Hep! I need hep, dagnabbit.

[hippywife]

Not immediately because dinner is over and it was really good, but not what I was going for. I made boneless pork chops with a pan gravy, mashed baby red potatoes with garlic, yogurt, and parm cheese, and asparagus. We both loved it, but my memories were naggin' at me.

I think I've mentioned before that my mom used to make city chicken (cubes of pork, beef, and veal on a skewer) and pork chops in a pan gravy that browned very deeply and some of it kind of coagulated and stuck to the meat. I don't know how else to describe that.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about and can tell me exactly how to accomplish this gravy? My mom is no longer around, so I would be deeply in your debt if you can help me figure this out. I can't ask my sisters because none of them really cook.

:hi:

ETA: This is the recipe I used tonight thinking it would come close, but it didn't.

http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2009/02/how-to-make-pork-chops-with-pan-sauce/

[grasswire]

1. is it possible that she used that kitchen bouquet stuff?

Or something like that? It was common back in the day.

[hippywife]

2. She might have, but

does that effect only the color, or also the consistency? :shrug:

How ya doin, m'dear? :hi:

[grasswire]

7. I'm okay, thanks for asking.

A zillion things to do. Press releases are out and the response from the community is vibrant and warm. I'm blown away. People even want to volunteer to help but that's something I'll have to think about. (You have to be diplomatic to volunteers and that takes time.) I have a pie tasting scheduled for the 9th in the neighborhood church. Gadzooks, I'm keeping a guest list so I know how much pie to need.

On top of all this, now we have to move. Our host wants to put his parents in this little apartment for a few months to see if they like the climate here.

Whee!

How 'bout you?

[hippywife]

8. Sounds like a whirlwind!

I'm going through something similar, but at least I don't have to worry about a brick and mortar situation like you do. I'm so sorry he backed out on the location. That must be extremely panic-making.

I hope you get a little smooth sailing ahead of you. :hug:

[grasswire]

9. I'm going to miss the turkeys and the tomatoes

But not the noisy tree frogs. :-)

[hippywife]

10. OMG! I thought you were talking about the pie shop location.

That is a real drag having to move from the farmette! I know you will miss it. I hope you find something that you like as well, if not better.

Aw, hon...what a real drag. Once again, I wish we lived closer so I could be of some help. :hi:

I love the tree frogs. They sing me to sleep at night and have a much better melody than crickets.

[grasswire]

11. I have found a place, if they approve the application

No farmette, but it does have a duck pond next door and a raccoon living in a tree and is on a dead-end street. Funny how a city person can develop a taste for more view and birds.

[hippywife]

20. Well, I'm glad that at least

you won't be stuck in town in an apartment. :hug:

I just couldn't live that way anymore. I did for so many years until I married Bill and moved here. After 14 years in a rural area, it would be horrible!

[Arkansas Granny]

12. Kitchen Bouquet doesn't do anything for the consistency, but it sure

improves the color and flavor of my gravies. It only takes a few drops and they are a deep, rich color.

[hippywife]

19. Yeah, I am familiar with it

and I do believe she used it, but I'm not sure about in this dish. I remember buying it myself once long ago, hardly ever used it and never bought it again after it sat in the cabinet for a long time. I'm not actually sure what it even is, what it's made from you know?

:hi:

[mntleo2]

3. I still use Kitchen Bouguet

...it gives the gravy a very rich flavor and makes it a deeper brown as well. Many people ask me my secret because my beef and pork gravies are so good. You don't use much ...a pan might need about 1 T if that.

Also I use the drippings and brown the flour in them before I add any liquids (a beef broth is always nice to use, but with browned flour in the drippings you usually don't need broth just a little kitchen bouquet, it is always good and also adds that rich flavor and those flavorful lumps from the drippings are what my family calls "teh crispies").

I learned how to make gravies from an elder I used to know who was from NOLA, descended from slaves whose grandmother was the "big house" cook. Now that woman could COOK!

Cat in Seattle

[elleng]

4. I can barely imagine how that woman cooked!!!

[Warpy]

5. If you can't find it,

there's Maggi, Vegex, Vegemite, and Marmite. They're all hydrolyzed vegetable protein (usually brewer's yeast) and they all give sauces, soups and gravies a rich, meaty taste and dark brown color. It was one of my favorite vegetarian cheats to fool meat eaters.

