I created this recipe as a way to use up a can of diced stewed tomatoes, and because I've been wanting to try both of the things this sauce evokes: Red-Eye Gravy and Tomato Gravy. For those who don't know, Tomato Gravy is a rich sauce that traditionally has fresh tomatoes and cream in it, as well as various seasonings, onions, and occasionally bell peppers, that's meant to be served on top of grits, rice, biscuits, or cornbread. (Sometimes it comes with shrimp in it too. Delicious.) Red-Eye Gravy is a thinner, meat fat-based sauce that is served atop biscuits or cornbread, more as a condiment, shall we say. It's called "Red-Eye" Gravy because the roux is thinned with coffee instead of milk or broth. So which is my recipe? Both, neither, and definitely its own thing. I don't thing either Red-Eye or Tomato Gravy has ham in it. But I had ham, and ham imparts a tasty flavor, so ham went in it!
Savory Gravy for Cornbread
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 TB flour
less than 1/4 C. chopped ham-- say 1-2 TB?
cooking oil
1/2 to 1 whole onion, chopped (this depends on your appreciation of onions)
1/4 tsp or so instant coffee granules (or 1-2 TB. of strong brewed coffee would probably work, too)
1 TB. Korean BBQ sauce. (In my opinion store-bought Korean BBQ sauce cannot be beat for imbibing a certain meaty je ne sais quoi.)
Heat the oil in the bottom of a small saucepan. When it's hot enough, add in the onions and saute them until they're reasonably soft. (They'll have more time in the pan, so it's not essential that they're limp.) Add in the ham and let it sizzle around for a hot minute, then add in the canned tomatoes, juice and all. Let that simmer at medium to medium-high (depending on your stove-- in other words, super-bubbly but not erupting tomato juice all over your stove top-- which mine totally did) for about 5-8 minutes. Add in the Korean BBQ sauce and the coffee granules/brewed coffee, stirring so that they're well mixed. Add in the flour, stirring rapidly to avoid lumps, 2 tsp. at a time until the sauce is the thickness you like it. Turn the stove down to the low setting and let it simmer and bubble for another 5-10 minutes or so. Serve in generous helpings over some fresh cornbread.
________
I thought I'd pull out the photo album Grandmom put together for me to see if I could find some inspiration there. I did! Sort of.
The first few pages are pictures from my parents' (failed) wedding. By that I mean that the wedding was successful but the marriage was not. Interestingly enough, Grandpop looks like he doesn't know what the hell is going on. Also I note that Grandmom has, with the delicacy of a true archivist, hole-punched straight through the 8x11 deluxe photos to put them in the album. Go Grandmom. She has always liked my mom, and I'm sure she likes my dad, (her son), but it gives me a sort of glee to see hole punches through pictures of them looking...well, not to put too fine a point on it...smug. Or, in my dad's case, like he doesn't know what the hell is going on. Maybe it's genetic?
Heading forward a couple of years or so, there's pictures of "(me) 5 days old". Grandpop definitely looks like he knows what the hell is going on. He is holding a tiny baby. He appears to like it. I appear to like it too, even when the picture shows only a large masculine finger pointing directly at the side of my face (I'm smiling).
2 months later, my new talent appears to be looking accusingly into the camera.
A couple of months later and Grandpop has beaten "Meet the Parents" by decades, trying to give a very confused-looking me a bottle while nestling me close to his hairy chest.
Through it all, Grandmom and Grandpop keep appearing, having taken expensive trips several hundred miles away from where they live, all to come see me. (I was the only grandchild for a long time. I had some serious cousin envy when my Uncle Ron finally settled down!)
My cousins and I all learned to like each other eventually, and somewhere there are pictures of us all playing dress-up together. And, in one memorable instance, me manhandling one of them because of a theatre-related mishap. What can I say? I SPENT ALL AFTERNOON WRITING THAT PLAY ABOUT PRINCESSES. THEY COULD AT LEAST BOTHER TO LEARN THE LINES. Personally, I would be happy if that picture were never seen by human eyes again. I wouldn't even mention the incident except that it was so memorable that my cousins also remember the actual event, and continue to tease me about it. They definitely come from the more laid-back side of the family. Other, fonder, memories also came from that family trip, just to set the record straight.
Savory Gravy for Cornbread
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 TB flour
less than 1/4 C. chopped ham-- say 1-2 TB?
cooking oil
1/2 to 1 whole onion, chopped (this depends on your appreciation of onions)
1/4 tsp or so instant coffee granules (or 1-2 TB. of strong brewed coffee would probably work, too)
1 TB. Korean BBQ sauce. (In my opinion store-bought Korean BBQ sauce cannot be beat for imbibing a certain meaty je ne sais quoi.)
Heat the oil in the bottom of a small saucepan. When it's hot enough, add in the onions and saute them until they're reasonably soft. (They'll have more time in the pan, so it's not essential that they're limp.) Add in the ham and let it sizzle around for a hot minute, then add in the canned tomatoes, juice and all. Let that simmer at medium to medium-high (depending on your stove-- in other words, super-bubbly but not erupting tomato juice all over your stove top-- which mine totally did) for about 5-8 minutes. Add in the Korean BBQ sauce and the coffee granules/brewed coffee, stirring so that they're well mixed. Add in the flour, stirring rapidly to avoid lumps, 2 tsp. at a time until the sauce is the thickness you like it. Turn the stove down to the low setting and let it simmer and bubble for another 5-10 minutes or so. Serve in generous helpings over some fresh cornbread.
________
I thought I'd pull out the photo album Grandmom put together for me to see if I could find some inspiration there. I did! Sort of.
The first few pages are pictures from my parents' (failed) wedding. By that I mean that the wedding was successful but the marriage was not. Interestingly enough, Grandpop looks like he doesn't know what the hell is going on. Also I note that Grandmom has, with the delicacy of a true archivist, hole-punched straight through the 8x11 deluxe photos to put them in the album. Go Grandmom. She has always liked my mom, and I'm sure she likes my dad, (her son), but it gives me a sort of glee to see hole punches through pictures of them looking...well, not to put too fine a point on it...smug. Or, in my dad's case, like he doesn't know what the hell is going on. Maybe it's genetic?
Heading forward a couple of years or so, there's pictures of "(me) 5 days old". Grandpop definitely looks like he knows what the hell is going on. He is holding a tiny baby. He appears to like it. I appear to like it too, even when the picture shows only a large masculine finger pointing directly at the side of my face (I'm smiling).
2 months later, my new talent appears to be looking accusingly into the camera.
A couple of months later and Grandpop has beaten "Meet the Parents" by decades, trying to give a very confused-looking me a bottle while nestling me close to his hairy chest.
Through it all, Grandmom and Grandpop keep appearing, having taken expensive trips several hundred miles away from where they live, all to come see me. (I was the only grandchild for a long time. I had some serious cousin envy when my Uncle Ron finally settled down!)
My cousins and I all learned to like each other eventually, and somewhere there are pictures of us all playing dress-up together. And, in one memorable instance, me manhandling one of them because of a theatre-related mishap. What can I say? I SPENT ALL AFTERNOON WRITING THAT PLAY ABOUT PRINCESSES. THEY COULD AT LEAST BOTHER TO LEARN THE LINES. Personally, I would be happy if that picture were never seen by human eyes again. I wouldn't even mention the incident except that it was so memorable that my cousins also remember the actual event, and continue to tease me about it. They definitely come from the more laid-back side of the family. Other, fonder, memories also came from that family trip, just to set the record straight.
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