Homemade Southern White Gravy

If you've ever been in the South you probably had some of the wonderful gravy they put on everything, including breakfast dishes. Well, if you love those dishes, you can make the gravy and have a Southern dish right at home.
Southern people call it Sawmill gravy, White gravy or simply Cream gravy.
True southern gravy is made in a fry pan and is usually made with grease that was used in the frying of the meat.

Note: The rich creamy taste of Southern gravy comes from using whole milk, so don't substitute.

Here's what you will need:
· 1/4 cup flour
· 5 tablespoons meat drippings (bacon grease, sausage grease or pan drippings)
· 2 1/2 cups whole milk
· Salt and pepper

Over low heat add the meat drippings to a saucepan (If the using drippings that are frozen, allow thawing before you make the gravy). Mix the flour slowly into the meat drippings. Cook until the flour mix is light brown in color (this also takes away the flour taste) and add the milk a little at a time. Make sure you constantly stir the mixture or the bottom will burn. Simmer the gravy stirring continually until it thickens to a creamy consistency. If it gets too thick, just add a little milk, then bring to a simmer and repeat if necessary. Be careful not to make it too thin.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tip 1: If you want to vary it somewhat, you can make a sausage gravy by browning ½ of a pound sausage meat first, then use the drippings for the recipe and add the sausage meat into the gravy as you are simmering. This is great over homemade biscuits.

Tip 2: Freeze small amounts of the bacon grease, sausage grease or pan drippings for future use.

Tips For Making Wonderful Cheesecakes

Making cheesecake can have its disasters. Here are some tips to help you avoid problems.

· When preparing the recipe, follow it exactly...recipe directions are specific to the cheesecake itself.

· All ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning the mixing.

· Mix the ingredients (before adding the eggs) at medium speed then reduce speed to the slowest speed as you add each egg. If you mix the ingredients at too high a speed the cheesecake will crack.

· Do not open the oven door during the first half hour of baking. Changes in temperature can cause a cheesecake to fall or crack.

· Allow your cheesecake to cool down slowly by leaving it in the oven with the door slightly opened.

· Cheesecake tends to set so there should be some shrinkage, however if there is a lot of shrinkage, the oven was too hot. Reduce the temperature by 25 degrees the next time you bake.

· Cool completely. If you refrigerate too soon you may find puddles in the center of the cheesecake.

· Cheesecakes always need to be well chilled before serving, preferably 12 to 24 hours before cutting (the cheesecake will set to a perfect consistency during this time).

Cheesecake Recipe
Prep Time: 1 hr Total Time: 3 hrs

Crust:
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
16 ounces sour cream
1/4-cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:
Crust:
Coat the entire inside of springform pan with butter.
In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until they stick together. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Cheesecake:
All ingredients should be at room temperature before your begin.
Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Do not over mix. Keep the mixer on a low setting throughout the beating and mixing process.
Add the sugar a little at a time and continue beating until creamy.
Add one egg at a time and beat after each egg. When all the eggs have been mixed in add flour, vanilla and lemon juice, mix well. Add the sour cream last and beat well.
Pour cream cheese into the spring pan.
Place on the top rack in the middle of a 325 degrees preheated oven for one hour and 15 minutes.
When time is up, prop open oven door and leave in oven for one hour. After one hour, remove from oven.
Cool completely before refrigerating for 24 hours.

Good Cooking Tips

Have you ever made a recipe and it came out disastrous? Did you ever consider why?
Well here are some tips that are imperative to good cooking.

· TASTE AS YOU GO!
For most cooks, tasting is automatic, but when it's not, the price can be high.
There are so many factors that can destroy a recipe... your ingredients, the amounts, your stove, and a million other factors. Due to these factors, the results can vary greatly. As you add ingredients, taste to see if the recipe is going in the right direction.

· SUBSTITUTES
You make substitutions in baking that turn the recipe into something else.
Unless it has been proven to work, don't experiment with something you will be serving for desert that night. If you don't have an ingredient, wait until you can purchase it before attempting to make it. Which brings me to the next tip...

