things and stuff and biscuits and gravy

It's been kind of quiet around here, both at the house and the blog. Some things and stuff I've been enjoying:

 

I got a case of big mason jars and filled them with beans and rice and split peas and found a new shelf for them in the kitchen.

The big cottonwood tree in the yard. Most people hate them and chop them down the first chance they get, but I like them -- they're big and spooky and remind me of something you'd see the Headless Horseman gallop past in Sleepy Hollow.

 

A mountain of vintage linen distowels. I found them for a scream of a deal on ebay -- the seller was cleaning out her attic and she even added in the taped-up extra bundle on top for free because the more she dug the more she found and she didn't feel like listing them. I want to see that woman's attic. I went out in search of stripe-y vintage linen towels after seeing a rack of them at a newly-relocated shop downtown called Melange. It's in an old yellow house and it's filled with goods from France and Italy. If you live here, it's a lovely little shop worth checking out.

Have I told you about my obsession with thrift store paintings? Mostly what you find in the shops here are landscapes. Not too long ago I was flipping through Domino and they had a feature on Drew Barrymore's office and one wall was covered with thrift store paintings found in a single day in thrift stores in L.A. I thought to myself: I have my finger on the pulse of interior design. I call them Folk Art, some are better than others, and once I've collected up enough of them, I'm going to hang them all on the one big bare wall in the living room that my husband hates so much because it's so empty he says it looks like we just moved in.

But lemme tell you about something he most definitely did not complain about:

Biscuits and gravy for dinner the other night.

 

When he strolled into the kitchen after work and realized what I was working on, a tremble ran through him and he asked, "What's the occasion??"

I used Martha's recipe for southern fried eggs over buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy. It was very good and all that was leftover the next day were a few lonely biscuits.

southern fried eggs over buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy

serves 4 to 8

biscuits (makes about 12):

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and cutter

1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for brushing

1/2 cup vegetable shortening,cut into small pieces and chilled

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Repeat. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center, and add buttermilk. Stir until dough holds together.
2. Turn dough onto a generously floured surface. Fold dough over on itself 3 or 4 times. Pat to 1 inch thick. Cut out rounds with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter. Place rounds 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather scraps, and repeat. Brush tops with melted butter.
3. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm, or let cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

gravy (makes two cups):

• 8 ounces pork breakfast sausage (if using links, remove casing), crumbled
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Small pinch of cayenne pepper
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, turning occasionally and breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a bowl. Reserve about 3 tablespoons pan drippings in skillet, and pour off remaining drippings. Add flour, and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 4 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk, stock, and half-and-half. Bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping bottom of skillet constantly, and cook until thickened, about 8 minutes. Stir in nutmeg, cayenne, salt, pepper, and reserved sausage.

 eggs:

2 T olive oil or butter, divided

8 large eggs

Salt and pepper

Tabasco, if desired

To make the eggs: Heat 1 tablespoon oil or butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crack 4 eggs into skillet, and cook, uncovered, until whites are set, about 2 minutes. (If you prefer to cook your yolks further, cover skillet.) Transfer to a plate. Repeat. Arrange 1 or 2 biscuits on each plate. Top with gravy. Place 1 egg on each biscuit. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

Comments

[Nicole]

Molly,
Sometimes I feel like we are cosmically linked. I just ordered a bunch of Heirloom Beans from Rancho Gordo and put them in Mason jars last night. I also have been craving biscuits and gravy and this just sent me over the edge!!

[megan]

I love the mason jars. If only I had a larder kitchen. The biscuits look great. I love biscuits and gravey.

[molly]

Cosmically-linked... I like it. Nicole, you order the coolest stuff. Megan, I wish I had a larder too!

[Valerie]

Happy Thanksgiving, Molly!

I bet your kitchen/house smells great!

[splattered]

Thanks Valerie! Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Tonight, all the kitchen smells of is my Lean Cuisine pizza -- I'm eating light to make room for the feast to come! But tomorrow it will smell up a storm - in a good way, I hope.