Sauces and Dressings 

    I have to open this section with my Espagnol story. Espagnol Sauce is a super fancy, very time consuming classic sauce. Before I took any cooking classes, I had never heard of this sauce, but in one of my second semester classes you had to make several stocks and sauces and this was one of them. In order to make this sauce, you actually start with one of your first stocks, a basic Beef Stock. You first have to brown some beef bones. Let me stop for a minute and explain about the time constraints- you didn’t have extra time allotted during this class for these. It was a management class, and you had to manage first semester cooking students. All of the stock/sauce activity was accomplished while you were also directing and teaching. So, back to the Stock. You would basically finish one step of the procedure, then stick it in the freezer to wait for another opportunity. I browned the bones, froze them. I cooked them down for a while, then froze that product. I added mirepoix and vegetables and did something strange with an egg that I didn’t even understand then, but by God I did it. Then the day finally came where I was going to turn this stock into an Espagnole Sauce. It took forever. You had to add a mirepoix and sachet and some tomato product. They also had me make a large batch to use in the class, so I had a huge pot of this stuff. Finally, I tasted it, thinking that it was really going to be something special after the way everyone had been going on about it and all the work that went into it. Guess what it tasted like? My favorite childhood dish- spaghetti-o’s. I kid you not. I went and got my instructors because they had to taste it to sign it off on your list. They declared it a huge success. I asked them if they had ever tasted spaghetti-o’s. Of course, they hadn’t.

 Now, on to practical sauces.  

Mayonnaise 

    It may seem an extravagance with the availability of mayo in the store, but you ought to at least try this once. It’s surprisingly easy to make, as long as you have a food processor. I guess you could use a wire whisk- after all that is what they used when the recipe was created. I’ll go to the store first, though, myself.

    Keep in mind that homemade mayo doesn’t have the preservatives that store bought does, so do not let it sit out in the heat. All of the old stories that you have heard about food poisoning from tainted mayo are about homemade. Store bought mayo actually acts as a preservative because it has a lot of acids in it. 

2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 tsp mustard (please, not French’s)
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp wine vinegar
2 cups oil    

    Place egg yolks, whole egg, mustard and salt in food processor and run for 30 seconds. Add wine vinegar and then add oil while the processor is running in a slow stream through the feeder tube. Place in a container and refrigerate. Sounds easy, right? It actually is that easy-enjoy! 

Teriyaki Sauce 

    I am actually not a fan of teriyaki, but I think everyone else on the planet is, so here you go. 

2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup red wine
¼ cup peanut oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fresh chopped ginger
pinch of allspice
1 tsp sesame oil 

    Whisk ingredients together until well blended. This sauce works well if you marinate your meat in it for 2-24 hours before cooking. 

Classic French Dressing   

    No, this isn’t that orange stuff. I don’t know how that it got the name French dressing. A classic French dressing is kind of like what we call Italian.

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ cup good olive oil
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp herbs to taste 

Dijon Mustard Dressing 

1 Tbsp Dijon style mustard
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup salad oil
¼ tsp thyme or other herb 

    Whisk all ingredients together until blended and thick. Serve on any type of vegetable salad. 

Raspberry Viniagrette 

   You’re going to laugh- just take the classic French dressing and whisk in raspberry jam to taste. A tablespoon or two works well. I feel like a magician who is giving away all of the trade secrets!

Chicken Marinade

2 Tbs Dijon mustard
Jjuice and zest from 2 lemons
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Wisk all ingredients except olive oil. Add oil slowly, wisking to
form a thick sauce. Place chicken pieces in plastic bag, add
marinade. Keep in refrigerator for a day or two, turning often.
Grill for about 1/2 hour.

Pesto

1/4 cup walnuts
1 Tb pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Chop nuts, and garlic in processor. Add
basil; Chop; Drizzle in olive oil; add grated parmesan and
process.

Barbecue Sauce

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup molasses
6 oz. tomato paste
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 cups beef stock
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Several grinds of black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Saute onion in butter and oil until light brown.

Combine remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.