Turkey Gravy

The Best Turkey Gravy

I am of the opinion that the very best Turkey Gravy is made from the renderings of a Roasted Turkey that was seasoned and brined.  So hopefully you followed my Turkey Brine recipe or at least made one before you cooked your bird because this gravy recipe depends on it.  There aren’t many additional ingredients to this recipe because most of the ingredients are already there, cooked into the turkey.  So, if you’re getting exhausted and you’re looking for an amazing gravy recipe that is easy to prepare… this is the recipe for you!

Traditional vs. Gourmet Turkey Gravy

Traditional Turkey Gravy is made virtually the same with only a few subtle differences.  Gourmet gravy has flavors most folks don’t think about that profoundly effect the flavor, like citrus.  Some use lemon… I use orange, some use sherry or wine… I use beer but either way, these all produce gravy that is out of this world.  All of the other ingredients, as I mentioned before, come from the marination of the brine and the added ingredients to the roasted bird.

My Roasted Turkey, for example, is stuffed with onion, oranges and seasoned butter stuffed under the skin of the breast meat.  These ingredients, cooked down in the oven, produce drippings that create the most wonderful flavor and that’s why we use it to make gravy.  Traditional gravy uses this method as well only the gravy base is usually started with butter and flavor to make a roux.  You can do that too, if your prefer, but I keep the flour out of my recipe and I use a small amount of corn starch instead, to thicken the gravy.  I also often start my gravy recipes with bacon grease instead of the butter, because that adds more flavor as well.  Other than the addition of the fruit, tomato and rosemary, everything else is basically the same.  It’s also common to make a stock, using the turkey giblets, and add that to the gravy for flavor but that will be up to you.

Turkey Gravy Ingredients:

1 Onion, chopped
2 Oranges, pealed and separated
1 Sprig Rosemary
1/4 cup Cider
Add all of the Roasted Turkey Drippings
1/2 can Beer
2 tbsp Corn Starch, mixed with 2 tbsp water
Salt and Pepper to taste, I use white pepper.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the Turkey Gravy video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy this is to make.

Lime Margarita Frozen and on The Rocks

The Best Lime Margarita

The Lime Margarita is, by far, one of my all time favorite cocktails.  It’s the basic foundation for all Margaritas, from Strawberry to Mango and even a fantastic Watermelon or Blueberry Margarita because you’ve got to add Lime.  So starting out with that foundation, I’m going to show you a real simple and basic way to make a frozen Margarita and a Margarita on the Rocks using my Lime Margarita Mixer recipe.

Virgin Lime Margarita

If you want to make a virgin Lime Margarita, it’s easy to do.  Just leave the Tequila and Liqueur(Triple Sec) out.  Triple Sec provides an orange flavor that helps balance out the bitter taste in the drink, so I would recommend adding orange juice to the mix, instead.  If you didn’t get a chance to read the Lime Margarita Mixer Recipe I posted, you should because there are a lot of different things you can do to tweak your Margarita’s until they are absolutely perfect for you.

When it comes to Tequila, you’re going to drink what you can afford or what you’re willing to pay for.  But, like any Alcohol, the quality goes up the more money you’re willing to spend and a Lime Margarita is no exception.  This drink gets better with higher quality booze.  Personally I land right in the middle.  When I buy cheap, I regret it and I regret it bad.  My personal favorite is Cazadorez, which runs around $30 a 5th.  Which, of course compared to the almighty Patron, is a great price.  But I’d be lucky to see a bottle of either one of those even on my birthday.  Cuervo is alright but I really don’t prefer it.  For the same price and in this video I used Lunazul.  I’m not affiliated with them and I don’t make a dime for talking about, for or against any of these brands, it’s just my personal opinion.  So you do what you want and my the Margarita Gods smile upon you!

Lime Margarita Ingredients:

1/2 cup ice
2 oz Tequila
1 1/2 oz Triple Sec
3 oz Lime Margarita Mixer

1 1/2 oz Amaretto, optional for Italian Lime Margarita

Cream of Mushroom Soup

The Best Cream of Mushroom Soup

This Cream of Mushroom Soup is amazing and I’m not just saying that.  I’ve been a huge fan of this soup since I was very young and, like many of you, I love mushrooms and I know a fantastic recipe when I taste one.  It’s got that perfect sweet creaminess and mushroom flavor that you would expect this soup to have and it can be made in just a matter of minutes.  There’s several different ways you can prepare this soup and I’m going to share some information that will completely change the texture of your recipe.

Mushroom Soup Mushrooms

If you’re wondering what kind of mushrooms you should use to make your Mushroom Soup, don’t sweat it.  Just use what’s available to you.  I decided to keep it simple, so I chose to buy White Button Mushrooms, but you could probably get away with anything healthy and edible.  But, unless you’re looking to trip, I would highly recommend staying away from anything psychedelic.

How you cut the mushrooms, however, seems to make all the difference in the world with the actual texture of the soup.  In the video tutorial I chop them in a food processor because it’s convenient, faster and less to clean up.  But, the over all outcome of the Mushroom Soup changes, in both look and texture, vs. traditionally chopping the buttons by hand.  Chopping them by hand leaves the soup more white and creamy.  Blending them gives the soup a Cookies and Cream look with speckles of dark spots, from the chopped gills of the mushrooms, in the soup.  This is also what gives the Mushroom Soup a real nice and different texture than you might be use to but I really think you’ll like it.

Cream of Mushroom Soup Ingredients:

8 oz Mushrooms, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups Beef Broth
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 dash Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste