Category Archives: SAUCE AND GRAVY RECIPES

DEMI-GLACE

This recipe is dedicated to all you gourmets out there who want to create over the top dishes. And tomorrow’s recipe for Stuffed Boneless Leg of Lamb using demi-glace as one of its key ingredients, definitely falls into that category. While I know there are lots of recipes for demi-glace more complicated than this one, trust me, this is bad enough! Oh, it’s not hard. It just takes time. And for some of you, a few hours dedicated to watching water boil might not be the way you would choose to spend your time.  So for those of you who are too busy to see straight or are parents of small children (often one and the same), I would suggest you walk away from this recipe or stick to the version mentioned under “note” in the instructions section. Mind you, I’m not trying to discourage you from making this incredibly rich, highly concentrated French brown sauce.  But please note, demi-glace is mainly used as a base for other sauces. You still need to prepare the dish into which this delicious elixir will be merely another ingredient. So again, I’m not trying to scare you, but sometimes a little shot of reality is appreciated. I am nothing if not practical. And I can practically promise you that even if you have time to spare and the kitchen is the favorite room in your home, you are going to be a little sick of boiling liquid by the time you are finished. So why did I even bother to post this recipe? Because ladies and gentlemen, demi-glace is amazing! It can lift a dish from ho hum to extraordinary faster than Super Man can lift Lois Lane from the arms of a villain. And that’s fast!

  • 12-14 lbs. of bones and scraps of raw or cooked chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and a small amount of lamb
  • 4 onions, chunked
  • 5 carrots, chunked
  • 10 sprigs parsley
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 qt. water

Spread meat and bones out in 2 large rimmed baking pans. (I use turkey or chicken wings and drumsticks, beef bones, a couple pork steaks and the cheapest cut of lamb I can find. I also freeze any scraps I cut off meat for a couple of months before I make demi-glace to make sure I have lots of flavorful ingredients available.) DO NOT SEASON MEAT. Bake at 400 degrees for about 75 minutes or until bones and scraps are well browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Transfer bones and all drippings to a large covered stock pot. With a small amount of water, lift all the browned bits off the bottom of the pans and add to stock pot. Add onions, carrots, parsley, pepper corns, bay leaves, and water. DO NOT ADD ANY SALT. Bring liquid to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 4 hours. Remove from heat. Let cool for about 30 minutes, then slowly strain into another container. Discard bones and vegetables. Chill broth. (I usually refrigerate overnight.) Lift off as much of the fat as possible from the top of the now thin jelly like broth. Pour or scoop chilled broth back into a heavy pan. Rapidly boil uncovered* until there is only about 4 cups liquid remaining. Divide into 4 containers and freeze until ready to use.

*A helpful hint: your stove top will stay cleaner if you “cover” your boiling pan with a wire mesh splatter guard (they are shaped like a lid). The wire mesh allows the steam to escape, but keeps the mess to a minimum. They also work well when frying fish, chicken, and especially oysters. (Oysters tend to spit at you when they are being fried. I think it’s their way of getting even!)

Note: if you really don’t want to go through all this bother, you can simply reduce about 6 cups of beef broth down to one cup. But start with low sodium broth. It’s still going to be quite salty, and it certainly won’t taste as good as my homemade version, but it will work in a pinch.

Another note: I’m sure you noticed the lack of any type of alcohol in my demi-glace recipe. That’s because my 2 favorite recipes that call for demi-glace have wine as a primary ingredient. So in my opinion, it was best not to use any wine in the demi-glace itself. Watch for my other favorite demi-glace recipe Rack of Lamb with Kalamata Rosemary Crust to be posted in the next couple of weeks.

 

CURRY SAUCE FOR CHICKEN, SHRIMP, BEEF, OR LAMB

While I understand that many of you are older and don’t have children at home anymore or even had children to begin with.  But since I did, and even after 20 some years of not having hungry children waiting for me when I arrive home from work, I still remember what it was like. So if it seems like many of my recipes are aimed at folks with little time to spare in the kitchen, it is because some of my best recipes were developed during my years of being a working parent. And you know, I still make many of those same recipes today even though Mr. C. and I are happily retired and presumably I have all the time in the world to spend in the kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I love to while away the hours preparing new dishes. But some evenings, it’s just delightful to serve a favorite old standby that I know we are both going to enjoy. So when I find myself with a bit of leftover meat in the fridge, I often make a curry. I almost always have the other necessary ingredients in my fridge or pantry, so to build a curry sauce is a snap. But before I go any further, a word about curry powder. The curry powder I use in this recipe is based on the spices used in Indian cooking. But In India, there is no such thing as curry powder.  Every Indian dish that requires powdered spices combines a number of individual spices unique to that particular dish. So there is no “one combination curry powder fits all” in an Indian kitchen. An Indian cook will roast and pulverize whole spices or they might use a combination of already ground spices. Much the same way in which we would decide the variety and amount of spice to use while preparing an apple pie. One baker might use only cinnamon and allspice, whereas the next pie maker might swear by a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.  So how did curry powder, which is a combination of spices including coriander, cumin, fenugreek, cayenne, turmeric, allspice, cardamom, cloves, fennel, ginger, mace, mustard, and black or white pepper, come about? The British, of course! From the early 1600s when Britain had just a scattering of trading posts on the Indian coast until 1947 when India gained its independence from Britain, British citizens living in India were exposed to Indian cuisine. And of course, as British soldiers and other government officials returned home from their stay in India, they wanted a way in which to bring those wonderful flavors home with them. Their solution was curry powder. And why not, it’s easy!  And many of the blends readily available to us today are really good. Instead of having to add multiple spices to an Indian dish that is otherwise quick and easy to prepare, curry powder is usually the only “spice” required. Such a deal! And all you parents out there, don’t be afraid to introduce your kidlets to curry at an early age. Curry was one of dishes all my children loved. They were eating it before they realized they really shouldn’t like it. Being children after all comes with certain responsibilities, like being fussy about what food you will and will not tolerate. Get your little darlings hooked young enough and they won’t know enough to object! And even if you aren’t lucky enough to still have children at home (I can say “lucky” and truly mean it now that my children are all grown) as an excuse to prepare a curry, be brave and give it a try anyway. Remember, you’re never too old for the “three bite” rule!

