December 28, 2011

Sweet and spiced glazed mixed nuts

Bowl of sweet and spiced glazed mixed nuts.

Sweet, salty, crunchy, with a touch of fresh herbs and warm spices, these glazed mixed nuts make a delicious holiday gift or party snack.

December 23, 2011

Sugar plums

Platter piled with finished sugar plums and one with a bite out of it.

These old-fashioned homemade sugar plums will be dancing in your head this holiday season! Full of warm spices, dried fruits, and toasted nuts, sugar plums are a festive and delicious treat to add to your cookie tray or homemade gifts.

December 15, 2011

Date-walnut bars

Date walnut bars on a serving plate.
Dates are one of those food items I buy every year at Christmas. I like to eat them whole just as a snack. This year I wanted to add them into one of my holiday baked goods or cookies. I found a recipe for date bars and knew that it would be the winner. These bars have a filling of stewed dates and walnuts sandwiched in-between two layers of a buttery oat crust. They are delicious, sweet, and full of holiday goodness. If you like dates, I guarantee you will love these bars.

I modified the recipe, mainly to cut down on the amount of sugar that it uses. Dates are already so sweet, I didn't want to them to be over-powering with sweetness. Even though I cut it down in the below recipe, I think you could still cut it even more (maybe only 1/4 cup in the date mixture or 1/2 cup in the crust). Depending on the size of your bars when you cut them, you will get about 20 bars. 

December 6, 2011

Guinness gingerbread

Slice of Guinness gingerbread with vanilla ice cream.
If you have Nigella Lawson's cookbook Nigella Kitchen and you have not made her Guinness gingerbread yet, well, after you read this post, you should do so immediately! If you are looking for a holiday treat that is different from the usual cookies, look no further. This gingerbread (which is really a cake) is so good - it's moist, sweet, spicy, and just all around good. Plus, it gets better as it sits for a day or two - so try not to eat it all on day one! I served up a piece with some vanilla ice cream while it was still warm, but I thought it was better plain (for breakfast) the next day after the flavors continued to develop.

I did change the recipe ever so slightly so what I've posted below is a little different than in the cookbook. For one, I added molasses, so mine is a bit darker. I combined the molasses with the golden syrup that Nigella has in her recipe because I like my gingerbread to have that molasses flavor in it. The golden syrup is nice because it is made with cane sugar rather than corn syrup that is made with corn sugar. I found it in the European section of my grocery store (if you can't find it though, I would use a combination of molasses and corn syrup). I also added a bit more ginger because I knew her two teaspoons wouldn't be enough for me. There were a few other changes I made including adding some salt and decreasing the brown sugar. It was splendid. Depending on how small or large you cut your gingerbread, you should get between 16 and 24 pieces.

December 4, 2011

Roasted butternut squash with baby spinach and pomegranate

When pomegranates appear in the grocery store, I am always trying to come up with ways to incorporate them into my cooking. Pomegranate seeds are crunchy and tart and they make a great topping for salads, vegetables, oatmeal, etc. Pomegranates can be messy and a little time consuming to get out all the seeds - and, you don't want to lose the juice and just let it run out all over your cutting board. You want to save it to use in the recipe. Here are some pomegranate tips if you've never tackled one before or if they still give you some trouble. I like to seed it over a bowl and then use a colander to separate the seeds from the juice.

I made this side dish utilizing the bottom half of a giant butternut squash I had saved. This squash came from my father-in-law's garden and it was so big. I fed eight people with the top half at Thanksgiving and still had more than enough! I really like to pair sweet winter squash or sweet potatoes with a bitter green. I generally use dried cranberries and or some toasted nuts to add tang and crunch, but this time I went with the pomegranate seeds. The result is an easy, healthful, and colorful side dish that is full of complimentary flavors. The colors would make this a lovely dish to serve as a side to a holiday meal, too. The recipe is very forgiving and can be adjusted to feed more people by just eyeballing the amounts of vegetables so that they look to be in a good ratio to one another. The recipe below made enough to feed about three people as a hearty side. 

November 27, 2011

Cranberry sauce quick bread

Slices of cranberry sauce quick bread.
Do you still have leftovers of cranberry sauce from your Thanksgiving dinner? If so, here's a creative way I found to use up some of it. I found this recipe on The Kitchn and thought it was a great idea. Not only did it use up some cranberry sauce, but also buttermilk that I had left. This bread takes your cranberry sauce and turns it in to something completely new, which is a great way to ensure that your leftovers actually get eaten. It also takes those Thanksgiving leftovers and turns them into something that touches on the flavors of Christmas. This bread is simple and versatile. You can add nuts, dried fruits, citrus zests, or spices of your choice. I did modify the recipe quite a bit to add spices and nuts because I thought it may be a little bland as is. My cranberry sauce had clementine and ginger in it, so I wanted to match those flavors. This recipe will make one loaf of bread and it makes a nice breakfast or snack with a cup of coffee or tea.

November 23, 2011

Ginger-clementine cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is something I make every year for Thanksgiving. I've never been a fan of the canned cranberry sauce "log" so I started making sauce with real cranberries years ago. However, I realized that I use the same recipe every year and always make cranberry-orange sauce (which, by the way, I posted here exactly one year ago). I love that recipe, but I decided to change-up my cranberry sauce a little by making it a slightly spicy sauce featuring ginger. Ginger is one of my favorite flavors and I thought that it would be nice to bring it into my Thanksgiving dinner. I've been seeing a lot of cranberry sauce/relish recipes with ginger recently that helped me decide to try the change.

Cranberry sauce is one of the Thanksgiving meal items you can make ahead of time and refrigerate for a couple of days. Those dishes are nice because it's one less thing you need to make the day of your meal. Plus, cranberry sauce is easy and ready in a snap. It's worth making yourself. We have more people coming for our dinner this year, so this recipe will serve about 8-10 people as a Thanksgiving side (and hopefully some leftovers to go on a turkey sandwich). I like my cranberries to remain a little on the tart side, but feel free to add more (or less) sugar according to your taste. 

Ginger-clementine cranberry sauce
2 bags (24-oz. total) fresh cranberries
juice and zest of 2 clementines 
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
about 1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce comes to a boil and cranberries begin to burst. Continue to cook and stir, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency (add a little water or more clementine juice if it is too thick). Remove from heat, let cool, and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

November 21, 2011

Pumpkin gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce

Bowl of pumpkin gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce.


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My husband and I went to a wonderful restaurant a couple of weeks ago for our two year wedding anniversary. This restaurant specializes in a small menu comprised of as many local and seasonal ingredients as possible. I had a bowl of potato gnocchi in a gorgonzola sauce with three kinds of roasted squash and pancetta. It was delicious and it was also the first time I ever had gnocchi. 

I was inspired to make gnocchi at home and I thought that pumpkin gnocchi would be so seasonal and colorful. However, I had no idea how to make them. I searched all over the web and found quite a few recipes. I decided to use this recipe at Closet Kitchen as my guide. 

The gnocchi were not that difficult to make. I don't have a gnocchi board, so I tried to roll them on a fork to make the lines. It worked OK, but not great. They didn't look perfect by any means, by they tasted delicious and the orange color was lovely.

It just so happened that the recipe I found also had a gorgonzola sauce like I had at the restaurant. I made that and served it on top of the gnocchi along with some pieces of crisp applewood smoked bacon, fried sage leaves, and shallots. It was fall comfort in a bowl. 

The salty bacon paired nicely with the rich cheese sauce and the gnocchi were slightly sweet and nutty. I think some roasted cauliflower (maybe purple) or chestnuts would be a nice addition as well.  This recipe will make enough to serve about four people as a main dish.

Rolling out pumpkin gnocchi.

November 13, 2011

Orange and honey roasted rutabaga


Up until this I had never eaten a rutabaga anyway except for mashed/pureed with potatoes. I am pretty sure that up until last fall, I had never eaten a rutabaga in my life though. So, I decided to try a new way to make this root vegetable into a side dish. Roasting is pretty much the best way to make almost all vegetables, so I figured that it would be worth a shot.Since rutabagas have a bit of a spicy flavor (similar but more subtle than a turnip), I thought that a sweet flavor would go nicely with it. I decided to keep it simple and roast the rutabaga chunks with some honey and orange juice. It was a good choice and the slight tang from the orange juice and sweetness from the honey paired very nicely with the rutabaga - it didn't overpower the vegetable, but rather complimented it.

