If you’re from the South, or have friends and family who hale from there, you know the pleasures of biscuits and gravy, a popular breakfast dish.

Soft biscuits are smothered in:

 
It’s loaded with with carbs and fat, but on a special day like Father’s Day, it’s a treat. While Biscuits & Gravy are a standalone main dish, you can serve smaller portions with eggs or other favorite breakfast foods.

A recipe is below, along with the different types of gravy.

National Biscuits & Gravy Day is December 14th.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF BISCUITS & GRAVY

Early European settlers to America had to rely on basic, simple cooking. During the best times they had meat, and every part of the animal that could be eaten was eaten.

Biscuits and Gravy emerged as a Southern regional dish after the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), when foodstuffs and money were in short supply. Breakfast was necessarily the most substantial meal to fuel people for the workday. Biscuits covered in gravy made from meat drippings, and possibly bits of meat, fit the bill.

This recipe, adapted from one in Breakfast: Recipes To Wake Up For by George Weld and Evan Hanczor.
 
 
RECIPE: BISCUITS & GRAVY

You can make the biscuits from scratch or buy refrigerated buttermilk biscuits. The biscuits are served warm.

While some people make the gravy with cream, whole milk is rich enough.
 
Ingredients Per Main Serving

 
Preparation

1. SLICE sausage links in half, remove the meat and discard the casings.

2. HEAT a small or medium stainless steel saucepan (do not use nonstick) over medium-high heat.

When the pan is hot (we use the water test*—see footnote below), add the sausage and use a spatula or wooden spoon to break it into chunks; then press down on the meat.

As you brown the sausage, some brown bits will stick to the pan. This is the fond.

[1] Biscuits smothered in gravy from Chef George Weld (photo © Rizzoli).

[2] You can go lighter on the gravy, with this recipe from Pillsbury (photo © Pillsbury).

[3] Make more of a meal by topping the biscuits with sausage patties, ham, bacon or other meat (photo © Pillsbury).

[4] Top with a fried egg or serve scrambled eggs on the side (photo © St. Louis Magazine).

4. COOK the optional eggs and bacon or other meat.

5. Split the biscuits and arrange on plates or in shallow bowls. Top with the optional meat and eggs, pour the gravy over the biscuits and serve immediately. While fresh herbs are not a Southern tradition, we always sprinkle them as a garnish for flavor and color.
 
_____________________

*THE WATER TEST: Drop 1/8 teaspoon water into the hot pan. If it forms into multiple balls that sizzle, the pan is not hot enough. Keep heating, and when the water forms a single ball that rolls around the pan, it’s ready.
 
 
DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRAVY

Gravy is a sauce made in its simplest form from flour (a thickener), fat, and seasonings (salt and pepper). Vegetables can be added, as well as wine and additional thickeners such as cornstarch.

The word originally referred to a sauce made from the drippings (fat and uses) from cooked meat and poultry, there are now vegetarian and vegan gravies.

Gravy has long used meat drippings (or in current times, a vegetarian substitute), as opposed to:

 
In American cooking, gravies are white or brown. Popular gravies include:

 
And let’s not forget our favorite dessert gravy: chocolate sauce, made with fat (butter), flour, cocoa powder, and sugar.
 
 

[2] Pork rinds are also a delicious garnish for soups and salads (photo © Culinary Vegetable Institute).

[3] Pork cracklings are made from the skin and fat; pork rinds are the skin (rind) only (photo © Padaek.com. Check out the recipe).

As we think ahead to Father’s Day, we’re mulling over some homemade versions of popular snack foods from potato chips to pork rinds.

Pork Rind Appreciation Day, established by Rudolph Foods (which sells pork rinds), is held on Super Bowl Sunday. But we like the idea of homemade pork rinds and a cold beer on Father’s Day.
 
 
PORK RINDS VS. PORK CRACKLINGS

Pork rinds (chicharrónes) are made from pork skin, with the attached fat removed.

That’s the difference between pork rinds and pork cracklings. Cracklings (called grattons in Cajun cuisine) include the fat that adheres to the skin.

Scrunchions, popular in Newfoundland, are pieces of fried fat (no skin).

