Yes, Wondra is good for lump-free gravy, because it’s pre-gelatinized. (Beurre manie is another work-around.)
Bur you can also stick an immersion blender in anything that’s not smooth enough to fix it (gravy, bechamel, all those pesky roux things).
What a wonderful kindness for your friends!
I have always kept a stash of Wondra. It’s actually just precooked flour that’s been finely ground up - pregelatinized. Laughed when I read that Eric Ripert uses it. Works like a charm.
My gravy starter: I was very careful and it happened again. Past years no problem. All I can think of this time I used a deep SS skillet. I strained it in my tamis but there are still tiny bits of flour. Tomorrow maybe I’ll keep the lights dim and no one will notice. Should both not be hot? Butter and broth?
In the past I used Berndes pot but whisking can ruin finish. I do have a silicone (?) whisk.
Yes. One friend took it home later, was going to have it with his family today. I hope he didn’t try heating it up, maybe would just dry it out.
I haven’t heard yet.
I have Wondra but didn’t use it; I felt pretty confident it’d come out right on 2nd try.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll whiz it with immersion blender.
I never use hot liquid when making gravy (or any other roux-based sauce), but that’s more out of laziness than anything else - I see no reason to heat up the liquid when it’s going to get hot in the saucepan. Not sure whether this helps avoid lumps or not, but my feeling is that it may - the flour won’t gelatinize as fast when the liquid is cold, so you’ll have more time to stir/whisk before lumps form.
A nice day-before-Thanksgiving today spent with my aunt, puttering, shopping, cooking, hanging out.
Prepped all the sides except the mashed potatoes (my 2 cousins like to argue every year about who makes better mashed potatoes; my aunt finds it charming, though I try every year to convince her that we should make the mashed potatoes ahead of time so we can skip the jockeying):
— Gravlax, rinsed, sliced, and plated (double batch with half frozen for my aunt for later, because she didn’t get any last year)
— Stuffing balls made (yum!) and par-cooked, will be crisped up and browned when reheated
— Green beans blanched, ready to reheat and butter
— Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, and seasoned, ready to roast
— Butternut and acorn squash cut up and seasoned with garlic, curry powder, and cumin, ready to roast
— Base for gravy made, waiting for turkey drippings and beurre manie
— Breadcrumbs for bread sauce / white gravy made
Interesting twist for the year (there is always one of late) is that my aunt had decided to skip Brussels sprouts “because they are a Christmas side” — except that we have eaten them every Thanksgiving for the past 30 years. Also the surprise substitution of roasted squash — which we never have.
We had to make a quick store trip so I picked up the sprouts, but I can’t wait to tell my cousins about this tomorrow and enjoy their reactions 
.
(Last year’s “interesting twist” was that my aunt decided “no one likes stuffing”. True, no one likes the fussy, fruity, recipe-from-Gourmet stuffing that was standard for years, but everyone loves faux-stovetop stuffing balls — there are never any leftovers! I was about to panic-text my cousin to make an emergency store run for stuffing mix, but it turned out that my aunt had bought the stuffing mix, she just though we didn’t need to actually make it.)
I didn’t know brussels sprouts had whiskers. Have a great Turkey day!
Very unconventional year here, with my brother and SIL out of town. Instead, Turkey Dinner for myself and mom, and her shut-in friend whose family has mostly abandoned her (long story, completely terrible.) I’ll cook it all here, and then we’ll make the five-min drive over to the friend’s.
Turkey breast
Mashed potatoes
Local corn I froze this summer
Hopefully gravy - I saved the drippings from last year and defrosted them
Glazed carrots
and
Homemade pumpkin roll which I’ll make in the morning. I’ve never made one, but it shouldn’t be hard.
2nd this
Roll it in a dish towel while the cake is still hot, I’ve heard, and let it cool that way. Avoids cracking later.
yeah, i’ve made other swiss rolls. they’re never as pretty as in cookbooks, but that’s ok 
Oh, whoops, misread that.
Bless you and your mother for being her friends.
I really should have tasted a tiny bit. Will have my own tomorrow.
My friend just called with a report: Late night after he closed his market, driving home on the freeway, he ate the wing.
Today with his wife and 4 kids (only one is still in high school) that half turkey made 6 good sandwiches with mayo, mustard, my Bourbon cranberry sauce. Everyone thought the turkey was perfect.
I think he’s going to try that recipe for Christmas dinner.
Cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes done for tomorrow, tart baked for Friday (made frangipane on Monday; made pâte sucrée, rolled and put in tart pan and into freezer and made cranberry sauce on Tuesday; baked tart and did sweet potatoes today). All I need to do tomorrow is prep, roast, sand dress Brussels sprouts. Which reminds me, I need to ask my mother to pick a lemon earlier in the day. For her part, she’ll bake a pumpkin pie and make stuffing (dressing) and gravy. She has decided as of this year that she’d rather buy the pricey (but very good) turkey stock from the fancy food shop than buy turkey parts and do it herself. She’s in her 80s, so she’s entitled!
A quite reasonable $3.50 per head at Donato & Co. , where desserts are mostly $14.
That looks fabulous! What a great menu. Afiyet olsun!
2 of my cousins used to sell Pumpkin Roll as a side gig in Pittsburgh during the Holidays. I love it. I never see it in Ontario.
Looks delicious! How many vegans are coming to dinner?
I’m only used to buttery baklava!
