Have you ever had one of those experiences where you bite into something and you feel like your dancing on starlight? Yes, I have eaten many a food item that has left me softly orgasmically groaning at the table. (aka., just about every restaurant in Vegas I went to withy Kristen "KatieMonster" White) but I rarely if ever have had this experience of joy ... especially while eating something I made. I usually am down right very mean to myself and I am my own worst critic. That's why I'm just sitting here semi taken aback by this whole experience of eating Quiche Lorraine. ( Of course its from Julia Child's cookbook, there is NO OTHER version to make in my humble opinion) I honestly wish I had friends coming over for breakfast, but alas I shall be forced to eat it.. LOL.... Last night I panicked over the crust.. it really is not a very "pretty" crust, and it did not fit my quiche pan (next time i double or 1 1/2 the recipe) and somehow between me spreading the crust in the pan, shoving it up the edges.. we made it barely fit, but we made it work. So I did the pre bake with the beans and foil. The last time I did this.. the foil stuck horribly to the crust, ripped it, and there was a mess. So there I was muttering under my breath how Julia made this all look so simple. And, as I would say to anyone else who posted a comment like that, it is simple.. it just takes practice, in the case of pie or quiche crust.. practice makes perfect. But back to spiritual experiences... When I was blending the crust and using a pastry cutter to break the butter and shortening down into pea sized bits,,, over the years I have heard of chefs saying the food "talks" to them ( spiritually speaking) to let them know hey I'm done or ready.. the quiche did that to me last night while i was blending in the fat... at one point, I smelled it, and it smelled right, very hard to explain, and then i felt the texture of the dry ingredients and fat coming off the blades of the pastry cutter, and the pastry dough said... Im ready.. now the fat bits looked a little larger than i would of normally left them, but, the crust had spoken. From then on out the rest of the experience was a dream. I put the what i was sure going to be a failed crust in the oven per Julia's instructions. Then the moment of truth came when I had to remove the beans and foil from the crust. I tell you I was shuttering, i did not want to do it, because in my mind i kept thinking oh crap here we go.... officially ruined crust. You know, those foil and beans removed themselves without a tear or disaster of any kind. Then you have to prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and return it to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes. Your not fully baking the quiche shell, it finishes when you are baking the quiche, however if you do not pre bake, you will have a soggy bottom... and there will be no soggy bottoms on my watch!! LOL!! So I sat in the kitchen thinking, okay here we go, it will shrink away so bad from the edges I will simply not be able to put any filling in it tomorrow morning and will have to start all over again.... you know I'll be dammned... it really did not shrink. No cuts, no nothing. MY jaw dropped in awe. The Quiche Gods were on my side!! (and my faeries, and angels and oh my!) So smiling from ear to ear, ( yea okay insert picture of me here as a happy 70's house wife with an apron on LOL) i put the crust to cool on the counter and went to bed. I woke up excited at 7:!5am eager to complete the quiche. A gorgeous sunny morning, with the sun streaming through the kitchen window, and the oven pre heating. While I was slicing and simmering bacon in water before crisping it for the quiche. The crust was still in excellent condition, the sun was shining, and I was barefoot once again!! As I was sauteing the bacon and mixing the egg custard, it occurred to me, how many other people/chefs on the planet right now at that very moment were making Quiche Lorraine in one form or another. From another home kitchen to a restaurant... someone else on the planet had gone through the pain staking measures I had to make the perfect quiche. i felt united with all the other people cooking quiche on the planet at that moment... very hard to describe in words how i felt, but there you go. All is one! And then the starlight dancing experience... there was some minor leakage from the quiche, I don't know where that naughty rip was at, but, still, maybe a tablespoon or so of the mix seeped out... not a biggie. And then i baked it and removed it from the oven.. IT ACTUALLY PUFFED UP!!!! JUST LIKE Julia's!! Yea!!! I let it rest for 10 minutes before digging in, oh and then... I took one bite.. the crust was so incredibly buttery, and the egg mixture was so soft and creamy, the bacon had just the right amount of smokiness, I felt like I was in heaven, and just dancing on starlight. *Sigh* Very hard to describe it all in words what I felt... but now do you see why i love cooking so much. So many soft moments within moments, leading to starlight dancing!
