Sauces

• In a pot, combine cold milk with ½ onion (spiked with bay leaf and clove) and bouquet garni (French term for a bundle of herbs which traditionally includes leeks, parsley stems, thyme, celery greens and bay leaf) with a pinch of salt and pepper
• Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and add cold roux slowly
• Whisk until thickened
• Strain through chinois
• Add nutmeg and salt to taste

• In a pot over medium-low heat, add stock and bouquet garni with a pinch of salt and pepper
• Once the liquid comes to a soft boil, add cold roux and whisk in until a la nappe (French term describing the thickness achieved when a sauce coats the back of your spoon)
• Monter au beurre ( French term to describe the process of finishing a sauce by  whisking in butter to create a glossy and more flavorful sauce)
• Add salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Render bacon in a large pot over medium-low heat (on the stove)
• Sweat carrots, onions, leeks and garlic in the bacon fat with a pinch of salt and pepper
• Add tomato paste and cook to develop the color and flavor
• Add quartered tomatoes, salt, sugar and pepper (to taste)
• Add a bit of flour and stir through
• Add bouquet garni
• Place pot in oven and cook sauce for 25-30 minutes
• Remove pot from oven to add chicken stock and then place the pot back in the oven to cook for an additional 1 ½ – 2 hours
• Remove bouquet garni, puree sauce with a stick blender (or by placing the sauce in a stand blender), strain through a chinois, monter au beurre and adjust seasonings

• Whisk egg yolks in a bowl placed over a pot with simmering water
• Once their color begins to lighten, slowly add clarified butter (milk fat rendered from butter by separating out the milk solids and water from the butterfat – to make, simply 1) heat unsalted butter over low heat until it melts and its foam rises to the top 2) skim off the foam with a spoon and 3) strain and the remaining liquid is clarified butter)
• Add lemon juice and salt (to taste) and continue whisking until thickened

• In a pot over medium-high heat, sweat mirepoix (French term for a combination of 50% onions, 25% celery and 25% carrots) in olive oil or butter with a pinch of salt and pepper
• Incorporate a brown roux
• Add tomato paste and cook through
• Add stock
• Add bouquet garni
• Simmer for several hours, while skimming the top to remove fat and impurities
• Adjust seasonings to taste
• Strain through a chinois
• When combined with an equal part of veal stock and reduced by half, it is referred to as demi-glace and serves as the base for many more elaborate sauces summarized below

MODERN SAUCES

Beyond the Mother Sauces and their derivatives, many of today’s Chefs are enhancing the flavor of their foods by using the following options:

• Broths and Jus
• Purees
• Cream reductions  – heavy cream reduced and blended with stock
• Salsas – mixture of raw or cooked veg, herbs and occasionally fruit
• Relish – raw or pickled vegetables
• Chutney – cooked fruit or vegetable condiment that is sweet, spicy and tangy
• Asian sauces
• Flavored oils

As promised above, the following diagrams demonstrate the derivative sauces of each of the Mother Sauces. Each requires that you first prepare the specific Mother Sauce and then continue with the added ingredients detailed in each box.

As I abbreviated below, here are a few notes:

• “suer” refers to the process of sweating aromatics such as onion
• “glace de viande” is a glaze created by concentrated reduction of brown stock
• “gastrique” consists of a reduction of vinegar, wine and sugar
• “brunoise” is a knife cut which refers to tiny cubes measuring 1/8 in  x 1/8 in x 1/8 in
• “concasser” refers to a peeled, seeded and roughly chopped tomato

MOTHER SAUCE DERIVATIVES