Everything is Gravy...

     I don't eat gravy very often but I loved the idea of doing a mushroom gravy for Thanksgiving.  The fact that I had a pound of chanterelles sitting in my fridge didn't hurt either... It's chanterelle season here in the Pacific Northwest.  If you can get some now, store them in a paper bag in your fridge and they should keep until you want to use them on Thanksgiving.

Mushroom Gravy
1/2 pound fresh chanterelle mushrooms
1/2 large portobello mushroom
1/2 large onion
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed
leaves from 1 sprig rosemary, chopped small
leaves from 3 sprigs thyme
3 C Water
1 C mushroom stock
1 Tbs butter
1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C white wine
Salt and Pepper

Heat mushrooms and onions in a large skillet until onions soften and mushrooms release their juices.  Press garlic into pan and stir to cook it a little.  Add water and herbs, simmer on low, covered for an hour.  Add mushroom stock as water evaporates.  When mushrooms and onions have simmered, remove from heat and purée about half of it using a regular or immersion blender. In a smaller pan, melt the butter.  Add the flour and stir continuously until flour begins to have a cooked, toasty smell (1-3 minutes).  Add the wine a little at a time, stirring until it forms a paste.  Put large skillet back on the heat, and slowly incorporate the flour mixture.  Stir continuously to keep from forming lumps.  Season to taste.

Tips:
This could be easily veganized by substituting margarine or olive oil for the butter.  If you want to try it gluten free, I really like the Bob's Red Mill GF flour, but haven't tried it in this.  If you do, let me know how it goes!  Is corn starch GF?  That would probably work just fine, too and you could probably skip the butter all together...  See how well I research my recipes?

Review:
I could eat a whole pan of this stuff by myself, growling like a dog at anyone else who wandered into the kitchen.  As the lone vegetarian at my table, it really helps add some texture and depth to my plate.  And the meat eaters say it goes well with their dinner, too.  It reheats easily.  Just add a little water before you heat it and it should loosen right up.  A great make-ahead candidate.

I'm sorry.  I really did try to take a picture of the gravy that didn't look like dog food.  You'll have to trust me on this.  It's ugly, but it's Yummy!!