[Edit: Reading Bobby's Blog I remember when he wrote it! I can hear his excitement, this really was on his "Bucket List" and the JOY he got from cooking was infectious! I can't count the times we cooked TOGETHER, he in Chicago, IL and me in Fresno, CA... The 2 hr. time difference rarely mattered - He spoke of Vegas - I was both of our FIRST TIME and YES, the food was PHENOMENAL! We would eat and dissect the ingredients. Second only to our LOVE for cooking was our MUTUAL LOVE for Stage Plays! We saw three shows in four nights! (tbc)"
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Breakfast Pasta
Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water.... Pasta for breakfast? Why not!! Sorta like a breakfast fettuccine carbonara....
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1T. Butter and a drizzle of Olive Oil ( or use all olive oil or all butter depending on your taste)
2 eggs whisked
8 ounces of cooked pasta ( or a handful, a serving for one) Use Linguini if at all possible. Fresh Pasta would be the best.
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Flat Leaf Parsley (optional for garnish)
Fresh Pepper and Salt to Taste
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep hot. whisk your eggs. Melt butter in a saute pan, crush garlic, add to butter, saute till soft but not brown. Add Pasta, egg, parmesan, salt and pepper and scramble this all together! Remove from pan and top with more parmesan and chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve hot! And have a few bacon strips on the side or crisp bacon scrambled in and you have a Breakfast Carbonara!
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1T. Butter and a drizzle of Olive Oil ( or use all olive oil or all butter depending on your taste)
2 eggs whisked
8 ounces of cooked pasta ( or a handful, a serving for one) Use Linguini if at all possible. Fresh Pasta would be the best.
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Flat Leaf Parsley (optional for garnish)
Fresh Pepper and Salt to Taste
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep hot. whisk your eggs. Melt butter in a saute pan, crush garlic, add to butter, saute till soft but not brown. Add Pasta, egg, parmesan, salt and pepper and scramble this all together! Remove from pan and top with more parmesan and chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve hot! And have a few bacon strips on the side or crisp bacon scrambled in and you have a Breakfast Carbonara!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
A Roux? A roux! or A funny thing happened on the way to the Sausage Gravy...
After I posted the sausage recipe I had a few friends IM or email me asking what a roux was. The Simplest explanation I can give of a roux is equal amounts of a melted fat ( butter, oil or melted vegetable shortening) mixed with an equal amount of flour and cooked to one of three varying degrees in the pan. ** Margarine does not a good roux make.. too much water in margarine for it to work efficiently.**
1. Light or White Roux... the roux is cooked until there is no longer a flour smell to the roux, but a slightly warm, nutty smell... this only takes about 30 seconds to maybe a minute, and the roux is still white in color. Depending on what oil or fat you used, it might be more of a light blonde. (This is what you are looking for in the sausage gravy. Adding enough flour to the grease until you have a nice smooth, still semi liquid type of substance, you do not want "chunks" in the bottom of the pan, you have added too much flour, however, there is a remedy for that. When you add your liquid to the pan, add a little at a time, and you whisk very , very quickly and efficiently until the lumps are gone and the sauce is smooth. But you will have to continue whisking even after all the liquid is in just to make sure no lumps exist. If you dump too much liquid in, and you have these gargantuan chunks floating around, start removing them, any small or tinier chunks will cook out, but, i dare say, it takes constant, constant stirring, and it takes a loooooooooong time for the lumps to dissolve and cook out. And especially working with milk, you stand a chance of the milk burning. The good thing is if you do this while you are making a clean sauce (no meat, vegetables, fresh herbs in it) you can take it over to another pan and using a strainer, strain the lumps out and use a slurry if necessary to thicken the rest. However, if you start with a roux, it fails, and you are using a slurry to thicken it.. do not use corn starch and water, use flour and water to keep the taste consistent.
