Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy

(America)

4 Serving

A southern breakfast favourite and one that my daughter-in-law has adopted as her favourite  breakfast it's one  that is easy to make yourself.

                                                                           Preparation time:     0 minutes

                                                                           Cook time:             30 minutes

                                                                            Total time:             30 minutes

Ingredients

½ pound breakfast sausage

4 biscuits prepare according to package directions, split in half

white (milk) gravy:

3 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of bacon grease

3 tablespoons of flour

2 cups whole milk

dash of cayenne pepper, or to taste

Kosher or sea salt, to taste

white pepper, to taste

Preparation

brown the sausage:

In a skillet, cook the sausage until it is evenly browned, stirring constantly to crumble it.  Remove the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined dish to drain

prepare a white rue:

In a saucepan, over low heat, melt the 3 tablespoons of butter and stir in the bacon grease.  Add the 3 tablespoons of flour and cook stirring for 3 or 4 minutes until the taste of raw flour has a disappeared.

create the white gravy:

While stirring the rue slowly add all the milk.  Stir in the cayenne pepper, continue stirring while cooking the milk mixture until it has thickened and is smooth and hot (the mixture will not thicken ‘til it comes to a boil, have patience raise the heat slightly if necessary).  If the sauce appears too thick for your tastes you may add a little more milk (a tablespoon at a time) until it reaches your desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, white pepper, and cayenne.

bring it all together:

Stir the cooked, crumbled sausage into the white sauce.

service:

Place one split biscuit on each serving plate; distribute ¼ of the white sauce/sausage mixture over each biscuit. Serve immediately.  

Tikka Masala

Tikka Masala

serves 4

(India)

Tikka Masala is dish of roasted chicken chunks  in a spicy masala  sauce and one of those Indian restaurant specialties that is dead simple to prepare at home.

Ingredients

Tikka Masala marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

4 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bit-sized pieces

4 long skewers

Tikka Masala sauce:

1 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

3 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

accompaniment :

yellow rice prepared to package instructions

naan bread

Preparation

prepare the marinade:

In a large bowl combine the yogurt, the lemon juice, the cumin, the cinnamon, the cayenne, the black pepper, the ginger, and the salt.  Pour the mixture into a large, 1 gallon, resealable plastic bag, add the chicken and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate.

Lightly oil the grates of your grill and preheat it to high heat.

grill the chicken:

Distribute and thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, discard the marinade.  Grill the chicken until juices run clear when a piece is pierced, about 5 minutes on each side.

prepare the masala sauce:

Melt the butter in a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and chopped jalapeno for 1 minute.  Add the cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt, stir in the tomato sauce and cream.   Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the skewers and add the pieces to the thickened sauce and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

service:

Transfer the Tikki Masala to a serving platter and serve immediately accompanied by yellow rice and naan bread.