Sauces & Gravy

See Salads~Dressings for sweet sauces and dressings

CHESTER’s FAVORITE HOT SAUCES for FLAVOR
My husband has tried jillions of hot sauces over the years…and these are his pick.  He says any hot sauce that has carrots as the major ingredient has a sweet flavor and is excellent with eggs.

Cholula Hot Sauce – Original
Tippcon LCC, 500 West Overland Ste 300, El Paso, TX  79901
mild, full of flavor

Tamarula Mexican Hot Sauce – Extra Hot 
(Bottle looks like Tabasco)
Made in Guadalajara,Mexico
Greatest traditional mexican hot sauce – especially good with eggs

Seranno Hot Sauce (bot at Ross) or order from:
Pepper Creek Farms
1002 SW Ard Street, Lawton, OK 73505
580-536-1300 and www.peppercreekfarms.com
Use sparingly!

Uncle Fred’s Habanero 150K Pepper Sauce
Taste of Texas, Drawer 659 Port Aransas TX 78373
Greatest smoky flavor out there!  Use sparingly

Sauces in French cuisine date back to the Middle Ages. Sauces were a major defining characteristic of French cuisine.The 5 “mother” French sauces are:

CORNSTARCH:
For THIN Sauces/Gravies:   use 1T per 1 cup liquid
for THICK Sauces/Gravies:  use 2T per 1 cup liquid
mixed in tiny bit of COLD water til dissolved before adding to hot liquid.

MARSALA SAUCE  (chicken or beef base)
Scrumptious served on sliced filet mignon (beef tenderloin)!

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 t onion powder (can use ¼ c onion, chopped)
1 t garlic powder (can use 1T chopped garlic)
3/4 pound mushrooms, sliced (can mix w/portabellas & shitakes)
1/3 c cornstarch (5Tbs)
1/2 cup Marsala wine
2 cups beef or chicken broth/consumme-the stronger the better)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan.
Saute mushrooms with spices til tender.
In bowl, stir together cornstarch with small amount of cold broth.
Add remaining broth and wine. Add to sauted mushrooms.
Cook til thickened.

SPEEDY MICROWAVE GRAVY:     10/06

In clear 2-cup measure:
Melt:     1/4” of stick of margarine (same as 2 Tablespoons)
Stir in:   2 T flour
Add enough chicken broth to come up to 1 cup mark on cup measure
Cover with saucer and cook on HI power for 2 minutes.
Stir. Cook until desired thickness.

GRAVY for CHICKEN or TURKEY   (11/2007 – T’sgiving)

MEDIUM THICK GRAVY using BROTH

Small Amount:
Oleo    ¾ c
Flour    ¾ c
Broth    32 oz (1 bx)
Salt    1 t/taste
Pepper    1/8 t

Larger Amount:
Oleo  1-1/4 c
Flour 1-1/4 c
Broth 48 oz (2 boxes)
Salt 1-1/2  (to taste)
Pepper ¼ t

In 4 cup measure, microwave oleo 30-45 seconds, til melted.
Stir in flour.  Microwave.  When gets foamy, cook about 1-1/2 to 2 min.

Heat broth very hot.  (If broth isn’t heated, will take MUCH longer to thicken)
Add heated broth slowly to foamy oleo/flour mixture, stirring.
Microwave til thick.  Stir occasionally.  No need to cover.

Don’t panic if sauce looked curdled.  Just stir. It will smooth out.
Gets a little thicker as it sits.

RULE OF THUMB:  equal amounts flour/oleo  (barely 1/4 c = 1 c liquid)
When reheating, add some liquid.

