Stuffed Sole with Scallop Mousse

Sole is easy to find across the United States. If you live in Seattle you have access to great fresh Sole almost every day. Sole is a very light fish, and can be pretty boring. Great Sole in other words, in my opinion, depends on the Sauce. The Sauce is what you will remember anytime you order great Sole in a restaurant.

26 years ago I first stayed at a small boutique hotel in Sausalito, California called the Casa Madrona. It is still there, and has become more fabulous as the years have gone by. Around the corner from the hotel there was a new French Bistro opening that evening. I went there, was one of the first customers, and had an incredible meal.

Christophe Restaurant Francais is still going strong even though I haven't been there in awhile. It still serves some of the best regional French Cuisine in California at decent prices. This recipe is from the first meal I had on opening night at Christophe's.

This recipe sounds hard to make, but it is actually pretty simple, and only takes around a half hour to put together if you have your ingredients handy. It is one of my favorites, and people bow when you make this recipe, but the secret is, it is very simple to make.

Stuffed Sole with Scallop Mousse

1 lb of Fresh Petrale Sole Filets
1/2 pound bay or sea scallops
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 chopped Shallot
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/8 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup White wine

Place the scallops into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 4 to 5 times. Add the egg whites and pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, lemon zest and parsley. Pulse to incorporate. With the machine running, slowly add all of the cream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl 1 last time, put the lid back on and run for 5 more seconds.

Wrap the Sole Filets around the Mousse and place in a pan with butter and lightly brown. Place filets in pan with wine as the braising liquid, and put in the oven to cook at 375 for 14 minutes. Take out, and plate with a little base of champagne sauce. Drizzle the champagne sauce over the top, and serve.

What Sauce to Use?

Well we just spent a week going through the mother sauces, what do you think would work well? Hollandaise, Beurre blanc, and Veloutte's all come to mind for me.

I am going to go for something that is Veloutte based. Veloutte as we know is one of the mother sauces. Since this is seafood I am going to reach in the freezer, and bring out a portion of the shellfish based veloutte I have made.

I like to keep four different veluote's pre made in the freezer. Chicken, Fish, Shellfish, and Veal. I make them once a year, and freeze them in portion cups. Shellfish, chicken, and fish are easy to make in a couple of hours, the veal however takes awhile. I make Shellfish veloute out of lobster, crab, crayfish, or shrimp shells.

Champagne Sauce

1/2 cup shellfish veloute, or you can substitute with fish stock, or chicken broth

1/2 cup champagne

1/8 cup cup butter

2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a medium saucepan, reduce 1/2 cup of champagne, and 1/2 cup veloutte to approximately 1/4 cup of liquid. Add the cream and reduce mixture to 1 cup of liquid. Add butter and stir until butter melts and thickens the mixture.

Truffles

If you have any fresh Truffles around this is a great time to use some. Truffles can be overpowering, not to mention expensive, so only use a little bit. If you live in the Northwest keep an eye out for the fabulous Oregon Truffles. Oregon Truffles are much less expensive than their French, and Italian counterparts. James Beard felt the Oregon Truffle was on a par with the European Truffle, but take that with a grain of salt because the late great chef who lived most of his life in New York City was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.

Chanterelles

Chanterelles grow wild out in the Northwest, but they also abundantly grow wild in Western Michigan. Sliced Chanterelles are also a great addition to this sauce when they are in season. Same with the fantastic Michigan Morels.

Corned Beef and Fried Cabbage

St Patrick's Day is only a couple of weeks away, and in Chicago you can find Corned Beef in most of the Grocery Stores, and Butcher Shops. We have a Butcher shop in our area called Orchard Prime meats which cures it's own briskets at this time of year. So we like to eat it a couple of times in March, and get the craving out of our system.

Originally "Corned Beef and Cabbage" was a traditional dish served for Easter Sunday dinner in rural Ireland. The beef, because there was no refrigeration at that time was salted or brined during the winter to preserve it, it was then eaten after the long, meatless Lenten fast.

