How to Make Gravy from a Roux

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Until today, I’ve never successfully made home-cooked gravy.  I know, it’s a shame.  A perfectly burned roux is an absolute staple in any Louisiana kitchen.  I watched my mom cook it every Thanksgiving and Christmas of my entire childhood life, and I even stirred it for her.  She TAUGHT me how to make a roux.  She also wrote me a tutorial on it after I got married so I could cook yummy gravy for my sweet husband.  Yet still, I’ve been scared to death to do it.  It seems to go against the grain of cooking to intentionally burn something.  I tried making gravy once and couldn’t get it to turn out right, so I’ve pretty much given up on it.  But this Thanksgiving, I have no choice.

Some sweet friends of ours invited us to join them for Thanksgiving dinner.  We have shared several turkey days with them since living in Oklahoma, and we always look forward to the fun times and good food.  It just so happens that this friend was my son’s first grade teacher.  And her close friend, whose family will also be there this year, is my daughter’s kindergarten teacher.  Since the hostess is coming off of her daughter’s wedding, JUST LAST WEEKEND, I offered to cook the turkey.  Piece of cake.  A turkey.  I cook a delicious gourmet turkey straight from a Southern Living Annual called Citrus-Rosemary Turkey breast.  (Except I adapt it for a large turkey.) And then she asked if I’d be bringing the gravy too.  What?  The gravy?  I stammered a bit and then recognized it was certainly my job to bring the gravy if I was bringing the bird.  Glad she mentioned it!  We may have been gravy-less.

I knew that worse come to worst, I could call my mom and let her talk me through.  She makes the perfect gravy (that I always passed by for the packet of gravy my sister and I preferred!?!).  I remembered that my sis raved about her South Louisiana style gravy last Christmas.  She had talked about using some sort of flowery spice to make it cook a lot more quickly.  So I texted her yesterday to get the low down.  Nevermind that I thought about this DAYS ago and could have been better prepared.  I texted her from the spice aisle of wally world the very day before Thanksgiving, knowing she would be at work and unable to respond.  I didn’t hear back from her until later in the day, but she came through for me and I found the seasoning sauce at another local grocer.  For all I know wally carries it and I was just looking in the wrong place!

I decided to share her gravy method with you, straight in the form of our text conversation.  It’s definitely more fun that way.  After I give you the scoop on the gravy, I’ll tell you about our near-disaster with the bird itself.  I’m still holding my breath that there’s not a disaster with the gravy, since it’s still simmering.

Holly Unplugged: Making a Roux

How to Make a Gravy from a Roux

me: Holly. What is that magic ingredient you use to make gravy?

Holly: Like a roux or the packet of gravy? If it’s a roux it’s kitchen bouquet.

me. Hey! a roux. I knew it was something floral sounding. Actually thought of the word bouquet when i was looking at spices. They didn’t have that. need instructions

Holly: The only thing kitchen bouquet does is gives it the burnt flavor without actually spending time to burn it. Really not necessary if you can’t find it. Equal portions of flour and oil, whisk together, med heat, once it’s whisked together don’t stir again till it’s bubbling to give it time to brown. After it’s the color you want add water till it’s the correct consistency then salt pepper shake of garlic salt, zatarans till it tastes right and always a dripping of whatever meat your using.

me: Thanks!! I am making turkey and gravy for 14. How much flour/oil would u start with

Holly: Oh wow! Well prolly about 1/4 cup of each but the key is to use a pot that’s a decent size around cuz it will never brown if it’s not spread out enough in the pot. Don’t use a skillet cuz you can’t add water to it. 1/4 cup will make a ton of gravy. And don’t be scared to actually let the flour/oil burn cuz that’s what gravy is.

me: K. Thanks big time.

me: Wish you could come show me how. Going to attic for christmas tree…

Holly: Oh I’d love to! Be sure and call me if you have trouble and I’ll walk you thru it. I’ve made every possible kitchen booboo ever.

Holly: Also you may wanna make it tonite cuz it is a little time consuming.

me: Oh I will then. So it rewarms ok then? just found the kb spice. grocery store is holding it for me.

Holly: Yeah it rewarms fine…and you can wait till you heat it tomorrow to add the meat drippings but if you use kb you need that when you first make it. And the kb does save time.

me: Thanks a billion for your advice.

Holly: You’re welcome!

me: I love you!!

