Guest guest Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Hey, those are great ideas, Irene! I like McKay's, didn't think about using that. That would make it taste even more like fried chicken gravy. The oven-roasted vegetables sound good, too -- flavor as well as texture. Dumb question (and yes, there are such things and I ask a lot of them): explain to me how to oven roast vegetables. It may be it's a technique I know but just a different term... maybe not. Audrey S. On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 3:49 PM, <irene wrote: > Hi, Audrey -- > > That's more or less how I make gravy, but I like to add the flour to > the butter/oil over a low heat and stir it carefully til the flour > becomes golden brown, then add liquid, etc. I find that the browned > flour adds a lot of flavor for the small amount of time it takes to > do it. > > One way to add more flavor to the gravy is to use the drippings from > a pan in which you've oven-roasted vegetables (carrot, parsnips, > potatoes, onions, garlic, beets, turnips, etc.). Just add some water > to the roasting pan and put it over low heat, moving it around, as > the pan will be bigger than the burner, stirring the while and > scraping the little crunchy bits loose from the pan. After a fashion, > this is what is meant by 'deglazing' a pan, but that usually refers > to roasting me*t. > > When all the carmelized veggie bits are in the liquid you'll have a > lovely golden broth. If it's more than you need just continue cooking > it over that low heat, stirring occasionally, until the excess > moisture has evaporated. It adds wonder flavor and color to gravy, > and no one ever believes there's no meat in it. If you use something > like McKay's chicken broth in place of plain salt you'll be adding > additional flavor. > > ~ irene, watching snowflakes and wondering if I'll ever get the > onions planted out > > > Hi Lee, > > > > I don't really have a recipe, but I make about 2 servings at a > > time, and my > > measurements are all very approximate. So here goes -- saute about > > 1/4 cup > > diced onion in 2-3 tbsp butter or margarine. Add 2-3 tbsp flour, > > and milk to > > what kind of thickness you want, probably between 1/2 c and 3/4 c. > > It gets > > thicker as it cooks, but be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan > > with your > > spoon so it doesn't burn. Add salt and white pepper to taste. I > > like mine > > with lots of white pepper! Shouldn't have to use cornstarch to > > thicken > > this gravy. Hope this helps! > > > > Audrey S. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Hi, Audrey -- Basically it's like oven roasting a chicken or a roast of meat, except without the animal parts! : D Here's what I do: We raise a lot of our veggies, so I dig parsnips, beets, carrots, potatoes then scrub and cut them into chunks about (roughly) the size of ping pong balls. (Note the exactitude of scientific terms.) I add onions cut into chunks or wedges. I put them all into a big bowl, drizzle olive oil lightly over all, then stir with a rubber spatula to make sure all surfaces are covered with oil, which keeps things from drying out in the heat of the oven. I tip the whole shebang into a roasting pan and sprinkle with some coarse sea salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper, sprinkle lightly with chili powder (like you use to make chili, not cayenne pepper!), and add some rosemary, usually a fresh sprig from the garden, but failing that a tablespoon or so of dried. Mix it up a bit and put it into a 375 degree oven. After about half an hour I mix in 3 or 4 crushed cloves of garlic (putting it at the start will get you bitter, overdone garlic), and poke the veggies to see how close to tender they are. Meanwhile I start the first part of the gravy, i.e., gently fry some finely chopped onion in oil til it's limp and translucent, lift it out of the pan carefully so as to leave the butter/oil behind as much as possible, and add and brown the flour. Stir it well to break up grainy chunks as it cools. When the veggies are tender I turn off the oven and using a slotted spoon transfer them to an ovenproof serving dish, then deglaze the roasting pan to make the broth for the gravy, as described in the earlier post. You can fancy the gravy up even more if you chop up a handful of mushrooms, cook them slowly in a bit of oil til they start to lose their juices, then add a splash of tamari/shoyu/soy sauce. Add it all to the gravy, and if the gravy isn't quite thick enough, mix a small bit of flour with water and stir dramatically until ALL lumps are dissolved, then slowly add it to the simmering gravy, stirring ceaselessly, to tighten it up. Sorry I don't have exact measurements, but I only know how to do ad lib cooking. : ) ~ irene > Hey, those are great ideas, Irene! I like McKay's, didn't think > about using > that. That would make it taste even more like fried chicken gravy. The > oven-roasted vegetables sound good, too -- flavor as well as > texture. Dumb > question (and yes, there are such things and I ask a lot of them): > explain > to me how to oven roast vegetables. It may be it's a technique I > know but > just a different term... maybe not. > > Audrey S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 That's ok, that's the only kind of cooking I do, too -- approximate measurements! That's a lot of help, thank you. The onions especially sound great cooked like that. I love onions..... Audrey S. On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 7:04 PM, <irene wrote: > Hi, Audrey -- > > Basically it's like oven roasting a chicken or a roast of meat, > except without the animal parts! : D > > Here's what I do: > > We raise a lot of our veggies, so I dig parsnips, beets, carrots, > potatoes then scrub and cut them into chunks about (roughly) the size > of ping pong balls. (Note the exactitude of scientific terms.) I add > onions cut into chunks or wedges. I put them all into a big bowl, > drizzle olive oil lightly over all, then stir with a rubber spatula > to make sure all surfaces are covered with oil, which keeps things > from drying out in the heat of the oven. > > I tip the whole shebang into a roasting pan and sprinkle with some > coarse sea salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper, sprinkle lightly with > chili powder (like you use to make chili, not cayenne pepper!), and > add some rosemary, usually a fresh sprig from the garden, but failing > that a tablespoon or so of dried. Mix it up a bit and put it into a > 375 degree oven. After about half an hour I mix in 3 or 4 crushed > cloves of garlic (putting it at the start will get you bitter, > overdone garlic), and poke the veggies to see how close to tender > they are. > > Meanwhile I start the first part of the gravy, i.e., gently fry some > finely chopped onion in oil til it's limp and translucent, lift it > out of the pan carefully so as to leave the butter/oil behind as much > as possible, and add and brown the flour. Stir it well to break up > grainy chunks as it cools. > > When the veggies are tender I turn off the oven and using a slotted > spoon transfer them to an ovenproof serving dish, then deglaze the > roasting pan to make the broth for the gravy, as described in the > earlier post. > > You can fancy the gravy up even more if you chop up a handful of > mushrooms, cook them slowly in a bit of oil til they start to lose > their juices, then add a splash of tamari/shoyu/soy sauce. Add it all > to the gravy, and if the gravy isn't quite thick enough, mix a small > bit of flour with water and stir dramatically until ALL lumps are > dissolved, then slowly add it to the simmering gravy, stirring > ceaselessly, to tighten it up. > > Sorry I don't have exact measurements, but I only know how to do ad > lib cooking. : ) > > ~ irene > > > > Hey, those are great ideas, Irene! I like McKay's, didn't think > > about using > > that. That would make it taste even more like fried chicken gravy. The > > oven-roasted vegetables sound good, too -- flavor as well as > > texture. Dumb > > question (and yes, there are such things and I ask a lot of them): > > explain > > to me how to oven roast vegetables. It may be it's a technique I > > know but > > just a different term... maybe not. > > > > Audrey S. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Thanks for your tip's. --- On Tue, 3/24/09, irene <irene wrote: irene <irene Re: Re: Audrey Cream Gravy recipe Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 12:04 AM Hi, Audrey -- Basically it's like oven roasting a chicken or a roast of meat, except without the animal parts! : D Here's what I do: We raise a lot of our veggies, so I dig parsnips, beets, carrots, potatoes then scrub and cut them into chunks about (roughly) the size of ping pong balls. (Note the exactitude of scientific terms.) I add onions cut into chunks or wedges. I put them all into a big bowl, drizzle olive oil lightly over all, then stir with a rubber spatula to make sure all surfaces are covered with oil, which keeps things from drying out in the heat of the oven. I tip the whole shebang into a roasting pan and sprinkle with some coarse sea salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper, sprinkle lightly with chili powder (like you use to make chili, not cayenne pepper!), and add some rosemary, usually a fresh sprig from the garden, but failing that a tablespoon or so of dried. Mix it up a bit and put it into a 375 degree oven. After about half an hour I mix in 3 or 4 crushed cloves of garlic (putting it at the start will get you bitter, overdone garlic), and poke the veggies to see how close to tender they are. Meanwhile I start the first part of the gravy, i.e., gently fry some finely chopped onion in oil til it's limp and translucent, lift it out of the pan carefully so as to leave the butter/oil behind as much as possible, and add and brown the flour. Stir it well to break up grainy chunks as it cools. When the veggies are tender I turn off the oven and using a slotted spoon transfer them to an ovenproof serving dish, then deglaze the roasting pan to make the broth for the gravy, as described in the earlier post. You can fancy the gravy up even more if you chop up a handful of mushrooms, cook them slowly in a bit of oil til they start to lose their juices, then add a splash of tamari/shoyu/ soy sauce. Add it all to the gravy, and if the gravy isn't quite thick enough, mix a small bit of flour with water and stir dramatically until ALL lumps are dissolved, then slowly add it to the simmering gravy, stirring ceaselessly, to tighten it up. Sorry I don't have exact measurements, but I only know how to do ad lib cooking. : ) ~ irene > Hey, those are great ideas, Irene! I like McKay's, didn't think > about using > that. That would make it taste even more like fried chicken gravy. The > oven-roasted vegetables sound good, too -- flavor as well as > texture. Dumb > question (and yes, there are such things and I ask a lot of them): > explain > to me how to oven roast vegetables. It may be it's a technique I > know but > just a different term... maybe not. > > Audrey S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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