This will help

In the unlikely event that any viewers of this PG-13 website might have over-indulged - there is no better cure than biscuits and gravy (BnG).  Here's a fool-proof recipe for the best artery-clogging, head-clearing meal you can make.

Also, page down for Burnt End Hash!

Biscuits and gravy gravy 

· 1 or 1 1/2 lb mild breakfast sausage

· ½ stick of butter

· 4 T flour

· 6 c milk

· salt

· pepper

· Italian herb seasoning

Set out 2 cups of milk and allow it to come to room temperature. 

In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, brown sausage over medium-high heat. When completely browned, spoon sausage out of skillet and place it in a glass or steel bowl lined with a paper towel. Leave browned bits and a small amount of grease in skillet, add butter and stir. 

Butter should melt rapidly. When melted, add flour one T at a time and whisk into melted butter. The mixture should turn to paste when the last T of flour is added. 

Add tepid milk slowly, whisking constantly to remove clumps and make a smooth solution. Add remaining milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a flat-bottom spatula to keep from sticking or scorching. To convert this from hot milk to gravy, you need to get it to a low boil and then simmer for a couple minutes.  

Stir 1 t of salt, lots of pepper and 2 T of Italian herbs into gravy, taste and add additional salt, pepper or herbs to taste. 

Return cooked sausage to gravy and cook a minute or two to re-heat sausage. Serve over biscuits or toast if you prefer. Pillsbury Grands frozen biscuits are great.  This makes enough for about 12 biscuits, which means between 1 and 8 servings depending on whether both my boys are home.

This is a New Year’s Day tradition at our house. Your old pal Pete cooks this while the lovely and gracious Pete’s Mate watches the Rose Parade. A big plate of this stuff will clear up a hangover and get you ready for 5 or 6 bowl games.

Pro tip - YOPP likes to split biscuits, then add hot sauce to the biscuits BEFORE putting gravy on the.  That way the hot sauce soaks right into the biscuit.  You're welcome.

"Can't Beat Pete's Gravy!"  

This is a great dish to extend your burnt ends or use up a small piece of leftover brisket, although if you have leftover brisket that means you didn’t do it right.  It’s great for breakfast or brunch.  It’s listed here in the hangover section and you can use your imagination about that but it’s also good for supper if that fits your schedule.  

• ½ lb or a little more burnt ends, chopped or diced pretty small.

• 1 lb red potatoes, diced to 3/8” or so

• ½ onion, chopped fine

• 1 pepper - green, red, whatever, chopped coarsely

• Oil and butter for sauteeing

• Salt and pepper

• Shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa and chopped cilantro for serving

• 1 egg for each person, optional

Par boil diced potatoes until about half cooked, drain, pat dry and set aside.

In large pan, saute chopped onion in 1 T butter until soft, add chopped pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften, add chopped burnt ends to pan and cook a few minutes until everything is hot.  Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat and add potatoes when oil is hot.  Fry potatoes, turning occasionally until browned all over and done through. This takes a while to do properly, probably 10-15 minutes.  Don’t hurry fried potatoes, you will get burned potatoes.

Once potatoes are done, add burnt end/onion/pepper mixture to pan and cook a few minutes to make sure everything is hot.  The last minute or two, you can add some shredded cheese on top and cover top melt the cheese. 

If you like, fry an egg or two to serve on top of the hash (see photo).  

Maybe you ordered this at a restaurant or read about it in a magazine.  If you have never had avocado toast, you are missing out.  It's pretty simple but the details matter.  

Start with a ripe avocado, remove peel and pit and smush the green stuff with the back of a fork.

Toast some good bread.  Almost any kind will work.  YOPP prefers a hearty wheat or good sourDoug but anything better than cheap bread will work.  Toast it pretty well so that is is crunchy.  You are going to eat this with a knife and fork and a little crunch will be nice.

While the bread is toasting, start to fry an egg (one per slice).  For me, a medium hot pan with some butter to make it slide and covered is the best way.  You might do it differently.  That's fine.  You want the white cooked through and the yolk sort of runny.  however you get there is fine by me. 

