When You Need Beef Gravy In a Hurry

This is from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook: Anniversary, still one of my all-time favorites. One of those "if you could only pick one cookbook..." types. Luckily I don't have to, but still, when you're stuck for ideas this is a great resource.

So the dinner situation was eldest was having her final driving lesson (yikes! Test coming soon!). I had leftover steak from a fantastic dinner I forgot to blog about (maybe later). I had leftover roasted red potatoes from same dinner. I had a few other things I did not use for tonight's dinner which will most likely show up in soup (like leftover creamed spinach).

I thumbed through a few books for ideas. Thought about burritos, fried rice, broccoli (from the garden) and beef stir-fry, hash (always a favorite), pannini sandwiches (also always a favorite for using up leftovers), soup of course... I settled on making a Beef Pot Pie, but had no gravy. I followed the recipe for "Improvised Gravy" from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook: Anniversary and it came out great. Definitely something to keep in mind. You can make chicken gravy by using chicken broth or beef gravy by using beef broth. Pretty similar to "Make Your Own Cream of Soups" of course, as it's basically a flavored white sauce.

2 Tbs minced onion (or shallots or scallions)
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1/4 cup red wine or dry vermouth (I used the vermouth)
1 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth (depending on what kind of fake gravy you want!)
leftover drippings if you have some or another tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion in the butter 5 minutes or so, until soft and translucent. Stir in the flour and cook a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vermouth or wine and 1/4 cup or so of the broth, stirring until smooth. A whisk works well for this.

Add the rest of the broth gradually, stirring so it mixes in. Heat another five minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in leftover pan drippings or another tablespoon of butter if you don't have any. Taste and season.