Yesterday we offered seven tips to fix gravy that was too thick, too thin, too salty, etc.

So now that you have your perfect gravy, how can you keep it warm?

It’s simple: Use your thermos!

This tip works with gravy made in advance, as well as gravy whipped up just before serving…and the extra gravy in the pot on the stove, that you’re keeping to refill the gravy boat.

Once your gravy is smooth and tasty as you want it, pre-warm the thermos by rinsing it with hot water. Then add the gravy.

It will stay warm for hours!

You can use any thermos that you have—or borrow one.

If you have a thermos carafe that is nice enough to bring to the table, so much the better.

An attractive thermos carafe can come to the table to keep gravy hot throughout the meal (photo Keynis | Amazon).

A lighter-color gravy is made with a blonde roux. Here’s the recipe from Cook Eat Paleo.

[3] For a darker gravy, use a brown roux. Here’s a recipe from Life Love Liz.

Basic gravy is made of three ingredients: butter or other fat, stock or other liquid, and flour to thicken and bind them together. Numerous other ingredients can be used—herbs, giblets, mushrooms, onions, pan drippings, seasonings, etc.

Sounds simple enough; yet of all the foods on the Thanksgiving table, gravy is the one that seems to give cooks the most anxiety.

Forewarned is forearmed. Here are common gravy problems, and how to work around them.
 
 
1. THE GRAVY IS TOO THIN

Note that gravy thickens as it cools, so first consider if you have an issue.

Next, you can let the gravy continue to simmer on the stove top, without a lid. For a quicker fix, use one of these starches:

 
 
2. THE GRAVY IS TOO THICK

Thin it with beef, chicken or vegetable broth, or water. Whisk in the liquid until you have reached the desired consistency.
 
 
3. THE GRAVY IS LUMPY

The way to avoid lumps is to add the flour slowly, so it doesn’t lump. Whisk the gravy constantly as you do this.

A trick is to mix the flour with water or stock before adding it to the gravy. This enables the flour to start dissolving before being added to the gravy, and reduces the chances of lumps forming.

If you do have lumps, however:

 
 
4. THE GRAVY IS TOO SALTY

If it’s lightly oversalted, add a peeled, quartered raw potato and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the potato and taste the gravy. If it’s still too salty:

 
If it’s severely oversalted, the only solution is to increase the quantity. Prepare another batch of gravy without any salt and blend the two batches together.

There’s nothing wrong with light-colored gravy. As you can see from the photos, gravy comes in a range of colors, depending on the recipe.

Most recipes start with a roux (ROO), made by cooking flour in the fat (pan drippings, butter or oil). The roux will be white, blonde or brown, depending on how long it is is cooked; the color determines the color of the gravy.

But if the color of the gravy bothers you, here are two options to darken it:

 
 
6. THE GRAVY IS TOO GREASY

For an immediate fix, skim the fat off the top. If it’s still greasy, top it with a slice of fresh bread to sop up the grease.

If you have more time, chill the gravy. The fat will congeal on the top, making it easy to skim. Then, just reheat and serve.
 
 
7. THE GRAVY COLOR IS TOO LIGHT

While some people plan for 1/2 cup of gravy per person, we recommend that you double it: one cup per person. You don’t want to run out of gravy, and it allows a good supply for leftovers. Plus, it freezes nicely.

Another way to plan ahead is to buy a couple of packets of McCormick turkey gravy mix. Just add water, and in five minutes you have hot gravy.

In a pinch, make more gravy with 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of white wine, 1/2 stick butter. Combine in a saucepan over medium heat, slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of flour, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
 
Have other gravy tips? Let us know!

Other companies don’t even ask: Every week, boxes of food arrive “over the transom*,” as the expression goes.

We also attend dozens of trade shows looking for interesting products, and prowl food stores.

Recently, on the prowl, we came across our Top Pick Of The Week, Jane Bakes. The second pick came over the transom, and the third arrived following an email pitch from the manufacturer.

The theme of this week’s Top Pick is scrumptious cookies you should not miss! Made by in small batches by dedicated artisans, they’re also great for holiday gifting.

The prices range from $6.99 to $15, the latter for a larger box with twice as many cookies.
 
 
1. JANE BAKES ARTISAN COOKIES

Jane must be some kind of sorcerer, because her cookies are magically good. They would be outstanding even if they didn’t have better-for-you ingredients.

