Mixing Bowl: RECIPES! Brunch & Biscuits!

You're Invited

"When we preach Jesus Christ, oh!

Then we are not putting out the plates,

the knives and the forks for the feast,

but we are handing out the Bread Himself."

C.H. Spurgeon

Brunch has become the popular weekend go to and it's easier than you think. The best part about a brunch is there is something for everyone from savory to sweet. The options are endless, from wonderful make ahead breakfast casseroles, quiches, french toast bakes and brunch boards to breakfast sliders, and yogurt parfait bars.

Sides: Roasted breakfast potatoes, ham slices, cinnamon rolls, fruit salads.

Sides for Biscuits: A variety of jams and jellies, honey whipped butter.

Beverages: Cold brew + hot coffee station. Sparkling waters and juices. Sweet tea. One of my favorites is cranberry juice, orange juice and 7-up together.

One of my go to brunch recipes is for Sausage Gravy and Classic Buttermilk Biscuits. Enjoy!

Chef John's Buttermilk Biscuits (allrecipes)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled in freezer and cut into thin slices

3/4 cup cold buttermilk

2 tablespoons buttermilk for brushing

Directions:

1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oved to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Add cold butter slices and cut into the flour with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour cold buttermilk into the well and stir gently until just combined. Turn dough onto a floured work surface and pat it together into a rectangel.

4. Fold the rectangle into thirds. Turn dough a half turn, gather any crumbs, and flatten back into a rectangle. Repeat twice more, folding and pressing the dough a total of three times.

5. Roll dough on a floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter to cut biscuits. Reroll any scraps to cut more biscuits; you should get 12 total.

6. Transfer biscuits to the prepared baking sheet. Press an indent into the top of each biscuit with your thumb. Brush buttermilk over the tops.

7. Bake in the preheated oven until biscuits are flacky and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Tips:

Need some step-by-step help making biscuits? I liked this video by Nicole McLaughlin who uses the same recipe as I have provided you. She also gives you many helpful tips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIftxfzFakc

Hannah Taylor's Milk Sausage Gravy

Measure With Your Heart Cookbook

Ingredients:

grease (butter, bacon grease, or the fat of your choice for the pan)

1 pound ground sausage (Jimmy Dean sausage will do in a pinch)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter

1/2 all-purpose flour

3-4 cups whole milk, as you need

Fine sea salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Add a good amount of grease to a 10 inch to 12 inch cast-iron skillet so it's nice and coated, and heat it over medium heat. When the grease is melted and hot, add 1 pound ground sausage. Cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until it is completely cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Move the meat to a plate or bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.

2. Put the skillet over a low-medium flame and add in your 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter. Once the butter is completely melted, add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and whisk together. It should start to form a clump and look doughy, but keep stirring until it lightens in color and starts bubbling a bit, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Slowly whisk in 3 to 4 cups whole milk (depending on how thick you want your gravy), adding a splash at a time and stirring all the while. You want to get a nice creamy and thick consistency, almost like an Alfredo sauce. Until you get there, keep adding the milk slowly, gently stirring everything. Ultimately, it's up to you; I like mine thick so I don't add the full 4 cups.

4. When your happy with the consistency, add your cooked sausage meat back in and mix together. Taste it and add pinches of fine sea salt and ground black pepper until you're happy with it.