Good Heavens That is Good Gravy.

Gravy making, why does it seem to be so complicated? Growing up, the only gravy I remember having at a meal was at Thanksgiving time, and it was not homemade, but came out of a can. During my first marriage I would watch my, then, mother-in-law make a slurry of flour, garlic powder and water, pour it into the meat drippings to create a lumpy, oily mess. Not very good examples for making my own gravy, and thus avoided the issue whenever I could. Thank you, thank you, thank you for whomever invented the crock pot; not just for the easy cooking it afforded the home cook, but for the luscious stock that could be made into a stupendous gravy.

"Impossible!", you say; "Cannot make gravy without drippings from roasted meat or poultry!", you say...yep, you can.  First off, I will tell you how by using the crock pot; secondly from drippings out of a roasting pan, without adding butter, cream or extra flour.  Being fair here by giving the choice of crock pot or roasting pan, and not absently dismissing the traditional roasting method.  Now sit back, relax and have a good read...

Scenario: Making pot roast in a crock pot; put your meat in first, but before you put it in, coat it liberally with flour (this is all you will need for that gravy later on); put in your veggies, seasonings and then pour two cups of beef stock over it all; cover, set it and forget it till done.  If making poultry, use chicken stock instead, but use the same coating with flour and veggies over the top process.

 

Gravy brings a pot roast dinner all together.

The meat is done, put it on a platter to rest with 3/4 of the vegetables.  Looking into the crock pot, you will see an oily sheen on top; that is the oil that came out of your meat or poultry during the cooking process.  Do not worry, we are going to get rid of that easily, and not lose any flavor.

 

Pureed vegetables will thicken the gravy.

The liquid inside the pot is also thin; the flour you coated the meat in was not enough to thicken, but just enough to help with the process.  The 1/4 portion of vegetables that you left inside is going to be your true thickener.  What is neat about this is that anyone that refuses to eat their veggies, but loves gravy, is going to eat veggies and not even know.  Well, they will if you tell them, but we are keeping this a secret, right? Of course, you can leave bits of veggies if you like, so long as no one you are serving is a problem eater.

 

Bits of veggies hidden in the gravy.

 

Now, you all know how I love my immersion blender, but if you still have not purchased your own (why not!?!), then a regular blender will do.  Begin pulverizing the vegetables inside the pot, being careful not to raise the blender too high and splash the liquid around the kitchen.  Not only will the soon to be gravy be thickening up, but you will see it turn to a rich color; you will be tempted to serve it as is, but patience grasshopper, patience.

 

 

To get the oil out of your gravy, pour the amount of pureed liquid you need into a plastic container and place into the freezer for one hour.  Take the container out of the freezer and you will see that the fats have solidified on top; carefully spoon them out and do not forget to scrape it off the sides of the container too. You will probably have a lot more gravy left over which can be defatted, frozen and reheated when needed; because you did not use any dairy in its making, the chance of separating is none. 

Place in freezer safe plastic container.

 

Scrape off the fat solids.

 

 

 

To serve, just warm up the gravy; no further seasonings need to be added, especially salt which would have come from the stock you initially used when cooking your meat.  If you really need to have a smooth gravy, go ahead and strain out all the little bits that the blender could not pulverize.  We like it rustic; it proves that it is homemade, not out of some can or jar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The color of the gravy depends on what vegetables were used during the cooking process. More carrots and tomatoes give a redder coloring.

Ok, now for the roasted part of this post; you are going to need a deep roasting pan for this process.  Either use a rack to lay your meat or poultry on, or a very thick layer of cut up vegetables will work too.  In the pan, lay out all your cut up vegetables and sprinkle a little flour over all of them; pour your stock over all; then place the rack with meat, or the meat itself on top and roast until done.  Oh, do not forget to season your meat or poultry; as the fat melts, it will take some of the seasoning with it and add it to the veggies down below.  Now just follow the same gravy making process as I explained for the crock pot; you just might want to transfer your liquid and 1/4 portion to a deep bowl first though. 

How come I did not use any water in the crock pot or roasting pan?  The vegetables gave me all I needed; during the cooking process, they sweated out their excess moisture, so adding water at the beginning would have thinned out the gravy way too much at the end.

