Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 07:18:40p, Ward Abbott meant to say...

> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.

Most, but not all, of the technique of making a béchamel (white) sauce is
applicable, but there are other factors. Drippings vs. pan juices, knowing
the difference and how to separate them; the "browned bits" that need to be
scraped from the roasting pan, a well-seasoned stock, etc.

A béchamel does not a Thanksgiving gravy make.

Having said that, I have absolutely never had a problem making gravy for
fowl or other meats, and I don't understand the issue either. If one is a
good basic cook, it should be an easy thing to master.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Cats must try to kill the curlicues of ribbon on
the finished packages.

Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
technique.

I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
to be an issue.

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:18:40 -0500, Ward Abbott >
wrote:

>Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
>how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
>technique.
>
>I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
>to be an issue.

I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
Tupperware containers.

You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:18:40 -0500, Ward Abbott >
wrote:

>Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
>how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
>technique.
>
>I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
>to be an issue.

My turkey gravy is based on a very dark roux. Some folks can't handle
cooking with a dark roux since it won't thicken as much stock as its
lighter siblings will. Could this be part of some people's gravy
troubles?
--
modom

"Southern barbecue is a proud thoroughbred whose bloodlines are easily traced.
Texas Barbecue is a feisty mutt with a whole lot of crazy relatives."

--Robb Walsh, Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook

Ward Abbott wrote:
> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.

My MIL refuses to use flour to make gravy. She uses cornstarch and is
always too light on the salt so the gravy turns out like musilage.
Drippings? HEH the frond immediately gets hit with Palmolive and hot
water. And all the fat's gotta go, too. Sometimes I beg to make the
gravy, but she never lets me at the drippings so I have to use a white
roux to thicken whatever stock she's made with the giblets. Then she
hits it with Kitchen Bouquet because "it's too light". argh....

Going to my daughter's this year for Thanksgiving. It will be her first
time hosting for the family. And I get to make the gravy with real
drippings! /sigh of satisfaction.

Aloha!

Barb

Ward Abbott wrote:
>
> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.

For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!

Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day

In article >,
Ward Abbott > wrote:

> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.

It's not an issue for me... I don't make Roux'.

I use arrowroot most of the time. Perfect gravy every time. ;-)

Corn starch works too, but not quite as well.

I'm allergic to wheat.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

In article >,
Damsel in dis Dress > wrote:

> On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:18:40 -0500, Ward Abbott >
> wrote:
>
> >Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> >how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> >technique.
> >
> >I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> >to be an issue.
>
> I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
> I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
> sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
> Tupperware containers.
>
> You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
> getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
> some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!

That's funny! ;-D Thanks for sharing that!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

In article 9>,
Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 07:18:40p, Ward Abbott meant to say...
>
> > Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> > how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> > technique.
> >
> > I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> > to be an issue.
>
> Most, but not all, of the technique of making a béchamel (white) sauce is
> applicable, but there are other factors. Drippings vs. pan juices, knowing
> the difference and how to separate them; the "browned bits" that need to be
> scraped from the roasting pan, a well-seasoned stock, etc.
>
> A béchamel does not a Thanksgiving gravy make.
>
> Having said that, I have absolutely never had a problem making gravy for
> fowl or other meats, and I don't understand the issue either. If one is a
> good basic cook, it should be an easy thing to master.

I imagine the main issue is incorrectly made roux' that makes a lumpy
gravy? I dunno, it never happened to mom, nor me.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:14:45 -0600, Omelet >
wrote:

>In article >,
> Damsel in dis Dress > wrote:
>
>> I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
>> I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
>> sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
>> Tupperware containers.
>>
>> You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
>> getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
>> some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!
>
>That's funny! ;-D Thanks for sharing that!

Always happy to humiliate myself for you, Om! Heehee!

In article >,
Damsel in dis Dress > wrote:

> On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:14:45 -0600, Omelet >
> wrote:
>
> >In article >,
> > Damsel in dis Dress > wrote:
> >
> >> I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
> >> I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
> >> sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
> >> Tupperware containers.
> >>
> >> You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
> >> getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
> >> some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!
> >
> >That's funny! ;-D Thanks for sharing that!
>
> Always happy to humiliate myself for you, Om! Heehee!

<snicker>

Unmarked containers hardly makes it your fault. ;-)
If nothing else, we'll use a sharpy on the jar lids!
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 08:16:03p, Omelet meant to say...

> In article 9>,
> Wayne Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 07:18:40p, Ward Abbott meant to say...
>>
>> > Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all
>> > know how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic
>> > sauce technique.
>> >
>> > I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy
>> > continues to be an issue.
>>
>> Most, but not all, of the technique of making a béchamel (white) sauce
>> is applicable, but there are other factors. Drippings vs. pan juices,
>> knowing the difference and how to separate them; the "browned bits"
>> that need to be scraped from the roasting pan, a well-seasoned stock,
>> etc.
>>
>> A béchamel does not a Thanksgiving gravy make.
>>
>> Having said that, I have absolutely never had a problem making gravy
>> for fowl or other meats, and I don't understand the issue either. If
>> one is a good basic cook, it should be an easy thing to master.
>
> I imagine the main issue is incorrectly made roux' that makes a lumpy
> gravy? I dunno, it never happened to mom, nor me.

I suppose you're right, but it never happened to my mom or me either.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Cats must try to kill the curlicues of ribbon on
the finished packages.

Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 10:07:42p, Janet B. meant to say...

>
> "skyhooks" > wrote in message
> ...
> Ward Abbott wrote:
>>
>> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
>> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
>> technique.
>>
>> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
>> to be an issue.
>
> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>
> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
>
> I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in
> her turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
> Janet

Yes, chopped or sliced hard boiled egg is a typical addition to many a
Southerner's giblet gravy. I would always ask my grandmother to leave out
some gravy that didn't have egg.

Hard boiled eggs seem to appear in many Southern dishes and, while I do
like hard boiled eggs, I rarely like what they put them in. Case in point,
a popular dish in the area where my parents grew up is "Ham and Egg Pie".
It's comprised of largish bite sized pieces of country ham and hard boiled
eggs layered in a pie shell with a white sauce made with milk and ham
broth, covered with a top pastry and baked. It's enough to turn my
stomach.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Cats must try to kill the curlicues of ribbon on
the finished packages.

Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 10:16:48p, skyhooks meant to say...

> Janet B. wrote:
>>
>
>> "skyhooks" > wrote in message
>> ... Ward Abbott wrote:
>> >
>> > Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all kno
>> > w how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sa
>> > uce technique.
>> >
>> > I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continue
>> > s to be an issue.
>>
>
>> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
>> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
>> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>>
>
>> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
>>
>
>> I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in
>> her turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
>> Janet
>
> Adding chopped hard boiled eggs to any gravy or sauce is no tradition in
> my southern area of the woods - and that's a bit farther south than even
> Paula's. My said former MIL lives in the panhandle region of Texas.
>
> Sky, who misses the "Redneck Riviera" at this time of year
>

It seems common in NE MS.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Cats must try to kill the curlicues of ribbon on
the finished packages.

skyhooks wrote:
> Ward Abbott wrote:
>>
>> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all
>> know how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic,
>> classic sauce technique.
>>
>> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy
>> continues to be an issue.
>
> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>
> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day

Whoa, that plus the cornstarch mucilage story explains a lot, I must say.

"skyhooks" > wrote in message
...
Ward Abbott wrote:
>
> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.

For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!

Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day

I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in her
turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
Janet

Janet B. wrote:
>
> "skyhooks" > wrote in message
> ...
> Ward Abbott wrote:
> >
> > Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> > how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> > technique.
> >
> > I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> > to be an issue.
>
> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>
> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
>
> I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in her
> turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
> Janet

Adding chopped hard boiled eggs to any gravy or sauce is no tradition in
my southern area of the woods - and that's a bit farther south than even
Paula's. My said former MIL lives in the panhandle region of Texas.

Sky, who misses the "Redneck Riviera" at this time of year

Janet B. wrote:
>
> "skyhooks" > wrote in message
> ...
> Ward Abbott wrote:
> >
> > Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> > how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> > technique.
> >
> > I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> > to be an issue.
>
> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>
> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
>
> I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in her
> turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
> Janet

Adding chopped hard boiled eggs to any gravy or sauce is no tradition
that I know of in my southern area of the woods - and that's a bit
farther south than even Paula. My said former MIL lives in the
panhandle region of Texas, and I'm not sure even that is the reason(?).