I used one medium rutabaga, which I thought would make a side for at least three people, but my husband and I ate it all! I think that this would make a lovely and simple Thanksgiving side dish and a tasty way to introduce people to rutagbagas, which don't tend to be a very popular or common vegetable in my experience. You can easily double or triple this recipe and it is very forgiving. So if you haven't already made friends with the rutabaga, go for it! 

November 3, 2011

Apple-stuffed acorn squash

I'm continuing my quest to post more vegetable side dishes (and this one just happens to be acorn squash again). The recipe actually stems from a squash dish my husband made for me a few times when we were dating. I remember we had it one Christmas Eve dinner with some family and friends and it was a big hit. It was a small dinner and we made an half of a squash for each person. It's a nice side dish because everyone gets their own individual half - it's cute and they are very good. I think these would also make a nice Thanksgiving side dish, but only if you had a small gathering - it would be difficult to do a whole bunch of these at one time (unless you had a second oven, which is unlikely). I made this dish recently for my husband and I along with some pecan-crusted chicken. I added some spices like cayenne and cinnamon so that they weren't overly sweet. I think this was the first time I made them myself, but we liked my version, too. This recipe is for one acorn squash, which will serve two people. 

October 25, 2011

Brown sugar and cinnamon baked acorn squash

So at the farmer's market this weekend, we hoarded a good stash of winter squash just like last year. One farmer offers a basket of squash for $10.00 when the market is getting down to its final weeks. I think we got about 13 winter squash including acorn, butternut, golden buttercup, carnival, delicata, sweet dumpling, and one blue hubbard - less than $1.00 a piece! I love deals like that and squash is one of my favorite foods - I look forward to it all year. So, expect to see a lot of squash recipes from me again this year! This recipe is a pretty simple side dish, but also really delicious. You could use any winter squash in place of acorn, but I like that acorn isn't too sweet in itself so the caramelized brown sugar doesn't make it too sweet.

October 4, 2011

Curried butternut squash and yellow pea soup

Soup and squash season is upon us again! This is a soup to make for anyone who still thinks that vegetarian food is boring or bland. It is so full of flavor, texture, and warmth that it will not disappoint. Slightly spiced with ginger, curry powder, and a touch of cayenne pepper, this soup packs a delicious flavor punch. The combination of vegetables, including butternut squash and carrots, lend a nice body and sweetness to this soup that compliment the spices. Then the addition of coconut milk gives a nice creaminess to the soup and really makes it feel and taste like curry. I put yellow peas in the soup, but I think that red lentils would also work well. 

The recipe made a large pot of soup that would be enough for about eight bowls. It's great to make and put in the refrigerator for easy weekday lunches or a quick dinner. Serve it as a starter or a main dish with a salad.

September 23, 2011

Buckwheat pancakes

Serving plate of buckwheat pancakes.

As the weather begins to cool and the leaves are starting to have hints of orange and yellow, I fear I am getting back into "pancake mode" on Sunday mornings. 

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You would think that I would have run out of pancake ideas by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's OK though, I mean, that's what Sunday mornings are for - leisurely coffee and a big breakfast. 

Buckwheat is not wheat at all and also does not contain any gluten. It is a seed, not a grain, and has a lot of healthful properties. It has a strong, assertive taste that is very unique. 

You can make these pancakes with all buckwheat flour, which is great if you can't or don't eat gluten, or you can cut it with some wheat flour (which is what I did). These pancakes are very hearty and when I'm cooking them on a cast iron griddle, the smell makes me think of what it may have been like in "the old days" for some reason. 

Give these pancakes a try now that the weather is cooling. This recipe should make enough to serve three to four people.

Stack of buckwheat pancakes.

September 12, 2011

Classic zucchini bread

Loaf of zucchini bread.


You know it's the end of summer when you begin making zucchini bread to try to use up more of your zucchini! I have always loved zucchini bread; it's one of those classic treats. 

I'm sure there are many of you out there that have your favorite zucchini bread recipes. I enjoy how the bread uses a summer vegetable with some classic fall spices. It is a nice transition from summer to fall. 

This quick bread goes well with your morning coffee or tea, or as a snack anytime of day - I like it with a glass of apple cider. This recipe will make two loaves of bread, but is easily halved if you only want one (I just use one large egg and it works).

