The young woman’s face is pained as a flood of memories of Thanksgiving past surface. Her voice is laced with heartbreak and disappointment as she searches for words and fails to make sense of the information. Her mother labors to strike a conciliatory tone, but she is vacillating. She clearly finds her daughter’s reaction ridiculous. After all, it’s just macaroni and cheese.
I pealed with laughter when I watched this video on social media of the moment when a young woman realizes her mother has been serving their family store bought frozen macaroni and cheese for decades. My treasured childhood food memories were also tainted by similar deceit. Once upon a time, a quintessential southern matriarch shared her gravy recipe with my mother, and my mother “shared” it with me [read: when I caught her]. I use the term “recipe” loosely. I actually do not know what to call it, but I can describe it in a single word; delicious. There are no bells or whistles. Just the familiar smell and taste of gravy without a chopped vegetable, pan dripping or roux in sight. I only ask that you spare us more fragile children and either fess up or take this gravy hack to the grave.
Ingredients
1 10 oz can of cream of chicken soup
¼ cup to ½ cup of water – adjust to achieve desired consistency
½ teaspoon of browning & seasoning sauce
Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Whisk thoroughly and warm over medium low heat. Transfer to a gravy boat and serve.