Holly: I love you too!

Holly: Oh heather I meant to tell you to use only a tiny drop of kb

me: I wondered. Would have way over done it.

Holly: You put it after you let the flour/oil brown for a couple of mins and then whisk it really quickly and it will clump up the flour/oil mixture. That’s when you add the water.

And that was the end of our conversation.  I was digging through boxes of greenery after that.  So, if you haven’t made your gravy yet, go for the gusto and make one from a roux!

Foolproof?

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It’s inevitable. When I get in the kitchen, there is going to be trouble. And that’s a problem, because I practically live in the kitchen. If I’m not in the bathroom (tending to kids, of course), I’m probably in the kitchen. As long as we’re moseying along doing everyday sorts of things, though, we’re all pretty safe. But mix in some baking products and a little holiday cheer and you’ve got yourself a recipe for disaster.

Back in October during a girlfriends’ weekend in Southlake, I treated myself to the holiday edition of Martha Stewart Living. Another problem. This wonderfully creative and “simple” magazine always gives me a false sense of ability when it comes to making and baking. It all looks so easy to do. And with names like “Foolproof Holiday Fudge”, Martha’s projects appear to be right up my alley. I showed Bill the picture of the Foolproof Holiday Fudge and asked if it was okay with him if I made that as Christmas gifts for his office staff. He let out a big “HA! They don’t know you, do they!” I was a little offended and almost got my feelings hurt, but I had to agree with him. I have a certain knack for messing up that which cannot be messed up. So I set out to prove him wrong.

I’m sorry to say, that all the while I got out the very few ingredients to whip out this quick white chocolate fudge, I was quietly wondering just how I would mess up something so easy. I thought it was impossible to ruin a quick and easy recipe, as long as I used the right ingredients and quantities. Well, leave it to me find a way!

I think where I went wrong was cooking a pot of chili at the same time. The temperature outside was 16 degrees this morning when I did my grocery shopping, and at a feels-like temp of 2 degrees, I decided impromptu to make a pot of chili for lunch. Nevermind that I didn’t have the recipe. I just grabbed up the stuff I thought chili would need, and I put together a one-day-award-winning chili. So, while the chili simmered, I threw together the fudge, and Bill called. I sat there stirring cream and sugar, butter and marshmallows while telling him on the phone how yummy our lunch would be. I stirred and stirred, and then all of a sudden I yelled. “Oh my GOSH! I just ruined my foolproof fudge!!” “What did you do?” he asked.

I had used my chili spoon to stir the fudge.

The Tupperware Principle

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My worthwhile cooking efforts are so few and far between, I thought I’d share my soup recipe from last night.  I’ve never been a big soup fan until I had some really good ones in the past couple of years.  A sweet lady in our church brought us some Mexican Chicken Soup after I had Hunter that will make you slap your mamma.  So when she gave me a recipe for potato soup two weeks ago, I immediately bought the ingredients and added it to my menu.

Potato Soup

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. minced onion
1 1/2 C. evaporated milk
Pepper to taste
1 C. shredded Velveeta cheese, although, I thought it would be good with a little more.

Instructions

Barely cover potatoes with water, cook until done.  Do not drain.  Add salt, onion, milk, pepper, and cheese.  Heat just to under boiling point.  Serve.  HOWEVER, it was better after it simmered for a while.

Review

NOT on the list of ingredients were butter and fresh parsley, but I thought the soup could use some. But even still, it was a delicious soup, very easy, and one I will do again.

The Leftovers

As Bill helped me clean up from dinner, he looked at me from across the kitchen holding up a tiny little plastic container.  “Is the Tupperware Principle in effect tonight?” We both laughed hysterically.  The Original Tupperware Principle that I coined years ago stated that “you always need a smaller tupperware than you think you need.  It always looks like more in the pot than there really is.” However, the Tupperware Principle has evolved in our household to mean an entirely different thing.  Currently the New and Revised Tupperware Principle states the following: “All the good tupperware is sitting in the fridge filled with food that will never be eaten.  You will be forced to use too small a tupperware, resulting in multiple containers being used for the same pot of leftovers, which also may not get eaten.  The last few spoonfuls that will not fit in three separate plastic containers must be eaten while standing at the sink.”

But I really think this potato soup will be consumed before it goes bad.  Especially since it’s in single-serving containers.  How easy is that!