September 6, 2011

Thai basil chicken

Serving bowl of Thai basil chicken on rice.

Thai basil chicken (sometimes called Pad Kapow or Pad Krapow) is one of my go-to dishes to order when I am at a Thai restaurant. 

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I love the sauce with its sweet and spicy notes and Thai basil is one of my favorite herbs. Since we have Thai basil in our herb garden this year, I set out to recreate my restaurant favorite at home. I've made this twice now and both times I've found it to be very successful and similar in flavor to what I've eaten out. 

I read a lot of different sauce recipes and messed around with it until I found the flavor combination I was looking for. This dish is packed full of flavor and is quick and easy to make. I hope that you have the opportunity to get Thai basil where you are so that you can try it. 

I used chicken thighs and peppers in my dish because that's what I always see in the restaurant. Some recipes use ground chicken or pork, and I'm not sure what the "authentic" recipe uses.

My husband and I ate all of this the first night - no lunch leftovers. I think it should have fed at least three people though, but it was just so good (or maybe we were just really hungry that night). Serve this dish with some Jasmine or white rice.

August 7, 2011

Stewed okra and tomatoes with andouille sausage

Bowl of stewed okra with tomatoes and andouille over rice.

I found the cutest fresh, young okra at the farmer's market last week and I just couldn't resist buying up a pint. They were so tender and probably the best okra I've ever had. 

I combined the okra with fresh tomatoes from our plant to make this spicy and easy dinner. Some people find okra to be slimy, which it certainly can be. I did some research and found a lot of recipes that say if you fry okra first, it reduces the slime. I tried it in this recipe, and it worked - there was no slime.

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I had some andouille sausage in the freezer that was made at a local shop. Sausage is not something we eat often, but when we do we ensure that it is high quality. Andouille is a smoked Cajun sausage that you've probably eaten if you've ever had gumbo. 

The amount of spice and heat in the andouille provide almost all the flavoring you need for this dish. My husband loved this dinner and quickly grabbed up the leftovers for his lunch the next day. I hadn't planned on taking a photo and posting this dish, but he insisted (so the photos aren't that great - that's his lunch dish for the next day). 

This will make enough for about four servings when paired with rice (which you will want to counterbalance the spicy sausage).

July 16, 2011

Tarragon and grape chicken salad

Apparently chicken salad made with tarragon and grapes is pretty common, but it was something I never had until a few years ago. We were in Baltimore and stopped at a small coffee and sandwich shop for some lunch along the waterfront. I got a tarragon chicken sandwich and thought it was absolutely delicious. This recipe is my attempt to re-create that sandwich. It's odd because the same thing happened to me with curry chicken salad, which I had for the first time at a small shop when we were in Vermont. I guess chicken salad just wasn't something I ate growing up... Anyways, this chicken salad may be my favorite. Tarragon has quickly become one of my favorite herbs and it pairs so nicely with the sweet grapes and chicken. I like to make this with leftover roasted chicken and/or chicken breasts. The recipe is not very exact because of that - you use as much chicken as you have have proportion the other ingredients accordingly.

July 8, 2011

Guacamole

Bowl of guacamole.
Honestly, I can't believe that I am into my second year of this blog and that I have never posted my guacamole recipe. Maybe it's because I used to make it so often that I started to get tired of it. Guacamole is the number one request (or demand) that I get to bring to family gatherings. I'm often asked for the recipe and I've converted many people from being afraid of this weird, green stuff to loving it. It's even loved by our four year old niece. So, when I was asked to bring this to a family picnic over the 4th of July weekend, I remembered to grab some photos so that I can finally post guacamole on this blog. It was delicious as ever and went quick. This recipe will make a snack-sized dish to pass.

June 30, 2011

Sesame chicken and Mandarin orange salad

Salad season is here. This salad is filling and tasty and is definitely enough to be a main dish. I made this salad because I had some snow peas that I was trying to figure out how to use in something other than a stir fry. Snow peas are one of those vegetables that always steer me in an Asian direction. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to make an Asian-themed salad. I don't usually give out amounts for salads, because I think salads are a very personal thing. Isn't that why there are salad bars? This way, you can make your salad as big or as small as you want and you can proportion all the fixings to your greens in a way that makes you happy. Therefore, I like to just list the ingredients and let you decide exactly how much lettuce you want (I mean, it's not like I measured out the lettuce, anyways)! I will, however, provide the marinade and dressing recipe. I marinated two chicken breasts (1 for each salad). 

