4 tbsp butter
1 lb mushrooms (fresh), cleaned, trimmed, and sliced thinly
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cup burgundy wine (or other red wine)
4 tbsp flour
10 oz chicken broth (canned)
1 cup water (more as needed)
1/2 tsp garlic flakes, dried
Directions
Melt the butter in a small pan (about 1-quart size). Add the
mushrooms to the pan and cook over medium heat until all the liquid
that cooks out of them has evaporated and you just have the oil from
the butter (in the pan with the mushrooms). Stir frequently so they
brown, but do not burn.
Add the chopped onion and red wine. Continue cooking until all the
liquid has cooked out (you are left with just the oil from the butter
in the pan, with the mushrooms and onions). IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT
THERE BE NO LIQUID LEFT IN THE PAN OTHER THAN THE OIL FROM THE
BUTTER. (The onions may cook down until you can't see them.)
Add the flour to the mushroom mixture. Stir well so that the oil
from the butter is absorbed by the flour. Add the entire can of
chicken broth at once and stir well. The broth and the flour/butter
mixture should combine to make a thick liquid. This may not thicken
until it starts to boil. Stir constantly, or the mixture will stick
to the bottom of the pan.
Add enough water to make the gravy have a consistency you like. I
like mine thick, so a cup of water is enough. Lower the heat. Add the
dried minced garlic and cook over low heat until the garlic flakes
absorb enough liquid to no longer be crunchy.
Cathe's notes:
* Created in California, 1976.
Vicki's notes:
* When Cathe first gave me this recipe (mid '80s), it said to saute
the onion in 1 T olive oil (then remove onions). Then cook only *1/2
pound* of mushrooms in the oil, and add 1/4 t garlic salt (no garlic
flakes). The recipe said to brown the mushrooms until no juice was
left and mushrooms were "squeaky." Then add half the wine, cook down,
add rest of wine, and cook down.
Return onions and add just *1 tablespoon* of butter; stir in *1/4
cup* of flour, stirring frequently, till very brown. Then it said to
add half the chicken broth, mix well, add rest, and cook at "gentle
bubble" till thickened.
"If too thick, add up to 1/2 cup of water; cook at slow bubble till
flour taste is gone."
Servings: 1 batch
Cathe's Burgundy-Mushroom Gravy Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Gravies; Mushroom; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as a concept can be observed back into history, in truth as far back into history as ancient Egypt, and maybe further still. However, sadly, these old cookbooks were just basic hieroglyphic instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the oldest recipe found, according to academics are a few clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel `blissful`. Later on, in Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled a collection of scripts detailing recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, he tells us how the roman meals were split into hors d`oeuvre, main meal and desserts, something that is very familiar to us today. Additionally, he informs us how the Roman chefs used many herbs, including many that are still in use today like basil, mint and asafoetida. Later on, there are two recipe books from the 1300s - a cookery book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these are unconnected to the spicy food that appears on menues today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals prepared for the nobility of that time. Later on in the 1400s, the Crusaders brought back many foods, spices and herbs from the East, including spices such as coriander, parsley, and basil. The introduction of these new herbs and spices caused an eruption in cookery books, some of which still exist in academic collections. For the next few years, the powerful families of the West competed to offer the best banquets, and as a result chefs and their recipes were much in demand. Even so, it wasn`t until the 19th century the formal cooking and recipe publications really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collecting, verifying, and recording recipes to help cooks of their time. By the advent of the twentieth century, recipe books are in great demand, due to increased literacy, more spare time and having more disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Cathe's Burgundy Mushroom Gravy recipe.
