They could be clouds… but they’re drop biscuits. They aren’t made for honey but they’ll do fine with butter in the middle as soon as they are hot from the oven, on the table.
They were baked for a southern gravy, and it’s this skillet of red that I craved when I was pregnant with my oldest. I could not get enough of this gravy that a lady who quilted introduced me to. She got fresh cow’s milk, brought it in (now unadvised) and she cooked me a couple of breakfasts during my visits to see her while my husband of then fur trapped and deer hunted with his brother on weekends in the woods that she owned close to her house in the country. My sister would go with us at times.
Sometimes she made a light-brown gravy for the tomatoes and bacon to sink into over sliced southern-fried potatoes– lovingly for her husband, family, for me and my little one that was soon to be born, like a little calf. She knew just how to run a farm, an entire household, and the crazy neighbors up the road. She was a real person, as genuine as one could ever be with herself and with others around her. She was my boy’s great-aunt… she eventually came down with Alzheimer’s and passed.
That was then. I still love the gravy, almost as much as I still and always will love her and my husband of then, and his sweet brother. When you love people, you go on loving them– just in a completely different way– the gist of loving anyone.
Tomato-Bacon Gravy w/Savory Biscuits ~
~ Skirt in the Kitchen ~
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (not onion salt)
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon basil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 scallion
(Make sure butter, buttermilk, and cheddar cheese are very cold.)
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Measure out flour, leveled, in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients, whisking or blending with a fork well. Cut in cold butter with a biscuit cutter or with fingertips, working it in quickly.
Stir in cheese and chopped scallion; then eggs with buttermilk, just until moistened– to not overwork the biscuit dough.
Drop by spoonfuls, releasing from spoon with fingers, baking until golden-brown approximately 12-15 minutes.
For the gravy: In a cast-iron skillet, fry 4 slices bacon; blot onto paper towels. Eyeball just enough flour, stirring while it comes together in the skillet; then pour in milk or flour, a little at a time, stirring constantly still. Keep stirring, possibly adding more liquid to desired consistency. Take off the heat, strain through a seive to rid of lumps for a smooth glossy gravy. Pour back into the skillet, turn down the heat to prevent boiling. Add salt & pepper, Liquid Smoke seasoning, peeled crushed tomatoes, (may wish to add 1-3 drops of chili sauce, but check for taste, first, before adding anything after adding Liquid Smoke.) and bacon broken up into peices. Stir, bringing it together, then serve over warm biscuits.
What to do with leftover biscuits from this recipe:
…make into good, moist bread stuffing for your chicken or sliced ham; or toss in some rotisserie chicken torn or cut into small pieces, mixed in well with the stuffing, before sticking it in the oven after adding to its contents 1/2 – 3/4 can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup, undiluted…
But FIRST, sautee in a skillet with 1 stick melted butter, 1 small minced onion and 1 finely sliced celery stalk; towards the end of sauteeing, mince 1 garlic clove to finish sauteeing.
Crumble 6 (exact number that I used for this) leftover biscuits into the sauteed mixture in the skillet. Mix altogether. Add the Campbell’s Cream of Chicken with enough cooked Israeli Couscous. Then taste for salt or pepper if needed.
Spoon into a baking dish. Sprinkle generously with panko breadcrumbs for a crunchy top. Drizzle lightly with melted butter before baking.
Place in 350 degree oven, covered for the first 10 minutes. Then remove cover or aluminum foil; finish browning for a light golden crust color, crunchy sides.
Don’t let this overbake, making it too dry. You want it moist with the right amount of seasonings, salt & pepper.
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