Good Gravy?
“Good Gravy!” For you Gen X’s out there, this term expressed surprise, frustration and “I Can’t Believe It” exclamations! And, No….it had nothing to do with gravy at all. Yes, this was back in the ’60’s and early ’70’s. Where do people come up with these weird expressions??? It’s just………………far out, man!
Gravy and…..
Gravy. Mashed potatoes. The guys in our family get excited about these two elements in a family dinner. (The girls do, too, but we’ll keep that a secret.) It’s like pie. Those men gaze over the food to see what’s for dinner. (Beef–that’s what’s for dinner!) “What? You’ve made mashed potatoes? AND GRAVY? Wow! I LOVE GRAVY!” they say. And back they come for seconds. Always. 🙂
Tips From Sis on Making “Good Gravy”
So, let’s talk about it. My sister-in-law was visiting over Christmas. As we were preparing our Christmas meal together (so fun sharing my kitchen with others!!) the broth was heating up for the flour thickening to be poured into. As I poured the smooth flour and water thickening into the almost boiling broth, I worriedly whispered out loud, “I hope this thickens today. Sometimes it doesn’t and I’m not sure why.” Kay replied, “I ALWAYS use corn starch for thickening everything!” Of course it was too late for preparing the gravy for the meal—in surprise I replied, “Reeealllly?” “Yep, everything! And it always works.”
Good Gravy Made with…..
So for our family dinner, I stirred up the corn-starch thickening, checked the instructions on the on the corn starch box and followed to the tee. Turned out great. The guys went in for the “shhhhhhh” third helping and all was well for our family gathering Sunday. We celebrated Mr. Farmer’s birthday for dinner. Then, of course we watched the Super Bowl, so we enjoyed a big day with our family. Served up were: food…games…laughter….Legos and gymnastics, dress up, Twister and football and ping pong and…..well, you get the picture.
Our evening meal was game food appetizers and snacks. On the table were some old favorites as well as some new ones. We’ll share those with you soon.
Moral of the Good Gravy Story…
Potatoes and gravy is a hit at our house. Good gravy comes from flour thickening and corn starch thickening. I’ll share with you what I did!
Good Gravy and…
The potatoes–we’ve already shared these spuds with you and we absolutely love this recipe. For me, well…3 reasons:
- You can make them ahead of time—refrigerate or freeze! (Absolutely WONDERFUL if you need to be somewhere right before the meal. They are just great for Sunday dinner!!
- The flavor is absolutely delicious. Trust me.
- It’ my mom’s recipe, which always reminds me of her–her love–her hard work–her great cooking—her laughter–her gingham aprons. Cooking inspired her. She clipped out recipes and brought home recipes from friends and relatives. What an inspiration she was to me. I cannot wait to see her again. I hope you and yours enjoys:
Grandma Betty’s Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Good Gravy Recipe:
Good Gravy
Ingredients
- 3-4 Cups of beef broth
- 1 T Beef bouillon optional
- 1/4 C Corn starch
- 1 C water this is approximate
Instructions
- Remove meat from dutch oven. Add water to broth to make 3-4 cups. I usually ad 1 T of instant bouillon to broth. In a bowl, add corn starch. Slowly add cold water to the corn starch to make a thin sauce. I normally us a whisk or spoon to stir the 2 together. Heat broth to boiling. Slowly stir in the corn starch thickening, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring for about 1 minute.
- Leftover: if the gravy gets too thick, pour a little water over it in a saucepan and reheat. Easy and delicious!
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