. With no White Lily or self-rising flour of any kind, I had to do some Bing recipe searching. The following recipe I found on allrecipes. com. The resulting biscuits were nowhere near as light and fluffy as my mom's are, having to do with the use of regular all-purpose flour as well as our tempramental oven and probable over-kneading. Still, they were the closest I could get to the perfect sausage gravy vehicle.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening with fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Pour milk into flour mixture while stirring with a fork. Mix in milk until dough is soft, moist, and pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and toss with flour until no longer sticky. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick sheet. (We don't own a rolling pin, so we used a glass instead).

Cut dough with a floured biscuit or cookie cutter. Press together unused dough and repeat rolling and cutting procedure. Place biscuit on ungreased and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Serving suggestions. Yummy!

Biscuits are also delicious when served with jelly of your choice.

Above: Raspberry Jam

Post-Gym Bacon Obsession

Confession: This household is officially obsessed with bacon.

Last semester, when we were still stranded in the dorms, after a long and seriously exhausting trip to the gym we would crave one thing: sushi. Or should I say "sushi" in quotation marks. The gym has a health-food bar that includes California rolls, Philadelphia rolls, Eel rolls, etc. and after a long workout, these "sushi" rolls used to be heavenly in comparison to what awaited us at the diner--lukewarm fries, dried out chicken tenders, and grease-dripping pizza.

But now, with the addition of our kitchen, the love of our lives, to our gym routine came the addition of something else: BACON. Yes, that's right, bacon. After missing our yoga class by 15 minutes due to an unannounced time change, we resorted to two hours of ellipticals, abs, "racquetball" (again, in quotation marks. We don't play by the rules. There's far too much thinking and running involved. Our one rule: hit the ball if it comes near you / if you feel like it. But I digress...) After two long hours at the gym, there was only one thing on our minds: BACON. We had just restocked our bacon supply after finishing that 3lb box. Our solution? Bacon Cheese Dogs.

So, upon arriving back at the homey warmth of our kitchen--I mean apartment--our first order of business: get that bacon cookin'. And by first our order of business, I really mean the FIRST order of business. This was pre-showers. Unsanitary? Maybe. Disgusting? Yes. But absolutely crucial and probably our best decision that night? Most definitely.

We don't think a recipe is needed in this post. Cook your bacon, cook your hot dogs, melt cheese on those buns (our choices: cheddar, Gouda, or Provolone), and put it all together. The awesomeness that will ensue when that first bit hits your tongue can only be described as a gastronomical miracle, a foodgasm, and/or the greatest thing that you have ever created at 10:30 at night. Most of us know the feeling of being starving after the gym. But not many of us have the luxury of finding that ideal food to perfectly fit the craving mold. THIS IS THAT FOOD.

The soft crisp of the bun as your teeth pierce it's golden brown edges is followed ever-so-smoothly by the warm velvety ooze of the perfectly melted cheese. The pop of the hot dog edges signals the release of that salty brine we all know so well. But the perfect end to the slow-motion bite is the crunch and crisp of the bacon itself--the perfect textural complement to the softness of the rest of the composition. All this is topped off by the sour-spiciness of a thin coat of Dijon mustard spread ever-so-gently on the inside of the bun and the sweet-tanginess of a squiggle of ketchup along the side of the hot dog.

We must warn you: some common side effects of viewing the following photos may include uncontrollable salivation potentially ending in full-on drooling, seriously loud stomach growling, and the sudden urge to stand up from your desk and run to your nearest source of bacon-y goodness. Enjoy.

Sausage and Peppers

Don't get too excited. This post is not going to be in any way amusing, funny, or as interesting as our usual posts. There's nothing tremendously interesting to say about this night. So, in true food blog form, here's something we made for dinner the other night. We had two bell peppers about to go bad in our fridge. Something had to be done! When combined with garlic, onions, sausage, and some pasta, two ordinary peppers become a delicious and hearty meal of Sausage and Peppers and our simplified version of a traditional Italian meal.

