Let’s just call it as it is:  the biscuit is a pretty & social gal.  And what’s the Homecoming Queen without her homecoming court? We’re talking gourmet beauties like butter, jams & preserves, honey, country ham as well as gravy.  And as a perfect follow up to my last post, “Biscuits from Scratch,” it seems fitting to showcase the biscuit’s “BFF”:  Gravy!

I’d hazard a guess that the two most popular Southern biscuit gravies are “sawmill” gravy which is a white, milk-based gravy of sausage bits and their drippings, and then there is “red eye” gravy which is made from country ham drippings and leftover breakfast coffee.  While they are both delicious accompaniments to biscuits, I wanted to share two other recipes that don’t get quite the same attention, but are equally tasty:  tomato gravy and chocolate gravy!

TOMATO GRAVY

Interestingly, I did not grow up on tomato gravy.  In fact, it wasn’t something my mother ever cooked, nor do I remember it as a menu item when we all went out to dine on those breakfast or brunch occasions.  I stumbled onto tomato gravy in my late adult life, perusing a magazine that spotlighted chef Scott Peacock of Atlanta’s Watershed restaurant and his recipe for ‘”Fried Chicken & Tomato Gravy.”  I know Scott Peacock (clarification, I know OF him), and felt compelled to give the recipe a go.  As I recall, my fried chicken needed improvement but the tomato gravy was spot on … so, how could I have been missing this treat for all my years?

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Winter is a time when you really want to carb it up.  For me, that can be any number of things but every now and then I’m craving Southern diner fare … like some homemade biscuits from scratch. They are perfect partners for a breakfast dinner, a bowl of soup … or, breakfast.  And let’s not forget how even more seductive they become once the supporting cast of condiments comes into play:  butter, preserves, honey, gravy, country ham.

Sadly, I believe scratch biscuits are no longer common household fare anymore.  Don’t get me wrong – homemade biscuits are still alive and well, just not so much in the home kitchen. I expect folks still have mothers or grandmothers that roll their own; even so, maybe only for special occasions.  Otherwise, I’d hazard a guess that the majority simply zip over to the local eatery when they get a hankering for them these days – or they commit gourmet treason and pick up a CAN of biscuits at the Piggly Wiggly to bake up on their own.  Unfortunately, this dowager of golden flakiness has gone the way of most edibles over the decades: mass produced and hyper-marketed for urban convenience.  As such, my conjecture is that the scratch biscuit may qualify as a foodie endangered species!

CONSUMER ADVISORY:  If your only biscuit experience is associated with that iconic, animated doughboy on American TV that giggles when a mysterious finger pokes his belly, then this post is for you.

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