Gingerbread’s Anatomy

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I am Martha Stewart’s worst nightmare.  That is especially sad considering she’s set as my homepage.  I used to look forward to doing my Christmas baking until I screwed it up so many times that I realized I mess up more recipes than I actually finish.  That little fact only took me seven years to figure out.

I’ve been feeling an unusual propulsion AWAY from the kitchen this holiday season.  With all I’ve got going on in my life, I’ve just been in no mood to join the holiday baking frenzy.  I have yet to make my traditional pumpkin bread, a family favorite that I usually bake several batches of well before Thanksgiving.  Perhaps it has something to do with the pumpkin pound cake it turned out to be last year.  Some of you might remember that story.  I also wore myself out recently baking and icing cute little school bus cookies for Will’s class the first day of preschool.  They turned out darling, but along the way I was cursing the day I bought icing ingredients.

Cookies in magazines always look so easy to make.  And maybe for some people they are.  But for me, a woman who is as challenged in the kitchen as on the sports field, baking cookies is a formidable task.  So I really hadn’t planned to do much baking this year.  It doesn’t help that I have a two-year-old Taz with pigtails under my feet (or on the counter top).  But something possessed me to get in the kitchen for holiday baking, as it usually does this time of year, and I found myself once-again elbow-deep in another cooking disaster.

I had honestly contemplated not buying another electric mixer when I broke the other one by sticking a knife in it while it was turning last month.  (What a potentially horrible situation that was!) Then I wouldn’t be tempted to fall prey to such kitchen woes.  But my sweet children started asking for Gingerbread men when they spotted those cute little Gingerbread Family cookie cutters from Crate & Barrel hiding back in the cabinet.  (Thanks, MOM!) I shook my head all the way to Wal-mart where I purchased a new mixer so that I could stir up a big mess in my kitchen.

We started the afternoon with the WHOLE family in the kitchen to all take turns dipping spices and flinging them across the mixing bowl.  Thank goodness we started during Bill’s lunch break.  He got to handle Hunter (who really needs two armed guards) while I measured and instructed.  After the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and cloves were all thoroughly whisked together, Bill escorted her off the premises to wash up and lay down for a nap.  Did you catch that?  Baking powder?  It was only AFTER Will and I finished preparing the rest of the ingredients so that we could break out the brand new evil mixer and put it to work that I realized the recipe called for baking SODA.  I’m so used to the baking powder for pancakes and what-not that I completely mis-read the recipe.  So out came the trash can, where we dumped over four cups of dry ingredients and started the process all over again.

I only wish that had been the last mistake of the afternoon.  The next one came from an inability to judge the thickness of dough.  I am so literal that the thought actually crossed my mind that I should pull out a ruler to see just how thick the dough was when I rolled it out.  The normal part of my brain said, “Shut up and just cook the stupid things.” So I did.  After wrestling gingerbread people off of the counter top, onto the stone and smushing umpteen arms, legs, tails, and chimneys back on my gingerbread family, I decided the dough was way too thin.  Making cookies should NOT be this difficult.  I rolled it all up and started over. Apparently there was a reason I had chilled the dough for an hour.  After rolling and re-rolling the dough, the gingerbread men weren’t even thinking about coming off that pan.

So I, by this time an excellent and very quick dough-roller-outer, pulled out the other half of dough from the fridge, slapped it down to exactly 1/4 inch thick, stamp-stamp-stamped those cookie cutters, and voila!  I had me a gingerbread family to bake!  It seemed so easy!

Until it was time to pull them out of the oven.  The recipe said to be careful not to brown them.  What the crap?  The boogers were brown when I stuck them IN THE OVEN.  I just went with the 9 minutes and assumed the 11 would be too brown.  I like to err on the safe side.  But there ain’t nuthin’ safe about not getting cooked enough when you’re a gingerbread kid!  Even after I thought they were ready to come off the pan, and carefully with a spatula, I had no more than 4 good cookies out of the batch.  The recipe said it would make 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 dozen gingerbread cookies.  My foot!  It made 2 1/2 dozen gingerbread body parts!!

I don’t know what my problem is really.  But thinking back through all of my cooking catastrophes, they all have one thing in common–completely stupid mistakes!  I just don’t have enough sense to be in the kitchen.  If only I could learn my lesson and never step foot in there again!