My All-Time Favorite Sweet N Savory Southern Breakfast Treats!!

Being that I live in the South, there is nothing quite like waking up in the morning to a warm, delicious, comforting Southern style breakfast to start off your day, ohhhh what an amazing tradition that is here in the South!!  I very fondly remember having some truly incredible southern breakfasts as child when I would go to either my Mamaw's or Nana's  house to spend the night and when I would wake up in the morning the heavenly aromas from their kitchens was incredibly mouthwatering!!!!  Such wonderful memories were made in light of all that and it created a lasting bond for me with those 2 special and beautiful ladies that I will carry with me always, even though they are no longer here on this earth. I love you and miss you sooooo much Mamaw and Nana!!!!! Thank you for instilling in me traditions, memories and love for family and friends, it is something that I will always carry with me in my heart and daily life! So, with that I would like to share with you all some of my favorite breakfast recipes, these are also favorites of my Personal Chef Client's as well!! Hope you all enjoy these as well!




Nana's AWESOME Buttermilk Biscuits with Homemade Sausage Gravy!

Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 ½ cups self-rising flour (plus extra for flouring your surface)
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
• 4 Tbsp butter (chilled)
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk (plus 1-2 tbsp more, if needed)
• 1 tbsp melted butter (Optional: to brush on top of biscuits after baking)

Sausage Gravy Ingredients:

• 1 lb sage-flavored pork sausage(you can leave this out if you wish to do so)
• ¼ cup finely chopped white or yellow onion
• 6 tbsp all purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• ½ tsp poultry seasoning
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1-2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 dashes of Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, or other hot sauce
• 1-2 tbsp butter or bacon grease (if needed)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a floured surface for shaping the dough and have an ungreased baking sheet ready.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Using a fork or a pastry blender cut in the shortening and butter. Work quickly, you don’t want the fats to melt – the key to fluffy biscuits is minimal handling. The mixture should be crumbly.
3. Make a well in the flour mixture, and pour in the buttermilk. Stir with a spoon and blend just until the liquid is absorbed and the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl – add 1-2 tbsp more buttermilk if the dough is dry. Do not over mix; the dough will be tacky, neither wet nor dry.
4. With lightly floured hands, turn out the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and gently fold it over on itself 2 or 3 times. Shape into a 3/4” thick round. If you use a rolling pin, be sure to flour it first to keep the dough from sticking to the pin.
5. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits pressing straight down (avoid the temptation to twist the cutter as twisting keeps the biscuits from rising). Dip the cutter in flour between cuttings to keep the dough from sticking to the cutter. Place biscuits on the baking sheet so that they just touch (for crunchy sides, leave space in between). Reshape scrap dough and continue cutting. Remember to handle the dough as little as possible.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. Turn the baking sheet around halfway through baking.
7. Optional: Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.


Sausage Gravy:
1 Preheat a 4-quart saucepan over medium high heat (put a few drops of water in the pan – when they evaporate, you know the pan is ready). Crumble the sausage into the pan and let it brown for a minute or two, then turn down to medium heat. Continue cooking, breaking up the sausage into smaller pieces, until no pink remains. Stir in the onions and cook until they are transparent.
2 Remove sausage with a slotted spatula or spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan. If less than 3 tbsp of drippings remain, add enough butter (or bacon grease) to equal about 3 tbsp of drippings. Add the cooked sausage back to the pan on medium heat, and sprinkle the flour over the sausage. Stir in the flour and cook for about 6-8 minutes, until the mixture starts bubbling and turns slightly golden brown.
3 Stir in poultry seasoning, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and salt – cook for 1 minute to deepen the flavors. Slowly add the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 15 minutes). Be patient, it will thicken!

Makes 10-12 servings

Mamaw's FABULOUS Blackberry Muffins!

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 Tbsp warm melted butter (1 stick)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups of fresh blackberries, cut in half

Preparation:

1. Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a standard 12 muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups. (Actually, with the berries you'll have more batter than just for 12 muffins. This batch made 18 muffins.)
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the berries. (If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, then drain the excess liquid, then coat them lightly in flour.) Do not overmix! Overmixing will cause the muffins to be dense, not fluffy. The batter should not be smooth.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, 17-20 minutes (or longer). Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.
Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.

Makes about 18 muffins.