Social Distancing Brunch: Biscuits and Gravy

I love brunch. It’s not just me: I’m pretty sure that most people here in Milwaukee love brunch. Joe and I have traveled together a fair amount and nowhere does Bloody Marys the way Wisconsin does. Nobody gets that hangover food just right the way we do. Of course, you don’t have to be hungover to enjoy brunch (although if you’re in Wisconsin, you probably are.) Biscuits and gravy are known for being a Southern dish, but you can find them on many breakfast menus outside the South, as well. It is one of my favorite breakfast foods and also a good option for Joe, who doesn’t like eggs.

I’ve been wanting to learn to make biscuits and gravy for a long time, and finally took the opportunity last weekend when I decided to drop off box filled with homemade Bloody Mary mix, biscuits, and gravy on my friend’s porch, then meet up for a video chat online and share brunch from our respective dining room tables.  It was my first attempt making biscuits and gravy, but I was very pleased with the results – I would even say it was better than some that I have had at restaurants! I will definitely be making this again.

Lord of the Rings Marathon Part 1 – Honey Cakes and Seed Cake

It is no secret to anyone who knows me even a little that I am a huge Tolkien fan. My love started with the animated Rankin-Bass Hobbit and Return of the King when I was very young and with my dad, sitting on the couch with my sister and me on either side as he read The Hobbit aloud to us. I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time when I was 11 (which took me the better part of a year, at that time!) and The Silmarillion at 12 (I didn’t  understand it much then, but I have re-read it a handful of times since, and each time I love it more.)

I’m enough of a nerd (yes *that* kind) that if you get me started, I’ll tell you, in detail, all the things Peter Jackson’s movies did wrong and how he should have corrected them. However, I still enjoy the movies from time to time. Twice I have hosted a party for my friends to come and watch all three extended edition films and provided six Hobbit meals throughout the day. It is a lot of fun – even if it is a lot of work for me!