Since the advent of refrigeration, the trend in Ireland is to eat fresh meats. Today this peasant dish is more popular in the United States than in Ireland. Irish-Americans and lots of other people eat it on St. Patrick's Day, Ireland's principal feast day, as a nostalgic reminder of their Irish heritage.

The Best Corned Beef I have ever had was from a butcher shop in Seattle that does nothing but Corned Beef, and Pastrami called Market House. Market House, located in the Denny Regrade, was started back in 1948, and specializes in curing beef briskets for 14 whole days which is the old fashioned way of doing it in a barrel. Corned Beef today is mostly injected with an industrial needle and cured in that fashion. The best, and most traditional Corned Beef is barrel cured.

Most people boil Corned Beef, but I don't. I follow the Market House Recipe, and roast it in the oven for around 3 hours depending on the size of the brisket. A full size brisket can take as long as four hours.

Market House Corned Beef

Corned Beef Brisket
Water
Coca Cola, or Dr Pepper

Place the brisket, fat side up in a roasting pan with water, and 1/2 can Coca Cola. Tent with foil, and roast for at least three hours at 350 degrees depending on the size of the brisket. Take off foil for the last 1/2 hour of roasting. You can also add a Sweet Mustard Onion Glaze at that time if you choose. I can't remember where I picked up adding the Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola to the braising liquid, but it supposedly helps tenderize the brisket while it is cooking.

Sweet Mustard Onion Glaze

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
1/8 cup Whole Grain Mustard
1/4 cup Honey

1 oz Cider Vinegar
One Onion
1 tsp Sugar
Olive Oil

Saute onions with olive oil until they are translucent. Add a teaspoon of sugar to caramelize the onions at higher heat. Keep cooking till they browned and caramelized. Set aside to cool. Combine the mustard's, honey, caramelized onions and blend together. thin with a little cider vinegar and you have your glaze.

Fried Cabbage

Boiled Cabbage is really boring, but Fried Cabbage is simple, and fantastic. Even though you are using bacon it never tastes greasy. Fried Cabbage is a great low carbohydrate side dish by the way that is filling, a nutritious.

One Head of Cabbage
Two Onions
4 Strips of Bacon
Lots of Ground Pepper
Kosher Salt

Dice Bacon and cook till browned. Slice Cabbage, and Onions thinly. Fry the Cabbage, and Onions in the drippings with plenty of Cracked Black Pepper, and Salt to taste.

O'Brien Potato's

Once again we aren't into the boiled cabbage, and potato's, but we keep it Irish by making our special type of O'Brien Potato's when we are not watching the carbohydrates.

Diced Cooked Potato's (Cooled)
Diced Onions
Diced Sweet Green Peppers
Diced Sweet Red Peppers
Olive, Vegetable Oil, or Bacon Drippings

Corned Beef Hash

When we make a big brisket, we slice the best, and hash the rest. Corned Beef Hash is an excellent treat for breakfast. We always make sure we have some leftover to make hash. On a large brisket we usually reserve the tip, and fattiest portions for the hash.

Cooked Corned Beef
Bacon
Onion
Potato's
Carrots
Salt
Pepper

If you have a meat grinder you can simply grind up all the ingredients together and mix. I prefer to carefully chop and dice each ingredient by hand to give it more texture. How you prepare it is your preference. Once it is ground, or diced and mixed together we simply fry it in a pan till crispy brown, and serve. A note on the bacon, don't use a maple bacon, it doesn't mix that well with the corned beef.

Seasonal Planning

True seasonal cuisine follows a schedule throughout the year influenced by the weather, holidays, vacations, and the products available at different types of the year. In this modern world we can make anything, anytime we want due to the advanced transportation, freezing, and preservation processes that have been developed over the last century.

Still food, and cooking has it's season's, and if you want to have a gourmet kitchen you need to put together a schedule that works for you so you always have the freshest ingredients on hand. Planning ahead maked it easy throughout the year.

