Your Mom - All About the Mother Sauces

Apologies for the 3 of you who actually read this blog and were wondering what happened the last week and a half. We butchered a few more poor unlucky animals, had a day off for absolutely no reason, and had 2 exams and a presentation. In addition to all of that, Relay for Life was this Saturday, which is a walk I do every year for the American Cancer Society. I was able to raise over $1,000 thanks to all of you who donated anywhere from $5 to $200. This year was particularly poignant as my family lost Poppy (to call him Grandpa just doesn't seem to do him justice) only 2 months ago to the disease. So before I get all teary eyed, thank you again for your donations and definitely check it out for yourselves! And to top that all off, on Sunday I ran my first 5k! So, I promise, it was a busy week.

But, back to food, we officially began the third and last course in our first Module: Mother Sauces. Ah, the basis of French cuisine and every sauce you've ever had in your life (not quite): Espagnole, Velouté, Béchamel, and Classic Tomato! These sauces take a decently long time to make and aren't "plate ready" so Monday was honestly a bit laborious and not the most exciting, but it's all good because the last two days were much better!

We moved on from the mother sauces to derivative sauces, salsas, and emulsions. Corn and Red Pepper Salsa, Roasted Tomato Sauce, Basil Oil, and Mango Chutney were some of the few things we made. And while we didn't make it today, Chimichurri sort of fits under this category of sauces/oils/garnishes, and a bunch of you have been asking me for a good recipe since I mentioned it in the last post. So here's the one I've used and sort of adapted for myself...

Chimichurri






Ingredients:

• Cilantro                                   1 cup
• Parsley                                    1 cup
• Garlic                                      2 cloves
• Yellow onion                          1/2 of one
• Vinegar*                                 1/4 cup
• Water                                      1/2 cup
• Oil**                                       1/2 cup
• Red pepper flakes                   1/4 tsp.
• Salt & Pepper                         to taste

* I've used distilled, white wine, and red wine. Whichever you prefer - in my opinion it's a matter of personal taste and also what you're serving it on. Try white wine with chicken, red wine with steak, and distilled if you're not a fan of either.
** I use light olive oil, but you can also use canola. Try not to use something too heavy.

Instructions:

1. Take the cilantro and parsley off of their stems and cut up the onion into manageable pieces. Throw EVERYTHING in a blender and flip the switch on.
2. You're done. I usually make it before I make my food because if it can sit for 30 minutes to an hour it's even better.

Like I mentioned - this is great with steak, chicken, fish, and I've even poured some over my potatoes. It's all flavor and no fat! Let me know if you like it and hopefully you can accept this as my apology for not posting for a week and a half. Enjoy!

Photo credit: Chimichurri (Winecouver)