# A Happy Accident



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 26, 2005)

Got to share this recipe with all of you.  I was cooking a couple of steaks on the grill yesterday.  In preperation for the meal, we were trying to decide what to have with them.  We decided on smashed spuds and cole slaw.  My daughter Lisa took on the job of making the spuds and gravy.  I maked the cole slaw and got the fire going.  To save time, she used the pressure cooker to cook the spuds, and a can of Spartan brand chicken broth for the gravy.  As it was heating, Lisa (my daughter) tasted the broth and exclaimed "Yuck! This stuff tastes like formaldehyde."

I tasted it and it did have an aromatic presence to it.  Yet the ingredients showed only chicken broth.  I knew that the aromatic oils would soon cook off and so said "I'll fix it."

To that end, I broke a washed stalk of celery into 4 pieces and added them to the broth.  I also sliced 1 carrot thinly and placed the rounds into the pot.  I let everything boil together for about 5 minutes.  Then, I poured the resultant stock through a fine, wire-mesh seive.  Lisa and I ate the partially cooked veggies.  They were yummy.  I tasted the stock.  To my amazement, the combined flavors of the store-brand chicken broth, the celery, and carrot combined to create a mushroom flavor.  It was delicate, but at the same time pronounced.  We thickend it with cornstarch slurry and added a touch of butter.  I will definitely be making that gravy again.  It was arguably the best gravy I ever made.  

The steaks, of course were grilled over the charcoal, and the cole-slaw is a very refreshing favorite around here.  I make it lighter by adding a bit less salad dressing and adding ice-water to the grated cabbage.  Sweeten with a bit of Splenda, add onion, and you have a very tasty slaw.

But even with the steak and everyone's favorite cole slaw, it was agreed that the gravy was the star of the meal.  The smashed spuds were pretty good aas well.  You have to try this gravy.  It will suprize you.  

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## kitchenelf (Mar 26, 2005)

Thanks Goodweed - it is nice when we happen upon a new discovery like this!!!  Thanks for providing the details to "re-enact" your accident


----------

