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Daily Archives: June 30, 2016
Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE Southern food. It’s comfort food; what’s not to like?!? But I also laugh a little bit when a nice Southern feast is served – brown, brown, tan, and brown.
It’s easy to feel unhealthy while you feel oh-so-satisfied and full of gravy, grits, and biscuits. Adding this light and yummy salad will trick your stomach into thinking that you are being healthy, and your taste buds will appreciate it too!
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Step One.
Prep all of your ingredients – cut the melon, crumble the cheese, yada yada.
Step Two.
Make your vinaigrette. Make sure that you add the oil SLOWLY!
Is that really necessary? How come these ingredients are having family feuds?!
Oil and vinegar are not meant to mix. When you get all chemistry about it, vinegar is polar and and oil is non-polar. They are not friends. They are not soluble. So you have to confuse them into mingling. This is why dressings (like Italian) settle in the fridge and you have to shake them up before using. Not a sign of something bad, just a chemistry war going on.
Step Three.
Put all those salad ingredients together on a plate and drizzle with your homemade vinaigrette! Voila!
Simple. Tasty. Healthy.
This is a lovely green addition to your Southern Brunch!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (2 oz) (59 mL)
- 1/4 cup hot pepper jelly (2.9 oz) (80 g)
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil (2 oz) (59 mL)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tub Organic Girl pea shoot mix (has spinach too)
- watermelon - about 2 cups
- 4 oz gorgonzola cheese
- walnuts - about 1/4 cup
Instructions
- Prep Step! Measure your your ingredients. Cut a lemon in half.
- Whisk together hot pepper jelly, vinegar, and juice of the half lemon.
- While whisking, slowly add the olive oil. It is necessary to do this slowly! Vinegar and oil are not buddies; you need to be slow to create an emulsion.
- Add greens as desired to the plates. Top with cut watermelon, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and crushed walnuts. Stir up vinaigrette if it has settled, and serve!
Notes
adapted from Southern Living: Watermelon, Mâche, and Pecan Salad
Brunch is the best meal of the day. Period.
You can go sweet, you can go savory. You can go both. You can have appetizers, you can have desserts. You can drink with no one judging you. What could be better?
I first tried biscuits and gravy at one of my favorite brunch spots. But what could be better than homemade? Being from the north, I was very confused about the whole gravy thing. I mean, is it necessary to put carbs on your carbs? One bite of this and the answer is “hell, yea!”
The first time I made gravy, I missed the part about adding the milk slowly. Womp womp. Flop. I ended up with a milky mess. Take two was much better. And it was carby heaven that sent me off to nap time dreams of fluffy and creamy goodness.
Biscuits and gravy is a classic, and this is a simple yet tasty rendition. Be careful with the milk!
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First, make the biscuits.
Step One
Prep Step! Measure out all of your ingredients.
Step Two
Mix your dry ingredients. Then, using SUPER cold butter, cut the butter into the flour mix with a pastry cutter (or use your fingers, but be careful because they’re warm).
Step Three
Mix in the buttermilk, form your biscuits, and pop ’em in the oven.
Now, make the gravy
Step One
Prep Step! Lay out all of your ingredients, and set a pan over medium heat.
Step Two
Add your sausage to the pan. I like to do it in one big lump and then break it up as I go. This ensures that I never get too small of pieces. As a serious sausage lover, the bigger the better!
Step Three
Now add your flour. Stir it around until the flour coats the sausage. You’re ready for the milk!
Step Four
Add you milk SLOWLY, whisking it in as you go. Once it’s all in, whisk it around a bit more and let it cook until it is a good consistency.
Step Five
Turn your heat down to low for the gravy and start your eggs. Serve it up!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (280 g)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick) COLD! (113 g) (4 oz)
- 1 cup buttermilk, COLD! (8 oz) (236 mL)
- 1 lb bulk pork sausage
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (47 g)
- 2 1/2 c whole milk (12 oz)
- salt
- pepper
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Prep Step! Measure out your dry ingredients, cut the butter into small cubes (cut a 3 x 3 grid in the stick, so that you get small cubes), and measure out the buttermilk. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork in a large bowl.
- Cut in your butter (SUPER COLD!) with a pastry cutter, or work quickly with your fingers so that the butter does not heat up. Do this until the mixture is in fine crumbles.
- Slowly, add you milk as you stir with a fork until you have a dough.
- If you are making round biscuits, pat the dough out into a circle that is about 1/2 inch tall. Using a biscuit cutter or a glass dipped in water (to prevent sticking) cut those biscuits. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- If you are making drop biscuits, pull off lumps that are about 1/3 cup in size, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 400°F for 14 - 16 minutes, depending on your oven. Get ready to make the gravy!
- Prep Step! Set a large pan (that you can whisk in) over medium heat. Measure out your flour and milk and set them by the stove. Have your salt, pepper, and hot sauce ready to go.
- Dump all that sausage in. I like to add it as a whole and break it up with a spoon once it's sizzling - this keeps the chunks of sausage nice a big!
- Once the sausage is cooked, dust the flour over and stir until it coats the sausage.
- SLOWLY add you milk, whisking well as you go. Drizzle a little, stop and whisk more,
- do this until it's all in!
- Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to your liking.
- Once the biscuits are done, break open a biscuit on each plate. Top with gravy. Add a fried or poached egg if you like. Dig in!
Notes
© Adventures of a Frostaholic
