Browsed by
Category: General

Sauce Espagnole

Sauce Espagnole

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 1 cup

Velouté is one of Escoffier’s five mother sauces in French cooking. This is a stock based sauce. About any sauce could be used to match the final dish. Multiple the quantity as needed. You can also change the ratio of butter/flour to stock to change the consistency of the sauce.

  • 1small carrot, coarsely chopped
  • 1medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • ½stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter
  • ¼cup all-purpose flour
  • 4cups hot beef stock or reconstituted beef-veal demi-glace concentrate*
  • ¼cup canned tomato purée
  • 2large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 1celery rib, coarsely chopped
  • ½tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1Turkish or ½ California bay leaf

Sauce Espagnole (FN)

Yield: 6 servings
Robert Irvine / Food Network
  • 1TBS vegetable oil
  • 2scallions, chopped
  • 1TBS chopped celery
  • 1TBS chopped carrot
  • 1small clove garlic, crushed
  • 1TBS dry red wine
  • 2cups rich brown beef, veal or chicken stock, hot
  • 1TBS toasted instant flour (recommended: Wondra)
  • 1TBS butter
  • 1TBS tomato paste
  • A sachet d’epices containing: 1 sprig parsley, 1 sprig thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 black peppercorn

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and saute scallions, celery, carrot, and garlic over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have caramelized lightly. Add the red wine and beef stock and bring to a simmer.

In a stainless steel mixing bowl, whisk together the toasted flour and butter, add the tomato paste, then gradually ladle in the hot stock, whisking as you go to make a smooth sauce. Add the sachet d’epices of parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorn, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 50 minutes. Skim any impurities off the surface.

Velouté Sauce

Velouté Sauce

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 1 cup
adapted from Daniel Gritzer / Serious Eats

Velouté is one of Escoffier’s five mother sauces in French cooking. This is a stock based sauce. About any sauce could be used to match the final dish. Multiple the quantity as needed. You can also change the ratio of butter/flour to stock to change the consistency of the sauce.

  • 1½TBS unsalted butter
  • 1½TBS all-purpose flour
  • 1cup white stock (veal, chicken, fish, vegetable)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (do not allow it to brown). Add flour and whisk to form a paste. Continue to cook, stirring, until raw flour scent is gone, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add milk in a thin, steady stream, or in increments of a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking thoroughly and getting into all corners of the pan to maintain a homogeneous texture. Sauce will initially become very thick, then get very thin once all the milk is added.

Heat, stirring, until sauce comes to a simmer and begins to thicken slightly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg to taste, if using. If any lumps form, simply whisk thoroughly to remove them and smooth out sauce, or use a hand blender or countertop blender if lumps are particularly large or tough. Use sauce right away, or press a piece of plastic wrap over surface of sauce to prevent a skin from forming and keep warm until ready to use. Sauce can be cooled and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days. Reheat very gently on the stovetop or in a microwave to use.

Béchamel Sauce

Béchamel Sauce

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 1 cup
adapted from Daniel Gritzer / Serious Eats

Béchamel is one of the five mother sauces in French cooking. Multiple the quantity as needed. You can also change the ratio of butter/flour to milk to change the consistency of the sauce.

  • 1½TBS unsalted butter
  • 1½TBS all-purpose flour
  • 1cup whole milk
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (optional)

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (do not allow it to brown). Add flour and whisk to form a paste. Continue to cook, stirring, until raw flour scent is gone, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add milk in a thin, steady stream, or in increments of a couple of tablespoons at a time, whisking thoroughly and getting into all corners of the pan to maintain a homogeneous texture. Sauce will initially become very thick, then get very thin once all the milk is added.

Heat, stirring, until sauce comes to a simmer and begins to thicken slightly. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg to taste, if using. If any lumps form, simply whisk thoroughly to remove them and smooth out sauce, or use a hand blender or countertop blender if lumps are particularly large or tough. Use sauce right away, or press a piece of plastic wrap over surface of sauce to prevent a skin from forming and keep warm until ready to use. Sauce can be cooled and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days. Reheat very gently on the stovetop or in a microwave to use.

Fajitas

Fajitas

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 4 Servings
Scott Nowell

A decent and quick Fajita, you could substitute any meat, chicken or shrimp here. The heat level is moderate, so increase the pepper flakes if you like a little more intensity.

Notes: New version w/o sauce, less protein, less cook on the onion and peppers.

