I'll never forget the first roast bird I made, when I had a friend over for dinner. I threw the balsamic roast chicken on the table, added the sides, and she asked me: "There's no sauce?" The question seemed foreign. Strange. Sauce? I grew up in a family where roast/baked/broiled meats were served as-is. Maybe once and a while we'd try out a saucy recipe, but it certainly wasn't a staple. I felt bad, and had nothing I could offer her save bottled bbq sauce or ketchup. At the time, I hadn't yet delved into the world of gravy.
If this has ever happened to you, or you find yourself scouring the Internet trying to find a good or different sauce recipe, check out this collection of sauce recipes at Nikibone.com. This page is chock full of saucy possibilities, but what I like most about the page is the diversity of flavors -- from my beloved wasabi to asiago, champagne to turmeric cream. The list offers flavors you wouldn't necessarily expect, and is a great jumping point for further saucy shenanigans. At the very least, it's a whole slew of tasty options on one small page that saves surfing time!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-12-2009 @ 12:34PM
Dr. Electro said...
Well, really! All because your friend is a snob? Dump the friend and eat the meat the way you liked it as a child.
Seriously sauces can be fun but remember what the Chinese cook said, "The sauce is not the main dish." It has always been best served as an accompaniment and should never take the place of properly prepared meats.
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1-12-2009 @ 1:25PM
Monika said...
I can pretty much guarantee it wasn't the most properly prepared bird, and was probably dry since it was free of brine and a lot of liquid underneath. :)
As for her, she's no snob. This was years ago. We were both young and coming from different worlds. If I continued to eat the way I liked as a kid, man, my life would be boring!
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1-12-2009 @ 1:58PM
Dean said...
OK Doc Electro, let's take this post for what it is.. a lead-in to link to an interesting site. Let's not turn it into an overreading of a comment made by a friend. Sheesh.
As for the link.. pretty good collection of easy saucees.
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1-12-2009 @ 2:41PM
Pyrofish said...
There's an interesting gravy page there too. mmm, graaaaaavy :P
http://www.nikibone.com/recipe/gravy.html
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1-12-2009 @ 3:11PM
Peter said...
This reminds me of whenever a wait person asks me if I want steak sauce with my steak, to which I promptly reply: "Why? What's wrong with the steak?!"
I always can whip together a quick & tasty gravy with a simple roux as I always keep "pucks" of frozen beef, veal and/or poultry stock in the freezer. Just make a pot of stock every other month and freeze the clarified broth in some small silicone cupcake pans. Once frozen, pop them out into a large freezer bag. Or better yet, vacuum seal them into smaller portions. This way you can use the pucks as needed for sauces, gravies, stews, etc.
Oh, and it's also good practice to keep some clarified butter in the fridge to use as needed to make roux. Or my preference which is to make ghee as it has more flavor IMO.
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1-12-2009 @ 10:34PM
Monika said...
Electro - Not a problem! Do you happen to deliver Chinese food with your Chinese cooking zen philosophy? ;)
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1-12-2009 @ 11:26PM
Dr. Electro said...
My sincerest apologies if I offended anyone. I only intended a touch of humor with my Chinese cooking zen philosophy.
Monika, please forgive an old man his poor sense of humor.
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1-13-2009 @ 11:14AM
LinC said...
I thought Dr. Electro's post was on the mark. When you invite a friend over for dinner and they criticize the offering, that's plain rude. I do appreciate the link to the sauces recipes, but I won't be inviting your friend to dinner at my house.
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