We just talked about the Mother Sauces this week, and the reason is that you can prepare a number of them ahead to use throughout the year. When you have that stuff done ahead of time it is really easy to grab a small portion from the freezer and produce a meal that would take most people a couple of days to prepare. Today I am sharing with you the things I have done in the past to prepare for the culinary year.

Right now we are in Lent, so I focus on protein which means we eat a lot of Seafood, Beef, and Pork. Since fish is a staple of Lent we are going to spend a lot of time with that among other things till Easter.

Winter- Late January, and February

Everything, including animals, and humans slows down this time of year right after the New Year, and I tend to make savory dishes, and stews during this time of the year. It is a time for smaller dinner parties, and relaxation after the bustle of the Holidays.

We have people over at Super Bowl, but we limit it to keep it comfortable, and get away from cooking for the masses after the Holiday orgy.

Fresh Dungeness Crab is a great treat this time of year since the harvest starts around Christmas out in the Northwest. The best crab of the year is available at this time because of the body fat the crab contains at this time.

Lent - Late February, March, Very Early April

This is the time for us to get back in shape. We tend to go low carb, and high protein this time of year mixed with exercise. Since we cut off the alcohol, and the empty calories it provides, the party is usually on hold for six weeks. We do however find that we save a lot of money which is great for our Spring travels.

St Patrick's Day is a big holiday in Chicago, or another excuse to get drunk depending on who you talk to. They dye the river green, have a big parade, in downtown, and the South suburbs. It's lent for us, so no green beer over here, no potato's either, but I do roast the traditional brisket of Corned Beef and serve it with something called Fried Cabbage.

Lent doesn't have to be boring, every Friday there is Seafood, and during the week we grill quite a bit on our indoor grill. We try to get imaginitive with the sauces, and work our away around the absence of carbohydrates.

Early Spring - Late March, April

To me it all starts with Easter Sunday which is a day I can have anything I want since the self imposed Lenten restrictions are over. Ham, Lamb Rack's, and Roasted Leg of Lamb with Mint are traditional.

Time to get the vegetable, and herb garden in shape for the Summer months. It is also time to catch up, and make your stocks for the year. I like to make, when I have the freezer space, batches of Fish Stock, Shellfish Stock, Veal Stock, Chicken Stock, Beef Stock, Veloute's, and Espagnole during this time of year. I try to make a years supply over a few rainy weekends.

Things I like to have in the garden

I'm not running a farm, but I do like things fresh from my own garden. We live in rural Chicago and there are plenty of farm stands to pick from during the season. We also have access tot he bounty Southwestern Michigan has to offer. Still there are a few things I prefer to grow myself in the space provided that are easy to take care of.

I have grown onions, potato's, cucumbers, and corn, in the past, but unless you have a large patch of ground it really isn't worth the time for me since they are inexpensive commodities available fresh, and usually in better shape from a farm side produce stand.

Out at my childhood house in Seattle we had a number of fruit tree's in the yard. My cousin in Orange County carries on the tradition by really studying growing fruit in his backyard. He has about twenty different types of tree's going back there. He has a huge avocado tree, but he hates Avocado's, so we load up when we are out there.

I am sure we will plant a couple of fruit tree's here at the new house outside of Chicago, but I am not sure yet which way I will go yet.

Vegies

Beefsteak Tomato's
Cherry Tomato's
Plum Tomato's
Eggplant
Hot Peppers
Sweet Peppers
Scallions
Garlic
Salad Greens

Herbs

Basil
Dill
Fennel
Oregano
Rosemary
Parsley
Chives
Tarragon
Chervil
Sage
Thyme

Berries

Strawberries
Raspberries

Spring - May and Early June

Fresh Seafood and other ingredients are in abundance. The garden of course is started full of vegetables I plan to can in the Fall.

Soft shell crabs from the East Coast start to be harvested. We eat them quite a bit when they are in season.

At the end of June the fresh berries are in from different places around the country. If you live in the Pacific Northwest you really have it made since some of the best berries in the world are harvested in the Puyallup Valley.