Protein (Pick 1 or mix & match):

  • 10-12oz top sirloin steak (substitute any)
  • 10-12oz boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
  • 10-12oz raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

Marinade:

  • 2TBS olive oil
  • 2TBS lime juice
  • 1garlic clove, finely minced
  • ½tsp chili powder
  • 1-2tsp cumin
  • ¼tsp hot pepper flakes
  • ½tsp black pepper
  • 1tsp salt
  • ¼-¾cup water or stock

Fajitas:

  • 3-410-inch flour tortillas
  • 1-2TBS olive oil
  • 1onion
  • 3small sweet bell peppers, of your choice (green, red, or yellow), seeded

Toppings:


For Chicken:

Slice chicken into thin strips about 2-inches long.

For Shrimp:

Although big shrimp are great, whole shrimp make a messy fajita. Depending on the size you have, cut into smaller bite size pieces. Remove tail If present.

For flank steak:

The grain in flank runs the length of meat, so cut it into 4-inch pieces, and then slice those across the grain into thin strips. Cut each piece in half to make pieces about 2-inches long.
For other steaks:

Determine the direction of the grain and cut across that. Some steaks like sirloin the grain is through the thickness of the cut. Either cut into 4-inch strips and then slice these thin with the knife tilted sideways at a 45-degree angle. Cut each piece in half to make bite sized pieces about 2-inches long.
Alternate for steak:

Use a Jaccard on steak to tenderize. Marinate whole piece, cook to 120-125°F. Remove to cutting board, rest then slice as above.

Marinate protein:

In bowl, mix together 1 TBS olive oil, 2 TBS lime juice, a finely minced clove of garlic, ½-tsp chili powder, 1- to 2-tsp cumin, ¼-tsp hot pepper flakes (🌶️ or more 🌶️🌶️🌶️😊), ¼- to ½-cup water or stock, ½-tsp black pepper & 1-tsp salt.
Add protein and stir to coat, set aside for 15 to 30 minutes.

Prep onions & peppers:

Cut onions in half lengthwise then remove ¼- to ½-inch of the root & stem ends and thinly julienne, cut the peppers into strips the same width as the onions.

Cook fajita mix:

In a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, heat a TBS or two of olive oil.

Add the onions & peppers and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes, until softened and slightly browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Scoop the protein from the marinade and add to the skillet, sear and sauté until it is nearly cooked through.

Return onions and peppers to skillet. Sauté for a minute or two. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat.

To serve:

Spoon a portion of the fajita mixture down the center of each tortilla, top with your desired toppings, fold bottom of tortilla up over filling, fold the sides in, overlapping.

Black Currant Sauce

Black Currant Sauce

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 4 Servings
Chef Sallie Williams

This is a savory black currant sauce that makes a wonderful accompaniment to duck, pork and game. The sauce can be made several hours ahead of time. Re-warm it over low heat before serving. Recipe from Chef Sallie Williams.

  • 2TBS butter
  • 3large shallots, minced
  • 3garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼cup brandy
  • ½cup black currant jelly
  • ¼cup Dijon mustard
  • ¼cup dry white wine
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a medium size heavy saucepan over medium heat.

Add the shallots and garlic and saute until transparent, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the brandy, jelly, mustard and wine.

Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Comments 0 Comment

Yield: about 2 dozen cookies

Alton Brown

This is essentially a hack of the most famous cookie recipe in the world, which we all know from the back of the Nestle “morsel” bag. Extra chewiness is attained by substituting bread flour for regular all purpose, replacing one egg white with milk, and changing the ratio of brown to white sugar.

  • 8oz unsalted butter
  • 12oz bread flour
  • 1tsp kosher salt
  • 1tsp baking soda
  • 2oz granulated sugar
  • 8oz light brown sugar
  • 1large egg
  • 1large egg yolk
  • 2TBS whole milk
  • 1½tsp vanilla extract
  • 12oz semisweet chocolate chips


Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, then set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda onto a paper plate.

Pour the butter into your stand mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugars and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile in a separate bowl, whisk together the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract.

Slow the mixer to “stir” and slowly work the egg mixture into the butter and sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds

Using the paper plate as a slide, gradually integrate the dry ingredients, stopping a couple of times to scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula

Once the flour is worked in, drop the speed to “stir” and add the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 375°F and place the racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven.

Scoop the dough into 1½-ounce portions onto parchment paper-lined or Silpat lined half sheet pans, 6 cookies per sheet.

Bake two sheets at a time for 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.

Remove from the oven, slide the parchment with the cookies onto a cooling rack, and wait at least 5 minutes before devouring.

Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal Cookies

Comments 0 Comment

Yield: 18 Large Cookies

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Great cookie recipe. Most of the time I use Craisins, dried sweetened cranberries.