Making gravy is not so hard after all; just remember to not additional seasonings until after the process is done and you have tasted the end product.  You will be very surprised.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Crack that Coconut!

Several weeks ago I received a tropical fruit gift basket and one item included was a coconut.  My first reaction upon seeing it was, "What the heck am I supposed to do with that!?!"  I had never worked with a real coconut before, just the bagged shredded coconut you get in the supermarket. On the counter it sat, watching me, staring at me, mocking me.

Occasionally I picked it up, walked over to the trash can, but no, I did not throw it out.  I refused to be beaten by a mere coconut.  I would shake it and hear the liquid inside; that is a good sign that shows that the coconut "meat" is still fresh and moist. Then I decided to do the most insane thing possible; I gave it to my dog to play with.  She loved tossing and chasing it around the yard, but then I noticed that she had stopped and was licking it profusely.  The coconut had a slight crack, and liquid was leaking out.

The coconut was small and I did not give much thought to cracking it open and trying to do something with the liquid myself.  Remember, I was looking at it as a protagonist; an enemy that needed to be conquered. Yes, I could have gotten a hammer, cracked it open in a proper way eventually.  What fun would that be? Anyway, I grabbed the coconut, took it out to the driveway and let it drop and split open completely.  The outdoor cats enjoyed the treat of the spilled coconut liquid and I felt good spoiling them a bit.

 

Right, so what do I do now? Finally went on the internet and looked up how to handle a coconut. I gave the two parts a good wash in water to remove any dirt. Most sites said to roast the coconut between 400F to 450F, so took the middle of the road at 425F and preheated my oven. I placed the two halves, open ends downward, into an aluminum baking pan. Now the coconut has a rather "hairy" exterior, so I covered them with a sheet of aluminum foil, leaving the ends open for air circulation. How embarrassing it would have been to have the hair on the coconut catch on fire.

 

The coconut roasted for 20 minutes; the edges of the meat, closest to the shell, started turning brown. Removing the pan from the oven, the halves cooled till I could comfortably handle them. Using a meat mallet to whack the shell and a butter knife between the shell and meat, I removed the meat; it will break apart if you are not gentle with this procedure. The meat will have a firm brown skin on it and this can easily be removed using a vegetable/potato peeler. Again, be gentle as it can break apart easily.

 

The final tool you will need is a grater for shredding the deskinned coconut meat. Now you might want to use a food processor, but the meat is very moist, so do not be surprised to constantly be cleaning your blades. In this instance, a grater is just more logical and efficient to use.  After shredding, I was able to fill a quart size freezer bag; squeeze the air out before sealing and it will last about six months in the freezer.

 

Would I ever try this again?  Yes!  I have a bag full of freshly roasted and shredded coconut that I created with my own hands.  I will be more careful when cracking it open though, and save the liquid for another use.  Sorry dog and kitties, but this treat you only get one shot at. 

Mary Cokenour

Red Tomato Harvest.

September 22, 2020; the first day of autumn, the beginning of Mabon and celebration of the fall season.  Mabon is the Second Harvest; a reflection of the past, gratitude for the present, blessings for the future.  A week-long celebration in which the bounties of fruits, vegetables and grains are harvested for the final time.  Pickling, jamming, jellies, bread making, dehydrating, roasting, and food preservation are the major goals.  Winter, depending upon where one lives, can be knocking at the door at any moment.

In my previous article, we visited the taste treat of Fried Green Tomatoes.  I bet many of the home cooks tried it, but I bet many others pickled those green tomatoes for future use.  Since this is time for Second Harvest, consider this a second article to figure out what to do with all those extra red tomatoes.  While they can be canned or frozen whole, homemade pasta sauce and salsa are very much delicious options.   However, two other options are dehydrating and roasting. 

Dehydration is extracting all moisture from a thinly sliced food item, then sealing it in air tight packaging.  It can be seasoned before processing, but be careful as anything added will be greatly intensified in flavor.  Jerky?  Yes, this is made through the dehydration process, as is “fruit leather”.  Owning a dehydrator makes the process easier, less messy, more hygienic, but still time consuming.  Cutting the ripe, red tomatoes into one quarter inch slices, space them out on the dehydrator disks.  Cover, turn on the device and my three trays still took eight hours to completion.  If all five trays had been used, the time would have been ten to twelve hours.  Once completely dried, carefully lift the slices which have shrunk to 1/8^th of an inch thin.  I placed mine in a resealable plastic bag, making sure to, carefully, squeeze out the air, before sealing.  Yes, a container can be used, but it is air that will destroy all your hard work by creating mold on the tomato slices.  Keep them in a cool, dry, dark environment; heat and light are not friends to dried foods.  In a cabinet, they will keep for six months; stored in a freezer is a one year bounty!