2. Blonde Roux.. the roux is cooked past the white stage until it reaches a blonde/light beige color. This type of roux is often used in creole dishes. I would cook from the white stage to the blonde stage over a medium low to low heat. This one only takes a couple of minutes.
3. Brown or a Brick Roux... At this point you want to confront the roux, with your wooden spoon. ( No metal, even heat proof plastic spatula I would shy away from) Stand bravely over it, turn the heat down to low and stir thoroughly yet slowly, showing it who is in charge. Be brave, I know you can do this!! This is when the roux is past the Blonde stage, and it turns into a brownish/red color. This is very popular in Cajun Cooking. This takes anywhere between 5-15 minutes and you want to do this over a low flame for safety sake. The roux will become incredibly hot and bubbly at this point, because the flour and butter are breaking down even further, and the roux actually becomes more like a liquid.
You have to constantly stir it at this point, otherwise it will burn very quickly or it will bubble, splatter and burn you very nicely! Even with constant stirring, you have to be careful, at this stage the roux turns to bitterness or black on the drop of a dime. When the roux is brown you turn the heat off, take the pan immediately off the heat, (have your gloves ready, do not go running to another area of the kitchen for them, you are inviting possible trouble), and transfer the roux to another heat proof container until you are ready to use it, or continue with your recipe. If your roux turns black.. DO NOT throw it away into a plastic garbage bag, DO NOT place the pan under cold running water or any water of any kind. This is why grease traps and dumpsters are a blessing in restaurants... If you can place it into an dry, empty soup or vegetable can, and dispose of it that way, after the roux has cooled in the can. If you do not, the safest way would be until the roux and pan cools down, and you run hot water into the pan with plenty of dish soap to clean it out. Please put on a chefs jacket or something with long sleeves that will protect your arms if you ever need to make a Brick Roux.
Now that I have thoroughly psychologically scarred you for life from making Brick or Brown Roux, it is something that just takes time and practice. Remember, low and slow is the way to go on this roux. Pretty soon either on your first or a couple of tries, you will be making it like a professional in no time. This is one of thee main bases of Cajun Cooking, and if you ever want to go down that culinary Cajun corridor, you are going to have to confront a Brick Roux. One of these days when i figure out what I have to buy to tape a video of me cooking in the kitchen, and how to transfer it from there to here, I will post one of me making a roux from white through brown stage! Also on the lighter side of the news, most of the recipes on this blog will only use a white or blonde roux , tapioca, or a slurry (equal amounts of corn starch and a liquid, combined together and whisked until smooth. The slurry is then usually added to a hot, rapidly bubbling liquid that you are stirring or whisking away at, while slowly pouring in the slurry. It is what thickens whatever you are cooking. This is used in Chop Suey, Stews, etc.) Alrighty, it is 4am.. the time change has messed with my body too much, and what thought was going to be a simple explanation has turned once again into a novel.. ahhh, true to form that I am!! Good Night World... and Happy Roux Making!!!
1. Light or White Roux... the roux is cooked until there is no longer a flour smell to the roux, but a slightly warm, nutty smell... this only takes about 30 seconds to maybe a minute, and the roux is still white in color. Depending on what oil or fat you used, it might be more of a light blonde. (This is what you are looking for in the sausage gravy. Adding enough flour to the grease until you have a nice smooth, still semi liquid type of substance, you do not want "chunks" in the bottom of the pan, you have added too much flour, however, there is a remedy for that. When you add your liquid to the pan, add a little at a time, and you whisk very , very quickly and efficiently until the lumps are gone and the sauce is smooth. But you will have to continue whisking even after all the liquid is in just to make sure no lumps exist. If you dump too much liquid in, and you have these gargantuan chunks floating around, start removing them, any small or tinier chunks will cook out, but, i dare say, it takes constant, constant stirring, and it takes a loooooooooong time for the lumps to dissolve and cook out. And especially working with milk, you stand a chance of the milk burning. The good thing is if you do this while you are making a clean sauce (no meat, vegetables, fresh herbs in it) you can take it over to another pan and using a strainer, strain the lumps out and use a slurry if necessary to thicken the rest. However, if you start with a roux, it fails, and you are using a slurry to thicken it.. do not use corn starch and water, use flour and water to keep the taste consistent.
