Sauces and Spice Blends

Ingredients
3 large egg yolks
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons cold water
¹⁄₂ cup butter, melted and warm
1 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions
1. Off the heat, whisk together yolks and water in the top of a double boiler (or metal bowl on top of a saucepan, whatever you’ve got) until they become light and frothy. Place the top of the double boiler or the bowl over - not in - barely simmering water and whisk until the eggs are thickened, 2 to 4 minutes, being careful not to let the eggs get too hot. (The eggs always seem to surprise me when they thicken. They’re normal and then BAM, thickened and I freak out that I’ve cooked them too long. So don’t freak out, just remove from the heat and keep whisking.)

2. Remove the pan or bowl from over the water and whisk to slightly cool the mixture. Whisking constantly, add the butter very slowly. Stir in lemon juice along with salt and pepper to taste.

Comments
This is a basic Hollandaise Sauce recipe from Joy of Cooking.  I’ve made Béarnaise Sauce many times, which is just a tarragon flavored Hollandaise, but I’d never made plain Hollandaise sauce before!  It is extremely simple and quick to bring together, I don’t know why it always seems so scary to me.  It amazes me how yellow the sauce is because of the brightness of local egg yolks. 

Shown here in the form of Eggs Benedict – toasted English muffin, baked local bacon, poached egg, and delicious Hollandaise Sauce.

Joy of Cooking (1997)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot, minced
¹⁄₂ cup red wine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
¹⁄₂ cup beef broth
¹⁄₄ teaspoon fresh tarragon, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons half and half
1 tablespoon whole grain or Dijon mustard

Instructions
1. Once steaks are cooked, transfer them to platter, tent with foil, and pour off excess fat from skillet. Melt butter in empty skillet over medium-low heat. Cook shallot until softened, about 2 minutes.

2. Add wine and sugar to skillet and simmer over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits, until reduced to about 1 tablespoon, about 3 minutes. Add broth and any juices from plate with resting steaks and simmer until liquid is reduced to ¹⁄₃ cup, about 3 minutes.

3. Off heat, whisk in tarragon, cream and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.  Serve sauce with steaks. 

Comments
The 2009 Cook’s Country Annual had a few different pan sauces to go with steak and this one sounded like it would go well with the Nutty Barley Bake I had planned for dinner.  I cooked the sirloin steaks in a skillet over medium-high heat, about 3-4 minutes per side to get medium-rare.  Then I made this sauce in the same skillet, scraping up the fond and getting all of that delicious beef flavor.  I found the pan sauce to be delicious and reminiscent of Béarnaise Sauce thanks to the tarragon.  Making a simple pan sauce like this is a great way to pass the time while your steaks are resting. 

Shown here with Nutty Barley Bake.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
¹⁄₂ teaspoon sriracha
¹⁄₄ teaspoon table salt

Instructions
1. Whisk all ingredients together in small bowl and serve with fries. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual and, since I’m a lover of fries with mayonnaise, I thought it was great!

Shown here with Steak and Bacon Tournedos, Béarnaise Sauce, and French Fries.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup heavy cream
¹⁄₂ cup prepared horseradish (Found in the refrigerator aisle.)
1 teaspoon table salt
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions
1. In a medium bowl, or mixing bowl fitted with a whisk, whisk cream until thickened but not yet holding soft peaks, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Gently fold in horseradish, salt, and pepper.  Transfer to serving bowl and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour before serving. 

Comments
This recipe came from Cook’s Illustrated and was suggested as an accompaniment for the Slow-Roasted Eye Round Roast Beef.  It’s fantastic and very potent!  The cream does tame the horseradish enough  to make it highly enjoyable. 

Be aware that you do need to use actual cream for this recipe.  I often swap out half and half for heavy cream but this will not work in recipes that require whipping.  Sadly I remembered this key fact after grocery shopping, but at least I remembered it before cooking!

