4 tbsp flour
3/4 cup water
2 cup skim milk or milk
1 substitute
1 1/2 tsp fresh sage, crumbled finely
1 or
1 tsp ground sage
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp tobasco sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Mix flour and water until smooth and no lumps. Put into medium sauce
pan, and heat over medium-high heat until the mixture boils. Reduce
heat, stirring constanly, and boil for 4 - 5 minutes. Mixture should
be very think and blubbery. Add milk and stir until the mixture is
smooth again. Add spices, and return to boil, cooking until it has
the consistancy of thick gravy.
Serve over split baking powder biscuits, with fruit (whole-berry
cranberry sauce was *great* with this dish!), grits, red beans &
rice, toast & jam, etc.
Makes enough for about 4 biscuits.
Posted by wallis@oxygen.aps1.anl.gov (David Wallis) to the Fatfree
Digest [Volume 11 Issue 21], Oct. 21, 1994. FATFREE Recipe
collections copyrighted by Michelle Dick 1994. Used with permission.
Formatted by Sue Smith, S.Smith34, TXFT40A@Prodigy.com using MMCONV.
Servings: 4 servings
Biscuits & Gravy (Wallis) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Gravies
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as an idea can be traced back into ancient history, at least as far back into history as the early Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. Having said that, sadly, these old cook books were just basic pictorial recipes for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered, according to food historians is a collection of clay tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel exhilarated and blissful. Progressing into Roman times 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a collection of scripts detailing recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. In his publication, Apicius describes how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and dessert, a very modern way of dining. This early Roman chef informs us how the cooks of his times used many different herbs, including some familiar names for example thyme, mint and dill. Continuing our culinary historical journey, there are a couple of recipe books dating from the 1300s : a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these books are unconnected to the curry that we all know today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals eaten by the nobility of those days. Later on, in the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back a variety of spices and herbs from the holy land, including spices such as coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new herbs and spices caused an eruption in manuscripts on food, most of which are kept safe in academic collections. Over the succeeding few centuries, the powerful families of the West competed to serve the most exotic banquets, and consequentially chefs and their collection of recipes could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 19th century that formal cookery and recipe books became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collating, verifying, and writing down the recipes of their peers. When we get to the twentieth century, recipe books are highly popular mostly due to better eduction, more spare time and having more money to spend. The TV revolution brought us TV cooks and the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to access thousands of recipes like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Biscuits & Gravy (Wallis) recipe.