Because of the extra fat, cracklings are greasier, denser and a bit chewy. Pork rinds are airy like cheese puffs, and they dissolve in your mouth.

Here’s an idea: Buy pork belly to make grilled pork belly or pork belly skewers, and turn the skin into pork rinds. You can also buy the skin only from butchers (it’s quite inexpensive).

Be sure to use skin within three days of purchase, as its high moisture content means it can spoil quickly. The finished pork rinds will keep for a long time if cooked long enough for all the fat to be rendered out.

Check out this video.
 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE PORK RINDS

Here’s a recipe for homemade pork rinds from Paleo Leap, which serves it as a crispy Paleo Diet snack with dilled mayonnaise or tartar sauce.

Some pork rinds are deep-fried. Others, like this recipe, are roasted (the difference between roasting and baking).

With homemade pork rinds, you control the salt. You don’t need to use any salt at all; the pork rinds will still be delicious. You can supply a salt shaker for those who must have it.

Or, you can choose another seasoning. Garlic? Pepper? Curry?

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet or roasting pan with parchment paper to make clean-up easier.

2. SLICE the skin into 1″ x 2″ strips—longer if you like—and place the strips on the baking sheet. Roast for 1-1/2 hours, then taste a piece. Many recipes call for 3 hours, but Sébastien Noël of Paleo Leap advises: “…most of the time they’re ready after 1.5 hours. You want them to be crispy but you don’t want them to be hard as a rock.”

3. REMOVE from the oven and cool until they’re warm to the touch; enjoy them warm.

The innovative chef David Burke has 11 restaurants, stretching from Manhattan to Aspen.

His playful yet polished cuisine has long featured memorable dishes, from Angry Lobster to Chocolate Burke’In Bag (a molded chocolate bag filled with mousse) to our latest fancy, Bacon On A Clothesline.

Unlike many of his dishes, you can make your own Bacon On A Clothesline. It was all the rage at one of our recent parties, hanging on a string stretched between poles next to the bar. Get your drink, unpin a crisp slice of bacon and enjoy!

If you’re entertaining outside for Father’s Day, rig up your own bacon clothesline for memorable “bar food.”

Bacon On A Clothesline was created for Chef Burke’s latest restaurant, Fabrick. The menu also features a revolving choice of dishes such as Octopus Tacos, Baked Pork Shoulder with “Angry” Garlic, Skate “Chop,” Avocado Panna Cotta, Chicken Mousse with Crisped Chicken Skin and “Sticks On A Salt Brick”—skewers of duck parts on a slab of pink Himalayan salt.

David Burke Fabrick is on the ground floor of the newly renovated garment district hotel, the Archer Hotel, a boutique hotel that also houses a Burke Group rooftop lounge, Spyglass, with skyline views.

Bacon, three strips of candied bacon with clothespins to a wood framed “clothesline.”

Fabrick is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, at 47 West 38th Street, Manhattan; 212-302-3838. The website: DavidBurkeFabrick.com.
  

Top: Grab a slice and pick your toppings. We love this selection from WhatsGabyCooking.com. Center: The classic bruschetta topping: tomatoes, olive oil and basil. The tomatoes can be halved cherry or grape tomatoes or diced beefsteak or roma tomatoes (photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma.com). Bottom: As a bonus for guests, grill the bread as you need it, so it will be warm. Photo courtesy Brit.co (see their other fun DIY bars).

Oh, how we love bruschetta and crostini. Take slices of good crusty bread and grill (bruschetta) or toast (crostini—see the differences below) and add your favorite toppings. Crunchy and savory, it’s our idea of what to have with beer, wine or a Martini.

It’s easy to toast bruschetta on the grill, and to take it one step further by setting up a DIY bruschetta bar for guests. If you’re grilling for Father’s Day, it’s a memorable way to start the event, with any beverage from iced tea and soft drinks to alcohol.

By the way, that’s broo-SKETT-uh, not broo-SHETT-uh). The word is not only mispronounced in the U.S., but also misued. Bruschetta is the grilled bread, not the topping: bruscare means “to roast over coals.”

We’ve seen jars of marinated tomatoes and basil sold as “bruschetta.” It should be labeled bruschetta topping.
 
