POUR / birthday biscuits and gravy

This receipt comes from SpoonForkBacon. Everything on their blog is drool worthy. Every. Time. This was such a delicious recipe and it took about 15 minutes from start to finish (not including the time for biscuits).

*we cheated a little since, I've been under the weather and making biscuits was at the bottom of my to do right now list, sometimes a girl just needs a little help. Biscuits from FarmShop at the Brentwood Country Mart.

Biscuits and Gravy with a fried egg *because it's Thom's birthday and that's they way we roll

serves 2 to 4

biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup heavy cream plus more for brushing

sausage gravy

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
6 ounces breakfast sausage (We got some organic breakfast sausage from Whole Foods)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/3 cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sliced chives, optional
1 teaspoon mince thyme, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Place flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add butter and shortening and cut into the dry mixture, until a coarse mealy texture forms. Stir in cream until just incorporated and turn mixture out onto a clean and lightly floured surface. Knead until the dough just comes together, make sure not to overwork.
3. Roll dough until about 1"x 5" x 9" rectangle and fold into thirds, gently roll dough until 1" thick and fold again into thirds again, the other direction
4. Roll dough until 1 1/2" thick and cut into four equal pieces. Place biscuits onto a baking sheets, lined with parchment paper and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the refrigerator and brush the surface of each biscuit with cream. Place them in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the biscuits have risen and are golden brown.
6. Set aside and allow biscuits to cool slightly, about 5-7 minutes.
7. [This is where I started today] For gravy: Pour oil into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add sausage and continue to saute, while crumbling the sausage.
8. Once the sausage has browned, about 3 to 4 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. Drain the grease from saucepan.
9. Add butter and melt. Whisk in the flour and continue for 2 to 3 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
10. Whisk in the milk until no lumps remain. Season with salt and pepper. Lower heat to medium and continue to stir until gravy thickens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir sausage back into the gravy and add herbs, if using.
11. Simmer gravy for 2 to 3 minutes and adjust seasoning.
12. To serve, place biscuits onto a platter or individual, shallow dishes and cover with sausage gravy. Serve immediately.

We had these with some fried eggs, some hot sauce, grilled asparagus, and strawberries for some color!