Nothing sticks to your ribs better than a plate of biscuits and gravy. This southern dish has become a mainstay for many diners across the country. Prepared in a wide variety of ways this menu item is extremely popular for breakfast or dinner. In its most simple form B&G is simply a white sauce made with the drippings of sausage or bacon, milk, and usually spiced with some black pepper. Other versions include sausage or bacon bits, onions, or peppers. When ordering this dish in a restaurant, remember to check the menu to see how it is listed, whether it is biscuits and gravy, or biscuits and sausage gravy, cause there is a big difference.

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Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

A delicious white sauce made with the drippings of sausage or bacon, milk, and spiced with some roasted red pepper.

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American, Home Cooking

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits
• 1 lb hot Italian sausage
• ½ cup onion diced
• ½ cup roasted red pepper diced
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 - 3 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh parsley or green onions chopped

Instructions

• Prepare the biscuits according to the instructions on the label.
• Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat. When the meat is about halfway cooked add the onion and roasted red pepper. Cook until the sausage is browned and the onions are caramelized.
• Sprinkle the flour across the top of the skillet. Mix until all of the four is absorbed. Cook the mixture for 4 – 5 minutes. This will remove the “floury taste” from the gravy.
• Add enough milk to the pan to cover the sausage mixture about 2 cups.
• Bring the gravy to a slow boil to thicken. If the gravy is too thick, add more milk a little at a time allowing the mixture to return to a boil before adding more (gravy is easier to thin than thicken, so take it easy on the milk).
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes. Gravy become thicker the longer it cooks, add more milk if need for desired thickness.

Serve

• Break biscuits in half and spoon a generous amount of gravy over top. Add some fresh chopped parsley or green onion for some delicious color.

Blue plate’s featured diner: Tom’s Diner

Tom’s diner located at 601 East Colfax in Denver, Colorado is a throwback to the golden age of diners. Open 24 hours a day, this location is the absolute best spot for watching the Denver insomniacs and the late night bar flies.

Nothing evokes the thought of home cooking and comfort food more than that of a diner, the place where you find classic meals just like Mom used to make. It’s hard to describe the delight felt upon finding one’s favorite dish hand written on a chalkboard being featured as the lunch special.

Our romance with the diner goes way back. The first diner was started in Providence, Rhode Island in 1872 as a horse-drawn wagon offering meals to night workers. In 1887 Thomas Buckley created a successful business building and selling fully equipped wagons, and secured the first patent on his diner in 1891. These “fancy night cafés” were widely popular until the early 1900’s when retired railroad dining cars began to appear.  These long narrow cafés were found parked beside train stations offering cheap food.

The diner concept was well received and prefabricated mobile home like diners were moved onto foundations in busy urban settings. These restaurants were best known for their narrow long style, a counter with stools, and late night hours.  During the Depression and the World War that followed, the diner became a popular place among third shift workers and lonely folks to gather.  Usually offering a blue plate special with drink included, a person could get a very inexpensive home cooked meal and some camaraderie. The diners of the 1920’s – 1940’s featured Art Deco or Streamline Moderne elements, many with stainless exteriors intended to copy the appearance of a rail car. During the 1950’s the diner’s look was updated to include glass blocks, terrazzo floors, and neon trim signs.

Today the term diner is used to describe a variety of restaurants, some with large glass windows overlooking busy streets, others in old houses. Characterized by offering a wide range of foods, typically American, a casual atmosphere, a counter, a lunch special, and late operating hours, the diner is truly an American classic.

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Bacon Topped Meatloaf

A stepped up version of an American classic.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

Meatloaf

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound hot sausage
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Topping

• Thick cut bacon
• 3 tablespoons ketchup or chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 scant teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat oven to 375° F.

Meatloaf

• Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well, do not be afraid to use your hands.
• Form mixture into loaf shape in the middle of a large glass baking dish. I prefer this method over packing the loaf into a bread pan, this allows the meatloaf to caramelize on all sides.

Topping

• Cover top of meatloaf with strips of bacon, overlapping the strips slightly.
• Mix ketchup, mustard, sugar, and seasonings together.
• Spread sauce evenly over the top of the bacon covered loaf.

Bake

• Place in oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until top is browned, or internal temperature reaches 160° F.
• Lift from pan and tent with foil allowing meat to rest about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

There are hundreds of variations of Meatloaf, here is yet another. This recipe is intended to be used as a “road map” in making this dish. Feel free to add or adjust any ingredients you like. I prefer not to use bread crumbs or other fillers in my meatloaf, but I know many people do. I will however suggest the bacon wrap treatment if you have not tried this before, because after all, what’s not better with bacon.

A special thanks to sister Jennifer for snapping the “on location” shots with her new little Green Elph.