Sauces Posts

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Drunken Cranberry Orange Compound Butter

Monday March 8th 2010

This Drunken Cranberry Orange Butter is great on baked goods (English muffins, croissants, etc.). It’s also a great topping for pancakes and waffles. You can use it as a spread for chicken or turkey sandwiches—or stir it into wild rice before serving.

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Roasted Garlic, Three Ways

Monday February 1st 2010

Now, I like garlic in pretty much all its forms, but roasted garlic has to be one of the best substances on the planet. And making it is one of those ineffable acts of culinary magic.

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What Are the Five Mother Sauces?

Monday January 11th 2010

When it comes to classic French cooking, there are five basic sauces—the so-called “mother” sauces—that provide the foundation for most sauces we know today.

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Pecan Scotch Compound Butter

Saturday December 5th 2009

You know how when you go to a fancy steakhouse and your steak comes with a sumptuous hunk of cold, creamy butter on it? And it’s just starting to melt and mingle with the meat’s perfectly charred crust to make a mouthwatering, on-the-spot sauce? Compound butter is like that, but better.

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Orange Melba Sauce

Monday July 6th 2009

Escoffier’s original sauce is a heady mixture of raspberries, current jelly, sugar, and cornstarch. In this version, I’ve done away with the current jelly and the cornstarch (a generous amount of sugar helps thicken the sauce as it reduces), and added a little orange juice. It’s my favorite thing to drizzle over cheesecake. I’m also totally guilty of eating it straight, with a spoon.

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Spicy Guacamole

Monday June 29th 2009

I’m totally guilty of having guacamole for dinner. Not the most well-balanced meal, I know, but I don’t do it that often. (And hey, I do usually dip veggies and rice crackers in it, as well as chips!) When we’re in a pinch and don’t feel like cooking, chances are I’ll grab a few avocados and go to town.

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Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise (a.k.a. Aioli)

Thursday June 25th 2009

I have another confession to make. When I was a little mouse, one of my absolute favorite treats was a mayonnaise sandwich. Yep, you heard right. A big dollop of Hellmann’s spread on a slice of white bread, then folded in half. (Jam sandwiches, a la Paddington Bear, were a close second.) These days, I still love my mayo. Here are step-by-step instructions for how to make my version of aioli, Miss. Mayonnaise’s sophisticated French cousin.

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Garlic Scape Pesto from The Garlic Farm in West Granby

Thursday June 18th 2009

Recently, my mom and I took a little road trip around the countryside in Northern Connecticut. When we happened across The Garlic Farm in West Granby, we knew we had to pull in and investigate. Here’s a photo tour of the farm, a bunch of info on garlic scapes (including how to cook them), plus a super simple recipe for some of the most garlicky, mouthwatering pesto you’ve ever had.

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Fresh Herb Compound Butter

Friday March 27th 2009

Compound butter is a fabulous finishing touch. This is a quick and easy way to add a lot of extra flavor to steaks, chicken, fish, or even rice and pasta.
What is compound butter?
Compound butter is butter that’s been creamed together with other ingredients, like herbs, spices, wine, oil, etc. Whip it up, keep it in [...]

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Blackened Chicken Fingers with Lime-Infused Marmalade

Monday March 23rd 2009

Mmm, mmm, mmm. We love spicy food at The Mouse House. You know…the kind that makes your nose sweat just a wee bit?
These chicken fingers are hot and spicy on the outside and juicy as can be on the inside. A quick dip in a buttery, lime-infused marmalade knocks the edge off the heat and [...]

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