Rosemary-black Pepper Cheddar Biscuits With Bacon Gravy And Toma

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground
• 4 tablespoons shortening, chilled
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 5 slices bacon (we like thick cut)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 -3 cups milk
• salt and pepper
• 2 tomatoes, sliced thick
• salt and pepper
• chives, minced (optional)
• parsley, minced (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 450*.
• 2 stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. cut in chilled shortening (or rub in with fingers) until pea-sized lumps form. stir in herbs and cheese.
• 3 whisk together buttermilk and egg and add to flour. gently stir with a fork until just combined. don't over mix or you'll end up with hard biscuits.
• 4 turn dough out onto a floured work surface. pat down gently to a 1/2 inch thick circle or square. using a floured biscuit cutter, press down and cut out biscuits. ( do not twist cutter to remove the biscuits. my mom always said that would make the biscuits not rise and she made the most amazing biscuits -- so that is still how i do it. just straight down, and straight up with the cutter.) you can reknead the scraps to form more biscuits, but the will not be as tender as the first ones. i usually just kind of pat the scraps into little biscuit shapes. i get 8-10 out of this recipe total.
• 5 place on an ungreased sheet pan and bake for 10-15 minutes until light golden brown.
• 6 meanwhile, fry bacon over medium heat until just crispy. remove from skillet and place on a paper towel. reserve the drippings in the pan.
• 7 add flour to the bacon grease and whisk til smooth. cook for a minute or so to get rid of the raw flour taste. do not burn the flour though --
• 8 add milk all at once, whisking like crazy the whole time. heat til bubbling and simmer 5-10 minutes until the gravy begins to thicken. add salt and pepper to taste.
• 9 cut open your biscuit and top each with a thick slice of tomato. season liberally with salt and pepper--tomatoes always need salt and pepper if you ask me -- ladle over a heaping (or not so heaping) helping of your gravy. crumble the bacon over the top, sprinkle with chives and/or parsley and additional salt and pepper as desired. enjoy!