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?

Welcome! Bienvenue! Karibu! Benvenuti! Huanying! Bienvenido!...

So what inspired me to start this blog?  Well perhaps the idea was spawned while I was cleaning out my parent’s pantry the other day.  Do you think condensed milk “best used before 2004” is still good?  Or maybe I decided to do it while watching Season 8 of Hell’s Kitchen (only the best reality show on television).  But actually, as I think about it, I really got the idea when I found some incredible bargains on foodstuffs in a store you would never imagine looking in for food.  More on that later.  In fact, it’s a blog.

I’ve always believed that you can work at, write about and generally share knowledge with others about anything you have a passion for.  I have a passion for food, fine dining, and cooking.  It runs in the family.  My dad cooked every now and then.  I cook on a regular basis.  And now my son is studying at the California Culinary Academy (Le Cordon Bleu) in San Francisco.  His mom is a great chef too.  I’ll see if I can talk either of them into writing a few blogs.  In fact, I’d welcome any of you who would like to be guest bloggers.  Just ask.  I plan on writing about twice a week to start.

So what will I write about?  Well this blog will not consist of lengthy stories but rather be short snippets of information; short enough so that you can read it in spite of your hectic schedule.  I’ll still try to interject an occasional amusing anecdote or personal horror story.  I hope to have readers from all over the world so I’ll try to stay as international as possible.  How could I leave pilau or roasted goat out of my blog?  How could I omit our London trip to Gordon Ramsay’s Boxwood Cafe?  Besides, tips about cooking are universal right?

Am I an expert chef?  No way but I have learned enough and practices enough to believe I can be informative and entertaining.  I graduated from French Culinary Skills I, II and III but you’ll hear more common sense info from me than French cooking skills.  As a preview, here are some of the titles of written or soon to be written blogs: “That’s what your Cardamom said last night”, “Beurre Manier…It’s not just for breakfast anymore”, “Spin class for the poor”, “How Pilau?” …and many more.

I have three more important things to tell you. 1) I need to you follow me on this blog so please, please, please if you read it, take a second to click on the “Follow Me” link.  It will help establish this blog’s readership. You can follow publicly or privately.  2) I’m not doing this to make money but I want to disclose that I will do some product placement when appropriate.  I will only promote products/stores that I truly believe in.  It’s invisible to you and helps me only if you click and purchase.  3) I am committed to raising money for my friends who remain in Kenya doing the most difficult jobs in the world; working with orphans.  If you donate to keep me writing, they will also benefit.  See their links at the bottom of my page.

Well there it is.  The start of a beautiful thing?  We’ll see…