· READ, READ, READ.
You start making the recipe and find out you don't have one of the ingredients.
Read the entire recipe the day before you start cooking. If you need to purchase something, or perform a task, you will have time to do it.
You don't want to be an hour away from dinner guests arriving when you get to the part of the recipe that says to marinate the meat overnight or find you are missing an ingredient.

· KNOWING COOKING DEFINITIONS
Simmering vs. boiling.
Simmering is cooking over low heat where the bubbles are slowly breaking at the surface.
Boiling is cooking over med to high heat where the bubbles are breaking fast and often at the surface.
Ok so the recipe calls for simmering the meat for 2 to 3 hours, and you boiled the meat for 30 to 45 minutes...the meat comes out tough and hard to chew.
Because it was cooked too fast it lost the juices and became "shoe leather".
If you are not prepared to put in the time needed to prepare a dish then save it for when you do.

Tips For Freezing Fruit

Some fruits you would never think to freeze, like bananas. But bananas can be frozen and so can quite a few other fruits.

Bananas
Remove the bananas from their skin, and put whatever the recipe calls for in a freezer bag. Then when you're ready to make the recipe just pull out a bag of bananas and let them thaw. Don't worry about it being mushy it won't change the recipe in any way.
You can also peel and mash the bananas before freezing. Or, freeze bananas in slices or chunks. Sprinkle the slices with lemon juice spread them out on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, put them in a bag and returned to the freezer.

Strawberries
Wash and dry your strawberries, and carefully remove the hull. Slice if desired and spread on a baking sheet to freeze. After freezing, place in a freezer bag and return them to the freezer.

Blueberries, Raspberries or Blackberries
Gently wash and allow them to dry. Spread on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for a few hours until the berries are firm. Then remove them from the baking sheet and put them in a freezer bag and return to the freezer. This will keep the berries from sticking together while freezing.

Peaches, Plums, Apricots and Nectarines
These fruits are best frozen without the pit. After washing and drying, cut the fruit in half and remove the pit. Apricots and plums are good frozen halved. Peaches and nectarines can be good frozen halved or can be sliced.

Apples and Pears
Slice apples and pears before freezing. Mix 2 tablespoons lemon juice with 1-cup water and soak sliced fruit in the mixture. Remove and dry before freezing. This will prevent slices from turning brown.

Tip 1:
Over ripe fruit can be pureed and frozen in small amounts to be later used as topping for deserts or added to sauces and glazes.
Tip 2:
Frozen chunks or slices of fruit are great to use in smoothies.

How to Make a Basic French White Sauce (Roux)

There are many time you want to make a lighter sauce or gravy with a meal. Here is a recipe that has been around for quite a while...

White sauce (Béchamel) is what the French refer to as a "mother sauce." It is a basic sauce that is ideal for bringing out the flavor of delicate dishes. Also known as white sauce, béchamel goes well with vegetables and chicken and fish dishes. This sauce is not as common today as it once was, but it is still ideal for certain dishes. And some of the old recipes are worth trying.
Combining a fat with flour is a "roux" and is the base for other French white sauces -

The first one is the basic Béchamel.

Makes about 2 cups
· 2 tablespoons Butter
· 3 tablespoons Flour
· 2 cups Milk
· 1/4 teaspoon Salt
· Pinch White pepper

Directions
1. Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook the flour-butter mixture (roux) for 1-2 minutes, or until it turns a light blond color. Do not brown.
2. Whisk in the cold milk all at once. Continue whisking until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce to low heat and stir in the salt, pepper. Simmer for 15-30 minutes. And there you have it!

Variations
You can add any of the following to make it specific.

· Cream sauce: used with vegetables, fish, chicken or eggs.
Stir 1/2 cup of heavy cream and a squeeze of lemon juice into 2 cups of the basic béchamel.

· Creamy onion sauce: goes well with fish and poultry.
Slowly sauté about 1 pound of sliced white onions in some butter until they wilt completely. Do not allow them to brown. Add 2 cups of the basic béchamel.
Cover and simmer slowly about 20-30 minutes. Puree, strain through a sieve and serve.

