Baked Potatoes with Gravy

I recently moved to Virginia for 5 1/2 weeks to turn it blue, during which time I had a microwave and two electric burners to prepare my meals.  I am happy to have an oven again, and although I have become used to having a microwave, I don't miss it.

The day I left, I made the largest pot of vegetable broth conceivable.  I regularly throw vegetable scraps, including squash peelings and seeds, onion peelings and ends, potato skins, thick broccoli stems - everything - into the freezer until Broth Day, when it all goes into my stock pot and boils.  This - the most delicious vegetable broth - has been waiting for me in my freezer, and less than 24 hours from my return I wanted to feature it in my dinner.  And the best way to feature naked vegetable broth is to make it into gravy.  Of course, I added way too much salt and pepper, which overwhelmed the delicious broth flavor, but it was still delicious.  And, when it comes to potatoes, I usually have a hard time laying off the salt.  So in the end, the gravy I almost ruined was still edible, only because it's sole destination was on top of plain baked potatoes.

Baking potatoes.  It is really an old staple.  To go with your steak, right?  You throw potatoes in the oven - what could be simpler?  But with the invention of the microwave, which will steam a potato in a matter of minutes, the baking method has quite been relegated to special occasions.  Baking is a better method.  The skins get a little crisp, the insides are firmer - baked potatoes are better than any other potato.  And  I would like to pretend that I baked my potatoes because I am a super-snob who would only use the best potato cooking method.  But the REAL truth is that it is in the 50s in Chicago, and may have even dropped down to the 40s last night, and I still haven't turned on my heat.  And I don't want to.  So, I just turned on the oven when I got home, which warmed my bedroom and the kitchen right up to a livable temperature, and  after dinner I crawled under my down comforter and was toasty as a marshmallow.

In any case, here's a recipe:

Potatoes:  Turn oven to 400, pierce multiple times with fork, bake until soft (about an hour).

Gravy:  Melt 2 T butter in a pan.  Add 2 T flour.  Brown.  Add tons of black pepper (at least, I did, and it was delicious.)  Very slowly add 2 cups of vegetable broth, a little bit at a time, until all incorporated.  If it starts to look too thin, stop adding broth and cook it for awhile and it should thicken up.  If it is too thick, add more broth.  It will thicken as it cools, so let it be a bit runny.
Add salt.  Don't think that your 1 t measuring spoon is a half teaspoon, and add 2 full teaspoons of salt, though, because you might regret it.