Recipe for Apple Cider Bacon Gravy and Other Heavenly Sauces

Have you ever eaten a Gravy from Hell?

I swear that this type of gravy is used for gore in horror films.

That is the first gravy my unfortunate mother made and served when I was a wee infant, because she did not know how to cook. She had no one to teach her. But, she tried and that is a a commendable thing. My father taught her to cook little by little, but I'll never forget that gravy: At least by the time I was in High School, it had been touched by salt and pepper.

Here's the gist of the event when that gravy was made:

1. Take 2 Tablespoons of butter, put it in a cold cast iron skillet and turn the heat way up high. Make flames!
2. Stir the butter around until it's melted and throw in a lot of flour and make a paste of it.
3. Stir it all up with a meat spatula until it burns so it will be brown.
4. Next, add 2 cups of tap water and stand back when it steams up so you won't get burned.
5. Mix the gravy with the meat spatula until is a thick, medium or dark brown liquid. preferably dar brown.
6. Serve over potatoes or bread.

While growing up with older grandparents around WWII, bread and gravy, with cooked vegetables from the garden likely made the meal many a night back then for my mother and her family.

The dishes and methods of cooking one uses can reflect one's upbringing and the circumstances of that life. I realized much later that Hell's Gravy was such a reflection of wartime distress and anxiety.

At any rate, I learned to make as many different types of gravy as I could as an adult.

Congress - these, for the most part, illiterate hacks whose fancy vests are spotted with gravy and whose speeches, hypocritical, unctuous and slovenly, are spotted also with the gravy of political patronage. -- Mary McCarthy

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. -- Erma Bombeck

Getting the nomination is like gravy. Winning would be like whatever is better than gravy. -- Billy Bob Thornton

To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy. -- Bette Davis

♥

Now for some recipes...

Delicious and worth the bit of time to make! Serves 12.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 4 large onions, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1Tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 Tablespoon chopped sage
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 4 Cups (32 oz) lo-sodium chicken or vegetable
• 1/2 Cup dry white wine
• Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.
• Add onions and saute until a rich brown (caramelized), always stirring. This may take half an hour or more.
• Mix in all of the spices to this mixture and then add flour, vinegar, and honey. Cook 2 minutes while stirring.
• Add the broth and white wine and bring to a boil after stirring together well.
• Reduce the heat and simmer 8 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to preventing sticking and until the gravy begins to thicken.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste

A play that has drawn a hge following -- It's about life in Georgia and the Deep South during the Great Depression and and the Presidential term (oops, I almost types "reign" - well, he was kingly) of FDR. Running since 1991, it has become a mainstay. Visit the website to see the Swamp Gravy Institute - SWAMP GRAVY.

INGREDIENTS

• Spring Water
• Cooking spray - Olive Oil or your favorite variety
• 3 Slices of bacon
• 4, 4-oz boneless pork loin chops
• 1/4 Cup chopped onion
• 4 ounces uncooked egg noodles
• 2 Cups frozen green beans
• 1 Cup apple cider
• 1 teaspoon honey mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch & 1 Tablespoon water

INSTRUCTIONS

• Cook bacon until crisp. Drain well and crumble onto a plate.
• Spray the same pan with cooking spray and add pork chops & onions.
• Cook over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Turn them one once during this time.
• Cook noodles al dente, add green beans and cook another 4 minutes.
• Mix in a bowl the cider, mustard, salt, thyme & pepper. Pour this mix over pork hops in the pan and reduce heat to low.
• Cover the pan and cook 10 - 15 minutes until pork done (no pink).
• Remove chops & keep warm. Add the cornstarch to the water and mix completely. Add this to the frying pan and mix. Cook, stirring over medium low heat until bubbly & thick. Then, boil 1 minute and turn off the heat.
• Add the bacon back into the gravy.
• Serve over noodles, green beans, and pork chops. Freeze leftover gravy.

Makes 2.5 Cups of gravy

This is interesting gravy, because you use 2 cans of kidney beans, but you keep the liquid and save the beans for another recipe. No joke! I've always like the liquid from kidney beans and heard that I could make gravy from it, so I tired it and liked it very much.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Cans Kidney beans, liquid only + enough spring water to make 2 cups liquid. Save the beans for another recipe.
• 3 Tbsp dark Miso (from the Asian market)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/3 Cup Whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp Chili powder
• 1//2 tsp Curry powder
• 1/4 tsp Sea salt or Kosher sale
• 1/4 tsp Sea kelp (Asian market)
• Cayenne pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO:

• Measure the bean liquid and add spring water if needed to make 2 Cups.
• Place the bean liquid into large pot over medium-low heat.
• Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir until thickened. Do not burn or let it stick.
• When thick enough to your liking, whisk the mixture fast to make it very smooth.
• Re-season to your desired taste and serve.
• Use the gravy with noodles, potatoes, rice, bulgur, beans, vegetables, meats, homemade bread (it's very good this way), anything you like.

Raisin Sauce

Traditionally served with ham, this sauce may be tasty with other dishes.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 Cup (a 12 oz package) of dark raisins
• Spring Water
• 2 tsp bottled mustard
• ¼ Cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place raisins in a large pot with enough spring water to cover and simmer 1 hour to plump.
• Add the mustard, sugar, salt and vinegar and stir well.
• Next dissolve the cornstarch in ¼ Cup of water completely as a thickening agent and add it to the pot.
• Stir the pot and bring contents to the boil, stirring constantly until consistency you want is reached. Remember that it will continue to thicken after removal form the heat, so don't wait too long.
• Serve hot with baked ham or other meat.