Variations on a theme... Recipe Tuesday

One of the things I've insisted on, Dear Reader, is that people play with their food. Don't accept a recipe as written just because that's the way you've always done it, don't do it the way your mom always did it because... well, tradition, things like that. New cooking methods, new spices, new ways of looking at things. Try something new.

So today's variation is variations on the theme of a Tennessee phenomenon called Sausage Balls that my grandmother morphed into her breakfast-y Sausage Biscuits. The recipes are alike enough that it makes it easy to set them together. First, the basics...

Basic Sausage Biscuits (Sausage balls ingredients are parenthetical)
1 pound sausage (1 lb sausage)
10 oz. shredded cheese (8 oz. shredded cheese)
2 1/4 cups Bisquick (2 cups Bisquick)
water to moisten (LEAVE THIS OUT)

Heat oven to 350. For biscuits, form into golf ball sized balls, flatten slightly. Cook for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. For balls, form into small walnut sized balls, do not flatten. Cook for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Here's the variation we tried:
Biscuits= Italian sausage + Longhorn style cheddar
I won't recommend this. I got 3 dozen biscuits, they're all eaten (Sic_un and his roommate, mostly), but they didn't taste quite right to me. Here's the variations I've come up with:

Biscuits=mild breakfast sausage+mild cheddar cheese (serve with syrup &/or jam for breakfast)
Biscuits=hot breakfast sausage+sharp cheddar cheese (see above, more savory)
Balls=Italian sausage+blended Italian mix cheeses (savory, serve with a marinara as appetizer)
Balls=Chorizo+blend of manchego and cheddar (savory, serve with queso for a Mexican appetizer)

So, Dear Reader, the moral to this Recipe Tuesday is simply this:

PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!