Michigan is prime Blueberry country, and it is a great time to buy them to use fresh and freeze the remainder for use the rest of the year. Michigan also has great Cherries that you will rarely find anywhere else. Wild Chanterelles, and Morels are abundant when the ground is moist.

Traditional Preserves

Pepper Jelly (Red, and Green)
Blackberry
Raspberry
Strawberry
Blueberry
Boysenberry
Apple Butter
Cherries

Since Kate is Diabetic I am going to be delving into the world of Sugar Free Preserves this year for the first time. I think Splenda is truly a gift from the God's because it opens so many new doors for people who cannot tolerate sweets. This is also a great time of year to put those fresh Berries into pie's.

Summer - July, August, and Early September

Corn is a big deal in the Midwest, and I have a good friend, Bob Korn, no I am not kidding, who drives around Minnesota trying to find the sweetest corn on the cob he can find. Bob is very picky about his corn, and according to him there is an art to picking, and preparing proper corn on the cob.

Fried Chicken is another favorite which we make outside so we don't stink up the house. Fried Chicken is not an easy thing to make well. I have seen a lot of great Chef's including Bobby Flay fall flat on their faces while trying to duplicate Southern Roadhouse Fried Chicken.

Potato Salad is another Summer favorite, and I am very picky about Potato Salad since my dad made the best one I have ever tasted. To him it was all about texture, and patience. A great potato salad takes two days to make to achieve that perfect consistency his was famous for.

Fish Fry's, Clambakes, Pig Roasts, BBQ Rib's, these are the things we concentrate on when the weather get's hot, and we can comfortably entertain outside.

It is prime BBQ season, and we tend to cook, and eat outdoors every night that the weather permits. This summer we will be building a couple of decks, putting in a stone patio, hot tub, outdoor cooking area, outdoor fireplace, vegetable/herb garden, backyard landscaping, and outdoor lighting. It is going to be quite the Summer long project.

Fall - Late September and October

It is time to harvest the fresh herbs, and dry them for for future use. Canning tomato's, pickles and relishes take's up time, and fills the home with a nostalgic breeze while the first football games of the year are on TV. Canning is an art, and we are going to spend a lot of time going over that come Fall. My parents did a great job canning, and you can really taste the difference using farm fresh, or ingredients directly from your garden throughout the year.

The Ball canning guide which was first written in the 1930's is till the bible to use. Botulism is a danger in canned goods, so make sure you follow the directions, and don't cut any corners.

What we didn't grow in our garden in Seattle, we used to supplement with fresh farm grown produce from Pike Place Market, or sometimes we would head East of the mountains to the Yakima Valley to get the best produce to can.

Just a few of the traditional items I like to can

Tomato Sauce
Red Salsa
Green Salsa
Taco Sauce
Sweet Cucumber Chips
Mustard Pickles
Dixie Relish (Chow Chow)
Corn Relish
Green Tomato Relish
Pesto
Asparagus
Green Beans
Mango and Pear Chutney

Wine and Spirits

Fall is also the time of the crush in wine producing regions like California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Michigan. Kate loves great wine, and we have a cellar in our basement which holds her collection which can be quite extensive at times.

Michigan has a young wine industry that does well, but I think what they will known for worldwide someday is their Eau de vie, Grappa's, and Appertif's which are craft made in Western Michigan, where an abundance of different fruits, including grapes are grown.

Eau de vie is a French term for a colourless brandy distilled from fermented fruit juice. The term is informally used for like beverages from non-French speaking countries. It is distilled from young fruit and rarely aged in wooden casks, thus preserving the freshness and aroma of the fruit. Spirits in this category include kirschwasser, a cherry-based beverage. When the eau de vie is made from from the pomace, the result is called Pomace brandy or in France Mar (wine), sometime eau de vie de marc. Eau de vie is used in the production of Calvados.

The Holidays - November, and December

The wheels come off over here starting at Halloween through the New Year. This is the time of the year for the big parties as we invite different groups of friends, and family over to celebrate. We also attend quite a few functions,

This is the time of year when Kate, and her mom take over the kitchen making the most incredible cookies, breads, and other baked goods. I am not much of a baker, but I have dabbled a bit in Artisan breads.

