Biscuits and Gravy

I'm sharing this post from 2009 today. We had a wonderful breakfast Saturday morning, complete with biscuits and gravy made  just like my grandma taught me. If you've never tried bacon gravy, you're in for a treat. Enjoy!! 

You can't grow up in West Virginia & not like biscuits & gravy (I think it's actually a law). It's definitely one of my favorite comfort breakfast foods. It always brings back memories of mama in the kitchen, all of us grandchildren gathered around the table watching while she worked her magic, waiting eagerly for a piece of biscuit dough to eat.  And if you were lucky, you got to be the one to carefully cut out the biscuits with a floured glass. When everything was finally ready to serve, we'd all tear piping-hot biscuits into bite-sized pieces & mama would cover our plates with a ladle-full of gravy. Delicious. 

Mama definitely spoiled us with this meal. And it's so easy to prepare. There's nothing fancy about it - if you have bacon, flour, buttermilk & evaporated milk, you're ready to go. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed.

Biscuits and Gravy

Put one pound of bacon on to fry 5 to 10 minutes before you start making your biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup bacon grease

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, stir together flour & buttermilk. Add bacon grease. Stir with a fork until dough holds together.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and form into a disk. Knead lightly just a few times until smooth. Form dough to a 3/4-inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour, cut out biscuits. Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. Gather the trimmings and repeat. Bake about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. This should make 12 biscuits with a little dough left over.

Bacon Gravy
Bacon grease/drippings
1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
Equal parts evaporated milk & water (combined)

Over medium low heat, whisk flour into grease until smooth & just starting to bubble. REMOVE FROM HEAT.  Slowly stir in milk/water, whisking constantly, until desired thickness. Add salt & pepper to taste. 

Enjoy!!

Macaroni Salad

For me, Easter marks the beginning of spring and summer dishes, especially cold salads.  I am not a huge fan of macaroni salad, but I loved my grandma's. I could never quite duplicate hers, until now...  This recipe is my idea of the perfect macaroni salad. It's amazingly creamy but doesn't contain too much mayonnaise. Be sure to drain the pimentos well - I use a paper towel in a small mesh strainer.

One of my biggest regrets is that I never had a chance or took the time to sit down with my grandma and write down her recipes/methods.  Everything that came out of her kitchen was pure magic. I can make most of her dishes from taste, but some, like her macaroni salad, have been trial and error trying to duplicate. 

Loraine's Macaroni Salad
(named after my grandma)

1 pound small ridged elbow macaroni
Salted water
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 jar diced pimentos (4 ounces), well-drained.*

Cook pasta in salted water according to directions on package for  al dente.  Drain pasta and rinse well in cold water. Pour pasta into large mixing bowl. 

Add garlic, salt, pepper and Dijon mustard to pasta and stir until well combined. Let set 15-20 minutes. Mix together mayo, vinegar and sugar.  Stir into macaroni.  Add green peppers and pimentos - stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours. Add salt to taste before serving.