Shown here with Eye Round Roast and Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Cook’s Illustrated

Ingredients
3 tablespoons dry white wine
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar (I can never find tarragon vinegar, so I use the white wine vinegar here.)
1 shallot, minced
6 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves removed, chopped, and stems reserved
8 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
3 large egg yolks
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons cold water
¹⁄₂ cup melted butter warm (Not hot.)
Salt and ground pepper, to taste (Use white pepper if you want to avoid little black specks in your sauce.)

Instructions
1. Combine white wine, vinegar, shallot, tarragon sprigs, and peppercorns in a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until cooked down by two-thirds, about 10-15 minutes.  

2. Remove the sprigs from the reduction and remove reduction from heat.

3. Off the heat, whisk together yolks and water in the top of a double boiler (or metal bowl on top of a saucepan, whatever you’ve got) until they become light and frothy. Place the top of the double boiler or the bowl over - not in - barely simmering water and whisk until the eggs are thickened, 2 to 4 minutes, being careful not to let the eggs get too hot.  (The eggs always seem to surprise me when they thicken.  They’re normal and then BAM, thickened and I freak out that I’ve cooked them too long.  So don’t freak out, just remove from the heat and keep whisking.)

4. Remove the pan or bowl from over the water and whisk to slightly cool the mixture. Whisking constantly, add the butter very slowly. Stir in the reserved chopped tarragon leaves and the reduction along with salt and pepper to taste.

Comments
The recipe I had planned to serve this with, Steak and Bacon Tournedoes, calls for Béarnaise sauce made from a packet of dehydrated hollandaise sauce with tarragon added to it.  I figured I could do better than that and found this recipe.  The first time I made it I was fearful that it was completely wrong but Lance, who has had this in restaurants, confirmed that it was fantastic.  And I agree!  This is a delicious sauce and it works so well with cow.  

Shown here with Roasted Filet Mignon and Roasted Acorn Squash.

Unknown

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
3 gallons halved and roasted tomatoes
1-2 summer squash, sliced into planks and grilled
1-2 eggplant, sliced into planks and grilled
1 red bell pepper, halved, seeds and membranes removed, and grilled
1 red onion, sliced grilled
1 pound bacon, chopped and sautéed until just crisp  
¹⁄₄ cup red wine vinegar
³⁄₄ cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoons seasoning, such as Italian seasoning blend or a mixture of your choice

Instructions
1. Brown beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once browned, add garlic and sauté for a minute longer.  Remove from heat.  

2. Working in batches, puree tomatoes in a food processor.  Place pureed tomatoes into a large stock pot.  

3. Working in batches, puree grilled vegetables in food processor and add to tomatoes in pot.  

4. Add ground beef with garlic and all remaining ingredients.  Stir well and simmer over low heat until desired consistency is reached.  

Note:  For the past many weeks I’ve been roasting tomatoes loosely following the method outlined in my previous Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe.  I core and halve the tomatoes, toss them with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and then roast them on a baking sheet with a rack at 475*F for 45-75 minutes until the tomato skins are well charred.  I then let them cool and freeze them in gallon-size freezer bags.  I can fit 24 tomatoes on two baking sheets, so I try to get that many from the market each week specifically for roasting and freezing.  

The vegetables are even easier.  Whenever I’m finished grilling I load up the grill with vegetables that I’ve sliced and tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then I close all the vents for the grill and close the lid, effectively turning it off, and let the vegetables cook while the grill cools.  Then I freeze them if I won’t be using them for a while or keep them in the refrigerator.  

[photo forthcoming]

Comments
This sauce was amazing.  It was thick and flavorful.  Art said he wanted to bathe in it.  While this might be a slight exaggeration it was pretty fantastic.  If your tomatoes are too wet, you can strain them before pureeing, but reserve the liquid in case you need to add more back to it later.