Think Turkey, Ham, Prime Rib, Roast Tenderloin, Lobster, Alaskan Crab Legs, and whatever extravagant, and gluttonous feast we can think up. We all entertain, and we entertain big, having twenty, or more people over on the weekends.

The Mother Sauces....Tomato

Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, Tomato Sauce, and Velouté are the mother sauces of French cuisine. We also have added Beurre Blanc which isn't officially a mother sauce, but it also is a solid base other sauces are built from. Once you know how to make these you can add a few different ingredients to each base to make 100's of different variations.

We finally have reached the end of the Mother Sauces this week and the finale is the easiest one of all to make. A Tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily out of tomatos, usually to be served as part of a dish (rather than as a condiment, so Ketchup is not a Mother Sauce) Tomato sauces are common for meats and vegetables, but they are perhaps best known as sauces for pasta dishes.

Tomato sauce isn't exactly one of those things you need to make at home unless you have a garden full of sun ripened tomato's that you want to preserve, or you can cook immediately with.

When I grow Tomato's in the backyard, and I haven't had a chance to do that since I have been in Chicago, I harvest them in September, and make a large amount to be canned, and used throughout the year.

The simplest tomato sauces consist just of chopped tomato flesh (with the skins and seeds optionally removed), cooked in a little olive oil and simmered until it loses its raw flavour, and seasoned with salt. Water is often added to keep it from drying out too much. Onion and garlic are almost always sauteed at the beginning before the tomato is added. Other seasonings typically include pepper, sweet pepper, basil, oregano, and parsley.

Tomato Sauce

2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed with flat of knife and sliced thinly
1/2 to 1 cup diced, fresh basil.
1/2 cup red wine.
1 T turbinado (raw) sugar (or Splenda)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes, or fresh sun ripened Tomato's
1 t lemon juice
3 T brandy

If you have good fresh tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water until the skins are loose and wrinkled. Cool in cold water and remove skins before dicing. If you squeeze through strainer with mesh small enough to catch the seeds, the removal of the seeds will make the sauce a little less bitter.

Start by throwing some olive oil in your pan, or pot, heat it up, and add your garlic, basil, onions, and spices. Once your onions are translucent add the rest of your ingredients and bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes and you have tomato sauce.

You can add dried Italian spices too, and I often do, but you can also do that later when you use the sauce later in the year when you are making a recipe.

The Mother Sauces....Beurre Blanc

Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, Tomato Sauce, and Velouté are the mother sauces of French cuisine. We also have added Beurre Blanc which isn't officially a mother sauce, but it also is a solid base other sauces are built from. Once you know how to make these you can add a few different ingredients to each base to make 100's of different variations.

Beurre Blanc, or Butter Sauce as we said isn't officially one of the mother sauces, but as I said it is a base you can build many interesting, and easy sauces from.

In cooking, Beurre blanc—literally translated from French as "white butter"—is a rich, hot butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar and/or white wine and shallots into which cold, whole butter is blended off the heat to prevent separation. (Lemon juice is sometimes used in place of vinegar and stock can be added as well). This sauce originates in the Loire Valley cuisine.

It is not uncommon to see recipes that include a beurre blanc sauce to which heavy cream has been added as a "stabilizing agent". This is a point of contention amongst many culinary enthusiasts and can be heavily frowned upon. To be precise: Adding heavy cream to beurre blanc turns it into beurre nantais (Nantes butter) which is a variation of the mother sauce and not the base.

Beurre Blanc

2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced
1/4 cup white wine or dry vermouth
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar
4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste

In a non-aluminum saucepan, combine shallots with the wine. Reduce a glace (until syrupy). Add the lemon juice or vinegar and reduce a glace. Remove from heat and add one chunk of butter, stirring with a whisk to blend. Slowly add all the pieces of butter until well combined. This technique is called monter au beurre, to finish, or "mount" a sauce with butter. If you need to return the sauce to the heat to incorporate all the butter, do it over very low heat, or the sauce will break.

Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer and serve immediately, or hold in a double boiled over barely simmering water, or in a Thermos.

Variations

You can go anywhere from this basic beurre blanc, with endless variations -- herbs, onions, fruit juices or purées, soy, chiles ... your imagination is the only limit.

Ray's Boathouse BoPo and Fire Butter

If you have ever been to Ray's Boathouse, and had some steamed clams you probably have noticed that the butter dipping sauce is quite incredibly addictive. Well it is high grade 100% butter that has been melted down, and separated, then it is recombined, and whipped with a whisk to make the creamy sauce. When you melt butter it separates into 2-3 components. The first is the Salt, next is the clarified butter which is oil, the last is the Whey which is white, and creamy.

To make this you need to be willing to melt at least a pound of butter. If you use salted butter you skim off the salt which is at the very top first. Next you ladle off all the clear, or clarified butter. Once you have the butter separated you slowly mix back in, while whisking, the clarified butter, into the Whey. This is what they call an Emulsion, and that is what you are creating. You don't add all the clarified butter back in, or it is going to break, so you need to find a use for the additional 1/4 of clarified butter remaining. One idea is you can mix it with garlic throw it on some bread, or use it to make a little Hollandaise.

This is also a good basic sauce to flavor with some Citrus, or Tabasco. Patrons of Ray's Boathouse often ask for Tabasco to spice up their Chowder, or BoPo to create what they call Fire Butter.

Compound Butters

Compound Butters are excellent, go great with Fish, and are very easy to make from whatever ingredients you have in the vegetable, or fruit drawer. For halibut I like to mix a little fresh Orange, Lime, and Lemon Juice with cold Buttter. I then re-refrigerate the butter and serve sliced on the top of the cooked fish, or vegetables. As it melts it turns into a savory, creamy sauce.

The whole idea on any type of compound butter, or Beurre Blance is to do it at low heat so the butter does not separate.

The Mother Sauces....Mayonnaise

Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, Tomato Sauce, and Velouté are the mother sauces of French cuisine. We also have added Beurre Blanc which isn't officially a mother sauce, but it also is a solid base other sauces are built from. Once you know how to make these you can add a few different ingredients to each base to make 100's of different variations.

Mayonnaise is a staple in this country, and around the world. It is hard to find a household that doesn't have a jar of Hellman's, or Best Food's Mayo in the fridge. Processed Mayonnaise is a handy thing to keep around, but you really have not had Mayonnaise until you have tested the homemade fresh variety.

Fresh Mayonnaise is a mother sauce, processed Mayonnaise, not so much.

Mayonnaise is a thick sauce made primarily from vegetable oil and egg yolks. Whitish-yellow in color, it is a stable emulsion formed from the oil and yolks and is generally flavored with salt, pepper, vinegar and/or lemon juice, and frequently mustard.

Mayonnaise is made by slowly adding oil to an egg yolk, mustard, vinegar, and salt. The mustard helps to keep the emulsion stable while whisking vigorously to disperse the oil into the liquid. Egg yolk contains lecithin, which acts as the emulsifier. All ingredients are added at the beginning of the process to prevent speckles. Adding the salt after emulsification can cause white speckles.

The traditional French recipe is essentially the same as the basic one described above, but it uses top-quality olive oil and vinegar. Some nouvelle cuisine recipes specify safflower oil. It is considered essential to constantly beat the mayonnaise using a whisk while adding the olive oil a drop at a time, fully incorporating the oil before adding the next tablespoon.

Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar
1-1/2 cups olive or other salad oil
4 teaspoons hot water

Beat yolks, salt, mustard, sugar, pepper, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl until very thick and pale yellow.

Place yolks, salt, mustard, sugar, pepper, and 3 teaspoons lemon juice in blender cup or work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade, and buzz 15 seconds (use low blender speed). Now, with motor running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup oil (use moderately high blender speed). As mixture begins to thicken, continue adding oil in a fine steady stream, alternating with hot water and remaining lemon juice. Stop motor and scrape mixture down from sides of blender cup or work bowl as needed.

