Dan was a good cook, but his gravy was awful when his mother came for lunch.
She told him to brown the onions first, use the roasting juices and add the right jelly.
He wrote it all down.
His wife asked why he’d ruined a gravy he knew how to make….
Dan cooked Sunday lunch every other week. His roast potatoes were crisp, his vegetables were ready together and he could get everything onto warm plates without shouting for help.
His mother, June, usually brought the gravy.
Everyone said it was wonderful. June said it was nothing special, then made sure there wasn’t any left for people who hadn’t asked early enough.
One Sunday, Dan told her not to bring it. He was doing the whole meal.
His wife, Ellie, said that sounded lovely. She laid the table while he put an onion in a pan.
Aren’t you browning that first?
Dan glanced towards the front door.
Not yet.
June arrived carrying flowers. She left them on the hall table and followed the smell into the kitchen.
Dan stirred a thin, pale liquid.
What’s that?
Gravy.
June put down her handbag.
Not so far, it isn’t.
Dan said perhaps it needed a little more water.
It needs less water. Where are the roasting juices?
He pointed to the tin beside the oven.
Still in there.
June took the spoon. She told him how long to brown the onions and what colour they should be. She tipped the juices into a jug and explained which bits from the tin to scrape in.
Dan found a notebook.
Ellie watched him write.
June asked whether he’d cooked the flour long enough.
How long is long enough?
She told him. Dan wrote the number down.
A little later, he opened the fridge and picked up a jar of strawberry jam.
June stopped stirring.
What are you doing with that?
Giving it a little sweetness. Yours has something sweet in it.
Not strawberry jam.
Raspberry?
Redcurrant jelly. A teaspoon, not half the jar.
Dan opened a fresh line in the notebook.
By lunch, the gravy was rich and smooth. June tasted it and said she had just about rescued it.
Dan thanked her. He said he didn’t know what he’d have done without the advice.
Ellie looked at him across the table.
June enjoyed two helpings. Before she left, she reminded Dan about the onions, the flour and the teaspoon.
He showed her his notes. She corrected one number and went home.
Ellie picked up the notebook.
You knew what you were doing with those potatoes. Why did you make such a mess of the gravy?
Dan put a neat title at the top of the page: MUM’S GRAVY.
She won’t share a recipe. She can’t resist correcting one.
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