Sky, who misses the "Redneck Riviera" at this time of year

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 20:32:41 -0600, "modom (palindrome guy)"
<moc.etoyok@modom> wrote:

>On Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:18:40 -0500, Ward Abbott >
>wrote:
>
>>Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
>>how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
>>technique.
>>
>>I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
>>to be an issue.
>
>My turkey gravy is based on a very dark roux. Some folks can't handle
>cooking with a dark roux since it won't thicken as much stock as its
>lighter siblings will. Could this be part of some people's gravy
>troubles?

No. They just dump flour into the drippings, add water and don't use
a flat whisk to stir - so it's lumpy. I do things differently, so I
never have a problem.

--
See return address to reply by email

Wayne Boatwright wrote on 03 Nov 2006 in rec.food.cooking

> A b‚chamel does not a Thanksgiving gravy make.
>
> Having said that, I have absolutely never had a problem making gravy
> for fowl or other meats, and I don't understand the issue either. If
> one is a good basic cook, it should be an easy thing to master.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright
>

Lumpy gravy is the natural enemy of stick blenders. Stick blenders really
smooth them out...quickly. That fact alone takes a lot of the fear factor
outa gravy for me, that and a good gravy seperator.

Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
>
> I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
> I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
> sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
> Tupperware containers.
>
> You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
> getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
> some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!

My god.... I thought I was the only person to whom this had happened.
We were at Mom & Dad's house in PA, my sister was making the gravy and
asked for cornstarch. Container unlabeled, it looked like cornstarch,
I mixed some with water and gave it to her. She figured it out pretty
quickly, we found the cornstarch, but the gravy was a tad sweet that
year. Well, at least the kids liked it.... :-)

Best -- Terry

Oh pshaw, on Sat 04 Nov 2006 06:18:44a, Nancy Young meant to say...

>
> "Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote
>
>> Hard boiled eggs seem to appear in many Southern dishes and, while I do
>> like hard boiled eggs, I rarely like what they put them in. Case in
>> point, a popular dish in the area where my parents grew up is "Ham and
Egg
>> Pie". It's comprised of largish bite sized pieces of country ham and
hard
>> boiled eggs layered in a pie shell with a white sauce made with milk and
>> ham broth, covered with a top pastry and baked. It's enough to turn my
>> stomach.
>
> Wayne, the thought of how it must look ... gack. I have nothing
> against hard boiled eggs, I even put them in my potato salad, I know
> some people don't like that. Whatever you do, no offense meant,
> don't let me slice into a meatloaf and see that friggin slice of egg in
> the middle. I'm not big on that Hey, look! something's in my food!
> thing. Heh.

Yes, I often thought it looks like something that somebody already ate. :-
( I don't even like hard boiled eggs mixed in potato salad but don't mind
them sliced as a garnish. In a meatloaf? Ugh! I was also once served a
plate of spaghetti with meat sauce that "featured" a whole hard boiled egg
sitting in the middle under the sauce. Gack!

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Cats must try to kill the curlicues of ribbon on
the finished packages.

In article 9>, Wayne
Boatwright <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> says...
> Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 10:07:42p, Janet B. meant to say...
>
> >
> > "skyhooks" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > Ward Abbott wrote:
> >>
> >> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> >> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> >> technique.
> >>
> >> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> >> to be an issue.
> >
> > For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
> > boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
> > only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
> >
> > Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
> >
> > I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in
> > her turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
> > Janet
>
> Yes, chopped or sliced hard boiled egg is a typical addition to many a
> Southerner's giblet gravy. I would always ask my grandmother to leave out
> some gravy that didn't have egg.
>
> Hard boiled eggs seem to appear in many Southern dishes and, while I do
> like hard boiled eggs, I rarely like what they put them in. Case in point,
> a popular dish in the area where my parents grew up is "Ham and Egg Pie".
> It's comprised of largish bite sized pieces of country ham and hard boiled
> eggs layered in a pie shell with a white sauce made with milk and ham
> broth, covered with a top pastry and baked. It's enough to turn my
> stomach.

