A Blog for the Culinary-Challenged
Recently I switched from using a roux (50/50 mixture of flour and butter) as a thickener to using xanthan gum. I love a good rich hearty sauce – no thin watery sauces for me. I recently made my version of Coq au Vin, which includes a nice thick sauce and my guests were using bits…
Quick and easy and light and delicate. This meal is proof that even when you are tired and short of time, you can still create an interesting meal. (There was a time long ago when I would have suggested going out, getting burgers, or opening a can of something – blech.) Making the Salmon Preheat…
I was introduced to this sauce by a French chef who is a genius when it comes to sauces. Corn. Who would think of using corn for a sauce? Chef Pascal. Corn Sauce Print Prep time 15 mins Cook time 15 mins Total time 30 mins This sauce is great for fish, and…
Beurre Blanc is a white wine and butter sauce that goes really well with any seafood. It has a reputation of being difficult to prepare but I’m going to show to a trick taught to me by a French chef that makes beurre blanc as easy as pie. Beurre blanc is a neutral sauce, meaning…
Sauce Choron is one of the ‘child’ sauces of Hollandaise. I love it on steak. I get these really wonderfully tender filet mignons, but as you know, tenderloin is not the most flavorful cut of beef. A sauce fixes that. Sauce Choron is just Sauce Béarnaise plus some tomato puree. For this recipe we’ll use…
Hollandaise sauce is called a mother sauce because it is used as the starting point for many other sauces, one of which is Sauce Béarnaise. Sauce Béarnaise and steak is a match made in heaven. It is also great on poached eggs and vegetables. Ingredients 1 Shallot, chopped 1 bunch fresh tarragon 1 pinch fresh…
I want to share with you my technique for making Hollandaise sauce. The classic method is to whisk together egg yolks and clarified butter, but you need to whisk very vigorously. I want to show you how to cheat by letting your blender do the work for you. Clarified butter made from two sticks (1/2…
Chicken stock is known as Fond de Cuisine in French cooking – in other words, the foundation. The method described here is not the only way to make chicken stock. How you chose to make chicken stock will depend upon your personal preferences as well as the intended purpose of the stock itself. If the…
Bordelaise sauce is one of the mother sauces, meaning that many other sauces can be made from a mother sauce. Bordelaise sauce is is great on beef, veal, or pork. It is really easy to make, and is one of my favorite sauces for filet mignon. The method used in this article was taught to…
The recipe for this sauce came my way as part of a larger recipe for salmon. My Sweet Lady Wife is not normally a big fan of sauces but she loved this one. It is such a multi-purpose sauce that I thought it deserved to be published on its own. I can already see this…