· Cheese sauce: used for vegetables, gratins, macaroni (Mac and Cheese), eggs and hors d'oeuvres.
Stir 1/4 to 1/2 cup of grated or crumbled cheese into 2 cups of hot basic béchamel until it is completely melted. Cheeses to use are Parmesan, Swiss, cheddar, or blue cheese.
Note: Make sure not to bring it to a boil or it will be stringy.

· Mustard sauce: used with fish or ham.
Mix in 2-4 tablespoons of Dijon or other mustard to 2 cups of the basic béchamel.

· Tomato cream sauce: used with vegetables, fish, chicken or eggs.
Whisk 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste into 2 cups of the basic béchamel. 

How to Make Meat/Poultry Gravy

Although it is fairly simple to make, many home cooks have a difficult time making flavorful, smooth gravy. With a little practice, you can turn out homemade gravies in as little as 10 minutes. It is the perfect touch to complete your dinner. Besides, who doesn't like gravy?

When you bake a roast, turkey or chicken, there should be juice in the bottom of the baking pan. Pan juice is the most important ingredient in meat/poultry-based gravy.

After you have removed your meat from the pan, pour the pan juice into a saucepan.

Here is what you will need-

· 2 tablespoons flour
· 1 cup cold water
· 1 to 1½ cups of meat juice from baking pan
· Salt and pepper to taste

Making the Gravy

Tip: When mixing the cold water and flour, use a shaker container to mix. Shake for at least 30 seconds to thoroughly mix. It is important that you use cold water. Hot water will cause the flour to lump.

Do not turn the heat under the pot just yet. I found if you mix the juice and the flour mixture first, then add the heat you are less likely to get lumps.
Add the flour mixture very slowly stirring continuously. Put saucepan on stove and use med heat. Bring to a boil then simmer for 2 minutes. This helps take away the raw flour taste.
Add salt and pepper.

Not so hard, right? Well here is a little tip I use myself.

Turkey Gravy Using juice for making gravy is really simple, but what happens when you don't have the time to wait for the drippings?
Turkey is usually for a large dinner plan. To help cut down the last minute rush of trying to get everything ready to serve, you can use the neck and giblets (pieces in pouch) before hand to make the gravy.
All you need to do is simmer them in a saucepan of water for an hour, then strain the juice. You can do this ahead of time and let it cool. Then, follow the steps in the meat-broth recipe.

Brand new to Cooking...here is one basic lesson

Years ago, I remember being away from home and my husband calling asking me how to cook a TV dinner... his words were "How do you light the oven?" well needless to say panic set in and that is when I decided to teach him a few basic things to cook. So I will start with the simplest thing I can think of... boiling eggs.

How long does it take to boil eggs?

It depends on the size and the way you want to eat them. Eggs come in small, medium, large, extra large and jumbo sizes. The boiling times listed are for large and extra large. If you are boiling a smaller egg, reduce the times listed by one to two minutes. If you are boiling jumbo, increase the times listed by one to two minutes.
Put the eggs into a saucepan. Add enough water to cover by at least one inch. Heat the water until it comes to a boil.

Hard Boiled
Boil for 5 to 7 minutes.

Soft Boiled
Boil for 2 to 3 minutes.

How to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs
Once the eggs have boiled. Run cold water in the pot with the eggs until they are cool. The cold water will not only cool them off, it was also stop the cooking process. Keep the eggs in the pot of water.
Take one out and gently rap the wide (bottom) part against a hard surface, this part of the egg usually holds the air and will make it easy to start the peeling. Remove all the shell and dip back into the pot to remove any small pieces that you may have missed. Set on paper towel to dry.

Note:
Organic Eggs
Some notice a taste difference with organic eggs, particularly those that are unpasteurized, but extra care must be taken to thoroughly cook unpasteurized eggs, which may contain higher levels of dangerous bacteria than eggs that have been pasteurized.