Make Ahead Gravy

Making your gravy for Christmas Dinner is such a time saver and certainly helps out with clean up that day, that nobody wants to do! 

I have done this before but this time, I added vegetables and fresh herbs for a richer taste. The Rosemary was clipped from my plant that I had transplanted in the fall.

A base of roughly chopped carrots, garlic clove and onions were put into a Cast iron pan. Celery and bacon can also be added. 
I had picked up a couple of packages of organic chicken legs to roast.  

Drizzle with Olive oil.   Season with Pepper and Star Anise or Chinese Five spice.  Star Anise is star shaped and very fragrant, as is the Chinese Five spice, so go easy!

Roast at a high temperature 400 degrees for about an hour or until golden brown!  The best part of this recipe is that you now have supper ready!  And the house smells like Christmas!

Mash up the vegetables with a fork.  I also used a hand blender to puree the vegetables.  The mixture was strained and about a litre of hot water added to the mixture.  I made a roux of butter and flour (using 3 tablespoons) of each to thicken the gravy. 

As is my husband's way of doing gravy, he sautéed finely chopped onion until soften which is then added to the gravy

The beautifully golden gravy brought memories of my Mom's gravy, but she made on Christmas Day. 

This gravy is frozen until the Christmas turkey is brought out to thaw. Drippings from the bird can be added to the gravy, but I think it's good to go!