PAN GRAVY

3 T pan drippings (from frying meat)
3 T flour
1-1/2 c liquid (milk, half milk/half water) broth, whatever
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper

OK, you’ve fried your chicken, sausage or your steak and removed it to a warm place and now you’re ready to make the gravy.
You’ve poured the pan drippings out of your pan and saved them.
Return 3 T of pan drippings to your skillet, keeping as many as possible of the browned crusty bits in the pan.
Over low to medium heat, add the flour to the pan drippings, stirring CONSTANTLY, letting the flour cook for about one minute.
Gradually add the liquid, stirring constantly til smooth and thickened.
Stir in salt & pepper; taste and add more if needed. RTG

MOM’S  DEVILED HAM  GRAVY     (Dot Berry)

4.25 oz can Underwood’s Deviled Ham Spread
1/4 c flour*
1-1/2 c milk* – maybe even 2 cups milk

Put deviled ham in saucepan on stove.
Turn burner to medium heat.
Stir in flour and mix til you can’t see any white flour anymore.
Add milk slowly, stirring constantly til thick and smooth.
DON’T ADD SALT – meat is very salty
Serve with biscuits or toast.
*Can increase amount of flour & milk to make more

DILL VEGETABLE FROSTING
Good on Broccoli and Fish

3 oz. Cream Cheese, softened (can use fat free)
1/2 c mayonnaise (can use low-fat)
3 t milk
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
1 t dried dill weed

Cream cream cheese til fluffy.
Stir in mayonnaise, milk, rest of ingredients.
Cover and chill til serving time.
Serve over broccoli.

HOLLANDAISE  SAUCE

3 eggs
2 T lemon juice
¼ t salt
pinch pepper
½ c oleo, melted

In blender, put egg yolks, salt, lemon juice and pepper.
Blend at top speed for 2 seconds.
Remove center part of blender lid, and pour the oleo through hole in lid  in a thin stream.
Have blender top on while adding oleo–may splatter, so watch out.
Serve with broccoli, spinach and asparagus.

TARTAR SAUCE

1 c Mayonnaise
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T minced pickle relish (dill or sweet)
2 T grated onion
2 t fresh lemon juice
¼ t black pepper
2T chives
OPT:  2 T capers, drained
OPT:  1 T minced parsley or ¾ t dried parsley
OPT:  2 Tfinely chopped olives

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.  Refrigerate 6 hours before serving.
Garnish with chives

COCKTAIL SAUCE     (Helen Corbitt of Neiman Marcus Restraunt)
**FAMILY FAVORITE**

½ c catsup
1/3-1/2 c chili sauce
1 T vinegar or lemon juice
2 T horseradish
1 t onion juice
1 t Worcestershire sauce
¼ t salt
few drops Tabasco sauce

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and chill.
NOTE:  The vinegar/lemon juice preserves it, so it keeps in refrigerator for a long time.

MORRISONS PEPPERED GRAVY MIX
For 1 cup gravy:

Mix:
½ c gravy mix with 1/3 cup COLD water til dissolved.
Add 1 cup boiling water
If it doesn’t get thick immediately, microwave til it does.

For Macaroni & Cheese:
Make 2 cups of gravy mix (double above recipe)
Boil 24 oz PKG macaroni noodles
Add:  16 oz (1 lb) grated cheese to gravy mix; stir together (SHARP cheese is very good)

For Potato Soup:
Add:  baked, diced potatoes, sprinkled with bacon bits and cheese

FRESH  HORSERADISH  CREAM  SAUCE

(1) 2-inch piece of fresh horseradish root, scraped and cut into 2 pieces
1 cup sour cream
Sugar to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Finely grate horseradish in food processor.  Add other ingredients and blend thoroughly.  Bring to a SIMMER in a small pot. DO NOT BOIL—will curdle.
Correct seasoning if necessary.
Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

SWEET ‘n SOUR Glaze for Veggies/Broccoli/Salmon        10/6

Heat and cook 2 min or so (to release flavor and toast seeds):
1 T olive oil
¼ t red pepper flakes (optional)
2 t sesame seeds
ADD:
Juice of 1 lemon
2 t brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste

Drizzle over broccoli or on fresh salmon and cook as a glaze

ROUX for GUMBO

Gumbo:  
Equal amounts of bacon grease and flour
On Low heat, work roux for 30 min., keeping a close watch so it doesn’t burn, but   don’t have to stir constantly.  Should brown slowly.
First – turns honey color
2nd – butterscotch
Finally – a rich rust/coppery brown with a nice sheen to it.
This is the heart and soul of this Cajun dish

The color of roux is determined by how long the flour was cooked
Roux blanc is white and takes about 3 min
Roux blond is a pale, sandy color and takes about 5 min
Roux brun is cooked about 10 min until brown (peanut butter color?)

