Gravy in this area always starts with a roux, made from whatever fat you have, such as:

1. The fat you fried your chicken in, or part of it.

2. The pan drippings from a roast (beef, lamb, duck, what have you), or

3. Bacon drippings

Heat the fat in a skillet, add an equal amount of flour. Stir and cook until the flour is brown enough to suit you, then add liquid.

In the case of the chicken or bacon drippings, half milk and half water is usual.

In the case of roast drippings, water or stock, or both.

Pour in the liquid in stages, cooking and stirring the gravy as you go. Quit when it is thin enough to suit you. Season the gravy to taste, and let it simmer a few minutes to blend. If it is too pale, a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet will fix it.

PEP TALK: In general the goodness of foods is in three levels: fresh, frozen, and canned, the descending order being the way it is, and the price according. BUT, do not despise certain helps, to-wit: Franco American Beef Gravy is a perfectly sound brown sauce, all it needs is a bit of seasoning. All French cookbooks assume that you have got a brown sauce hanging around. Here it is.

Likewise, chicken stock (fond de volaille). Swanson's Chicken Broth is cheap, handy and good. It is short on fat, but that may be a mercy.