Cream Sauces
Wow, it's been a while since anyone has posted!
Here are a couple of sauce recipes I've been using for a while. They fit my definition of modular food since they can be used in so many different ways. Also, they are concepts rather than strict recipes, and thus many variations are possible.
Part of why I'm listing them is to make sure I still have the recipes should the original sites disappear.
The first one is a wine cream sauce, more or less based on the recipe I found here.
The basic proportions are 1 part wine to 2 parts cream. I usually use leftover wine since it's no longer as nice for drinking. For cream, I use whatever is available, whether half-and-half, light table cream, heavy or whipping cream, etc. The proportions are not exact, of course, but it's a pretty good guideline. The leftover wine can be pretty much any kind of decent tasting white or rose wine or even leftover champagne. The quantity I make is dependent on how much leftover wine or cream I have available. The original recipe calls for 1 cup wine and 2 cups cream.
I'll often add chicken, vegetables, and/or cheese. Mostly I serve this with pasta, but it is really good with just about anything I've tried it with so far.
One version:
Take one chicken breast. Saute it in a mix of olive oil and butter. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic to each side as it sautes. When it's done, take it out of the pan and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Thinly slice it on the diagonal and set it aside.
In the same pan, saute up a diced shallot, adding a bit more butter or olive oil to the pan if necessary. When it's almost done, add some minced garlic and saute that, too. The original recipe calls for half of a small onion instead of a shallot, but I use whatever's available.
Then add the wine. Let it cook down by about half, then add the cream. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add a handful or two of shredded parmesan cheese shortly before serving, just long enough for it to melt. (I sometimes forget to add the cheese, and the sauce stills tastes pretty awesome.) Season with salt, pepper, and garlic.
Make pasta. Serve it with the sauce and some chicken. Garnish with a bit of parsley or anything else that amuses you.
The above is an incredibly versatile recipe. Just remember the 1 part wine to 2 parts cream, and then have fun! I suspect other types of liquid would be good, too, not just wine. Cider, maybe? A nice stock or leftover gravy?
I think this would be good poured over roasted or steamed veggies. Or served with brown rice or bulgur wheat. Or mixed with leftover meat and veggies to make a filling for turnovers. And so on.
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The second sauce is a lemon cream sauce that tastes good with fish. It is based on this recipe. It is a good recipe for using up small quantities of cream. As usual, any kind of cream can be used, not just heavy cream.
It is not as versatile as the first recipe, in my opinion. It is excellent with fish. The slight fish flavor added during cooking makes it a good sauce for grains and starchy things such as wild rice or freekeh or couscous or potatoes. But the sauce itself didn't taste as good when I made it with chicken. So we tend to only use it for fish.
The basic recipe/technique:
Melt a half stick of butter (1/4 cup) in the microwave. It doesn't have to be all melted, just really soft and close to melting. Add 1/4 cup of cream, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, some minced garlic, salt and pepper, and about 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice. (I usually use 1/2 of a lemon if I'm using fresh lemon juice, even if it ends up being a bit more than 1.5 tablespoons) Mix it all up.
Put a few tilapia filets (or any kind of mild-flavored fish) in an oiled pan. Pour the sauce over the fish. Add some diced scallions or shallots or bits of onion if desired.
Bake at 390 F (give or take a bit) until done, about 10-15 minutes depending on how much fish and how thick the filets are.
The sauce can taste fairly sharp depending on how much lemon juice and mustard is added.
I can see how this sauce is similar to the first one, with lemon juice being the acidic flavor instead of wine, and mustard used to shift the flavor profile. But the proportions and preparation are a bit different.
Here are a couple of sauce recipes I've been using for a while. They fit my definition of modular food since they can be used in so many different ways. Also, they are concepts rather than strict recipes, and thus many variations are possible.
Part of why I'm listing them is to make sure I still have the recipes should the original sites disappear.
The first one is a wine cream sauce, more or less based on the recipe I found here.
The basic proportions are 1 part wine to 2 parts cream. I usually use leftover wine since it's no longer as nice for drinking. For cream, I use whatever is available, whether half-and-half, light table cream, heavy or whipping cream, etc. The proportions are not exact, of course, but it's a pretty good guideline. The leftover wine can be pretty much any kind of decent tasting white or rose wine or even leftover champagne. The quantity I make is dependent on how much leftover wine or cream I have available. The original recipe calls for 1 cup wine and 2 cups cream.
I'll often add chicken, vegetables, and/or cheese. Mostly I serve this with pasta, but it is really good with just about anything I've tried it with so far.
One version:
Take one chicken breast. Saute it in a mix of olive oil and butter. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic to each side as it sautes. When it's done, take it out of the pan and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Thinly slice it on the diagonal and set it aside.
In the same pan, saute up a diced shallot, adding a bit more butter or olive oil to the pan if necessary. When it's almost done, add some minced garlic and saute that, too. The original recipe calls for half of a small onion instead of a shallot, but I use whatever's available.
Then add the wine. Let it cook down by about half, then add the cream. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add a handful or two of shredded parmesan cheese shortly before serving, just long enough for it to melt. (I sometimes forget to add the cheese, and the sauce stills tastes pretty awesome.) Season with salt, pepper, and garlic.
Make pasta. Serve it with the sauce and some chicken. Garnish with a bit of parsley or anything else that amuses you.
The above is an incredibly versatile recipe. Just remember the 1 part wine to 2 parts cream, and then have fun! I suspect other types of liquid would be good, too, not just wine. Cider, maybe? A nice stock or leftover gravy?
I think this would be good poured over roasted or steamed veggies. Or served with brown rice or bulgur wheat. Or mixed with leftover meat and veggies to make a filling for turnovers. And so on.
-------------
The second sauce is a lemon cream sauce that tastes good with fish. It is based on this recipe. It is a good recipe for using up small quantities of cream. As usual, any kind of cream can be used, not just heavy cream.
It is not as versatile as the first recipe, in my opinion. It is excellent with fish. The slight fish flavor added during cooking makes it a good sauce for grains and starchy things such as wild rice or freekeh or couscous or potatoes. But the sauce itself didn't taste as good when I made it with chicken. So we tend to only use it for fish.
The basic recipe/technique:
Melt a half stick of butter (1/4 cup) in the microwave. It doesn't have to be all melted, just really soft and close to melting. Add 1/4 cup of cream, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, some minced garlic, salt and pepper, and about 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice. (I usually use 1/2 of a lemon if I'm using fresh lemon juice, even if it ends up being a bit more than 1.5 tablespoons) Mix it all up.
Put a few tilapia filets (or any kind of mild-flavored fish) in an oiled pan. Pour the sauce over the fish. Add some diced scallions or shallots or bits of onion if desired.
Bake at 390 F (give or take a bit) until done, about 10-15 minutes depending on how much fish and how thick the filets are.
The sauce can taste fairly sharp depending on how much lemon juice and mustard is added.
I can see how this sauce is similar to the first one, with lemon juice being the acidic flavor instead of wine, and mustard used to shift the flavor profile. But the proportions and preparation are a bit different.
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