Freshly sliced tomatoes in dehydrator.

Dried tomato slices.

Dehydrated Tomatoes

The other method for drying out tomatoes is to Sun Dry.  The tomatoes are sliced, placed on parchment lined trays and exposed to the sun until completely dried out.  This method takes days, leaves the tomatoes open to the air, and anything air borne.  While, in Utah, the red dust of our magnificent sandstone formations is nicknamed “seasoning”, do we really want it on our drying tomatoes?  Then there are insects, falling leaves, pet hair, and who knows what other non-tasty and unhealthy yuck that might get added in.  So, as you can guess, I am partial to a dehydrator.

What can dehydrated tomatoes be used for?  First, they can easily be rehydrated by soaking in hot water for thirty minutes.  Chop them up to add to salads, slices onto sandwiches, or anything else tomatoes are called for.  They can, also, simply be crushed or ground up to be added to soups, stews, dressings, and basically any dish calling for seasoning.  Dried tomatoes have intensified tomato flavor, so add a sweet/tart/tangy balance to a recipe.

Roasted tomatoes will not keep as long as dried.  Up to five days in the refrigerator, only six months if frozen.  Reason being is the cooked olive oil which can eventually turn rancid, even if frozen.  However, these little tidbits are so exquisitely delicious, they will not last long anyway!

Preheating the oven to 450F, slice the tomatoes, again, to one quarter inch thickness.  If using cherry tomatoes, simply cut in half.  In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes with a half cup of olive oil  (this is for 6-8 large Roma tomatoes), one quarter cup of Italian herbal mix, one tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, one half teaspoon of fine sea salt. 

 

Place the tomato slices, or halves, in rows, onto jelly roll pans (the sides will keep the oil from leaking onto the oven floor).  Roast for 20-25 minutes in the oven; any longer and they will begin to turn too mushy.  Let cool for 15 minutes before placing in air tight containers or bags.

Roasted Tomatoes

You will be tasting them, I know you cannot resist!  Have any frozen pizza in the freezer?  Unwrap, place a few slices of the roasted tomatoes on it, and then rewrap.  Wait until you finally bake that pizza, the taste will make your eyes pop out!

How about some Bruschetta?  While the tomatoes are roasting, brush thick slices of Italian or French bread (even sub rolls will work) lightly with olive oil.  Once the tomatoes are done, space them out on the bread, top with shredded mozzarella and pop back into that 450F oven for 15-18 minutes.  One bite, and you will be totally in love!

Bruschetta and Roasted Tomatoes

Joyous Mabon, Welcome Autumn, Second Harvest is here, Celebrate and eat some tomatoes!

Mary Cokenour

Foods of the December Holidays.

December is a month of many holidays, to name everyone would take about a full newspaper page, so here is a few most Americans may have heard of, or even practice.

Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)

Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican)

St. Lucia Day (Swedish)

Hanukkah (Jewish)

Christmas Day (Christian)

Three Kings Day/Epiphany (Christian)

Boxing Day (Australian, Canadian, English, Irish)

Kwanzaa (African American)

Omisoka (Japanese)

Yule (Pagan)

Saturnalia (Pagan)

By the way, the Twelve Days of Christmas are December 25^th to January 5^th, aka Twelvetide, a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ; and the dates change dependent on which sect of Christianity you practice.  December 26^th is known as Saint Stephens Day, or Boxing Day; all I know is that it is my birthday, and yes, I do expect presents…that’s a little hint right there.

For Hanukkah, potato latkes and doughnuts (sufganiyot) are requirements, while brisket is the traditional meat served.  Traditional Yule foods include festive meats, winter vegetables, and colorful preserved fruits.  Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb's wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples), apples, mulled wine, beans, and oranges.  Omisoka is the Japanese New Year’s Eve (celebrated December 31^st); Toshikoshi soba is Japanese traditional noodle bowl dish eaten. This custom lets go of hardship of the year because soba noodles are easily cut while eating.

