Asparagus Coulis from Sauces by Michael Roux
March 29, 2010 | by DianaThis asparagus coulis from the book Sauces by Michael Roux was the perfect sauce for my tortellini and asparagus tips. Usually with tortellini we have an alfredo sauce. This coulis is a much lighter, but very flavorful way to serve tortellini. It adds depth to the asparagus tips that we tossed in with the tortellini, and my photo does not show how green and pretty the sauce color came out. There were many steps to the sauce, plus I forgot to put the o-ring on the blender and it squirt sauce out all over the place – not funny really, but I recovered and it came out lovely. Stop laughing, I kept yelling that blenders that shot sauce out everywhere weren’t useful, so there had to be something very wrong going on then I found the ring in the box. My husband said – look at it this way, you won’t forget the ring again, lesson learned. I think it comes from having such a small kitchen that I pull apart my equipment and put it back in boxes, so that I can shove it on the shelf. The point is, that in spite of a dumb blender, …
Sauces by Michael Roux
March 29, 2010 | by Diana
If you are like me, not a trained chef and know only the basics about preparing a sauce, this book is for you. It is a fantastic book for giving you the basics and then helping you build using those basic sauces to create something more complex. The book starts out with broths and easier sauces and then builds. Some of these sauces will take hours to make building on one primary sauce to make a more in depth sauce. I made the veloute, which came out velvety, just as described and then the next week went to a college visit that served the same sauce only with a lemony take over chicken. Before making it myself, I wouldn’t have been able to identify the sauce never mind know that I could actually do it.
It isn’t a quick and easy book. Some of these sauces start out based on a broth, or another sauce that takes hours to cook down or thicken. Also, it can take ingredients that aren’t on your pantry shelf or in the fridge, so …
Barbecue Rubs, Marinades and Sauces – Oh My!
June 26, 2009 | by Diana
The other day my friend and I were discussing barbecue and she was troubled because she had rubs but never used them because she didn’t know how. I’m learning a little bit about barbecue, and I’m willing to share my information with you. Add to the conversation and share what you know too.
- Rubs – It’s a dry mix of spices – also sometimes salt and sugars. After you cut away the fat, or if you don’t want it – the skin (I remove chicken skin) and generally prepare the meat, you sprinkle on the rub and give it a little patting or rubbing.
- Marinade – It’s a wet mix of spices, liquids etc, that you let your meat or fish hangout in for a little while before cooking. You can let a marinade sit for a half an hour or even over night. A marinade can be used to tenderize the meat by using an acid and oil. Don’t marinade fish for more than 30 minutes because the acid …
