a pot of mushroom gravy on a stovetop

The Gravy

  • The gravy that everyone loves, except for me. I'm not a gravy person. Ross and I host Thanksgiving every year, and about 8 or so Thanksgivings-ago my family ridiculed me for not having a gravy. Storebought seemed gross and homemade didn't interest me so I thought we could just skip it altogether. Turns out I cave to foodie peer-pressure. I figured offensive amounts of butter, herbs and wine could do the trick so I whipped something out. They loved it. They actually could not stop talking about this stupid gravy. And then the next year came around and out of the gate Ross was asking if I was going to make my gravy. I don't even like gravy!

    I can tolerate and sample this recipe but the most important tip is that I don't even like this recipe so if you want to change it up, you definitely should. While this is the recipe I made tonight - I'm pretty confident it changes every year because I don't remember how I made it. (On this note - mushrooms are optional, Ross swears I add them but if you want to skip just reduce the wine and vinegar a bit!)

  • 4 shallots sliced thinly

    1 carton of baby bella mushrooms practically minced

    2 tbsp champagne vinegar

    1 cup white wine

    1 cup water

    2 sticks salted butter

    50 sage leaves minced*

    1/2 cup of flour

    Salt

    Pepper

     

    *We have a garden that grows an insane little sage plant.  I actually did count these leaves as I picked but they were of various sizes and you can totally swap the sage for another herb of choice.

    1. Melt butter in a small pot and then throw your shallots in.  Simmer shallots in the butter for as long as it takes for them to become melty and soft.

    2. Throw the mushrooms and sage leaves into the butter/shallot mix and let them warm up before pouring in the wine and champagne vinegar. Let simmer for as long as you like.

    3. (eventually?) throw in the water and add some salt and pepper.  Let simmer for a few minutes.

    4. Sprinkle the flour in slowly, make sure there are no clumps, stir and turn off the heat. 

    5. Add more salt and pepper as desired.  If your gravy is looking thicc- you can always add more wine to thin.