The Seahawks had an early game against the Atlanta Hawks today, so we decided to go South for menu inspiration. My home state of Iowa may have fought for the North but I do feel a kinship with the country cuisine of the South.

• Buttermilk Biscuits from Cooks Illustrated’s The New Best Recipe I trust this cookbook so I followed this recipe to a tee. These were the best biscuits I’ve ever made.
• Country Sausage Gravy This dish turned out amazing. I omitted the red pepper flakes since we were hosting small children at this get-together. Also left out the salt as processed sausage has plenty of sodium. One of our guests has a poultry allergy so I substituted veggie bouillon cubes for the chicken. The sage came from the herb garden at Pahlman Farms. No resemblance to the pasty glop of interstate diners, this hearty gravy is packed with onions and peppers, adding some needed veg into an otherwise dairy and carb loaded meal. I’ve a mind to try adapting a veggie version with mushrooms and double the garlic, sage and thyme instead of sausage.
• Cheesy Grits We didn’t do grits back in Iowa although we grew a lot of corn. I suppose it’s one of those little regional differences like tenderloin sandwiches or secessionism but I’m willing to adopt any tradition that includes this much dairy.
• Scrambled Eggs with a pinch of sage from the garden.
• Country-style pork sausage links The morning football crowd is a carnivorous horde. Also it’s easy finger food for the tots.