2. Blonde Roux.. the roux is cooked past the white stage until it reaches a blonde/light beige color. This type of roux is often used in creole dishes. I would cook from the white stage to the blonde stage over a medium low to low heat. This one only takes a couple of minutes.
3. Brown or a Brick Roux... At this point you want to confront the roux, with your wooden spoon. ( No metal, even heat proof plastic spatula I would shy away from) Stand bravely over it, turn the heat down to low and stir thoroughly yet slowly, showing it who is in charge. Be brave, I know you can do this!! This is when the roux is past the Blonde stage, and it turns into a brownish/red color. This is very popular in Cajun Cooking. This takes anywhere between 5-15 minutes and you want to do this over a low flame for safety sake. The roux will become incredibly hot and bubbly at this point, because the flour and butter are breaking down even further, and the roux actually becomes more like a liquid.
You have to constantly stir it at this point, otherwise it will burn very quickly or it will bubble, splatter and burn you very nicely! Even with constant stirring, you have to be careful, at this stage the roux turns to bitterness or black on the drop of a dime. When the roux is brown you turn the heat off, take the pan immediately off the heat, (have your gloves ready, do not go running to another area of the kitchen for them, you are inviting possible trouble), and transfer the roux to another heat proof container until you are ready to use it, or continue with your recipe. If your roux turns black.. DO NOT throw it away into a plastic garbage bag, DO NOT place the pan under cold running water or any water of any kind. This is why grease traps and dumpsters are a blessing in restaurants... If you can place it into an dry, empty soup or vegetable can, and dispose of it that way, after the roux has cooled in the can. If you do not, the safest way would be until the roux and pan cools down, and you run hot water into the pan with plenty of dish soap to clean it out. Please put on a chefs jacket or something with long sleeves that will protect your arms if you ever need to make a Brick Roux.
Now that I have thoroughly psychologically scarred you for life from making Brick or Brown Roux, it is something that just takes time and practice. Remember, low and slow is the way to go on this roux. Pretty soon either on your first or a couple of tries, you will be making it like a professional in no time. This is one of thee main bases of Cajun Cooking, and if you ever want to go down that culinary Cajun corridor, you are going to have to confront a Brick Roux. One of these days when i figure out what I have to buy to tape a video of me cooking in the kitchen, and how to transfer it from there to here, I will post one of me making a roux from white through brown stage! Also on the lighter side of the news, most of the recipes on this blog will only use a white or blonde roux , tapioca, or a slurry (equal amounts of corn starch and a liquid, combined together and whisked until smooth. The slurry is then usually added to a hot, rapidly bubbling liquid that you are stirring or whisking away at, while slowly pouring in the slurry. It is what thickens whatever you are cooking. This is used in Chop Suey, Stews, etc.) Alrighty, it is 4am.. the time change has messed with my body too much, and what thought was going to be a simple explanation has turned once again into a novel.. ahhh, true to form that I am!! Good Night World... and Happy Roux Making!!!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I didn't get the memo on the time change! (A ramble about scramble)
Well with the happy time change last night, (no I did not get the memo on it, but Ive also had a fever the past 2 days) good thing I did not have to be at work today or anything important, because my clock said 7am when I woke up and now my computer clock is saying 8:30 am. I don't think I lost that much time between waking up, letting the dog out, making a cup of tea and settling in behind the computer. Sissy is in town I will ask her when she gets up, as a matter of fact I think I hear her stirring now. Or maybe I did loose that much time, one never knows. Since Melissa is in town I'm actually going to make breakfast this morning, unless the 2 lovebirds go running out the door back to her mom's house for one more final visit, then Sissy goes back to Georgia this evening. Well I guess there was a time change, normally I see something posted somewhere on FB or AOL, and I didn't yesterday. I do not watch the evening news, although the older i get the more i think I may want to start tuning in once a night. Usually most information I get, weather, etc, I can get online. I think my hate for the evening news, other than its depressing, goes back to when I used to spend pajama nights at my grandparents house, grandpa used to come home turn on the news, and that was ALL we watched on the TV, until between about 7-9, then another hour of NEWS, then bed. Okay so, what brings me to the blog at this lovely, quiet hour of the morning when the earth is relatively still. I hate this, it feels like 730am and it's 830 am... UGH! I had a few thoughts late in the night while i slept about the blog that I will put into practice on it today. So, The Otten Family Egg Scramble, yup this is what I will make for breakfast! This is a breakfast my mom made forever and ever. She made it during the week or on the weekend, even sometimes for dinner. (which, was very rare, but I think i can count on one hand the number of times she did make it for dinner) Again this is another meal I confess, I grew into. I did not eat eggs as a child, to this day the only way I will eat eggs are in am omelette, scrambled or Over Well, which even as I'm staring at this Wikkipedia article (they are going to get a stern letter from me in the difference between Over Hard and Over Well Eggs) Yes, both the eggs are cooked, but in over hard you break the yolk at a certain point to make sure it cooks, in over well, you do not break the yolk! Grrr... anyway.... here is a typical breakfast menu that we do on the weekends....