June 23, 2011

Five bean salad

Bean salad is one of my favorite summer picnic salads. I love that while it may contain a lot of sugar, it's still packed with protein and fiber and doesn't contain mayonnaise. Probably almost everyone has had some version of a bean salad in their life, or has their own family recipe for one. This salad is really versatile - you can use three beans, four beans, five beans and almost any kind of beans that you like. The ones in this recipe are the ones that I generally use. I brought this to a family picnic over Father's Day weekend, but I also enjoy making up a batch to have on hand for lunches during the week. I try to buy all organic and low-sodium beans for this recipe so that I can control the salt content. I also use fresh green beans, but you could substitute canned and/or yellow beans. This recipe will make a large bowl, suitable for a picnic.

June 18, 2011

Banana and pineapple sage smoothies

Banana and pineapple sage smoothie in a glass.

These smoothies are something I've been making for a few years, but only when I'm lucky enough to find a pineapple sage plant for my herb garden. I found this recipe all over the internet years ago when I was first trying to find ways to use this interesting herb. 

I've slightly modified this recipe over the years to the one below. This smoothie has a tropical taste from the pineapple sage and the banana. I love fresh herbs and finding interesting ways to use them in my food. Use the smallest, newest leaves as they have the most pineapple flavor. It's perfect for a breakfast or brunch drink on a warm morning.

 I love the combination of the fruit with fresh herbs in a drink. This recipe will make two servings.

June 6, 2011

Potato and Swiss chard hash with eggs

Skillet of potato and Swiss chard hash with eggs.
Words cannot explain just how much I love a hearty brunch filled with eggs and potatoes. It reminds me a lot of when I was a kid and my grandfather would make me breakfast when I stayed over at my grandparent's house. His breakfasts were always huge and smelled wonderful. Food has that way of reminding you of people and events in your life. Just the smell of potatoes cooking up in some butter with onions reminds me of those days.

This brunch was inspired by some farmer's market finds. I thought that combining the potatoes and greens would make a lovely bed for some fresh-cracked eggs. This hash is meat-free and is still very filling and satisfying. The measurements of the potatoes and chard and not exact because they were just bought up in the size/container at the market that was available (i.e., they weren't weighed). These sort of recipes are very forgiving though. I think that as long as you have a good ratio of potatoes to greens for the number of people you are serving, you will be all set. You can also crack more or less eggs on top depending on how many people you are serving and their appetite. I made this for two, and cooked two eggs a piece. 

May 2, 2011

Salmon and asparagus with a creamy tarragon sauce

Serving plate with salmon and asparagus topped with creamy tarragon sauce.

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables and tarragon is swiftly becoming one of my favorite herbs. 

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Tarragon was pretty unfamiliar to me until a few years ago when I first had it in a chicken salad. From then on, I was hooked on this herb and it is a perfect match with asparagus and salmon. 

This sauce was something I threw together with some items I had on hand and it turned out very nicely. I also served a simple pasta salad with this meal that was just cooked orzo tossed with extra virgin olive oil, halved baby tomatoes, lemon zest, and some salt and pepper. 

It was really fresh and bright and accompanied the rich salmon and creamy sauce quite well (plus the lemon juice goes in the sauce). I made this dish for two, but you can cook up more fish and asparagus as needed.  

March 24, 2011

Tarragon chicken

Plate of tarragon chicken and green beans.

Another simple, elegant, and delicious dish from Nigella Kitchen. I really loved this chicken. It was so tender and flavorful and the sauce was so easy to make. 

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If you like tarragon, this chicken is definitely for you. If you've never had tarragon before, give it a try. It has a licorice-like taste that pairs nicely with chicken (it's often used in chicken salad). Herbs take food to the next level of greatness and have such wonderful tastes and aromas.

I modified Nigella's recipe ever so slightly to the one below. I served this chicken with some fresh green beans and baked potatoes. It will serve about three people depending on the sides (the green beans went really well with this and the potato was great for soaking up the extra sauce). 