For dry ingredients:

  • 2cups old-fashioned or instant oats
  • 1cup all-purpose flour
  • 1tsp kosher salt
  • ½tsp baking soda
  • ½tsp ground cinnamon
  • ⅛tsp freshly ground nutmeg

For wet ingredients:

  • ¾cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¾cup (packed) light brown sugar
  • ¼cup granulated sugar
  • 1large egg, room temperature
  • 2TBS pure maple syrup
  • 2tsp vanilla extract or paste

Fruit:

  • 1cup raisins, dried cranberries or dried sour cherries or a mix


For dry ingredients:

Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; stir in oats.

For wet ingredients:

Using a stand mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl, scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Add egg, maple syrup, and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; add dry ingredients and fruit and continue to beat, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl, until just combined.

Let sit at room temperature at least 1 hour to hydrate oatmeal.

Bake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silpad. Using a ¼-cup measuring cup, place 6 blobs of batter with 3″ spacing. Do not flatten, the cookies will spread as they bake.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden brown and firm but centers are soft, 13-15 minutes. Let sit on sheets 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks; let cool.

Optional:

Put 1 TBS of table sugar in a flat dish and spread it out.  As you transfer the cookies to the rack, first lightly press each into the sugar, tap off extra and place on rack.

Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp Cocktail

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 4 Servings
Scott Nowell

Buy extra large (21-25/lb) or jumbo shrimp (16-20/lb). You can usually find IQF deveined shrimp in 2 lb bags at the supermarket. If you splurging and live close, try some fresh pink gulf shrimp.

  • 1lb frozen shrimp, thawed
  • 2tsp salt
  • – or –
  • 2TBS Old Bay seasoning
  • 2-3cups water
  • cocktail sauce of your choice, see Ina’s below

You can quick thaw frozen shrimp in warm water in only a few minutes.

Once thawed, rinse in cold fresh water.

Make an ice water bath with 1 tablespoon of salt. Mix well. Set aside.

If shrimp are not shelled, remove shell down to last section before tail. Save and freeze the shells for shrimp stock.

Heat 2 to 3 cups water in medium sauce pan. When boiling, add salt or Old Bay to water. Add shrimp, stir and cover. When water returns to a boil, remove from heat and let sit 3 to 5 minutes.

Drain shrimp and dump into the salted ice water.

Stir until chilled. Transfer to a paper towel lined bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Serve.

Ina Garten Cocktail Sauce
  • 1/2cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)
  • 1/2cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)
  • 3tablespoons prepared horseradish
  • 2teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

For the cocktail sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve with the shrimp.

Asparagus – Steamed, Roasted & Grilled

Asparagus – Steamed, Roasted & Grilled

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 2 to 4 Servings
Scott Nowell

You can greatly improve your asparagus with proper preparation and avoid over cooking. Asparagus should be crisp tender and not mushy. Test with a fork.

  • 1bunch asparagus
  • Kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • olive oil


Preparation: The bottom of asparagus spears tend to be tough and woody. Cut the bottom two inches from the bunch of asparagus. If you are using normal asparagus, i.e., not pencil thin, you should peal the next two inches from the bottom.

Steamed: In a sauce pan wide enough to fit the trimmed asparagus, bring about ½ inch of water to boil. It is not necessary to salt the water but a good pinch won’t hurt. When the water is boiling, add the asparagus and cover the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on thickness.

Drain. Unless you are using a sauce, add a TBS of butter to the pan, cover and let melt for a minute. Serve in a hot dish.

Roasted: Preheat oven to 400°F. If you have something else in the oven, use that temperature and adjust the time for the asparagus.

Place the asparagus in a quarter sheet pan in a single layer. Add 1 TBS of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roll the asparagus to coat in the oil and seasonings. Roast for 10 minutes. Turn spears and roast an additional 5 to 10 minutes depending on size. Serve.

Grilled: Place the asparagus in a dish. Add 1 TBS of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roll the asparagus to coat in the oil and seasonings. Place on grill perpendicular to grate over medium heat for 10 minutes. Turn and grill for an additional 5 to 10 minutes depending on size. Serve.

Turkey Cutlets Teriyaki

Turkey Cutlets Teriyaki

Comments 0 Comment
Yield: 4 Servings
Scott and Gayle original

You could make your own teriyaki sauce, but it’s probably a waste of time. This is simple, quick and delicious.

  • 1lb sliced boneless turkey breast filets
  • ½cup bottled teriyaki sauce
  • vegetable oil

Add a ½ cup of sauce to a shallow bowl. Add the cutlets to the bowl and turn to coat in the sauce. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat pan over medium high until hot, add oil and heat until almost smoking. Brown half the turkey slices, cooking for 1½ to 3 minutes per side. They cook very very fast. Remove to hot plate in oven. Clean pan and repeat with remaining cutlets.

Serve.