Mushrooms and Sauce Bordelaise

I know none of you like mushrooms - but in case you ever change your minds - this is how I cook them -

It is also the base for Sauce Bordelaise or Wine Merchants Sauce or How to Make a Decent Beef Gravy When You Run Out of Gravy or want some for steak or other beef - and for this you don't need mushrooms - but I put them here together because they are quite similar. I am recalling lots of old stuff I forgot because I have a new copy of the New York Times Cookbook, which is the book I used for my early cooking (and which disintigrated many years ago) - and so here it is -


Mushrooms - about one small pack, sliced (by you, buy them whole)

1 Lemon

Butter

Red wine

Salt

Pepper

Thyme (optional)

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Also optional:

A bit of chopped onion, garlic, and/or parsley


Melt butter in pan, and add mushrooms and onion/garlic

Sprinkle with salt and pepper

Saute until they are brown, tossing them about so they brown on both sides - add more butter if needed

Add a dash of wine and a dash of Worcestershire and stir and deglaze pan

There should be enough wine to make a bit of sauce, but not too much

Take off heat and squeeze about 1/4 lemon over the mushrooms and sprinkle with chopped parsley

Ok, now for the Bordelaise:

Canned beef gravy is generally gloppy and bland, but you can make it work - like this:


1 jar Heinz beef gravy (about 1.5/2 cups)

about 2/3 cup red wine

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons minced shallots - or onion

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper, a dash of cayenne

Parsley

Cook the onions/shallots in the butter until soft

Add the rest and stir, heat well

If you want to do it right - add the mushrooms from above! (or not) and now you have a really nice sauce and no one will ever know you used canned gravy!