Spread the avocado over the toast evenly.  About 1/2 of a typical avocado per slice of bread is the right amount.  Two seasonings are critical.  Shake some red pepper flakes or some kind of mild-hot seasoning over the avocado.  Then add a generous amount of everything bagel seasoning.

Once the egg is cooked, season the egg with salt and pepper.  Then slide it onto the toast and enjoy.  Like everything else on earth, it's even better with some crumbled bacon!

Bonus:  You can make your own everything bagel seasoning.  Try the recipe below and adjust to fit your taste.

• 2 T poppy seeds
• 1 T white sesame seeds
• 1 T black sesame seeds
• 1T plus 1t dried, minced garlic
• 1T plus 1t dried, minced onion
• 2 t flaked sea salt or coarse salt

Blend together and store in a sealed container.

· 3 T salted butter, plus more when served

· 2 C white whole-wheat flour

· 1 ½ t baking powder

· 1 ½ t baking soda

· ½ t fine sea salt

· 2 C buttermilk

· 2 large eggs

· 1 T maple syrple (see notes below)

· 2 t vanilla (use the good stuff)

· 1 package (16 ounces) of good bacon, use standard thickness, not thick cut for this recipe

· 1 cup maple syrple

· 3 T bourbon (optional, if you use it, use at least pretty good stuff)

· 1 cinnamon stick

Bacon: Cook the bacon to crisp but not overcooked, place on a plate with a paper towel and dab off any adhering grease, set aside. Be sure to use Pete’s pro bacon tips:

· Cut the bacon strips in half before cooking, they are way easier to handle than full length strips and works particularly well for this recipe.

· Use a non-stick pan and put about 1/8” of water in the pan before adding the bacon. The water will cook off over a few minutes, and the fat will render more evenly if you do it this way.

· Cook over medium heat.

· Be patient (not a strength of mine but worth it for proper bacon). Turn bacon several times while cooking and use your tongs or spatula to push down any parts that curl up. This is tedious but will give you much more evenly cooked bacon and no greasy uncooked parts.

Pancake batter: Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat and cook until it begins to turn brown. This will take 3-4 minutes depending on your version of medium heat. Pour butter into a small bowl and set aside. Don’t clean the pan, you will use it for syrple and a little butter is OK.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs maple syrple, vanilla and browned butter. Whisk to combine but don’t overmix, a few lumps are OK. Cover the bowl with a (clean!) kitchen towel and set aside for 10 minutes. 

Syrup: In the sauce pan that you browned the butter, combine maple syrple, bourbon (if you choose to) and cinnamon stick. Over low heat, cook to lightly bubbling. That will take 8-10 minutes and will cook off the alcohol but leave the bourbon flavor. Take off heat and discard the cinnamon stick.

Pancakes: Heat a griddle or large skillet, using medium heat. Work in batches. Lay down a couple of the half strips of bacon side by side on the griddle, then pour ¼ cup of batter over them. Don’t worry if a little bacon sticks out on the edges. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface (approx 2 minutes), then flip and cook 1-2 minutes more. Repeat until batter is all gone. Don’t use quite all the bacon, keep a few strips to crumble and serve over pancakes. I usually place cooked pancakes on a plate in a warm over to keep them warm while I cook the rest.

Serve pancakes with more butter, warm syrup and crumbled bacon.

This recipe will serve 4 teenagers or six adults. If it’s just the lovely and gracious Pete’s Mate and me, we make a half batch. 

Notes: 

There are easier pancakes to make but no better ones. The mix of flavors is fantastic. You have sweet, salty, smoky, sexy, buttery, maple-y, etc. All the good stuff!

Get real maple syrup, the good stuff that actually started in a tree, not the high fructose corn syrup with brown dye and flavors that you find in big bottles. It costs more but there is no comparison, and you only need a little over a cup. Splurge on the good maple and cut back on overpriced coffee or steaming services.

Make sure to get the white whole wheat flour, it is a little different than other types. 

If you don’t have the Half Baked Harvest cookbooks, run out and get one (or more). The recipes are real, flavorful food for normal people. I don’t know how she stays so slim with all the great food she makes.