Variations

Sauce Nicoise: Prepare mayonnaise as directed and set aside. Mix 2 tablespoons tomato puree with 2 minced pimientos and 1/2 crushed clove garlic; press through a fine sieve and blend into mayonnaise.

Ailoli Sauce: Prepare mayonnaise as directed and mix with fresh crushed garlic.

Russian Mayonnaise: Prepare mayonnaise, then mix in 1/4 cup black or red caviar, 1/2 cup sour cream, and 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill.

Mustard Mayonnaise: Prepare mayonnaise, then mix in 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard.

Curry Mayonnaise: Prepare mayonnaise, then blend in 1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder.

Chantilly Mayonnaise: Prepare mayonnaise, then fold in 1/2 cup heavy cream, beaten to soft peaks.

Fruit Mayonnaise: Prepare mayonnaise, then beat in 3 tablespoons each orange juice and superfine sugar, 1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind, and a pinch nutmeg. For added zip, mix in 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other fruit liqueur. Serve with fruit salads.

The Mother Sauces....Veloute

Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, Tomato Sauce, and Velouté are the mother sauces of French cuisine. We also have added Beurre Blanc which isn't officially a mother sauce, but it also is a solid base other sauces are built from. Once you know how to make these you can add a few different ingredients to each base to make 100's of different variations.

In preparing a velouté sauce, a light stock (one in which the bones used have not been roasted), such as chicken, veal, shellfish, or fish stock, is thickened with a blond roux.

Thus the ingredients of a velouté are butter and flour to form the roux, a light chicken, veal, fish stock, or shellfish stock, salt and pepper for seasoning. Commonly the sauce produced will be referred to by the type of stock used e.g. chicken velouté.

It is often served on poultry or seafood dishes, and is used as the base for other sauces. Sauces derived from a velouté sauce include Allemande sauce (by adding lemon juice, egg yolks, and cream), Suprême sauce (by adding mushrooms and cream to a chicken velouté), and Bercy sauce (by adding shallots and white wine to a fish velouté).

Veloute Sauce

1 1/2 cups white stock (veal, chicken, or fish) - white stock just means the bones were not roasted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Bring the stock to a simmer in a large saucepan.

In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over low heat (don't let it burn) and add the flour. Raise the heat to medium and stir the butter and flour together for about 2 minutes. You are making the roux. Take a good whiff and it should have a pleasant toasted smell.

Whisk the simmering stock into the roux and keep heating and whisking. When the stock begins to simmer again, turn down the heat to low and cook until the sauce thickens. A thin skin may form, just skim it away with your spoon. Depending on your stovetop, the sauce may take 5 - 10 minutes to get to your desired consistency.

Season with salt and pepper. Strain if you have a fine mesh strainer or chinois.

White Veal Stock

10 pounds Veal bones
2 large onions
2 to 3 cloves
2 stalks celery
2 white leeks, washed
4 carrots, peeled
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
4 to 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 bunch parsley (1 cup loose)

Cover the bones with cold water. Bring slowly to a boil and skim the solidified blood and albumin that rises to the surface of the water. Boil for 2 hours, skimming regularly. Most Of the scum will rise to the top during these first 2 hours.

Stick one of the onions with the cloves. Add to the pot along with the celery, leeks, carrots, garlic, seasoning and herbs.To give an amber golden color to the stock (if a consommé or aspic is to be made from the stock), cut an unpeeled onion in half and brown in a skillet on medium heat on top of the stove until the cut side turns quite dark. Add to the stock.

Boil slowly for 6 hours, or 2 hours if you use only chicken or fish bones. Evaporation will reduce the liquid. Add water periodically to compensate. Strain and reduce to 3 quarts. Refrigerate overnight then discard the fat which will have solidified on top of the stock. Pack in small containers and freeze if not needed.