One substantial cookie (photo #1) has only 45-47 calories, and 1-1.4 grams of sugar. How is that possible, you’ll ask, especially when you taste them.

More magic: We can be satisfied with one cookie. It’s hard to describe until you taste them, but our personal analogy is: Just one of Jane’s cookies is like eating a piece of cake.

Jane developed her cookies after a run of bad luck in 2007: a house fire in February, followed by a heart attack that July and the stock market crash in September that saw her flower business tumble.

The need for a healthier diet and a new revenue stream resulted in a small café with a focus on healthier foods—and the development of these amazing cookies.
 
Great Cookie Ingredients

The recipe is based on the French sablé (sandy), elegant with a unique texture. They’re:

[2] Our new favorite chocolate chip cookie! Called Whiskey & Rye Chocolate Chip, the rye refers to rye flour and the whiskey is a splash of bourbon—indiscernible, but the alchemy produces gold.

[3] There are three packaging options. The sleeve (in photo) works nicely for stocking stuffers and other gift giving.

It was named “best sweetener” by the Washington Post and Southern Living, and is available at some Whole Foods stores and online.Here’s the product website. We’re heading to Whole Foods to lay in a stock.

And here’s the complete ingredients list for these remarkable cookies.

Great Flavors

We bought all the conventional flavors (not the gluten-free), and can unequivocally say: Every cookie eater will be thrilled with them.

 
Gluten-Free Cookies

 
There are three package formats: a cardboard sleeve, our favorite for gifting, for $6.99; a kraft bag, $7.99; and glass jars for $9.99.

Run, don’t walk, to get yours at JaneBakes.com.

[5] Raspberry Cave cookies, a Swedish style Americans call thumbprints. The jam is made by local artisans (photos #5 and #6 Unna Bakery).

[6] The Swedish-motif box is ready for gift-giving.

This artisan food business is the “side business” of a professional chef and restaurateur. They arrived over the transom, and it was a happy day for us.

The company makes a variety of products, but the one we received that made our day was Snaps, our idea of the perfect gingersnap: a perfect combination of sugar, spice and snap.

What else can we say, except get boxes for everyone, at Bunches & Bunches’ online store.
 
 
3. UNNA BAKERY LOW GLYCEMIC COOKIES

Traditional Swedish cookies from a grandmother’s recipes are always welcome.

The ingredients are organic: flour, butter, sugar, milk, eggs, cardamom, baking powers and distilled white vinegar. Flavors include:

 
The company describes the Swedish tradition:

The Swedish tradition dictates that you should have a cup of coffee or a tea and a cookie at least once a day.

In Sweden a “kafferep” is a women’s only social gathering that began in the mid 1800s. Women enjoyed cookies, drank coffee and spent quality time together.

It was one of few activities of the era where women could meet without men and children present.

The cookies were homemade, and it was important to have a nice mix of cookies at a beautifully set table—preferably with a crocheted tablecloth, flowers and nice porcelain dishes. However, the cookies were the centerpiece.

The kafferep was the beginning of the “fika,” a little break, and the café culture that thrives in Swedish homes and cafés today.

Historically, the cookies were enjoyed with coffee but they are excellent for your afternoon tea, to pair with wine or champagne and of course with a glass of milk

We love this phrase, which is common in the publishing industry. It refers to an unsolicited manuscript, as opposed to the publisher asking a writer to submit an article, book, etc.

In older times, before electric fans (much less air conditioners), doors commonly were topped with transom windows: short windows that sat on top of the door and ran the width of it (here’s an example).

Transom windows enabled light to come in and were also important for cross-ventilation. Due to their small size and height, they maintained security and privacy. Transoms were a common feature of homes and commercial buildings before air conditioning became common, after World War II.

The concept dates to Gothic architecture, which ruled from the 12th through 16th centuries. In architecture, a transom is a horizontal structural beam or bar that separates a door from a window above it. Look at the front door of houses you pass: Some may have transom windows that are both decorative and enable light to come in; and some still open.

In earlier centuries when postage was expensive, writers who wished to have their work considered for publication would literally show up at the publisher’s office and toss the manuscript through the open transom. Hence: over the transom.

Over time, mailed submissions won out; and today—no surprise—email attachments make life easier for both sides of the transom.