Thursdays are the days that I keep open for exploring the city, visiting museums, watching tv, or generally just doing whatever I want. Monday – Wednesday I try to get productive stuff done, but Thursday is for fun. With that in mind, I offered to make a big Thanksgiving dinner for Trenton and me on Thursday. I love to cook, so spending hours slaving over a hot stove is actually my idea of a fun, relaxing day. Before Trenton left for work that morning, we planned a delicious meal and I prepared to go to the store. Then, I finished my coffee, forgot the entire conversation and went to the photography exhibit at the Rijksmuseum instead. I am not a morning person.

On Friday, I had brussel sprouts roasting in the oven, yeast rolls rising in the laundry room (warm + moist), green beans sautéing, potatoes boiling, the works. The crown jewel was this shallot gravy, the recipe for which I pulled completely out of my ass, making its deliciousness all the more satisfying.

2-3 shallots sliced finely
some butter
some flour
some milk
a salt bomb (bouillon cube)
dash oregano
splash soy sauce
pepper
water

The basis for this gravy (and all gravies, if I remember my Food Network properly) is a roux. A roux is just butter and flour, and although it’s not difficult, it is one of those basics of cooking that is hard to describe and you really just need to learn by doing. Heat up some butter, add some flour and go to town. You’ll figure it out quickly enough. Once your roux is a nice color, add the shallots and cook them down until your mixture is pretty sticky and caramelized. Add a bit of milk to deglaze the pan, and then add the salt bomb, oregano, a splash of soy sauce. Add more milk every 30 seconds or so until it’s the texture/consistency you want. Towards the end, I thinned out the gravy with some water, but you don’t have to. Season to taste with fresh ground pepper and serve over mashed potatoes as an apology to your grateful boyfriend.