  • 3 T. butter
  • 1/3 c. julienne cut carrots
  • ½ c. thinly sliced mushrooms, opt.
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 T. vermouth, opt.
  • 1 T. minced fresh or dried parsley
  • 2 T. flour
  • 3-4 tsp. curry powder, or more to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • ½ c. milk
  • 1 ½ c. sour cream
  • 1 c. cooked chicken (cubed), shrimp, beef (cubed), or lamb (cubed)
  • chopped cashew nuts (opt.)
  • finely chopped green onions (opt.)
  • chutney (opt.)

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan. Add carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until garlic is just starting to brown. Deglaze the pan with vermouth. Whisk in the parsley, flour, curry powder, black pepper, cream of mushroom soup, and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Carefully whisk in the sour cream and add your cooked meat of choice. Adjust seasoning. Serve over steamed rice garnished with cashews, green onions, and chutney, or any combination thereof.

 

 

GREEN CHILI SAUCE WITH PORK

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(Green Chili Sauce pictured on Tamale Pie, upper right)

For years when I have been in Denver visiting my Aunt Ruth, we have dined at Ruth’s favorite Mexican restaurant. If you have never been to the Denver area, (which is a mistake I might add) you pretty much can’t drive a block without bumping into a Mexican restaurant. (Please note, this is not a bad thing in my book. I truly adore really good Mexican food.) And Denver, unlike some areas of the US that I could mention, has more than its fair share of really good Mexican restaurants. (And I’m sorry if my next comments bring offence to anyone, but I don’t consider most of the food served by large Mexican chain restaurants in our area to be good Mexican food! To me, everything tastes the same. Regardless of what you order, it’s served swimming in an uninspired sauce that tastes like it has been sitting in a steam table container since just after the Mexican revolution ended in 1920.) So when I taste a sauce that is fresh tasting and has a depth of flavor that compliments rather than detracts from my chosen entrée, I am in pure hog heaven. And speaking of hogs, a pork product is usually at the base of a truly good green chili sauce. You can practically bet your share of pickled pig’s feet on that one! But back to dining in Denver……

Mexican restaurants in and around Denver are known for their sauces, especially their green chili sauce. And my aunt’s favorite restaurant served the best green chili sauce I had ever tasted. That is until I started messing around with the one I am going to share with you today. (And no I will not give you the name of the restaurant in Denver! I am not going to advertise for them because they have never, and believe me I have asked several times over the years, even given me the slightest hint as to what goes into their amazing sauce. So call me a baby, but darn it, I live 1350 miles away. It’s not like I would publish the recipe in a cookbook or blog for heaven’s sake!) So, in order to pay homage to one of the truly wonderful world cuisines, and to let you know that there are homemade dishes that are far superior to what is available in most Mexcian restaurants today, I’m goin’ south of the border for the next few days. Today Green Chili Sauce with Pork; tomorrow Red Chili Sauce. After that Cheese Enchiladas, Mexican Shredded Beef, Pork Tamale Pie, Mexican Rice (nary a tomato product in this rice), Margaritas, and a couple of other favorites of mine. So pack your metaphorical bags and join me on my Mexican food adventure.  Open yourself a Negra Modelo or Dos Equis, start reading a book by Carlos Fuentes, and listen to some Carlos Santana. Mexico here we come. Provecho!

  • 1 T. vegetable oil
  • 2-3 bone in pork chops
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • ¼ tsp. dried oregano
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 ½ c. chicken stock
  • 1 T. tomato paste
  • 2 lg. tomatillos, chopped
  • 5 Anaheim peppers, charred (skins, seeds, veins removed) and chopped
  • 1 lg. or 2 small fresh jalapenos, charred (skins, seeds, veins removed) and finely minced
  • flour

Heat oil in a large, covered sauce pan. Season chops with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Carefully place in hot oil and fry until very, very brown and there are lots of brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for about a minute or until you can smell the garlic. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, tomatillos, and peppers. Bring to just under a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for about 2 hours. Remove chops and allow to cool. When cool, remove bones and as much fat and sinew as possible. Flake the meat into very small pieces and return to the sauce. Discard bones and sinew. You will probably need to thicken the sauce at this point. Take about 1/4 cup of the liquid out on the pan and place in a small mixing bowl. Depending on how thick you like your sauce, whisk in a tablespoon or two of flour into your mixing bowl and gently stir back into the pan. Allow to burble for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, adjust seasoning, and serve over your favorite enchiladas, tamales, burritos, refried beans, etc.

 

 

LEMON BASIL AIOLI

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There is just nothing finer in this world than fried fish served with this aioli. The first time I made it, I thought Mr. C. was going to fall off his chair. It is so creamy and luscious. I use light mayonnaise which has just enough fewer calories than regular mayonnaise that I can trick myself into thinking that it might even be good for me! Well, all the other ingredients are good for me….oh, never mind! Just try it – it’s fabulous!

  • 3/4 c. mayonnaise
  • 1/3 c. finely chopped fresh basil
  • 2 small garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
  • 4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Serve with seafood, crab cakes, or as a sandwich spread.