White Fish Stock

10 pounds White Fish Bones (Halibut, and Cod work well, Salmon is too strong)
2 large onions
2 to 3 cloves
2 stalks celery
2 white leeks, washed
4 carrots, peeled
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
4 to 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 bunch parsley (1 cup loose)

Cover the fish bones with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for an hour and periodically skim the foam off the top.

Add your vegetable and seasonings, and simmer for another hour.

White Chicken Stock

10 pounds Chicken bones
2 large onions
2 to 3 cloves
2 stalks celery
2 white leeks, washed
4 carrots, peeled
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
4 to 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 bunch parsley (1 cup loose)

Put the leftover bones and skin from a chicken carcass into a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Add veggies like celery, garlic, onion, carrots, parsley.

Add salt and pepper, about 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Add the rest of your spices.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to bring the stock to a low simmer.

Simmer uncovered at least 4 hours, occassionally skimming off the foam that comes to the surface.

Remove the bones and strain the stock.

Shellfish Stock

4-6 cups shellfish shells, from shrimp, lobster, and/or crab
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 large yellow onion, sliced or chopped
1 carrot, roughly sliced or chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly sliced or chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 sprigs of thyme
Several sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
10-15 whole peppercorns
2 teaspoons salt

Break thick shells (lobster and crab) into smaller pieces by putting in a sealed, thick plastic bag and either rolling with a rolling pin or hitting with a meat hammer to crush. Cut up thinner shrimp shells with a chef's knife. Don't crush or cut too small. You can even skip this step if you want, if you are already dealing with broken up shell pieces (like cracked crab). Put in a large stock pot and cover with an inch (but no more than an inch) of water.

Put the stove temperature on medium high and slowly heat the shells in the water. As soon as you see that little bubbles are starting to come up to the surface, reduce the heat to medium. Do not let it boil. You want to maintain the temperature at just below a simmer, where the bubbles just occasionally come up to the surface. Do not stir the shells. Stirring will muddy up the stock. As the bubbles come up to the surface a film of foam will develop on the surface. Use a large slotted spoon to skim away this foam. Let the shells cook like this for about an hour; skim the foam every few minutes. The foam comes from shells releasing impurities as their temperature increases.

Put the thyme, bay leaves, and parsley in cheese cloth. Secure with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni.

Once the stock has stopped releasing foam, you can add the wine, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, herb bouquet garni, and peppercorns. Bring to a low simmer and reduce heat so that the stock continues to simmer, but not boil, for 30 minutes. If more foam comes to the surface, skim it off. Add salt and remove from heat

Dampen a few layers of cheesecloth and place over a large, fine mesh strainer, over a large pot or bowl. Pour the stock into the strainer. Discard the solids. Either use the stock right away, or cool for future use. If you aren't going to use in a couple of days, freeze (remember to leave some head room at the top of your freezer container for the liquid to expand as it freezes.)

Variations

Poulette: Mushrooms finished with chopped parsley and lemon juice
Aurora: Tomato puree
Hungarian: Onion, paprika, white wine
Ivory/Albufera: Glace de viande
Normandy: Mushroom cooking liquid and oyster liquid/fish fumet added to fish veloute, finished with a liaison of egg yolks and cream
Venetian: Tarragon, shallots, chervil

Allemande Sauce

The classical Allemande sauce is made with veal velouté, but you can use chicken veloute if that's all you have on hand.

1 quart veal (or chicken) velouté
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste Place the veloute in a saucepan and bring to a simmer; reduce very slightly.

Beat the yolks and cream together in a stainless steel bowl. Temper the liaison by slowly adding a small amount of the hot veloute; repeat until you've incorporated about a third of the sauce into the liaison.

Slowly stir the liaison back into the pan.

Reheat to a very low simmer. Do not bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Strain through cheesecloth.

Supreme Sauce

1 quart chicken veloute
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cold butter
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Heat the veloute in a medium saucepan and simmer until reduced by 1/4, stirring occasionally. Pour the cream into a metal bowl and temper by slowly incorporating a small amount of the hot veloute. Slowly stir this into the sauce, and return to a very low simmer. Swirl in the raw butter until melted, then season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Strain through cheesecloth