Beurre Manie…It’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

Ever hear this? “Mom, where’s the gravy?” Especially around the holidays with servings of mashed potatoes, is there any excuse to NOT serve gravy? Well actually there is and it’s usually the fact that you were working against the clock and the gravy would have been to thin to serve anyway. Still, what’s the point of a mashed potato volcano without the gravy?


Here’s a little trick (I assume the French invented it but would probably not approve of it's use anymore); buerre manie (pronounced burr man yay…you can add a bit of snootiness if you want) which translates roughly as “hand butter”. Every one has thickened a sauce, soup or stew using flour or Wondra. But that method leaves the gravy tasting of raw flour. Maybe the volcano maker won’t notice but the other family and guests will. Beurre manie is a simple concoction of equal parts by weight of butter and flour. Notice I said by “weight”. I’m not an expert but why I believe this method works so well is that the flour has time to absorb the butter and the heat from your hands while making it helps. Just put the flour and butter into a bowl and get your hands in there and mix it. After a good mix, the buerre manie should be pliable enough to roll into small balls (about ½ the size of a ping pong ball). These beurre manie balls can be refrigerated or frozen in a sealed container and brought out in an emergency; like when your husband is carving the turkey and you have 5 minutes to make a gravy out of the drippings. Drop one or two into your drippings or stock and boil away quickly. The beurre manie dissolves and thickens the sauce like magic.


One more thing…kids love making it. They love to get their hands dirty and form the little balls. Just make sure their hands aren’t dirty before. LOL It’s a great family project for a rainy afternoon and if they mess it up, who cares? Start the fun over again. Isn't it worth a stick of butter to see them have so much fun?

Spin Class for the Poor

OK, so you don’t have to be poor to follow this advice.  Maybe you just don’t have room on the shelf for another kitchen gadget?  The gadget I’m talking about is a salad spinner.  If you don’t know what one is, it’s a spinner to get the water off your lettuce after you wash it.  And yes, even bagged lettuce needs to be washed unless you enjoy salmonella and e. coli.  On that pleasant thought…  A salad spinner works great and keeps your salads crisp and fresh…no standing water on the bottom of the bowl.  It also works great with herbs like parsley and cilantro when you’ve washed it and need to chop it dry. 

The problem is, a salad spinner is about the size of a large cooking pot.  Simple solution…use a pillow case.  Go out and buy yourself a pillow case that will be dedicated to kitchen greens only.  Please don’t take the pillowcase from the guestroom and use that.  You can buy specialized bags from gourmet markets too but a simple white pillowcase will do the same thing.  Put your lettuce, parsley, cilantro, whatever inside then step out your back door and swing that thing around.  The greens will come out like they just…well…went through a salad spinner.  When you’re finished, turn it inside out and let it dry.  Then fold it up and put it in a drawer for next time.  When you need to wash it, do it in the sink with dishwashing liquid, not the washing machine.  Try it and enjoy your better tasting salads!

Quick and Easy Apricot Pepper Glaze

Here’s is a quick recipe that you can use for pork loin or chicken. Sure you can buy this in the store but, as always, it’s better and cheaper if you make it yourself. But a jar of apricot jam (you can substitute any jam you want if you don’t like apricot…weirdo…jk). While you’re there buy a red jalapeño and a green jalapeño. And if you don’t stock vodka make an appointment with your psychiatrist and then buy a bottle.

1 jar apricot jam (any jam will do)
1 red jalapeño
1 green jalapeño
10 whole peppercorns
½ shot of vodka

Dice the jalapeños and place in bowl with the peppercorns and vodka. Stir in the jam and return to jar and refrigerate if not using immediately. You should be able to fit almost all the jam back in the original jar. Eat the rest if you want but spit out the peppercorns. Make sure you label the jar so your 6-year-old doesn’t make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with it. If he does…milk or yogurt, stat!

This makes a great glaze for a pork loin or roast chicken. Apply liberally a few times during cooking.

Music to listen to while preparing this: