For many years Thanksgiving was celebrated at my parent’s house, Christmas was celebrated at my sister’s house and Easter became our holiday after I got married.  I’ll never forget the very first year I became the Easter hostess and I know the kitchen curtains and drain in the sink won’t either.

I’m not sure what I was thinking, but in those early years of entertaining I would wear myself out in an attempt to make everything as perfect as I possibly could.  I remember cleaning every speck of dirt I could find and washing and pressing all the curtains and waxing the kitchen floor and washing all the throw rugs.  By the time the holiday arrived I was almost too tired to stay awake and enjoy our guests.

Finally our first Easter had arrived.  I had been a homemaker for almost a year so I was hoping to impress my guests with my culinary skills.  I remember my mother-in-law being the first to arrive.  It was sort of nerve racking as she was a very good cook.  Shortly after her arrival my parents came through the door and I knew the rest of our guests would not be far behind so I decided it would be a great time to begin my gravy.  I sent both my mother and my mother-in-law into the dining room so I had plenty of room in our small kitchen to do what I needed to do.  I remember both ladies offering advice on gravy making and I remember quite clearly that they both agreed using the potato water would be the thing to do.  Well, that threw a wrench in my plans.  Hmmm, should I listen or just go with the plan I had in place before they arrived.  I decided I better give the potato water a try as I didn’t want these more experienced cooks to think I thought I knew more than them so I filled my Tupperware shaker 3/4’s full of the hot steamy potato water and added about 3/4’s cup of corn starch.  I put the little blending wheel at the top and then snapped the lid in place.  I took hold of that innocent container and began to shake it.  What happened next was one of the biggest shocks I have ever encountered.  The shaker EXPLODED spewing hot potato water with corn starch chunks all over my clean, perfectly pressed kitchen curtains!! I would most likely never forget hot liquid in a Tupperware shaker was not a good idea so I opted to not jot down any notes for future gravy endeavors provided there were some.

Once my heart rate returned to a somewhat normal pace I opted to put Plan B in motion. It was the original plan I had for the gravy and there were no voices attempting to talk me out of it after witnessing what had just happened.  I remember giving the shaker a second chance but this time I was using cold milk.  We were both still a little tense when I started the shaking process but everything went fine and before I knew it, the milk and corn starch were perfectly blended and ready to pour into the turkey drippings waiting in the saucepan.  Everything blended so nicely.  As the gravy began to cook it took on an impressive smooth, velvety appearance with absolutely no lumps.  This gravy was surely going to impress those two experienced cooks in the other room.    I needed to smooth things over as I was worried they were still in a bit of shock due to all the screaming they heard when the first attempt blew up.

I remember pouring this glorious gravy into a bowl but before I sat it on the table I remember getting the salads and relish trays out of the refrigerator.   About then, the rest of the family arrived so we got distracted for a few minutes and when I came back to the kitchen to grab the gravy I noticed something very strange.  Liquids slosh around and this gravy was liquid but it wasn’t sloshing. I found this very odd so I made an attempt to “dip” my finger into it and I discovered a problem.  Apparently 3/4th’s of a cup of corn starch is perhaps just a bit too much for gravy unless you’re making enough for 75 people.  During the time lapse from saucepan to bowl my gravy had turned into a solid mass much like the consistency of jellied cranberries!  I surely wouldn’t be able to serve it unless my guests were open to eating a slice of gravy so I made an attempt to dump it down the drain!  Dump it, yeah right!  I had to cut it in small pieces before the drain would even consider swallowing it!

Everyone survived our first Easter dinner including me.  Everyone was fine without gravy that year.  I switched to flour as my thickening agent and we’ve gotten along very well.  I still have some corn starch in the cupboard but the chances of me using it again are quite slim.  As for the boiling hot potato water, I effortlessly dump it down the drain every time I make gravy! I’m sure you can understand.