Gravy: 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
3/4 pound wild mushrooms, brushed clean, trimmed and coarsely chopped * (see note)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons fresh minced chive
2 cups half-and-half or milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Biscuits: 2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons fresh minced chives
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter (or spray) a heavy baking sheet. For the biscuits, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until it’s finely chopped and mixture has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. (You can also cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.). Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the milk and chives and stir until the batter is evenly mixed. Don’t over-mix or you will have tough, heavy biscuits!
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough into a circle about six inches across and one inch thick. Cut the dough into quarters, setting the biscuits on the baking sheet with one inch or so between them. Bake the biscuits until they are puffed and lightly brown on top, 12-15 minutes. Transfer them to a rack to cool.
Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through and lightly browned, 12-15 minutes. Stir often and break up the sausage chunks as they cook. Spoon out and discard excess fat. Add the mushrooms and onion; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and any liquid they give off is evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Add the four and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, stirring so that the flour evenly coats the sausage and mushrooms. Slowly stir in the milk or half and half and cook until the gravy has thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the chives and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, cut each of the biscuits in half horizontally and set the bottom halves on the individual plates. Generously spoon the mushroom-sausage gravy over, top with the top of the biscuit. Makes 4 servings.
*I prefer to use 1/2 pound dried porcini mushrooms reconstituted in a cup or so of water. Drain the mushrooms and save the liquid. Make the wild mushroom and sausage gravy the night before and then use the saved liquid to thin the gravy prior to heating and serving. The liquid adds more depth to the wild mushroom flavor of the dish. Delicious!
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