[grasswire]

6. did she have a handwritten cookbook by any chance?

That's the kind of stuff I love to read.

[Monique1]

13. I remember my mom making this also

I would think if you coat the meat on the stick with flour fry it and than add some stock to scrap the bits and a little water and make a gravy you might you might be successful. I remember my mom's gravy had mushrooms in it. I can't remember if she used mushroom soup though but I do remember mushrooms. I bet using the golden mushroom soup would make a good gravy but I am not a fan of Campbell's salt laden stuff.

[Monique1]

14. If you figure it out

let me know. Now you are taking me back in time - I won't say how many years because I am aging myself.

My mom made great gravy - you know another thing you could do is make a gravy add the mushrooms and some sour cream. Now you have me thinking - well, the old brain needs to think back in time.

[hippywife]

17. I used to use Golden Mushroom Soup

combined with garlic, Worcestshire, more mushrooms, and cinnamon to make a great mushroom gravy, until I started cooking from scratch. It really was delicious! LOL Now I do make the same from scratch.

And my mother never touched a mushroom. LOL It was plain eating in our house. I never even had Chinese food until I was 18 and went to dinner with a friend, and them it was just plain old Wor Su Gai, nothing adventurous then at all.

I have to hand it to mom, tho, all of her food was delicious and she never used a can of soup to make anything.

However, I think you totally hit on my problem. I didn't dredge the meat first, I just fried it in the bacon fat. That is, I believe, where I missed the boat.

Thanx, Monique!

:hi:

[mntleo2]

22. I collect those cookbooks

...you know the ones with the plastic spiral backing that churches, civic groups and sometimes family reunions make? Since nobody else thinks to collect them I find them all the time. They are often very inexpensive at garage sales and other places, less than a dollar. My favorite one was a New Orleans church cook book with lots of household and cooking hints, medical recipes, little sayings, poetry and some awesome recipes (I got a dessert recipe from there that my family would KILL me if I didn't make it every year for Easter dinner) ...man it was the BEST cookbook ~ and then I lost it. :(

Why I like collecting these books is because they can be regional (a place to find a good chowder or a praline) and have recipes handed down from older generations. They often have the old recipes such as casseroles like my mom and her neighbors used to make that you can't find now, desserts that you never see anymore, beverage mixes, you name it. For instance Mom used to make this "chow mein" casserole that she topped it with Chinese noodles and I found it in an old church book. The best thing about this casserole was it tasted even BETTER the next day, when it already tasted wonderful the first time. She also used to make a salad she called "Glorified Rice". She and many of her friends have been gone for decades but I have found almost all their recipes in my collection. Those cook books often have that comfort food I remember eating at church potlucks, community gatherings and with neighbors.

Pee Ess, Those cook books often make wonderful before-bed reading or just casual reading they can be a fun place to get ideas. Right now the book I use the most is a 30-year-old collection from a local 4 H club that is quite large and often has several versions of the same recipe, but the Swedish Baptist church cookbook is also a favorite (wonderful desserts) as well as the Tiawanese church cookbook I found at a rummage sale a few years ago.

Cat

[yellerpup]

15. At a loss here, kiddo.

The only way I know how to get a gravy THAT dark brown is to caramelize onions (and cook some onion skins with them--to be retrieved before serving) and use a sturdy beef broth for the gravy. I too would love to know the secret if you find it! :hi:

[hippywife]

18. I think Monique hit on it.

I didn't dredge the meat first so I didn't get a good fond. I'm going to have to try this again and see if that's it, but I believe it is.

:loveya:

[yellerpup]

21. The fond is what makes the gravy.

No doubt about it. :loveya:

[yellerpup]

16. At a loss here, kiddo.

The only way I know how to get a gravy THAT dark brown is to caramelize onions (and cook some onion skins with them--to be retrieved before serving) and use a sturdy beef broth for the gravy. I too would love to know the secret if you find it! :hi:

[Warpy]

23. Could she have floured those chops

and let the flour thicken the pan juices as they collected?

My mother used to do a similar thing with cube steaks.