This recipe makes enough sauce that you can add probably up to four chicken breasts and there will still be enough sauce for each piece.

February 21, 2011

Roasted sweet potatoes with spinach and cranberries

I made this delicious side dish to go along with some mustard glazed organic pork. I have been looking for ways to optimize my vegetable side dishes with taste, color, and nutrients. This dish does the trick! It has heat, sweetness, tang, and freshness and is full of good for you vegetables and cranberries. The only thing I may add next time would be to toss in some toasted pecans as well. I think that this would also be a great Thanksgiving side dish (I'll try to remember it for this year!). This recipe should provide a side for about four people and it's easy to bump up the ingredients to make it enough for more people. 

February 7, 2011

Hot quinoa breakfast cereal

Bowl of hot quinoa breakfast cereal.
I have always loved oatmeal and oatbran and recently discovered the wonders of overnight oatmeal. But with all these great grains and seeds that are becoming popular, there's a world of possibilities when it comes to a hot cereal breakfast. I saw a recipe for a hot quinoa cereal in Martha Stewart Living and was inspired to finally try a new hot breakfast cereal that didn't involve oats. I usually use quinoa in a similar way as rice, often as a side dish with herbs and/or vegetables. It has a unique texture that I enjoy (but I think my husband is still on the fence). As with oatmeal, you can flavor this cereal any way you like. I used bananas and honey with some spices. Any combination of fruit, nuts, spices, and sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, agave nectar) that you like would be perfect. This recipe will serve two (just double it for more - you will want a two to one ratio of milk to quinoa). Maybe next time I'll try red quinoa or millet...

January 30, 2011

Sweet and sour acorn squash

This recipe is from a Mario Batali cookbook that a co-worker brought in for me to borrow. While I do really want to try some of the pasta and other more complicated recipes in the cookbook, this side dish jumped out at me as a perfect recipe to try. We still have quite a bit of winter squash from our stock-up at the end of the farmer's market last fall so I'm always looking for different ways to use them. Plus I like to try out new, interesting side dishes for vegetables. This squash was sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy. And, while the original recipe did not call for salt, I added a pinch of fine sea salt at the end to compliment all of those other flavors. I also used a little less oil. I didn't have any mint, which was the garnish in the book. Below is my slightly modified recipe. It should provide a nice side dish for about four people. 

January 15, 2011

Skillet pasta puttanesca

Skillet with pasta puttanesca.

I had never had puttanesca sauce before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. 

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But, my husband and I both really like olives (and pasta and cheese), so I thought that this would be a hit. I found a recipe on my friend Christine's blog, Christine's Cuisine, which she had made from a Cook's Illustrated recipe. The recipe was really easy and it was tasty. 

An extra bonus was that it was a one skillet meal (Thanks, Christine)! We ate this on a blustery day with some fresh garlic bread and were quite happy. The recipe below is a slightly modified version. 

My husband is very salt sensitive, so I lowered the salt amount - especially with the salty olives, anchovies, and Parmesan cheese. We also love garlic and red pepper, so I bumped these ingredients up. 

I also used penne pasta instead of ziti. But, overall the recipe is basically the same. I never cooked with anchovies before, but they were not all all offensive in any way and probably help to give the sauce a depth of flavor. This recipe will serve 4 to 6 people. 

January 1, 2011

Sausage gravy

Plate of sausage gravy on biscuits.
Happy New Year! I'm always surprised at how quickly each year seems to pass. 2011? Really? I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but I am committing to continuing to learn to cook and record the recipes and experiences. 2010 was my first full year of this blog and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm really happy when I receive a comment or have someone tell me that they tried a recipe and liked it. It makes my day!

The recipe I'm posting today has been a staple at my family's Christmas breakfast as long as I can remember. I did not make it this Christmas because I was not feeling well and had made an easy cranberry-walnut quick bread to take instead. My husband really looks forward to the sausage gravy though, so I promised him that I would make it for us another day. I decided that it would make a good New Year's breakfast, so I just made it this morning. It's a delicious treat that is full of sage flavor that really reminds you of the holidays. I'm not exactly sure where the original recipe came from for the sausage gravy. This is my slightly modified version of the recipe I got from my mother. It will serve about four people.