Unknown

Ingredients
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons dried herbs, such as oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, or a good Italian herb blend
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds tomatoes, cored and halved pole to pole (I used good heirloom tomatoes from the market, red and yellow)
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 small onion, peeled and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch rounds
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
¹⁄₂ cup red wine
Fresh basil, chopped

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475*F. Combine tomato paste, 1 tablespoon oil, thyme, pepper flakes, ³⁄₄ teaspoons salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Toss tomatoes, garlic, and onion with tomato paste mixture until evenly coated. Place 4-inch square of foil in center of wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and arrange tomatoes, cut side down, around garlic and onion. (I used my roasting pan with V-rack for this because I don’t have a wire rack suitable for oven use.  It worked fantastically.)  

2. Roast until vegetables are soft and tomato skins are well charred, 45-55 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Transfer garlic and onion to food processor; pulse until finely chopped, about five 1-second pulses. Add tomatoes, vinegar, and remaining tablespoon oil to food processor. Pulse until broken down but still chunky, about five 1-second pulses. Using rubber spatula, scrap down bowl; season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to process sauce until slightly chunky, about five 1-second pulses.

3. Pour sauce into a saucepan, add wine, and simmer until desire thickness is reached.  Stir in basil prior to serving.  

Note: If not using immediately, freeze before step 3.  

Comments
This is from the March & April 2007 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.  The recipe was designed to make grocery store winter tomatoes into a delicious sauce and I figured that it would make delicious summertime tomatoes even more delicious.  

I’ve wanted to make fresh tomato sauce for a while and this recipe appealed to me.  Since I’m after a sauce that freezes well, I made this on Sunday and put it in the freezer until dinner on Thursday.  I thawed it for about 6 minutes in the microwave and then transferred it to a large pot to thaw it the rest of the way.  I proceeded with step 3 at that point and added the wine, tasted it for seasoning, and then added the basil just prior to serving.  

This is a fantastic sauce.  The roasted tomatoes are just amazingly flavorful.  It is also a fairly basic sauce that would make a great base for other additions such as meats or other vegetables.  I will definitely be making a big vat of this in the near future for freezing.  This sauce tasted fresher than any other pasta sauce I’ve tried.  

Shown here with Maroni’s Meatballs.

Cook’s Illustrated 2007

Ingredients
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds (brown are preferred)
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon peppercorns
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon ground ginger (Jamaican if available)

Instructions
1. Add the cumin, coriander, poppy and mustard seeds to a nonstick pan, toast them over medium heat until the mustard seeds start to jump about.

2. Add the cloves and pepper and mix.

3. Remove from heat and grind the mixture either with a mortar or a food processor/blender.

4. When finely ground, mix well with the turmeric and ginger.

5. Store in a well-sealed container.  (I’ve been using the same container for at least 6 months with no loss of flavor.)

Comments
When I first decided to make Chicken Sancoche I realized that I had no access to Caribbean Curry Powder so I would have to make my own.  I found this recipe somewhere online and decided to give it a go.  It’s fantastic stuff.  I believe this recipe makes around a cup of powder.

Unknown

Ingredients
2 cups lemon basil and regular basil, packed
12 garlic scapes
4 ounces pine nuts
6 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil

Instructions
1. Combine first four ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely chopped, scrapping down the sides with a spatula as needed.

2. With processor on, add olive oil in a thin stream. Scrape down sides with a spatula as needed.  

3. Chill for at least one hour before using in order to let flavors fully blend.  

Comments
I picked up some garlic scapes at Pete’s when I was visiting my parents last week.  (If you’re ever close to West Chester, PA during the produce season, I recommend that you stop by.)  I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with them, I just knew they’d be good in something.  The amount of basil that came in our CSA this week put me firmly into the pesto camp and this is the recipe I dreamed up.  

Shown here tossed with chopped tomatoes.

Person - Gwen

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon onion, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dry mustard
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients; stir well. Chill 3 to 4 hours.

Comments
This recipe is from Recipezaar and I found it while looking for something to serve with Pattypan Squash Fritters.  It’s got a very strong flavor, yet isn’t exceedingly horseradishy.  A little bit goes a long way and it complimented the fritters perfectly.  

Shown here with Pattypan Squash Fritters.

Internet - Recipe Zaar