Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens
Page 16
3 Season to taste with sea salt, and run it through your strainer to remove the shallot, garlic, and peppercorns. If you need to keep it warm for a significant amount of time before you serve it, heat 2 cups of water in a small saucepot over low heat, pour the sauce into a heat resistant bowl, and place the bowl over the warm water. Turn the burner off and stir occasionally. If you leave the beurre blanc on direct heat, the butter will separate from the sauce, which would be crappy.
Easy Cheesy Cheddar
and Fontina Sauce
Yields 6 cups
This sauce guarantees kids will enjoy their broccoli or Brussels sprouts, and will help adults rediscover macaroni and cheese. Pour it on steamed vegetables or stir it into cooked pasta. Easy cheesy! Everyone loves it.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 bay leaf, fresh
2 cups shredded aged
Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded
Fontina cheese
1 pinch ground nutmeg
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1 Melt the butter in your 12-quart saucepot over medium heat. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and allow it to cook slowly for 8 minutes, whisking occasionally. Slowly drizzle in the milk while whisking constantly to keep the sauce from becoming lumpy, and add the bay leaf. Allow this mixture to simmer, whisking often, until it becomes thick and smooth, about 10 minutes.
2 Remove from the heat and stir in the Cheddar, Fontina, and nutmeg. Stir until the cheese is melted, and strain to remove the bay leaf and any lumps. Use a heat resistant spatula to push the sauce through your strainer if it needs any help, but this step will make your sauce velvety smooth. Season to taste with sea salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper. Serve warm.
Béarnaise Sauce
Yields 1 cup
A very traditional herb butter sauce, béarnaise brilliantly allows meat and vegetables to stand out while simply adding a hint of sophistication. This sauce whisks to fluffy perfection in 5 minutes. It’s even delicious on French fries!
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 shallot, minced
¼ cup fresh tarragon leaves
6 black peppercorns
2 egg yolks
½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chervil
Sea salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 Place your 1-quart saucepot over medium to high heat and add the vinegar, water, shallot, tarragon, and black peppercorns. Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by half. Strain out all of the solids and allow your reduced vinegar to cool slightly.
2 While this mixture is cooling, add about 1½ cups of water back into the 1-quart saucepot and put it over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks while slowly drizzling in the vinegar. Put the bowl over the pot of water and continue whisking while the mixture becomes light and fluffy. If the water begins to boil, turn down the heat; you only want a light simmer.
3 Slowly whisk in the butter, one cube at a time, continuously whisking until each cube is completely incorporated. Whisk in the herbs and season to taste with salt, white pepper, and cayenne. Serve warm.
Finger-Licking Chipotle Aioli
Yields 1½cups
This aioli will compliment any meat, but it is especially wonderful on thinly sliced venison in all its gamey glory.
2 pasteurized egg yolks
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chipotle, minced
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
Sea salt, to taste
1 Place a medium size bowl on top of a damp dishtowel. (This will keep the bowl from rolling around while you whisk.) Put the egg yolks, vinegar, and garlic into the bowl and whisk to combine.
2 While whisking vigorously with one hand, slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the other hand. If you add the oil too quickly, it won’t emulsify (blend) with the yolks—so add the oil slowly. When properly emulsified, the sauce should be thick like mayonnaise. If yours seems too thin, simply continue whisking and drizzling in more oil until it thickens.
3 Fold in the chipotle and adobo, and season to taste with salt.
Swap It
You can add many things besides chipotle to the basic aioli we make for this recipe (through step 2). Try adding horseradish, tarragon, or lemon and dill. Mix in capers, minced red onion, and lemon for a seafood topper vastly superior to your everyday tartar sauce. Buy the canned chipotle in adobo sauce. If you are in a real big hurry, add the garlic, chipotle, and salt to one cup of real mayonnaise.
Stinky Cheese Crab Sauce
Yields 3 cups
Everyone should try this quick and easy sauce on a juicy steak, and those with a true love of stinky cheese can omit the crab and use this sauce on anything! Or start with, My Personal Wellington recipe (p. 126), but stop at the end of step 1. Once the steak is crispy on all sides, allow it to rest for 5 minutes (to let the juices inside settle down so they don’t come pouring out when your guest cuts into their steak), and pile the cheesy crab sauce on top. Alternatively, serve it with steamed vegetables (p. 168), drizzle it over your Seafood Risotto (p. 160), or put a bowl of it next to a crusty baguette for a delicious bread dip.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup very small diced yellow onion
1 garlic clove, mashed
Sea salt, to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 fresh bay leaf or substitute 1 dry
8 ounces Taleggio cheese, rind removed
8 ounces select crabmeat
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 Melt the butter in your 1-quart saucepot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic clove, sautéing them until they become soft. Season lightly with salt. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and allow it to cook slowly for 8 minutes, whisking often. Slowly drizzle in the milk while whisking constantly to keep the sauce from being lumpy, and add the bay leaf. Allow this mixture to simmer, whisking often, until it becomes thick and smooth, about 10 minutes.