Depending on where you live in this massive world of ours, traditional Christmas main dishes are culturally inspired.  Roast goose or roast beef in Britain, whole roasted pig in the Philippines, Feast of the 7 Fishes in Italy, tamales in Costa Rica; and immigrants have brought these traditions to this United States as well.  Growing up, my family had roast turkey with all the trimmings, it was Thanksgiving all over again!  Later on, celebrating with other families, I experienced glazed ham with raisin sauce; Peking duck thinly sliced and layered onto Mandarin pancakes smeared with hoisin sauce; Sauerbraten (translated “sour roast meat”) and German potato salad.  Oh yes, my culinary palette has had an amazing educational experience when it comes to food.

Personally, my food philosophy, and Roy has embraced this too, is to try anything and everything once.  May not like something, might even find it to be totally disgusting, but at least can honestly say, “Yes, tried it, and no, do not like it.”  Or who knows, may simply love it to the point of craving it.  This is the point of this entire story, do not give up traditions, but do not give up on learning.  Also strive to try something new; this is, to me, the meaning of life, of existence, to learn something new each and every day.

So, from the Cokenour household, Happy Holidays to All, be it Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Yule, or whichever belief you hold dear.  Oh, and here’s my recipe for Prime Rib, in case you’ve never experienced it…enjoy!

Normally a prime rib roast comes with the bones attached.  You can do several things with the bones once removed; use them as a rack for the roast to rest on while roasting; cook them separately to eat later on; use them to make beef stock.  Or you can ask your butcher to remove them for you and not deal with them at all; to me, that's a complete waste.  Prime rib usually comes with a thick fat cap also; I removed a good portion of it so I could get the seasoning rub onto the meat itself, but left enough fat so the meat could self-baste while roasting.

Prime Rib

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 oz.) can beef broth

1/2 can of water

4 large shallots, peeled and split into sections

2 tsp. dried rosemary

3 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

2 Tbsp. olive oil

8 lb. prime rib; bones removed

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil; pour the beef broth and water in.  Place the shallot sections in the pan so that the prime rib will be located over them.  Spray the rack with nonstick spray and place into the pan; be careful not to tear the foil.

Mix together the rosemary, thyme, garlic and onion powders, black pepper and salt.  Brush olive oil over top of the prime rib; spread seasoning rub onto it.

Place the roast onto the center of the rack; make sure it is over the shallots.  Roast the beef for 45 minutes at the 400F temperature; turn the temperature down to 300F and roast to desired doneness.  A meat thermometer is going to be your best friend with this process as it will tell you the internal temperature and, therefore, how you like your meat cooked.  125F is rare, 135F is medium-rare, 145F is medium and 155F is well; anything over that, in my opinion of course, is shoe leather.  In the words of Doctor Who, it's a "wibbley wobbley, timey wimey" process.

Once you have the roast at the desired doneness, pull the entire pan out of the oven, remove the roast to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and let it all rest for 30 minutes.  This lets the juices from the roast redistribute back throughout itself; then place the roast on a cutting board and cut one inch slices.

You're probably wondering about the beef broth, water and shallots?  This is what you'll use to make either an au jus or a gravy; first remove the shallots with a slotted spoon.  Then pour all the remaining liquids and solids into a freezer safe plastic bowl; put the bowl into the freezer for 45 minutes; the fat will rise to the surface, solidify and you can just remove it easily with a spoon.  Pour the fat free liquid through a strainer to remove any bits of missed solid fat or herbs.  That will give you a lovely clear, herbal flavored au jus; or you can put the liquid into a saucepan, add a tablespoon of corn starch, bring it to a boil and make a gravy.  The shallots?  I chopped them up finely and added them to the au jus, but they could just as well be served on the side of a prime rib slice.

Now what did I do with those rib bones?  Glad you asked.  I seasoned them up a bit differently by using my all-purpose seasoning rub.  After the prime rib was done, I popped them into the 300F oven, sitting on an aluminum foil covered rack in a pan; I let them roast for 3 hours.  They made a good snack for my hubby later on.

Mary Cokenour