And harden those arteries. The SO is semi-southerner, having been born
in Manhattan, but lived in North Carolina until he was 20.

Anyhow - the common things are the eggs, sugar and fats.

But since he's been here for 14 years now, he's picked up yankee habits.

"skyhooks" > wrote in message
...
Ward Abbott wrote:
>
> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.

For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!

Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day




Some relative of my son's first wife did that. They made this big deal about
memaw or someone making the gravy. They brought it from their home in this
beautiful soup tureen and it was very white and milky with lots of boiled
eggs. They all loved it. The tureen was pretty.

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote

> Hard boiled eggs seem to appear in many Southern dishes and, while I do
> like hard boiled eggs, I rarely like what they put them in. Case in
> point,
> a popular dish in the area where my parents grew up is "Ham and Egg Pie".
> It's comprised of largish bite sized pieces of country ham and hard boiled
> eggs layered in a pie shell with a white sauce made with milk and ham
> broth, covered with a top pastry and baked. It's enough to turn my
> stomach.

Wayne, the thought of how it must look ... gack. I have nothing
against hard boiled eggs, I even put them in my potato salad, I know
some people don't like that. Whatever you do, no offense meant,
don't let me slice into a meatloaf and see that friggin slice of egg in
the middle. I'm not big on that Hey, look! something's in my food!
thing. Heh.

nancy

skyhooks wrote:

> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>
> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day

I see that (and hear of it more) down south.. sounds and looks
disgusting to me. Not a nice smooth gravy at all by that point, is it?

Oh pshaw, on Sat 04 Nov 2006 07:16:06a, Goomba38 meant to say...

> skyhooks wrote:
>
>> For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
>> boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
>> only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>>
>> Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
>
> I see that (and hear of it more) down south.. sounds and looks
> disgusting to me. Not a nice smooth gravy at all by that point, is it?

If it's giblet gravy, it's not smooth anyway. I don't care for pieces of
anything in my gravy.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Cats must try to kill the curlicues of ribbon on
the finished packages.

On 2006-11-04, Mr Libido Incognito > wrote:

> smooth them out...quickly. That fact alone takes a lot of the fear factor
> outa gravy for me, that and a good gravy seperator.

I didn't realize there was a fear factor to gravy. There are two
things that will eliminate it for good. A professional quality whip
(whisk) and warm liquids. If you use a good whip....

http://www.amazon.com/Best-12-Inch-S.../dp/B00004R8ZS

.....and always warm the liquids added to a roux, lumps will be a non
issue. Gar-on-teee!!

nb

Ward Abbott wrote:

> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.
>

Well, I think the problem is a lot of people DON'T know how to make a
perfect sauce. I was taught to add flour to the drippings, and then mix
it up. That makes lumps and doesn't taste so good. Then my boyfriend's
mom showed me how to make gravy with cornstarch mixed with water. It was
YEARS before I learned what a roux was, and from a guy who always burned
it.

And then there's people who use those flavor packets to make gravy....
[shudder].


Dawn

Oh pshaw, on Sat 04 Nov 2006 12:00:43p, Damsel in dis Dress meant to say...

> On 4 Nov 2006 02:53:20 -0800, wrote:
>
>>Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
>>>
>>> I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
>>> I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
>>> sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
>>> Tupperware containers.
>>>
>>> You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
>>> getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
>>> some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!
>>
>>My god.... I thought I was the only person to whom this had happened.
>>We were at Mom & Dad's house in PA, my sister was making the gravy and
>>asked for cornstarch. Container unlabeled, it looked like cornstarch,
>>I mixed some with water and gave it to her. She figured it out pretty
>>quickly, we found the cornstarch, but the gravy was a tad sweet that
>>year. Well, at least the kids liked it.... :-)
>
> Welcome to the club, Terry! It's probably a larger club than we think
> it is. At least, I hope so. <G>

I, too, am a memeber, but not with gravy. I was making lemon meringue pie
filling a number of years ago and dutifully measured out the cornstarch,
mixing it with the sugar. As the filling cooked, it never thickened and
finally began to foam a bit. I had added baking soda instead of
cornstarch! OMG, did it taste horrible!

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

A light heart lives long.

