This recipe comes to us from John Lowe. John and his mother were very dear and faithful customers in the early days of Blue Willow Inn. Every so often there are customers who endear themselves to the entire staff, and we can truly make this statement concerning John and his mother. Serve with angel biscuits, cream gravy, baked sweet potatoes, plum or cherry preserves, and a green salad for a meal to be remembered.
6 quail breasts, split in half
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
Thyme
Black pepper
½ cup (1 stick) butter
3 medium apples, sliced
CREAMY GRAVY
1½ cups spring water
4 tablespoons white all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons drippings from quail recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°. Soak the quail breasts in the buttermilk. In a small bowl season the flour to taste with the thyme and black pepper. Put the soaked quail pieces in a sealed container with 2 cups of the seasoned flour and shake the pieces. Melt the butter in a skillet and brown the quail breasts (215°). (Reserve the drippings for the gravy.) Place the browned quail breasts on top of the apple slices in an uncovered, lightly greased baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
For the creamy gravy, put the spring water and flour in a container with a tight top so that it can be shaken vigorously. Shake until the mixture is foamy and then shake again just before pouring it into the skillet with the drippings. Turn the heat on medium-high and continually stir the mixture with a straight edge spatula until it has boiled about 1½ minutes or the desired thickness is attained. Pour over the quail just before serving.
Hint: To make real brown gravy, brown the flour in the oven before mixing.
YIELD: 4 TO 6 SERVINGS (2 TO 3 SPLIT BREASTS PER SERVING)