Ingredients:

2 Bell Peppers, sliced (of any color. We used yellow and green but red is traditional.)

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 Italian sausage links

1 lb pasta (of any kind. We used a mixture of penne and cellentani.)

Sauté sausage links until mostly cooked. Slice links into bite-sized pieces and return them to the pan. Finish cooking to a perfect golden brown. Set aside.

Cook pasta of choice to a perfect al denté. Drain and set aside.

Sauté garlic in olive oil. When it is almost golden brown, add diced onion and sauté until almost brown. Add spices of choice. We added pepper, basil, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Thrown in sliced peppers and cook until tender. When all the vegetables are cooked, throw in cooked sausage and pasta and stir in pan until warm. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese.

This dish makes really delicious leftovers, so always make extra!

Bad Mushroom!

I haven't posted anything in a while, and it's making me feel like a bad/lame/slacker Champignon compared to my way more productive Chou of a blogmate. So here's a public service announcement for you all, since that is the best I can do for you right now!

There is a farmer's market coming to UMD! Yes, the University of Maryland. Yes, a REAL LIFE farmer's market. It should be starting sometime in April, so we'll keep you posted as soon as we hear any more details.

And while we're on the topic of farmer's markets, we're looking for your feedback. We've heard of Eastern Market, and we've heard of the Dupont Circle farmer's market. But if there are any other awesome farmer's markets nearby or in the D.C. metro area that you've gone to before and would like to share, leave a comment! Let's show our Maryland farmers some love :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies? or Scones Perhaps? or Biscuits? Maybe Pancakes?

10:30pm. What seems like simultaneously, we all crave one thing: chocolate chip cookies. But, as usual, we're missing one crucial ingredient: brown sugar. After some intense Googling and Bing recipe searching ("chocolate chip cookies, no brown sugar," "brown sugar-less cookies," "HELP," etc.) we discover a recipe that calls for just 1 cup of white sugar and, surprisingly, some honey. We inferred that the honey mixed with the white sugar replaces the molasses consistency and sweetness of brown sugar. With mixed reviews, many complaining of the "cakey" texture of the cookie, and absolutely no pictures to speak of, this was quite the culinary adventure.

The first batch out of the oven resembled more of a biscuit than a cookie. The dough did not spread out to cookie form, but instead remained intact in its original ball form. First batch: look like biscuits, taste like scones.

The taste was definitely delicious, so we decided to move on to batch number two. This time, we pressed down each cookie with the bottom of a glass (just like the procedure in Snickerdoodles). After baking this batch, the cookies remained in their pressed down form, now resembling more of a cookie but still retaining the scone-like flavor and texture. One friend likened them to pancakes and because they are not as sweet as a cookie typically is, decided they would be absolutely delicious when dipped in syrup. (This hypothesis was later confirmed). Second batch: look more like cookies, taste like scones, remind of pancakes.

Our conclusion, we love this recipe. We tweaked it slightly to accommodate our chocolate-loving souls by doubling the amount of chocolate chips the original recipe called for. While they might not satisfy the Tollhouse cookie craving due to lack of sweetness and non-existent cookie texture, they are perfect for a breakfast on-the-go. We're still not sure what to call them, but for now: chocolate chip not-so-cookie scones / biscuits / pancakes.

Typical scene: recipe on the computer, surrounded by ingredients, topped off with kitchen aid.

Ingredients:

-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

-2 eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-3/4 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

-1 cup white sugar

-2 tablespoons honey

-1 1/4 cups butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. Cream the butter with the sugar and the honey

3. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

4. Add the flour and baking soda.

5. Stir in chocolate chips.

6. Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and place about 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

7. Press each ball down slightly using the bottom of a glass.

8. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

All 48 cookies were gone in under 24 hours. This recipe was a huge success.