Egg Scramble
Tater Tots with Garlic Dip ( instead of hash browns)
Orange Juice, Coffee or Tea
Sausage or Bacon
and there you have it...
Now, scrambled eggs, do you add milk, water, cream half and half or something else. Okay, so in theory, Milk will toughen the egg, water will make it more spongy, and cream/half and half will make it more ,... well... creamy. But after all these years of eating scrambled eggs, to tell you honestly, I can never tell the difference. I know from adding Milk to eggs, there is a taste difference to me rather than using just water. The adding or milk or water to eggs actually comes out of the need for poor families to help extend a meal as much as they could. Also the addition of milk into an egg dish, will help the ingredients bind together better with the egg than water. ( I don't know how, that's the magic of cooking chemistry!) I've also been known to add heavy cream to scrambled eggs, yes they taste richer.. as far as creamier tasting? I think you would have to do the slow scramble method (which involves either using very low heat or over a double boiler, and who wants to mess with that at 7am?) then you will get creamy eggs. If you even want to get more into this, its been remarked that Americans tend to OVER COOK their eggs. If we were in France at a bistro and ordered an Omelette, the center would come to us just slightly under cooked (according to American Standards) but, you would have a more flavorful and moist Omelette. (That by the way, is very tasty!)
Other people claim you don't need butter or nothing, just a great non stick skillet, nature provided water in the egg, you just need to start with a cold pan, a cold egg and cook it over very low heat. I am very afraid to try that! LOL! I have heard of people adding a very small amount of cream of tarter to their scrambled eggs to help in the fluffiness, that really is not necessary, it has to do more with the way you whisk your eggs, not over whisking and how you handle them in the pan. Ive also read recently about people putting in cottage cheese or sour cream instead of milk. In my mind, if you beat the sour cream with a little bit of cream to smooth it out, then add it to the eggs, using a mild or sharp cheddar at the end and sprinkling of chives on top to have Eggs Romanov, that would be different, Ill give that a try and let you know how it turns out. Alright, Melissa is awake so I'm going to end this article and get to cooking, ( Ill post the egg scramble and dip recipe later I want to spend some time with her) So in Summary, use water if you want fluffier eggs, use milk to either extend the egg, add a small amount of flavor, or like the scramble recipe it you want the ingredients to bind together with the egg. Use heavy cream and half and half if you want a "creamier" egg, although, the way you whisk the egg and handle it in the pan will have more influence on the final product. Oh, about the whisking, don't sit this and whisk around in a circle. think of it like you are folding egg whites into something, take your whisk go to the bottom of the bowl, and whisk as if you were folding something in, at a normal brisk speed, making sure not to over beat, otherwise you will toughen the protein strands in the egg. Okay, I'm off to make breakfast... see ya! =) PS. Omelette is the French Spelling for Omelet.. sort of like theater and theatre.....
Egg Scramble
Tater Tots with Garlic Dip ( instead of hash browns)
Orange Juice, Coffee or Tea
Sausage or Bacon
and there you have it...
