Recipes from the Collection of Mark and Danielle Hughes
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Turkey Gravy that can be prepared ahead and frozen Gravy from the freezer is an especially good idea if you're preparing turkey in a way, such as brining, that does not produce drippings. Makes about 3 cups 3/4 cup dry white wine Bring wine to a boil in pan until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 3 minutes. Combine flour and turkey drippings in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add to pan; cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in strained stock, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cool for a few minutes and pour into a freezer container. Refrigerate and when gravy is cool, cover it and freeze. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in refrigerator or a couple of hours at room temperature. Shortly before serving time, pour into a saucepan and slowly reheat, whisking on occasion. Add a bit of fresh or dried thyme, if desired, as the gravy is reheated.
By Kim Boatman, SJ Mercury News 11/06 You wouldn't think having 120 people to Thanksgiving dinner would make cooking simpler, but that's what I found last year. I'll never stress or fret over last-minute Thanksgiving gravy again; each year, I'll calmly pull my container of homemade gravy out of the freezer. That's a lesson I learned in a rather convoluted way after helping feed a horde of hungry elementary school kids and teachers. It began with Mr. Lotz and the Great Feast. Steve Lotz, a fifth-grade teacher at Fremont's Mission Valley Elementary, is an exuberant and ambitious sort. He's the kind of teacher you hope your child will have -- until it comes time for volunteer duty. Each Thanksgiving, he serves up the Great Feast, an extravaganza of singing -- by 30 kids dressed as Pilgrims and American Indians -- and, well, feasting. For a number of the kids, it's an introduction to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. For the parents who volunteer, it's an introduction to a cheerful sort of mayhem. Just how do you roast enough turkey, for instance, to feed the multitudes? My friend Diane Harrell, a craft services professional, had the answer. We roasted a number of bone-in turkey breasts the day before, carved the meat off the bone, then reheated it the morning of the feast. And just how, you may ask, does that lead us to frozen gravy? Well, once we roasted all those breasts, we had plenty of pan drippings. And once we carved all the meat, we were left with these lovely bones with morsels of meat. It seemed a shame not to make turkey stock. I was thinking soup until Diane suggested making and freezing the gravy for my own, slightly more modest Thanksgiving feast (four adults, two kids, no costumes). Under the best of circumstances, I am no gravy master. I scorch the butter and flour as I attempt to make a roux, or I struggle to whisk lumps into submission. But making gravy during those crucial last minutes before serving Thanksgiving dinner is especially torturous. It's the most stressful 10 to 15 minutes most of us spend in the kitchen all year, and here we are trying to mash, stir, slice and whisk. Not to mention shooing away certain family members who like to poke their noses in and offer suggestions -- you know who you are. My heart lightened as I imagined those final minutes without fretting over the gravy. So, I took my friend's advice. I made a rich stock to serve as a base for the gravy. Then I went with a gravy recipe that doesn't rely on a butter-flour roux, figuring I'd have more success with the wine-based gravy in a now-tattered, much-used November 2001 issue of Cooking Light. I froze the gravy, figuring I didn't have much to lose. And it worked so well, there's no doubt I'll do the same year after year. I removed the gravy from the freezer Thanksgiving morning, then gently finished thawing it and reheated it on the stove, whisking on occasion. But it really didn't demand my attention. I think it came out beautifully in part because the stock was so rich and flavorful; the roasted breast bones provided more flavor than the usual giblets and turkey neck. I've never liked giblet gravy, and I feel free now just to toss the neck and giblets. Now that I've gained some confidence, I might tinker a little. It would be simple to add a bit of fresh thyme as the gravy reheats. Sauteed shallots might be a nice touch. It makes sense to make the gravy up to a month ahead and freeze it on a number of counts. The brined turkeys so popular now produce drippings that are too salty to use in gravy; and if you grill or fry a bird, you'll have no drippings at all. Roasting a turkey breast couldn't be simpler, and then you'll have moist white meat for sandwiches or the like. (By the way, we reheated the breast meat drizzled with a bit of stock, and it was wonderfully moist and tender.) If you don't want to eat turkey before the big day, you can always roast some turkey wings just to get the pan drippings and to have a flavorful base for the stock. Stock doesn't require a lot of effort once you've got it simmering, and you can adjust the ingredients to your taste. And it's certainly easier to make gravy when you don't have your extended family sitting in the next room, eagerly awaiting their own great feast |