We were recently up at my parents’ house for Christmas and my mother may be many things but a gourmet cook and Domestic Goddess is not one of them, don’t worry she takes no offense to this, we all get a good laugh at this including her. Well things were a bit confusing to say the least and I decided to drink some vodka tonics and dance , hey , even a Party Girl like myself needs to chill every now and then and leave it up to someone else!!! Well, we all went in the kitchen to eat, and believe me that is another story all together, my father is in a wheelchair and my parents kitchen is upstairs, so lets just say getting him into the kitchen should be on YouTube and I say this very lovingly, we were all in tears from laughter including my dad, you know when life hands you lemons you make lemonade and we make some delicious lemonade in our family!! My dad never ever complains and worries more about everyone else than himself and makes us all laugh so hard (that is why I let him tape that silly video of my dancing at his house on Christmas, he and I share the same silly, life is too short, have a good goofy dorky time whenever you can attitude) To finally get to the point and the recipe, there was no gravy, pan sauce, au jus (oh What?? Said my Mother) just a fillet and some sides. My brother and I and every other person in the room wanted a delicious gravy to go with this fillet. No problem I’m a party planning domestic goddess and the vodka tonics are beginning to wear off (not really) I can make this happen and my brother Michael is going to make it with me. Ok, we can’t find any stocks in the house, we finally come across a can of watered down chicken stock, no problem poultry stock in a beef sauce, no problem, remember when life hands you lemons you make GRAVY!!, so my brother looks for beef boullion cubes, My Mother looks so happy and proud, “Yes” she yells I do have that. Ok, we actually had to microwave this in order to try and dislodge the boullion from the container , I and my brother Michael believe it had to be at least a decade old, or more!! It exploded in the microwave and we added what we could to the Poultry stock to make a beef broth. Then we proceeded to ask her if she happened to have any Roquefort cheese, No!! she said, We didn’t think so!! My brother sent her downstairs to get some Brie cheese. We are getting creative here and are in the zone. I really went out on a limb and asked if she happened to have some Cognac, again a strange vacant look passed over her face and again we said we didn’t think so. No problem we’ll use Brandy and she had some that was probably before I was born so a good 40 or more years old. Well, we made this Gravy and it was GREAT. So turn whatever Lemons life throughs at you into the best Lemonade, Gravy or whatever you want. I promise You, You will be making more than Gravy you’ll be making memories.
Roux The Day – Gravy with Brie and Brandy, by Michael and Michele:
When making any gravy or pan sauce first (obviously) you remove your fillet put it on a cutting board, cover loosely with foil to allow the juices to remain in the meat to keep it juicy and delicious
Next we added some brandy about ¼ or so to deglaze the pan.
And incorporate all those delicious pan drippings, we then added our amended broth about a can or so , you can always add more, you can just use a good organic beef stock, no need to use the poultry and the beef boullion mixture we used. Bring to a simmer and add salt and pepper.
We also added some Gravy Master, again, we were really trying to doctor up this chicken broth, be careful with that , it can be Very Salty, you can always add that at the very end if your gravy needs some more flavor.
Now it is time to make a roux, very easy I love to use old fashion Ball jars, canning jars that my Grandmother gave me. I fill it about halfway with warm stock and add about ¼ of flour, then put the lid on and shake until it is all dissolved. You then add this to your pan ( which, by the way is on two burners on your stove simmering away) Your gravy will start to thicken up. And now you can add some Brie cheese stir until melted , taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Enjoy!!!