RECIPE: DIY BRUSCHETTA BAR

All you need are bread, olive oil and toppings. For a DIY bar, offer at least three different toppings. Our favorites are below.
 
Ingredients

 
For The Toppings

 
More options: shredded mozzarella or other cheese (ricotta, spreadable goat cheese, thinly-sliced Brie), fish (we have a passion for anchovies and herring salad on bruschetta), other marinated vegetables, prosciutto or sliced salame with mustard or mostarda.
 
Preparation

1. SET out the toppings and teaspoons for serving. We use ramekins; you can use any bowls you have.

2. SLICE the bread from 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick. Rub each side with cut garlic clove and brush each side with olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Grill to your desired toastiness.

3. PLACE the bread on a platter next to the toppings and watch people create their appetizers.
 
 
BRUSCHETTA VS. CROSTINI: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Bruschetta and crostini are popular hors d’oeuvres/snacks that are easy to make. They’re a perfect pairing to wine and beer, and also can be served as a first course or a light meal, with a salad and/or soup, or with cheese.

The differences between the two are the size of the slice and the cooking technique.

 
____________
*Sweet herbs include chamomile, lavender, lemon verbena licorice, mint, rose geranium and tarragon.
  

Here’s how official holidays are established in the U.S.
 
 
IT’S OFFICIAL: WORLD TAPAS DAY

No less an entity than the country of Spain has established a welcome new holiday: World Tapas Day. Spain’s tourism agency, Turespaña, has declared El Día Mundial de la Tapa, to recognize the “singular nature of this vital element of Spanish cuisine and culture” (here’s more information).

World Tapas Day will be held each year on the third Thursday of June. That’s June 16th this year (2016), and you’ve got time to plan a tapas party—or serve tapas for Father’s Day on June 19th. Tapas are easy to make. Check out these recipes from Martha Stewart. You can make it a “group party” and have everyone make a different tapa.

Tapas are a long tradition in Spain. A snack for agricultural workers evolved into bar food, and has become so popular in modern times that it is now the focus of brunches and cocktail parties.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF TAPAS

While there are legends surrounding the birth of tapas, the accepted theory is that they originated as a snack for field workers. (Paella also originated among field workers, as the lunch meal.)

As a refreshment during the long hours between breakfast and lunch, workers were served wine from a ceramic jug. The top of the jug was covered with a piece of bread with ham or cheese, which served to keep insects out of the wine. Tapa is a cover or lid.

As the idea came to cities, tapas with a snack became popular at midday or for an after-work drink. According to the Royal Spanish Academy, tapas (TOP-us) are “a small portion of any food served to accompany a drink.”

The original tapas were simple: slices of bread with ham or chorizo served free with a drink. The bread was set on top of the glass rim and covered the drink, just as with the jug of wine. Today the choices can be vast, and are served on small plates.

It has evolved into a verb, tapear: to eat tapas. A tapeo is a social gathering where the food is tapas. As with the free caviar supplied at American taverns in the 19th century (American sturgeon were plentiful then, and caviar was cheap [sigh]), the salty food made patrons thirstier and they bought more alcohol.

Today, tapas comprise a wide variety of cold or hot foods that can be ordered with a drink or combined into an entire meal.

Each region of Spain serves tapas (singular, tapa) that reflect the local cuisine. Meats, cheeses, olives and nuts, and tortillas (egg and potato omelet) are common to all areas, with more seafood tapas along the coastline.

Spaniards seek out the best tapas bars (a bar that serves tapas—not all bars do) as Americans seek out the best pizza.

While tapas are ubiquitous all over Spain, cities such as Cordoba, Granada, Madrid, Málaga, San Sebastian, and Seville are known for the quality, variety, and innovation of their tapas.

[2] Headed to Vegas? Check out the best tapas restaurants in this feature from Vegas Magazine. This is Julian Serrano’s modern take on tuna tapas.

[3] Boquerones, anchovies, are a classic (photo © Gintonica | London).

HOW ARE TAPAS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SMALL PLATES?

Amuses-bouche, antipasto, hors d’oeuvre, mezzo and tapas are similar, though different.

 
MORE ON TAPAS