ORANGE SAUCE  (tried 12/9/13)  Wonderful!  Very tart!
Also:  SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE (leave out orange peels)
Great with cooked chicken pieces!
***FAMILY FAVORITE***

1/2 c water (or juice: orange, pineapple*, lemon, chicken broth)
1/2 c vinegar
1 c sugar (Ratio:  twice as much sugar as vinegar)
1/2 t salt
2 T cornstarch
2T oil, more or less
grated rind of a whole orange- navel oranges-very good (Or Lemon)

Coat bottom of frying pan with oil, very sparingly. You will be eating it!
When oil is hot, add orange peel and cook til you smell oranges (doesn’t take long!
Don’t brown them!).
Add vinegar and water to cooked orange peels.
Mix sugar, salt and cornstarch together and add to liquid.
Cook, stirring often til thickened.
[OR Can thicken in microwave and won’t have to stir constantly.]

*Can add pineapple tidbits and use reserved juice in place of water.
Can experiment and decrease vinegar and/or sugar amts to your taste.

HAMBURGER GRAVY

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 c. flour
2-2/3 c. milk
salt, onion powder, garlic powder…in much larger amounts than you think you need.

Brown hamburger until actually BROWNED, not just gray (adds flavor), adding copious amounts of the spices.
I use around 2 t. each of salt, onion and garlic powder. Trust me, you’ll need it to compensate for the bland flour and milk– this makes ALL the difference between edible and awesome gravy.

When fully browned, add flour and stir to coat.
Stir periodically for several minutes until flour is browned—don’t add the milk until you’ve stirred for at least 3-5 minutes of browning time.
Then add milk; stir periodically as it heats up and thickens.
Serve over biscuits, toast, mashed potatoes, or whatever else you can imagine.
**Can add copped onions and garlic to meat and brown all of it together.

TZATZIKI SAUCE (for Greek food)
Serve with lamb dishes or Gyros

½ c PLAIN Greek yogurt
½ c sour cream
1 cup diced SMALL or grated, seeded cucumber
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t grated lemon rind
1/2 t garlic cloves, minced
1 T finely chopped FRESH dill
1 T Olive oil
Himalayan or Kosher Salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients

SLURRY for GRAVY – ROAST GRAVY

1 part flour to 3 parts liquid.

In tightly sealable container, mix (water or milk) and flour.
Shake vigorously. This is called a “slurry”
This creates a smooth flour mixture for thickening.
Slowly add to warm/hot pan drippings from cooked meat

Use water for ROAST Gravy (NOT milk)

CRANBERRY RELISH       (Dot Berry)
***FAMILY FAVORITE***
Makes 2 cups

16 oz. can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 lemon (juice and grated rind of)
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Combine. Chill until ready to serve

MUSHROOM SAUCE

1 t dried parsley
1/8 t garlic powder
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c cooking wine (optional)
1 cup cooked sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh)
1 /2 c onions (either 1/2 small can Durkee’s French Fried Onions; OR 1/2 c sauted fresh sliced onions

Heat soup, parsley, garlic, milk and wine (if desired)  til bubbly.
Remove from heat and add sour cream,
stir till well blended.  (NEVER boilk sour cream or it will curdle)
Add sauted onions if used and mushrooms to soup mixture.

FOR BEEF STROGANOFF:  Add bite-size pieces of steak that has been fried on stop top.  Serve over cooked noodles.
GARNISH:  Sprinkle French Fried Onions on top.  Serve with Cholula Sauce. Some like to chop 1 dill pickle and sprinkle on top.

FOR TUNA CASSEROLE:  Stir in 1 drained small can of tuna & mix sauce with cooked noodles.
Sprinkle French Fried Onions on top.  Serve with Cholula Sauce.

FOR MUSHROOM SOUP:  Thin with more milk.