Melt the butter in a small pan (about 1-quart size). Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook over medium heat until all the liquid that cooks out of them has evaporated and you just have the oil from the butter (in the pan with the mushrooms). Stir frequently so they brown, but do not burn.

Add the chopped onion and red wine. Continue cooking until all the liquid has cooked out (you are left with just the oil from the butter in the pan, with the mushrooms and onions). It Is Very Important That There Be No Liquid Left In The Pan Other Than The Oil From The Butter. (The onions may cook down until you can't see them.)

Add the flour to the mushroom mixture. Stir well so that the oil from the butter is absorbed by the flour. Add the entire can of chicken broth at once and stir well. The broth and the flour/butter mixture should combine to make a thick liquid. This may not thicken until it starts to boil. Stir constantly, or the mixture will stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add enough water to make the gravy have a consistency you like. I like mine thick, so a cup of water is enough. Lower the heat. Add the dried minced garlic and cook over low heat until the garlic flakes absorb enough liquid to no longer be crunchy.

Cathe's notes:

* Created in California, 1976.

Vicki's notes:

* When Cathe first gave me this recipe (mid '80s), it said to saute the onion in 1 T olive oil (then remove onions). Then cook only *1/2 pound* of mushrooms in the oil, and add 1/4 t garlic salt (no garlic flakes). The recipe said to brown the mushrooms until no juice was left and mushrooms were "squeaky." Then add half the wine, cook down, add rest of wine, and cook down.

Return onions and add just *1 tablespoon* of butter; stir in *1/4 cup* of flour, stirring frequently, till very brown. Then it said to add half the chicken broth, mix well, add rest, and cook at "gentle bubble" till thickened.

"If too thick, add up to 1/2 cup of water; cook at slow bubble till flour taste is gone."