Sitting under all that cheese is a simple marinara sauce. By itself it’s an excellent sauce for pasta, polenta, and that Italian-American standby Chicken Parmigiana (or it’s vegetarian/vegan version, Eggplant Parmigiana). It makes a great pizza sauce. I even used some as part of a seafood stew whipped up in just a few minutes. As [...]

Categories: gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian

Turn that plate with polenta around and you’ll find pollo alla cacciatora, or chicken cacciatore. It’s really a simple dish to make.
The essential ingredients include carrots, onions, and celery, to make a soffritto; tomatoes, either canned or fresh, and some tomato paste; some wine; some cheese; a few fresh or dried herbs; mushrooms if you wish [...]

Categories: Lunch, braising, chicken, child friendly, entertaining, entrée, gluten-free, poultry, sauce, supper, technique, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: chicken, entertaining, gluten-free, main course, supper, vegan, vegetarian

If you only learn one dessert sauce, make it crème anglaise. You can alter the flavoring very easily and it goes well with virtually any dessert. It also makes what may be the very best vanilla ice cream ever! You’ll need three bowls to make this; stainless steel bowls are probably best.
Crème Anglaise
½ cup milk [...]

Categories: dessert, sauce
Tagged: dessert, sauce

I held a class last Sunday on the techniques of braising and sautéing and had a lot of fun. During the class I made a simple whole-grain mustard sauce that is really very tasty and quite versatile.
Sauté some chicken breasts, pork cutlets, green beans, or whatever else you’d like to. Meanwhile, mince a shallot. When [...]

Categories: sauce
Tagged: sauce

I was watching Top Chef: Las Vegas and saw one of the contestants struggling with sauce velouté. Really? You can’t make a blonde roux and mix it with white stock? So, for future contestants, here’s what you need to know, and I’ll even teach you how to make it into a soup.
First, make a white [...]

Categories: Soup, mother recipe, sauce, stock, technique
Tagged: mother recipe, sauce, Soup, stock, technique

Spaghetti Carbonara is a relatively recent addition to Italian cuisine. The sauce varies regionally within Italy as well as by country, and the pasta isn’t firmly traditional either.
Apparently the original sauce was made with guanciale, black pepper, pecorino romano, and eggs. Pancetta and bacon are commonly substituted for the guanciale, and parmigiano-reggiano for the pecorino (or [...]

Categories: eggs, entrée, pasta, sauce, supper
Tagged: entrée, main course, pasta, sauce, supper

The basil in the garden is going wild; some of it is starting to bolt. It’s definitely time to preserve some of it before it’s too late, and one of the best ways to preserve basil is in pesto.
There are as many ways to make pesto as there are Italian grandmothers. If you have an [...]

Categories: pesto, sauce
Tagged: pesto, sauce