Ya know, I’ve decided that hand-me-down recipes have to be some of the best recipes out there. You know the ones, the kind you get from your parents or even your grandparents, a recipe that has been enjoyed by the family for years and has passed down through the generations. I had that blessing last week when I had the opportunity to cook Nana’s Chocolate Gravy. Let me tell you about Nana she is my aunt’s mother-in-law and has been a part of our family for years. Nana doesn’t cook from any cookbooks or recipe cards. To my knowledge, everything she does comes completely from scratch, nothing out of a box. Unfortunately, I have not had any personal experience with how great her cooking really is, since I was that kid who wouldn’t eat anything. I do remember going to her “big” house as a kid and doing lots of exploring. My cousin and I would play GI Joe and He-Man, running through interior of the house shooting make-believe bad guys. However, it comes on great authority (my cousins’ and their spouses’) that Nana is a wonderful cook. I can tell you that she is feisty as hell and can hold her ground in a room full smart mouths and loud mouths. Everyone around me knows I’m doing The Manly Housewife, and I still get giggles from the name, but it seems each week people are handing me more recipes to try. That’s how I came across Nana’s Chocolate Gravy. I will say that I guarantee it would have been 100 times better had she prepared it for us, but it was fun to make and I hope I do it justice.

Nana’s Chocolate Gravy

Serves a Crowd of Smart-Mouths

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa

3 Tablespoons Flour

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Milk

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Directions

1. In a sauce pan combine all ingredients.
2. Turn to medium-high heat and whisk until all ingredients meld together.
3. Heat until steaming hot but do not boil, whisking often.
4. If gravy is too thin, add a little more flour; and if it’s too thick, add a little more milk.

1. Serve and enjoy!

We served this over homemade biscuits, and it was delightful and rich. Below is my pomade biscuits recipe.

Biscuits

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Cup Flour

2 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/8 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

1/4 Cup Shortening

1/2 Cup Milk

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Cut in shortening, until mixture resembles crumbs.
3. Stir in milk. Knead gently, pat, or roll 1/2 inch thick (note: do not overwork dough or biscuits will be tough and will not rise high).
4. Cut using a 2 ½” biscuit cutter or inverted juice glass.
5. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.