On 4 Nov 2006 02:53:20 -0800, wrote:

>Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
>>
>> I found out one year, at Dad's house, that it's good to ask questions.
>> I was put in charge of making the Thanksgiving gravy. The flour,
>> sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar were in identical, unmarked
>> Tupperware containers.
>>
>> You guessed it. I kept adding and adding, and the gravy wasn't
>> getting any thicker. It just kept getting sweeter. Don't ask me why
>> some people ate it anyway. I sure as bleep didn't!
>
>My god.... I thought I was the only person to whom this had happened.
>We were at Mom & Dad's house in PA, my sister was making the gravy and
>asked for cornstarch. Container unlabeled, it looked like cornstarch,
>I mixed some with water and gave it to her. She figured it out pretty
>quickly, we found the cornstarch, but the gravy was a tad sweet that
>year. Well, at least the kids liked it.... :-)

Welcome to the club, Terry! It's probably a larger club than we think
it is. At least, I hope so. <G>

"Wayne Boatwright" <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote in message
28.19...
> Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 07:18:40p, Ward Abbott meant to say...
>
>> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
>> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
>> technique.
>>
>> <snip>
>
> A béchamel does not a Thanksgiving gravy make.
>
> <snip>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright
>==============

Interesting... I agree that I don't understand the problems with gravy
making. I've never had any problems - maybe I'm lucky... skilled... and/or
never got psyched (sp?) out about it to where I couldn't perform in a manner
that caused it to be fouled up. <shrug>

Regardless, the gravy I make for Turkey day is bechamel based. We call it
"White Wine Gravy". It's quite tasty, the recipe is always asked for and
the gravy itself is always requested for the holidays. My uncle claims it
would make for a wonderful 'soup'. He doesn't want to add anything to it
nor dilute it... just eat it from a bowl and call it soup so he won't catch
flak from his relatives for eating too much gravy!

Eat what you want - you're going to anyway! <snort!>

Cyndi
(Gravy is gooooood)

On 4 Nov 2006 20:34:11 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
<wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:

> I was making lemon meringue pie
>filling a number of years ago and dutifully measured out the cornstarch,
>mixing it with the sugar. As the filling cooked, it never thickened and
>finally began to foam a bit. I had added baking soda instead of
>cornstarch! OMG, did it taste horrible!

Okay, you win! That's priceless!

On Sat, 04 Nov 2006 19:29:30 GMT, "Cyndi"
> wrote:

>We call it
>"White Wine Gravy". It's quite tasty, the recipe is always asked for and
>the gravy itself is always requested for the holidays.


Did you forget to include the recipe?



--
See return address to reply by email

On 3 Nov 2006 18:40:57 -0800, "Barb" > wrote:

>My MIL refuses to use flour to make gravy. She uses cornstarch and is
>always too light on the salt so the gravy turns out like musilage.
>Drippings? HEH the frond immediately gets hit with Palmolive and hot
>water. And all the fat's gotta go, too.

I can beat all your MIL gravy stories.

Last year, DH and I flew to Newfoundland to visit my daughter, her
husband, and her in-laws. This was at Canadian Thanksgiving.

Daughter's MIL is not by any stretch a great cook, but she did a
turkey and I figured the meal would be nice, if not exactly "gourmet".

Well, she took the turkey out of the pan and left the pan there on the
counter with all the lovely grease and bits of meat. She then took a
can of *beef* broth out of the cupboard, dumped it in a saucepan, and
thickened it with flour and water. I would never have believed it if I
hadn't seen her do it with my own eyes.

It was disgusting.

Jo Anne

<sf> wrote in message ...
> On Sat, 04 Nov 2006 19:29:30 GMT, "Cyndi"
> > wrote:
>
>>We call it
>>"White Wine Gravy". It's quite tasty, the recipe is always asked for and
>>the gravy itself is always requested for the holidays.
>
>
> Did you forget to include the recipe?
>
>
>
When making the roux add tomato paste.

I find it odd too, because gravy to me is the easiest thing. My husband
teases that he married me, because I knew how to make gravy.

If visiting anyone's home on Thanksgiving... guess what... I'm called in to
make gravy.... with all family members standing around watching thinking
they'll learn something about how to make gravy. I usually get at least one
phone call about "how to make gravy" on Thanksgiving if I stay home.

