Just fat, flour, and stock

The joys of the holiday dinner can be as profound - and inevitable - as the disappointments.

For every gorgeously glazed ham, there are blighted brussels sprouts. Achieving a magnificently browned but still juicy turkey probably means that some spackle-like mashed potatoes are lurking. A silken custard pumpkin pie likely portends a slice of gluey pecan pie to come.

We can stomach the culinary peaks and valleys because the holidays are all about family, right?

What we can't tolerate, however, is bad gravy. Good gravy can mask a multitude of cooking sins. Good gravy on good turkey and fixings is a glorious thing.

Bad gravy is Thanksgiving's equivalent of coal in the Christmas stocking.

It doesn't have to be that way. While many find gravy to be one of the most vexing aspects of holiday cooking, it really is a simple process, said David Kiser, Central Market Cooking School manager.

But he understands gravy anxiety.

"People who haven't done it before get freaked out," he said. "The other thing is that people do it only once a year. You don't make gravy every night for dinner. Gravy is like a lot of things, you need practice."

Kiser has a suspicion that fretting over the gravy has become part of the ritual of cooking anxieties that attend holiday meals, especially Thanksgiving - which trumps Christmas as the annual meal most invested in familial traditions.

Anxiety, in fact, is as much a part of the Thanksgiving tradition as the turkey itself, Kiser said.

"At Thanksgiving it's all about the bird. It has to be turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. And I think that's what people stress so much about: doing it the way Mom did it," he said. "The fretting is part of the tradition."

Kiser said achieving perfect gravy involves an understanding of the process (a roux made from drippings and flour into which stock is stirred). The variables of gravy making are great because birds come in different sizes and each bird gives off different amounts of juices and fat.

But follow Kiser's steps and you'll get velvety, lump-free gravy that you'll be proud to serve to family and friends. Let this be the Thanksgiving dinner where everything goes right.

You don't need to break the wishbone right to achieve good gravy.

Kiser recommends these steps for about 2 cups gravy, enough for about six to eight servings:

1. Roasting a 12-pound turkey will yield about 1 cup of drippings. If you estimate you have less, add 4 tablespoons butter to the roasting pan.

2. Place pan over medium heat until the drippings start to bubble. Add 1/4 cup flour and whisk to form a paste. Brown the flour for about 3-4 minutes.

3. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine, which helps deglaze the pan and adds flavor. Cook off alcohol for 1 minute, while whisking. If you don't wish to cook with wine, add 1 tablespoon tomato paste to help deglaze and add complexity.

4. Slowly add 2 cups of turkey stock, whisking constantly. You are looking for a caramel color. Add more stock as needed to achieve desired consistency.

5. Finish gravy with 3 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces, add little by little while whisking. This makes for a shiny gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Notes: If you want diced giblets in gravy, add after wine. For a richer gravy, substitute brandy or cognac for the wine. For mushroom gravy, add after flour step and cook mushrooms until juices are released. Chopped fresh herbs may be added after step 4.