What kind of sauce goes with dreams and auditions?

First off to my love, C, today is the culmination of years of hard work and determination. Not to mention talent and a spirit that is unparalleled. Today is your day. The day that your dreams and aspirations come to a crossroads. I know that you are going to rock it just I am rocking the kitchen because that is what we are meant to do. I love you and send you all the support I can on this your big day. You are always on the marquee of my life in bright lights and today is just another step towards your destiny and ours.

Due to the lack of ability to put in as many keywords as I would like I’m having to separate this post into several posts. We are delving my friends into the wonderfully complex world of sauces today.

What is the purpose of a sauce? What is it meant to do? Is it a vehicle? Or is it a component? As I wrote about in an earlier post there are five mother sauces in classical French cooking. They are;

Béchamel
Espagnole
Veloute
Hollandaise
Tomato

These sauces can be subdivided, built upon, reduced and made into literally hundreds of different variations. But before we touch on any of those I wanted to explain about Bouquets Garni, Sachets, Oignon Brule and Pique, Matignon, Roux and clarified butter .

These are aromatic preparations of vegetables and herbs which are used to enhance and support dish flavours. As a flavour agent these can infuse flavour into stock, sauce and soup as well as enhance the aroma. Bouquets and sachets are typically used together and bound in cheesecloth for easy removal at the prescribed time. Bouquet Garni is made of fresh herbs and vegetables ties together in a bundle. Sachets are comprised of ingredients and flavouring agents such as peppercorns, herbs and spices. Oignon Brule and Oignon Pique are flavouring agents based on whole, half or quartered onions. The first is exactly as the name suggests, a browned or slightly darkened onion. The second includes pressing things into the onion such as cloves.

A standard bouquet according to the Culinary Institute of America which is sufficient to flavour 3.84 Litres of liquid contains;

1 Sprig of Thyme
3 or 4 Parsley stems
1 Bay Leaf
2 or 3 Leek Leaves and 1 Stalk celery

A standard sachet d’epices to flavour 3.84 Litres of liquid contains;

3 or 4 Parsley Stems
1 Sprig of Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
2 grams of Cracked Peppercorns
1 Garlic Clove

Asian aromatics consist of 2 parts Ginger, 2 parts Garlic and 1 part Green Onion. Then of course you have the Cajun Trinity (Mire Pois) 2 parts Onion, 1 part green Pepper and 1 part celery.

A Matignon is used as a compliment to braised or fried dishes and consists of;

99 g Ham
128 g Onion
128 g Carrot
57 g Celery
1 Sprig Thyme
1 Bay Leaf

Roux is a thickening agent for soups, stews, some dishes and sauces requiring a certain flavour. Roux will change the colour of a sauce and give it a toasted nutty flavour (Dark Roux). Roux can be made of numerous ingredients but usually includes a starch and some type of fat. I.e. Butter and Flour which then cooked to remove the cereal (read flour) taste. When making a roux you have to avoid extreme temperatures to prevent lumping. Cool or room temperature roux is easier to combine than ice cold roux because the fat is not solid. Very cold liquid should not be used as it will harden the roux thereby eliminating its thickening powers.

Roux is not limited to flour (and when using flour make sure that you use all purpose as it is the best for roux). You can also use Arrowroot, Cornstarch, Tapioca, Potato Starch and Rice Flour. Each of these has a different character that it brings to the party and are used according to the result that you are seeking.

Clarified Butter is made by heating the butter so that you can skim off the milk solids and water. By doing this the butter then is open to higher temperatures. 1 pound of butter will yield approximately 320 g of clarified butter.

A liaison is a mixture of egg yolk and cream (35% is best) to enrich and slightly thicken sauces and soups. It is also used to add body and sheen as well as enrich the dish. To thicken 24 fluid ounces add 3 parts 35% and 1 part egg yolk.

So step one of my sauce knowledge has included learning and internalizing all these things. The next post is going to touch on Brown Sauce or Espagnole.

I hope that you all are having an awesome day and are inspired. For the love of my life I include this quote from Charles R. Swindoll; “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” And your attitude is amazing. Go kick ass today lover. I know you can and will because of everything you are. I'm infinitely proud of you.

To everyone else, spread your wings and realize your dreams. It is the best feeling in the world.

A la prochaine

SDM