Frank Ballard, music connoisseur and owner of the legendary Hayes Barton Cafe in Raleigh (with his wife Marget), sums up one of their coveted southern comfort dishes with a relevant, emotional song. Get the recipe at the bottom of the post!
“As you know I’m a big Springsteen fan, so when you came to me with this idea the first thing that came to me was “Hungry Heart.” … I could dig a little deeper, so the song I chose is “The Rising.” It’s from the same album, it’s a concept album focused around the 2001 attacks on the Trade Center in NYC. My wife and I happened to be in New York a few days prior. Went up into the Trade Center for a drink, and when we got back, the following week the tragedies happened. So that really hit close home. Bruce writes such eloquent songs about the event. His music to me has always been very comforting. So, I paired that with my grandmother’s famous buttermilk biscuits, which were always so comforting as a kid, and a pepper and sausage gravy. It doesn’t get much better,” says Frank.
Grandma Ballard’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients
2/12 Cups All Purpose Flour, Plus More For Dusting, Preferably, White Lily
1 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
J8 Tablespoons Cold, Unsalted Butter
1 Cu Buttermilk
2 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Melted
Preheat Oven To 425. Sift Flour, Baking Powder, Sugar And Salt Into A Large Bowl. Transfer To Food Processor. Cut Butter Into Cubes And Add To Flour. Pulse Until Mixture Is Rough Crumbs. Return Dough To Bowl, Add Buttermilk And Stir With Fork Until It Forms A Rough Ball. Turn The Dough Onto A Floured Surface And Roll It Into A Rectangle, About An Inch Thick. Fold Over And Roll It Again. Repeat Process 6 More Times. Roll Out Dough One Last Time And Cut Biscuits With Floured Glass. Do Not Twist Glass. This Would Crimp The Edges Not Allowing It To Rise. Reform Scraps, Form A Triangle And Cut More Biscuits.
Place On Baking Sheet And Brush Melted Butter. Bake 10-15 Minutes Until Golden Brown.
Grandma Ballard’s Comforting Sausage Gravy
Best Served Over Grandmother’s Perfectly Risen Warm Biscuits
Ingredients
1 Pound Breakfast Sausage, Preferably Neeses
1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
3-4 Cups Milk
½ Teaspoon Seasoned Salt
2 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
Gently Break Sausage Into Small Pieces And Place In Heavy Skillet In Single Layer.
Brown On Medium High Until No Longer Pink. Reduce The Heat To Medium-low. Sprinkle Half The Flour And Stir So That The Sausage Soaks It Up. Keep Adding Flour Till All Is Used.
Stir It For Another Minute And Add The Milk, Stirring Constantly.
Continue Cooking The Gravy, Stirring Often Until Thickened, About 10-12 Minutes. If Mixture Is Too Thick For Your Liking, Simply Add More Milk And Stir.
Pour Over Freshly Baked Biscuits And You Enjoy Some Truly Delicious Comfort Food.