The Secret to Making My Grandma's Delicious Award Winning Brown Gravy

I've always loved Grandma's brown gravy. She makes it to put on potatoes, toast, turkey with stuffing and a variety of other dishes. It is never lumpy and always delicious.

I came to appreciate these attributes more once I got married and tried making gravy of my own. My brown gravy seemed to turn out watery, lumpy, tasteless or some combination of the above.

For the last year I had the privilege of living with Grandma and watching her make her famously delicious gravy. We were in a job transition, and she doesn't like to stay alone, so it just worked out for us to live with her while we tried to sell our house.

I'm sure there are a lot of different ways to make good gravy, but I now know how Grandma makes it. One day when Grandma wasn't feeling well I even made some myself, it wasn't lumpy and she said it was very good (this was a high compliment from her, since she's a very excellent cook and doesn't say anything tastes good unless it really is.

There is no recipe for this gravy. In fact, if you ask her for a recipe for anything she just starts to laugh. She's the kind of cook who goes through her refrigerator and makes a roast with whatever she finds, and somehow it always tastes great. So if you're looking for a recipe with measurements, you're in the wrong place. But if you understand that cooking is chemist, and you want to be a kitchen chemist, here's how to get started with some wonderful brown gravy.

Begin by setting out a Teflon (or similar) skillet, some margarine, white flour, a fork and a pint of cold water. Also get out whatever seasonings you want to use. Grandma uses something called Vegex or Savorex, which can be found at some health food stores. But we've moved now, and no one seems to know about Vegex in Oklahoma. So we used what we had in the cupboard - some George Washington's broth and beef seasoning, and it worked out just fine. We are vegetarian so I don't use chicken broth or anything like that, but I suppose that could add to it also.

In any case, toss some margarine and flour onto the skillet and brown the flower. You have to keep an eye on it, since you want it brown but not burnt. I usually set the burner on medium high and stand right by it, as it doesn't take long. Once the flour is brown, take the skillet off the burner and begin to stir in cold water with the fork. Don't put in too much at once, or you'll end up with lumpy cold soup. Begin with a little bit and work it real hard with the fork, which is what you will use to get the lumps out.

Keep adding cold water and working that fork until you get the consistency you want. They key is to have your frying pan off the burner, use cold water, add the water slowly and work the gravy hard. You can take your time, and it might take a couple runs before you get it right. But if it can be done by even a busy, bumbling cook like me, you can do it too.

Once you have your gravy the right consistency, it's time to add the seasonings. The only way I know to do that is add a little at a time, and taste it. You will not need salt, just flavors. The browning of the gravy actually gives it a little flavor to begin with, but you will probably want to add some more. Your gravy may have cooled off a bit from the cold water by now, so you may also want to put it back on the burner for a bit. At this point I would keep the burner on medium or low, as you can get it hot that way and you don't want to burn it.

When the gravy is all done, you put it in one of your beautiful dishes. That's one thing I learned from Grandma last year. Being a working mom and trying to cut down on dishes, I would have a tendency to put the frying pan with the gravy on the table. But not Grandma. Everything goes in a nice dish, and it seems even more special that way. Enjoy!