Now, scrambled eggs, do you add milk, water, cream half and half or something else. Okay, so in theory, Milk will toughen the egg, water will make it more spongy, and cream/half and half will make it more ,... well... creamy. But after all these years of eating scrambled eggs, to tell you honestly, I can never tell the difference. I know from adding Milk to eggs, there is a taste difference to me rather than using just water. The adding or milk or water to eggs actually comes out of the need for poor families to help extend a meal as much as they could. Also the addition of milk into an egg dish, will help the ingredients bind together better with the egg than water. ( I don't know how, that's the magic of cooking chemistry!) I've also been known to add heavy cream to scrambled eggs, yes they taste richer.. as far as creamier tasting? I think you would have to do the slow scramble method (which involves either using very low heat or over a double boiler, and who wants to mess with that at 7am?) then you will get creamy eggs. If you even want to get more into this, its been remarked that Americans tend to OVER COOK their eggs. If we were in France at a bistro and ordered an Omelette, the center would come to us just slightly under cooked (according to American Standards) but, you would have a more flavorful and moist Omelette. (That by the way, is very tasty!)
Other people claim you don't need butter or nothing, just a great non stick skillet, nature provided water in the egg, you just need to start with a cold pan, a cold egg and cook it over very low heat. I am very afraid to try that! LOL! I have heard of people adding a very small amount of cream of tarter to their scrambled eggs to help in the fluffiness, that really is not necessary, it has to do more with the way you whisk your eggs, not over whisking and how you handle them in the pan. Ive also read recently about people putting in cottage cheese or sour cream instead of milk. In my mind, if you beat the sour cream with a little bit of cream to smooth it out, then add it to the eggs, using a mild or sharp cheddar at the end and sprinkling of chives on top to have Eggs Romanov, that would be different, Ill give that a try and let you know how it turns out. Alright, Melissa is awake so I'm going to end this article and get to cooking, ( Ill post the egg scramble and dip recipe later I want to spend some time with her) So in Summary, use water if you want fluffier eggs, use milk to either extend the egg, add a small amount of flavor, or like the scramble recipe it you want the ingredients to bind together with the egg. Use heavy cream and half and half if you want a "creamier" egg, although, the way you whisk the egg and handle it in the pan will have more influence on the final product. Oh, about the whisking, don't sit this and whisk around in a circle. think of it like you are folding egg whites into something, take your whisk go to the bottom of the bowl, and whisk as if you were folding something in, at a normal brisk speed, making sure not to over beat, otherwise you will toughen the protein strands in the egg. Okay, I'm off to make breakfast... see ya! =) PS. Omelette is the French Spelling for Omelet.. sort of like theater and theatre.....
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Bobby's Real Sausage Gravy
There are 3 keys to absolutely wonderful sausage gravy... 1. Get a flavorful, relatively high fat content breakfast sausage. The sausage is the focus and has to have some flavor to it. Do not even attempt to use that lean or low fat breakfast sausage that is out there.. it simply will not work. I hate to say names but I am not fond of Jimmy Dean or Tennessee Pride sausage. I have used one over the years, that works, but its still not 100%. When we did this dish in culinary school, the breakfast sausage they had was PHENOMENAL, and the gravy was so tasty. Ive rummaged through my culinary breakfast notes, knowing I wrote the name of this sausage down and much to my dismay, I cannot find it! If anyone has any suggestions for sausage, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. The butcher guy in Midlothian, who is now closed, use to get his breakfast sausage from somewhere else, that was excellent sausage!! I wonder where he got it from though... if anyone from the family knows.. please leave a comment! 2. When browning the flour with the sausage, just brown it until it starts to smell "nutty". Do not over brown or your gravy comes out dark, or under you have that bizarre taste of flour in the background that does not make for good gravy. 3. Plenty of fresh ground pepper to taste. Jar or pre ground pepper does not have the same flavor and can lead the gravy to tasting flat or worst over seasoned. If your worried about your gravy not having a perfect, white color, fear not, after all the years of cooking it, and making it in a restaurant in Kansas... they use a powdered mix to get it that special white color!!