It's a simple recipe

2 T of fat
2 T of flour
2 cups of liquid

The fat is usually butter, but at Thanksgiving it could be turkey fat. The
liquid is usually 1 cup milk and one cup broth for me. I like it creamy.

Weird,
Lynne

"Ward Abbott" > wrote in message
...
> Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
> how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
> technique.
>
> I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
> to be an issue.
>

King's Crown wrote:
>
> I find it odd too, because gravy to me is the easiest thing. My husband
> teases that he married me, because I knew how to make gravy.
>
> If visiting anyone's home on Thanksgiving... guess what... I'm called in to
> make gravy.... with all family members standing around watching thinking
> they'll learn something about how to make gravy. I usually get at least one
> phone call about "how to make gravy" on Thanksgiving if I stay home.
>
> It's a simple recipe
>
> 2 T of fat
> 2 T of flour
> 2 cups of liquid
>
> The fat is usually butter, but at Thanksgiving it could be turkey fat. The
> liquid is usually 1 cup milk and one cup broth for me. I like it creamy.


It sounds easy enough, but almost as many people screw it up as
make good gravy. I have had some pretty wretched gravy over the
years. One sister in law makes gravy that is virtually
indistinguishable from wallpaper paste.

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
>
> King's Crown wrote:
>>
>> I find it odd too, because gravy to me is the easiest thing. My husband
>> teases that he married me, because I knew how to make gravy.
>>
>> If visiting anyone's home on Thanksgiving... guess what... I'm called in
>> to
>> make gravy.... with all family members standing around watching thinking
>> they'll learn something about how to make gravy. I usually get at least
>> one
>> phone call about "how to make gravy" on Thanksgiving if I stay home.
>>
>> It's a simple recipe
>>
>> 2 T of fat
>> 2 T of flour
>> 2 cups of liquid
>>
>> The fat is usually butter, but at Thanksgiving it could be turkey fat.
>> The
>> liquid is usually 1 cup milk and one cup broth for me. I like it creamy.
>
>
> It sounds easy enough, but almost as many people screw it up as
> make good gravy. I have had some pretty wretched gravy over the
> years. One sister in law makes gravy that is virtually
> indistinguishable from wallpaper paste.

My father, a good cook, can't seem to make gravy. I remember one time my
mom looking over his shoulder while say, "What are you making?" Then she
said with excitement, "Oh goodie dumplings!" She knew darn well my dad was
trying to make gravy. I'm so surprised he didn't smack her up side the head
with the wooden spoon. He's not one to take a joke like that lightly.

Lynne

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> Oh pshaw, on Fri 03 Nov 2006 10:07:42p, Janet B. meant to say...
>
>
>>"skyhooks" > wrote in message
...
>>Ward Abbott wrote:
>>
>>>Why does everyone have horror stories about making gravy? We all know
>>>how to make a perfect béchamel sauce which is the basic, classic sauce
>>>technique.
>>>
>>>I hear these "MIL" stories and I can't comprehend WHY gravy continues
>>>to be an issue.
>>
>>For some peculiar and strange reasons, my former MIL put chopped hard
>>boiled egg in her milky turkey gravy. Thankfully, T-day happened once
>>only at her house (whew!), and notice that "former" is the key word!
>>
>>Sky, who still shudders when recalling that episode of T-day
>>
>>I saw that on the Paula Dean show. She puts chopped hard boiled egg in
>>her turkey gravy. Maybe it is a Southern tradition?
>>Janet
>
>
> Yes, chopped or sliced hard boiled egg is a typical addition to many a
> Southerner's giblet gravy. I would always ask my grandmother to leave out
> some gravy that didn't have egg.
>
> Hard boiled eggs seem to appear in many Southern dishes and, while I do
> like hard boiled eggs, I rarely like what they put them in. Case in point,
> a popular dish in the area where my parents grew up is "Ham and Egg Pie".
> It's comprised of largish bite sized pieces of country ham and hard boiled
> eggs layered in a pie shell with a white sauce made with milk and ham
> broth, covered with a top pastry and baked. It's enough to turn my
> stomach.

Hmm. Sounds good to me.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?