by James Coulter
A Garfield Christmas is one of my favorite Christmas specials. I loved watching Garfield as a little kid, and this along with the Peanuts Christmas special were the two specials I looked forward to watching on CBS every year.
One scene involves the family cooking Christmas dinner. The mother is preparing sausage gravy when the grandmother decides to add some chili powder to kick it up a notch. The result is the father’s mouth getting set on fire when he eats it.
That scene inspired me to look up a recipe for homemade sausage gravy, specifically with chili powder. Sure enough, such a recipe existed, and I wanted to try it out. I love spicy food. And I love biscuits and gravy. So this recipe was right up my alley.
I prepared this recipe per its instructions. However, wanting to kick the spice level up an extra notch, I also added some diced chili peppers to the mix. The result was a really flavorful batch of gravy that went perfectly with homemade biscuits, along with some fried eggs and bacon.
This spicy sausage gravy is great for cold winter days, whether you want to start it with a warm hearty breakfast or warm up in the evening with a nice hot dinner. For breakfast or breakfast for dinner, nothing beats biscuits and gravy.
Southern Sausage Gravy (from On Ty’s Plate)
Ingredients
• 1 lb. breakfast sausage
• 3 c. milk
• 4 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
Instructions
1. Cook the breakfast sausage in a skillet over medium heat using a spatula to break us the meat as it cooks. If the meat is very fatty, drain most of the excess fat retaining 1-2 tablespoons.
2. Make a hole in the center of the pan and place the butter there to melt. Follow with the flour and whisk into a paste or roux.
3. Gradually pour in the milk while whisky to dissolve the roux. Let the gravy thicken slightly before seasoning with salt, pepper, and chili spices. Remove the pan from the heat. Serve the gravy immediately over biscuits or bread.
