GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD...:

Biscuits and sausage gravy make a comforting breakfast (KIM PIERCE, 1/19/10, The Dallas Morning News)

BISCUITS AND SAUSAGE GRAVY

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½ -inch pieces and chilled

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½ -inch pieces and chilled

1 ¼ cups buttermilk (see Note)

Sausage Gravy (recipe follows)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter and shortening in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl. (Note. If you don't have a food processor, start with the large bowl and cut the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or 2 knives, as you would pie crust.)

Stir in the buttermilk until combined.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, 8 to 10 kneads. Pat the dough into a 9-inch circle, about ¾ -inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds of dough and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough, pat into a ¾ -inch thick circle and cut out remaining biscuits. (You should have 10-12 biscuits total.)

Bake until the biscuits begin to rise, about 5 minutes, then rotate the pan and reduce the oven temperature to 400 F. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. (The biscuits can be stored in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 2 days.) Split biscuits and serve with Sausage Gravy. Makes 10 to 12 biscuits.

Note: If you don't have buttermilk, whisk 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 ¼ cups milk and let it stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Sausage Gravy: Combine ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon ground fennel, 1 teaspoon ground sage and 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper in a small bowl. (Note: For a Texas touch, add up to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes.) Set aside. Cook 1 ½ pounds bulk sausage in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the sausage and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour has been absorbed, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in 3 cups whole milk and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.