1 package Bulk Breakfast Sausage
Milk, half and half or heavy cream (apprx. 2 cups, maybe more maybe less)
Freshly Ground pepper and Salt to Taste
1-2 T. Flour, more if needed.
Brown your sausage in a pan, leaving the grease in. Sprinkle in 1 T. of flour, and add more till you have a loose roux. Cook this until the flour starts to smell nutty, Immediately add one cup of milk to the pan, stirring until it thickens. Continue adding milk till reached desired consistency. Add in the Freshly ground pepper and a dash of salt, turn the heat down to low, and simmer the gravy for 10 minutes over a nice low heat to give a chance for the flavors to incorporate. Serve this with hot homemade biscuits or Pillsbury.
1 package Bulk Breakfast Sausage
Milk, half and half or heavy cream (apprx. 2 cups, maybe more maybe less)
Freshly Ground pepper and Salt to Taste
1-2 T. Flour, more if needed.
Brown your sausage in a pan, leaving the grease in. Sprinkle in 1 T. of flour, and add more till you have a loose roux. Cook this until the flour starts to smell nutty, Immediately add one cup of milk to the pan, stirring until it thickens. Continue adding milk till reached desired consistency. Add in the Freshly ground pepper and a dash of salt, turn the heat down to low, and simmer the gravy for 10 minutes over a nice low heat to give a chance for the flavors to incorporate. Serve this with hot homemade biscuits or Pillsbury.
Lazy Man's Sausage Gravy
This recipe came out of one of my earlier expeditions of cookery. It actually came about as a result of an accident on trying to make real sausage gravy. Well one day I went to go make sausage gravy, had the sausage browned, the milk out and the pepper mill ready, and lo and behold... there was no flour in the house!!! What's a boy to do with 2 hungry people waiting in the background saying Bobby that sure smells good.. Well.... this is what i did, and its been a hit ever since! Lets hear it for accidents.
1 Roll of bulk breakfast sausage
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
Season Salt or Regular Salt to taste
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper to taste
Break up and brown your sausage. When done, if there is ALOT of grease in the pan , remove some of it but not all of it. Add your can of cream of mushroom soup and add Milk until you have the consistency of gravy. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with Hot Biscuits or plain white toast works well if you are in a hurry!
1 Roll of bulk breakfast sausage
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
Season Salt or Regular Salt to taste
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper to taste
Break up and brown your sausage. When done, if there is ALOT of grease in the pan , remove some of it but not all of it. Add your can of cream of mushroom soup and add Milk until you have the consistency of gravy. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with Hot Biscuits or plain white toast works well if you are in a hurry!
Breakfast Sausage or Who's Peggy?
A recipe for homemade breakfast sausage. Who could ask for anything more. This recipe comes from a lady named Peggy (no not grandma!) So who Peggy is, the world may never know. I know my mom has made this several times over the years. To my knowledge though she never added the ground red pepper. Dried red pepper flakes ground up could work too if you do not have ground red pepper.
2 pounds lean ground pork or turkey at room temperature
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp. finely minced parsley
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp dried basil (optional)
1 tsp dried marjoram (optional)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme (optional)
In a deep bowl, combine all ingredients, using hands. On wax paper, shape and roll mixture into 2 logs, 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight. to serve, slice the rolls into rounds about a 1/2 inch thick and fry in a saute pan with a little oil over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately. an alternate way to prepare sausage is to shape it into large marble-sized balls. Freeze if desired. To serve, put in a cold over, while the balls are still frozen, for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. We always did the first method.
2 pounds lean ground pork or turkey at room temperature
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp. finely minced parsley
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp dried basil (optional)
1 tsp dried marjoram (optional)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme (optional)
In a deep bowl, combine all ingredients, using hands. On wax paper, shape and roll mixture into 2 logs, 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight. to serve, slice the rolls into rounds about a 1/2 inch thick and fry in a saute pan with a little oil over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately. an alternate way to prepare sausage is to shape it into large marble-sized balls. Freeze if desired. To serve, put in a cold over, while the balls are still frozen, for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. We always did the first method.
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