Dad’s Milk Gravy

When I say that my father was not much of a cook, my brother and sisters will accuse me of wild exaggeration.  As they always do, they would bring up the matter of the “prunes and greens” that Dad tried to get us to eat one evening when we were very young.  Our idea of good food then was hamburgers, hot dogs and what Mom made.  We liked donuts and cinnamon rolls too, no matter where they came from.

I think that they were beet greens, but they may have been spinach.  Whatever they were, they did not go with prunes.  My father must have agreed with us, as I do not remember his “laying down the law” about “eating what was set before you” and “thinking about the starving children in China.” I don’t remember what we ate that night, but I’m sure that it was something other than the tiny taste of plump prunes and soggy sweetish greenish stuff that we had to try.

Actually, my father could open a can with the best of men, slice bread and make coffee.  He could also peel and boil potatoes, chop vegetables and stir soups on schedule.

And he knew how to make milk gravy. I must have been ten or eleven years old, and I can still remember his coaching:

“Get the grease hot–not too hot, add the flour, salt and pepper.  Stir until it’s smooth and bubbling.  Let it bubble a minute, but don’t let it brown very much.  That’s good! Now add the milk and stir.  Don’t dribble it in!  Dump it all in at once.  Then stir and keep stirring.  When the gravy starts bubbling and gets smooth, turn the heat down and cook it for two or three minutes.  Turn off the heat and you’re done.  Now you know how to make milk gravy.”

It really is that easy.  And depending on the kind of shortening you use, you can make a gravy that goes great with chicken or pork chops for lunch or dinner or with fresh biscuits for what may well become your own famous breakfast biscuits and gravy.

Here’s the recipe for Dad’s milk gravy:

INGREDIENTS:

3 T grease
3 T flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 cups milk

PROCEDURE:

If you are having fried or oven-fried chicken or pork chops, remove the meat when it is done and reduce the amount of fat in the pan to three tablespoons or if necessary, add some butter or shortening to bring the amount of fat up to three tablespoons.  Add the flour, salt and pepper to the pan and scrape any meat bits into the gravy as you cook it over moderate heat.  You can do the same if you are making biscuits and gravy to go with bacon or sausage.  Taste and adjust the seasoning and pour the gravy into a serving bowl or gravy boat.

Making milk gravy really is child’s play, and your family and guests will thank you.

NOTES:  If you save your bacon grease, you can make a flavorful gravy to go with almost any meal when boiled or mashed potatoes are on the menu. If you don’t have bacon grease, use butter or shortening.  If the gravy is thicker than you prefer, stir in more milk a tablespoon at a time until you achieve the consistency you want. You can substitute ordinary finely ground black pepper if you don’t have white pepper on hand, but you may see some black flecks in the gravy; it will taste fine.

Gus Gauch’s Macaroni and Cheese

Gus Gauch was a farmer who lived down the road from us in the country.  He was also one of the two best fly fishermen on the Namekagon River north of Hayward.  

When I was eight years old, Gus talked my mother into letting him teach me how to fly fish for trout.  She was afraid that her firstborn might not make it home from the river, and if she had seen me starting to float away in my brand new plastic waders that first day, my trout fishing career would have ended pretty quickly.  However, Gus was there to catch me as I was about to tip over, and we never told her about it.  

I learned a lot of things from Gus, one of which was not to tell your mother everything.  Another was his recipe for macaroni and cheese.  The first time I had it was in late winter when Gus asked me to come over after supper so we could tie some flies.  When I got there he was still eating.  He asked me if I wanted some macaroni and cheese, and since I hadn’t had anything to eat for fifteen minutes I said yes.  

It wasn’t like my mother’s macaroni and cheese but I loved it.  Unlike most macaroni and cheese recipes, this one does not use a white sauce into which you melt the cheese.  Instead, you layer the cooked macaroni, shredded cheese and buttered bread crumbs in a baking dish and heat it briefly in the oven.  It is extremely simple and easy to make, has no trans fats, is lower in calories than ordinary mac and cheese and is just plain delicious. 

   

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups uncooked macaroni

4 – 5 T butter

8 ounces medium cheddar cheese

3 or 4 slices dry bread or buns to make 1 cup of bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Water

PROCEDURE:

Preheat the oven to 300º and bring two quarts of water to boiling.

While the water is heating, shred the cheese and set it aside.  When the water reaches a full boil, stir in the macaroni and cook nine or ten minutes; I always add a half teaspoon of salt to the boiling water, but suit yourself. Drain but do not rinse so the pasta will be hot when you assemble the dish.

  

While the macaroni is cooking, crush three or four slices of dry bread to make about one cup of bread crumbs.  Do not try to turn the crumbs into a powder.  Leave some pieces a quarter in diameter or so to provide a little variety in appearance.  Melt four tablespoons of butter in a small frying pan on low heat.  When the butter is melted, add the bread crumbs and toast slightly stirring with a fork until the crumbs are mixed with the butter.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  I use about a fourth teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  If the crumbs seem too dry, add a little more butter.

Butter an ovenproof eight by twelve-inch glass baking dish.  Put a thin layer (a scant half inch) of macaroni into the dish, sprinkle about one-third of the cheese evenly over the macaroni.  Repeat with two more layers.  Spread bread crumbs over the top and put the uncovered dish in the hot oven.  Heat about fifteen minutes until the cheese is melted.

And that’s it! 

NOTES:  You can use mild or sharp cheddar cheese for a different flavor.  And if you want to be fancy, grate an extra tablespoon of cheese on top of the crumbs.  If you don’t have any dry bread, toast four slices and cut them into small cubes. Hot dog or hamburger buns you have dried in the oven work very well also.