Scott Vivian's Biscuits and Gravy

Photo credit: Courtesy of Scott Vivian

Yahoo Food is a proud sponsor of Indie Chefs Week, a three-night dinner series in Costa Mesa, California celebrating America’s best up-and-coming chefs. Every day, until the first dinner on October 16, we’ll feature one chef and his or her favorite recipe. Oh, and tickets are still available!

Who: Scott Vivian, chef and owner of Beast Restaurant in Toronto, Canada.

Tool he can’t live without: His Konosuke Nakiri knife. (These chefs won’t quit with their Japanese knives!)

Ingredient he’s obsessed with: ”Salt and pepper.” Straight up.

His recipe: Vivian originally sent us the recipe for his “Beastwich,” a mile-high mess of fried chicken, gravy, pimento cheese, and buttermilk biscuits. We took it down a notch…

Biscuits and Gravy
by Scott Vivian

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp.  sugar
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ cup unsalted butter, cold
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing

Sausage Gravy
2 Tbsp. sunflower oil
1 lb. pork sausage
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ cup flour
4 cups whole milk
Salt, to taste

Buttermilk Biscuits
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate butter into the dry mixture. Mix with fingertips until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Slowly add buttermilk and cream, working mixture together with hands until a firm dough forms; do not overwork dough.

Roll dough on a floured work surface to ¾-inch thick. Using a floured 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter, cut out scones and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1 ½ inches apart. Press dough scraps into a ball and repeat.

Brush biscuits with reserved cream and bake on the top shelf for 15 minutes, or until biscuits are lightly golden.

Remove biscuits from oven and set aside.

Sausage Gravy
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium heat. When oil begins to smoke, add sausage and stir with a wooden spoon to break up the pieces. Cook for 5 minutes, or until sausage begins to brown.

Add onions, garlic, and black pepper. Cook and stir for an additional 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Add the milk and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; immediately reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

Serve spooned on top of biscuits.