Tiz a New Year, January Coffee is up

[Major 2]

Took Arcey's advice, chicken stock soup is bubbling away....

gonna see mid 30's Wed. guessers say 

[Delmonico]

Cleaned up my desk at work yesterday, found 2 clean rounds of Remmy High Speed 22 LR hollow points, one of the best head shot small game loads ever, got them locked in the gun vault now.   

[Texas Lawdog]

The weather folks are saying that high for today will be 50. We still have more cold weather this week. I have to agree with Del on the poached eggs. Lunch is still a big question mark.

[Russ T Chambers]

Up to 50 now!  It's time to go out and pull down the exterior Christmas lights!

[Texas Lawdog]

We still have the large Wreaths to take down outside and to put up the large Moose in the front yard.

[Major 2]

Congrats on the NCOWS Life ....Jim

feeling better, I think I skirted the malady    hope so...

[Texas Lawdog]

Major2, I haven't seen that my NCOWS life membership has been listed on the NCOWS thread.

[Major 2]

OKLA Tom posted it on the BB ... I don't think Dutch has seen to it yet

[Arcey]

Hope all the infirm are feelin' chipper.

Got the wind tomorrow 'n cold the next. Might be left over Beef Vegetable Soup again. That 'n the cabbage I did for the fat lady come out pretty good. The l'il red one 'n the round black one play well together.

We wake ta see tomorrow it'll be forty-three years for she 'n me. Known one 'nother since we were kids. Been a long time.

Y'all enjoy yer sack time.

[Delmonico]

Got finalized on 5 recipes for the book today, one yesterday and one Sunday, worst thing is it must be a total of 25 pages.  LOL

[Delmonico]

Gravy

So what exactly is gravy?  Gravy is simply a thickened sauce made from the fat drippings or the broth and fat left over from cooking meat.   With just the fat from frying liquid has to be added and with the broth from roasting, boiling, or similar wet methods there is often enough liquid to make the gravy. 
 
When the gravy is made from the drippings of frying meat, it is most often made by making a roux in the pan and then milk is added as a liquid, this is often called cream gravy, milk gravy, white gravy, bulldog gravy or sawmills gravy, the last two often meaning a thicker version of it.   When making it with a broth, flour or cornstarch is used and the milk is left out, often called brown gravy because of its color.   

To make good gravy with out it wanting to lump, there has to be some fat in it, at least 1 tablespoon of fat for each cup of liquid, whether it is milk or broth.    A basic rule to remember when making gravy is that you want equal amounts of flour and fat for thickening and you use twice the fat as cornstarch for thickening, more on this as we go further.

Milk Gravy


To start out with how to make this, for those who never realized it, milk based gravy is just a form of the basic white sauce that is used in hundreds of dishes world wide, the list of sauces that are or can be made from the basic white sauce are many.   

Basic White Sauce

Thin:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Medium:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Thick:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add flour and stir until the butter and flour are well mixed.  Pour in milk, stirring continually till it thickens. Add for a thinner consistency if desired. 

With the milk gravy, the fat from the meat replaces the butter but the principals are the same, however the juices and cooked bits of the meat add flavor just like spices and herbs add to the basic white sauce to form other sauces with the gravy simply being made right in the pan.    Just use the basic white sauce recipes and use the fat for frying instead of the butter.

Milk gravy can be made from the drippings from frying chicken or other meats or in the case of sausage gravy or hamburger gravy (the SOS of military fame when served on bread or toast) the meat is crumbled and the gravy is made with the browned meat in it.   

Kettle Gravy

For this gravy either flour or cornstarch is used, it can be made thick or thin also, although it is most often made thin to medium in consistency.   The secret to this gravy is to add the thickener to a small amount of cold liquid and stir well before adding, never add it directly to the liquid.  Most homemade broth from roasting or boiling will have plenty of fat in it.   Season the broth as desired before making the gravy.

Thin:

1 tablespoon fat
1 tablespoon of flour or 1 ½ teaspoons of corn starch
1 cup broth from cooking meat
¼ cup of cold water

Medium:
2 tablespoons fat
2 tablespoon of flour or 1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 cup broth from cooking meat
¼ cup of cold water


3 tablespoons fat
3 tablespoons of flour or 1 ½ tablespoons of corn starch
1 cup broth from cooking meat
¼ cup of cold water

Pour pan juices into a saucepan or remove the meat and make it in that pan.   Combine thickener and water until smooth, then stir it quickly in the broth Bring to a boil, stir until thickened.

If one takes the heart, gizzard and liver of poultry and cook it in water to form a broth, chopping the meat as desired after cooking, this is the well known giblet gravy. 
Chopped or ground beef patties cooked in a kettle gravy is the basis for Salisbury Steak another popular dish.   

Gravy in any form is often served over the meat, over breads, potatoes, rice or grits.   

[Major 2]

Congrats on 43 and the life time, have a very special day 

Back to work in the morning, I shook off whatever bug was ailing me I suppose....pretty much handled what I needed work related from the house today anyway, so no foul. 

Del's got me thinking, biscuits & gravy in the morning    even worse he's got me wanting some NOW ! 

Best hit the rack ....night all

[Texas Lawdog]

I am up for a pre-midnight plumbing check, and now I am wide awake. I brewed up some hot apple cider, I hope that I can get back to sleep. It is going to be nippy in the morning, oatmeal and a cranberry muffin will do. I have the big Cawffee pot to start at 0500 for the early risers. Lunch is a big question mark. We had spiral cut ham, scallop potatoes, and Brussel sprouts for supper. That was different from our usual bill of fare.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

I'll start a pot.

It's dang cold here! 10,with a WC of -6 No snow yet, but there's some on the way

[Arcey]

Mornin'.

Thanks, M2.

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37°. Breezy, with a northwest wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph – could be werse.

Smoked sausage, cheese 'n grits for breakfast.

Huntin' early. Both pairs were observed werkin' on their nests yestitty. Gonna try'n get the near pair.

Baked chicken breasts with cabbage 'n 'taters on the menu for the evenin'. Had sumone tolt me back in '72 I'b be doin' the cookin' I'd a laffed hysterically.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Morning y'all.
Thanks fer the coffee.

'Tis -8, cloudy and windy. WC -27. Dusting overnight. High of -4.

Slim

[Willie Dixon]

mornin' everyone.

as always thanks for the cawfee.  We have a bug floating around here too.  Poor half-pint and Meg have it.  They're both troopers though, half-pint still working her numbers, and Meg still working.  Thank God with her weird schedule she's basically off 3 1/2 days.  Hopefully she can recover quick like always.

I haven't gotten it... yet.  So fighting it off with tea and cawfee for now.  Make it through this weekend without too much drama, and we'll go from there.

Del, it's sounding mighty fine for that book of yers.  Best description I've heard on what genu-ine gravy is it's an om-nom sauce made from all the excess fat and trimmins

as far as my Vaquero persona - I'm now in talks with TsalagiDave via PM and such.  Everything is going really good there.  Just really not too high on the priorities right now, with the ranch hunt and all.

and on that, love saying me and Meg are on the same page.  We'd rather wait even another whole year, to get what we want, rather than compromise on something else.  We're seeing properties on Saturday though.  My Pops and Mom are coming up, their insight will be invaluable... maybe.  Dad's been working fire and flood restoration for over 30 years.  He knows property.  I just wish I could get his unbiased opinion on the one we really like, and know it's unbiased, instead of being biased by Mom. 

but that's how it goes! he lives with her, we don't.  And she'd never forgive him if he helped motivate us in getting it. lol

[Delmonico]

Too many as in almost all recent cook books do nothing to educate, they just teach you to follow instructions,  most likely a left wing plot to indoctrinate us into their agenda through the kitchen.

[Texas Lawdog]

Congrats to Arcey and the Mrs. Moose and I celebrated our 40th in March. Cops that have been around as long as Arcey and I have several ex-wives. It is cool and Crisp around here. The Cawffee is good and hot. Oatmeal with raisins is planned for later.

[Four-Eyed Buck]

I almost believe that having ex's is part of the mantra for LE's. it's a rough job for marriages to survive. My band director is retired Canton PD, he's divorced. Congratulations to Arcey and his Mrs.