Linguine with Shrimp and Tomato Sauce

On a Sunday night after a long day's homeworking and a feeble attempt to go to the gym (the first of the semester), dinner is both the first thing on your mind (because you're starving) and the last (because you're far too exhausted to even think of cooking). Definitely time to mooch off a friend and beg for pre-made diner food.

Or not. 7:01pm. Diner Closed.

After digging through the freezer for a couple minutes, I came across some frozen shrimp hiding behind our beloved emergency burritos. Hand-me-downs from when my sister had this apartment, there were only about ten left. I decided to use them to augment what would typically be a plain old linguine with tomato sauce dish.

Cooking the shrimp was simple--a quick defrost and then in boiling water for a mere minute or two. But, simple as it seems, adding this little bit of seafood to a jar of tomato sauce really adds a flavor and protein punch that is much needed on a Sunday night. This dish is so straightforward but just special enough to make you feel like you've accomplished something in the kitchen.

Pots: 2

Burners: 2

Knives: 0

Splashes of tomato sauce on the wall: lots.

Consider House Rule #2: "Always make an extra 1/2 lb of pasta for it will most definitely be eaten." Thus, this recipe is for 1lb of Linguine.

Frozen shrimp (still in shells)

Jar of Tomato and Basil Sauce

Some pesto, if you have it

Place frozen shrimp in a bowl and slowly run cold water over them, stirring occasionally until they are completely defrosted.

Meanwhile, boil one large pot of salted water (for the pasta) and a small saucepan of lightly salted water (for the shrimp).

When the water is boiling, add the linguine to the large pot (cook 9-10 minutes). Add the shrimp to the small pot of boiling water. When the water comes back to a boil, the shrimp should be just cooked. They are cooked with they turn pink and their tails curl in. Once cooked, immediately drain into a colander and run cold water over them to cool.

Rinse out the small pot and add approximately 2 cups of your tomato sauce of choice. Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. If you have it, add about a tablespoon of pesto (I keep a bag of frozen homemade pesto in the freezer at all times. Thanks Mom!)

While your linguine continues cooking and your sauce is heating up, peel the shells off your shrimp.

When the pasta is done, drain it thoroughly (but do not rinse), put it back in the pot, and coat with olive oil (to stop sticking).

Add your shrimp to your sauce and simmer about a minute, stirring constantly.

Pour the sauce and shrimp over the linguine, stir, and cover for about 5 minutes to let the pasta absorb the sauce.

Enjoy a bowl, warm with Parmesan cheese. Make sure you dig around and find shrimp for each serving!

Getting Desperate

This is what our memo chalkboard said on Monday. We were definitely running low on food. So what to make for dinner? We resorted to some canned and frozen staples...

Beanies and Weenies! The recipe is self-explanatory, but for the sake of our food blog, here it is:

Serves 2

-3 frozen hot dogs

-1 16 oz can Pork and Beans

Empty can of beans into small sauce pan.

Meanwhile, microwave hot dogs for 1 minute.

Cut up hot dogs into bite-sized pieces and add to beans in pot.

Cook until warm enough to eat. So simple, and yet, so delicious and a surprisingly hearty meal. We have officially come to the conclusion that our kitchen should always be stocked with frozen hot dogs and canned beans, for emergencies only.

yummy!

Another we-have-no-food meal? Pancakes!

These are buttermilk pancakes with miniature chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips beat out the regulars when it comes to pancakes. The mini ones melt completely and distribute their melted chocolate perfectly through the fluffy wonderfulness that is a buttermilk pancake. This empty-kitchen meal is made complete when consumed with a glass of Nesquik.

P.S. You know when you have that tiny bit of batter left over but not enough to make a whole new pancake? We've discovered mini pancakes! Just drop the batter by the teaspoonful on to a hot nonstick skillet. Flip over carefully just as you would regular pancakes.

These might be our greatest discovery. Pancakes. Bite sized for your convenience. They're sort of like pancake cookies...