Something different - hard apple cider gravy/sauce for Turkey, pork, fish.
One of my November 2017 recipes for Beyond Celiac, originally National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.
Hard Apple Cider Gravy, makes about 3 cups (750ml)
I grew up on what is known as just 'cider' in England, English and Irish brands are now being sold in US and in New England we have quite a few cider makers. Every cider tastes different depending on apple variety used, some are sweet, some dry, some even effervesce (bubble) so every gravy will taste different. I can buy a six pack of Woodchuck Amber Cider for $9.99 in my local store, so quite a reasonable price. With hard apple cider you do need to check that it says gluten free on bottle or on web site. For some unknown reason some cider makers ferment the cider with barley so it's no longer naturally gluten free. Hard apple cider is definitely alcoholic and goes down very easily so you don't notice the effect of the alcohol when you drink it. I've always drunk hard apple cider in preference to beer and cook with it.
Use this as a different gravy at Thanksgiving, serve with ham, pork, sausages, even fish and with the butternut squash, bacon, onion bread pudding/strata I make. You can make this a few days in advance of Thanksgiving without thickening with cornstarch, refrigerate, then reheat and thicken when you want it. Sauces thickened with corn starch can be quite lumpy when reheated from the fridge.
pretty, pretty china. Rosenthal.
2 x 12 oz (2 x 375ml) bottles or cans of hard apple cider.
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely crushed
1 tbsp (15 ml) butter
1 tbsp (15ml) neutral oil
3/4 c (180 ml) cream
1 tbsp (15 ml) gf cornstarch (UK cornflour) mixed with 2 tbsp (30ml) water.
1/2 tsp (3 ml) gf chicken stock concentrate - I often use this as a way of adding seasoning not just salt to sauces.
fresh pepper
2 tbsp (30ml) chopped fresh parsley plus stalks
4 sage leaves - fresh or dried
1-2 tbsp (15-30 ml) maple syrup -optional if needed
hard apple cider gravy poured over my butternut squash, bacon and onion bread pudding/strata.
1. Gently cook onion and garlic with butter and oil in 1 quart (1litre) saucepan until very soft and only slightly golden.
2. Add cider, some stalks of parsley and sage leaves and let mix simmer for 10-20 minutes until reduced to about 2 cups (500 ml). The higher the heat the quicker it reduces so watch that it doesn't boil away to nothing. This is known as a reduction (really a concentration). Note that if you reduce a salt containing mix the final sauce can be quite salty, if you reduce a cream containing sauce then the fat content per serving will be higher.
3. Add cream and stock concentrate, very light grinding of pepper and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Taste sauce. If too tangy for you or family add maple syrup. Remove parsley stalks and sage leaves.
5. Add cornstarch slurry, bring to the boil, simmer for 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens and raw cornstarch flavor is cooked out.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings, add chopped fresh parsley for color.