2 Remove from the heat and add the Taleggio and crab. Stir until the cheese is melted, and remove the bay leaf and garlic clove. Season to taste with sea salt and a pinch of cayenne. Serve warm.
Duck Hollandaise Sauce
Yields 1 cup
This recipe calls for duck fat, which most specialty markets carry in the freezer section, but you can also order it from your butcher. Because the melted duck fat is pure golden fat, void of the milk solids present in melted butter, this hollandaise whisks up clean and easy.
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
6 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 egg yolks
½ cup duck fat, melted in the microwave
Sea salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 Place your 1-quart saucepot over medium to high heat and add the vinegar, water, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by half. Strain out all of the solids and allow your reduced vinegar to cool slightly.
2 While this mixture is cooling, add about 1½ cups of water back into the 1-quart saucepot and put it over low heat. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks while slowly drizzling in the vinegar. Put the bowl over the pot of water and continue whisking. If the water begins to boil, turn down the heat; you only want a light simmer.
3 Slowly drizzle in the melted duck fat, continuously whisking until all the fat is completely incorporated. Season to taste with salt, white pepp
er, and cayenne. Serve warm with roasted potatoes or the Asparagus Salad (p. 92).
Champagne Velouté Sauce
Yields 2 cups
I paired this sauce with wild striped bass on one of my very first menus. I was so proud of the dish I served it to my father while he was entertaining business associates in my restaurant. Use a sparkling wine you enjoy drinking, because this recipe only needs two cups—you get to drink the rest!
2 cups Champagne
½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons half-and-half
Sea salt, to taste
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 Place your 1-quart saucepot over high heat and add the Champagne and chicken broth. Simmer them together until the mixture has reduced slightly, about 8 minutes. Transfer the liquid to a heat-resistant container to hold for a few minutes.
Rinse the pot, put it back on medium heat and melt the butter. Whisk the flour into the melted butter and allow it to cook slowly for 8 minutes, whisking often. Slowly drizzle in the reduced Champagne while whisking constantly to keep the sauce from becoming lumpy. Then add the half-and-half. Allow this mixture to simmer, whisking often, until it becomes thick, yet light and creamy. Season to taste with sea salt, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Serve warm drizzled over any white meat, but especially white flaky fish.
Artichoke Mousseline Sauce
Yields 1 cup
The ingredient of whipped cream helps to stabilize this sauce, so you’ll have no worries about messing it up! Pair it with the Snake-Charmin’ Moroccan Lamb Chops (page 130), for a gourmet taste sensation.
2 egg yolks
1 lemon juiced
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chopped canned artichoke hearts
6 tablespoons heavy cream
Sea salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste
1 Add about 1½ cups of water into your 1-quart saucepot, and put it over medium heat. Place a medium bowl on top of the pot of water, and whisk the egg yolks while slowly drizzling in half of the lemon juice. Continue whisking vigorously until the mixture is very thick and fluffy. If the water begins to boil, turn down the heat; you only want a light simmer.
2 Slowly whisk in the butter, one cube at a time, continuously whisking until each cube is completely incorporated. Using a heat-resistant spatula, fold in the artichoke. Clean and dry your whisk and then in another bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it will stand up on the edge of your whisk. Using the spatula, carefully fold the whipped cream into the artichoke mixture.
Swap It
Instead of artichokes, add chopped capers and use this sauce on the Champagne Oysters (p. 46). Try any number of ingredient combinations like adding dill to the lemony mousseline and serving it on artichoke hearts (Get Stoked for Artichokes p. 30), or rosemary and lemon mousseline on chicken breast.
3 Season the sauce to taste with the rest of the lemon juice, salt, and white pepper. Serve warm.
Chefology
MOUSSELINE (pronounced moos-LEEN)
Any sauce that uses whipped cream or beaten eggs to give it a light and airy consistency.
Espagnole Sauce
Yields 3 cups
Espagnole, the classic French brown sauce, is perfect for any red meat, especially wild game. This recipe calls for veal stock, but feel free to substitute beef stock, particularly if you already have some in your crappy little pantry.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups veal or beef stock
1 thin white sock, new
2 parsley stems
2 thyme stems
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 fresh bay leaf, or substitute 1 dried
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 Place your 1-quart saucepot over medium to high heat, and add the butter and vegetable oil. When the butter has completely melted into the oil, add the shallot, carrot, and celery, stirring them once to allow them to coat with oil and butter. Now allow them to brown, by only stirring once every few minutes.
2 When the vegetables are a golden brown, turn the heat down to medium and add the tomato paste. Whisk constantly until all the tomato is evenly dispersed, and then do the same with the flour. Cook this roux for 8 minutes, stirring constantly until it turns a rich brown color.
3 While stirring vigorously, drizzle in the veal stock. Allow this to come up to a simmer. Put the parsley, thyme, garlic clove, black pepper, and bay leaf into the white sock, and tie the top tightly. This is called a sachet. Add it to the sauce.
4 Simmer for about 30 minutes and skim off any foam that forms. Remove and discard the sachet. Strain the sauce, and taste for salt or black pepper.
Charred Tomato
Red Wine Demi Sauce
Yields 4 cups
Don’t think it’s a cop-out to buy prepared demi glace for this recipe. A proper demi glace takes hours to cook to the right consistency at home. Demi glace is available in the freezer section at specialty markets and makes this recipe a cinch to prepare.
6 Roma tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on tomatoes
cup thinly sliced shallots
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 thyme stems (save the leaves in the fridge for another day)
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 cup big red wine (Cabernet or Zinfandel)
2 cups prepared demi glace
1 Preheat oven to 400°. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, and place skin down on a sheet tray. Drizzle the tomatoes with some olive oil. Put the tray in the oven for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are mostly black. Remove the tray from the oven and set it aside.
2 Place your 1-quart saucepot over medium heat, and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shallot, garlic, and thyme. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and sweat them to release all their juices. Add the red wine and turn the heat to high, allowing it to reduce to syrup, which should take about 5 to 10 minutes.. Once most of the liquid is gone remove the thyme stems, and add the demi glace.
3 Reduce the heat to medium and add all the tomatoes along with their juices. Stir them gently into the reduction until well combined, which should take about 10 minutes.
4 Puree in your blender. Strain the mixture through your fine strainer, and then season it to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm drizzled around the My Personal Wellington (p. 126) or as a flavorful dipping sauce for bruschetta (p. 28).
Mandarin Orange Sauce
Yields 3 cups
Usually paired with roasted duck in my house, any wild or gamey bird would benefit from this sauce’s sweet and tangy goodness. You don’t have to worry about breaking this sauce if it gets too hot, so give it a try.
2 cups duck or chicken stock
cup red wine, preferably a Pinot Noir
1 shallot, thinly sliced
6 whole black peppercorns
8 fresh mandarin oranges, juice plus zest
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
½ cup red currant jelly
Sea salt, to taste
1 Place your 1-quart saucepot over high heat, and add stock, red wine, shallot, and peppercorns. Allow this mixture to simmer until it reduces by half, and then strain out the shallot and peppercorns, returning the liquid to the pot.
2 Add the juice and zest from the oranges and the orange liqueur to the reduction, and return the pot to the heat. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the currant jelly. When this comes to a simmer, remove it from
the heat, and season to taste with salt. Serve warm with wild roasted birds such as quail or pheasant. You can also baste your Thanksgiving turkey or holiday goose with this sauce in the last 15 minutes of roasting to aide in the browning.
Pretty Peverada Sauce
Yields 4 cups
The ultimate fish sauce, peverada contains every element that any fish has ever cried out for: garlic, anchovy, pork, bread crumbs, parsley, lemon, and cheese. Peverada will stand up to a strong fish like tuna or salmon but will also amplify the mild flavor of fish like halibut or trout. My favorite pairs for this sauce are the intensely rich buttery monkfish or sea bass. Just like my crappy kitchen, a little bit of this goes a long way, so drizzle on just enough to coat the top of the fish.
1 cup olive oil
1½ tablespoon minced garlic
4 anchovy fillets, minced
1. cup minced hard salami, about 6 ounces
¼ cup plain bread crumbs
½ cup Italian parsley
¼ cup lemon zest
1. cup vegetable stock
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 Place your 1-quart saucepot over medium heat and add the olive oil and garlic, cooking until softened. Add the anchovy, salami, bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest. Cook 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and reduce slightly.
2 Remove the pot from the heat and finish the sauce by adding the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Taste the sauce because it won’t need much salt, but it will certainly need some black pepper. Serve warm.
Citrus Beurre Blanc Sauce
Yields 1 cup
A traditional beurre blanc sauce is a classic French white sauce made from an acidic reduction and butter. This rendition goes especially well with freshly blanched spring and summer vegetables or as an additional sauce for the Barbequeless Barbequed Salmon (p. 106).
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup lemon juice