Biscuits and Gravy

When I was growing up, I remember my mom's biscuits and gravy were amazing.  I remember only liking her biscuits and gravy.  They were so great that I know that I haven't made biscuits and gravy for fear that mine won't turn out as good as hers.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were talking about making things from scratch, and gravy was one of those things that I hadn't ever thought of making from scratch before.  I even asked him, "What ingredients make up gravy?", and he didn't know either.  When I was perusing Nicole's 2011 recap post, I saw her Biscuits and Peppered Sausage Gravy.  It seemed so easy I had to try it. 

Biscuits and Gravy
slightly adapted from PreventionRD
Ingredients
Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon Splenda
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Gravy
10 oz reduced fat pork sausage
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 cups milk (I used 1%.)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped


For Biscuits:
1) Preheat oven to 450 F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.
2) Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and wisk to combine. Stir in the milk and softened butter until a crumbly dough forms. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
3) Roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness and, using a circle cookie cutter, cut into 12 rounds.
4)  Place rounds on the prepared baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

For Gravy:
1) Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, break it up with a wooden spoon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
2) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.
3) Whisk the flour into the fat and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
4) While whisking, pour the milk and butter into the skillet and bring the gravy to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, or until desired thickness is reached.
5) Stir in the sausage and season with pepper, salt, and rosemary. Split the biscuits in half and divide them among plates. Top each biscuit with some gravy and serve immediately.

Our gravy took about 15 minutes to thicken, and we added more seasoning (which is reflected in the recipe above) to the gravy because the gravy didn't really develop that many flavors before it thickened.  But we loved this meal.  Our biscuits were perfect.  I will put a little more butter on the top of the biscuits.  This recipe isn't as perfect as my mom's recipe, but it was perfect enough for me.  I may just keep this in the arsenal to  someday feed my kids, and hopefully they will love it as much as I loved my moms.