Sausage, Biscuits and Green Chile Country Gravy

Hey friends! Did you think I was gone forever? There was a lot of big talk in my last blog post (in, ahem, October) about how I had regained my appetite and was cooking all the time, and would blog about it every day! Well, the appetite and cooking all the time bits were totally true.  I guess I just didn't feel like blogging about it! I've never been good at sharing food. Ask anybody.

Things are really swell over here though! I'll be 32 weeks pregnant on Wednesday, and our little baby (a boy, by the way!) should be around 3.5 lbs by now.  We've been eating really well, too.  We hit up the farmers' market every Saturday, and buy meat (usually a whole chicken, and some sausage), vegetables (my fave), eggs (Flintrock Hill Farm), whole wheat bread (Sweetish Hill makes the best, imho), and fresh pasta (Pasta & Co). Then we come home and I'll plan a menu for the week, and buy the filler ingredients from Central Market.  It's worked out really nicely!

Our lavish breakfast of biscuits, sausage, and green chile country gravy was the result of just such a trip to the farmers' market.  We bought a couple big green chiles and half a pound of breakfast sausage made from local (and delicious) pigs, and had ourselves a party!

Sausage, Biscuits and Green Chile Country Gravy  


For the Sausage and Gravy

• 2 large fresh green chiles (hatch, anaheim, new mexico or poblano)
• 2 tablespoons fat (sausage or bacon drippings) or butter
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• kosher salt

1. Position your oven rack so that it is 4-6 inches below your broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and put the whole peppers on the sheet. Broil, turning the peppers occasionally, until the skin is charred and peeling on all sides. Remove the peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove the stems, seeds, and skin from the peppers and dice the flesh. Set aside. Ask a question about this step.
2. If you're making this for breakfast, to accompany biscuits and your very favorite breakfast meat, fry up the bacon or sausage in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Remove all but two tablespoons of fat from the skillet. (Or, if you're making this with butter, skip the meat frying, and just melt two tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat.) Ask a question about this step.
3. Add the onions to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until they're soft and sweetly caramelized around the edges. Sprinkle two tablespoons of flour into the pan and stir for about a minute, so that the raw flour cooks off and the roux takes on a golden brown color. Ask a question about this step.
4. Add the milk to the pan and stir to combine. Add the diced chiles. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the gravy is thick and creamy. Season to taste with plenty of kosher salt (I used a little more than a teaspoon) and enjoy with your favorite starchy treat!

For the Biscuits (from the Barefoot Contessa, natch)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl.  Add the butter and cut in with a pastry knife until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the half-and-half and combine with a fork. 
3. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and knead once or twice to bring it together. Use your fingers to pat the dough into a rectangle that's about 1/2 an inch thick.  Cut out 8 biscuits with a glass or 2 1/2 inch round biscuit cutter. 
4. Place the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with the egg wash.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown on top.