Home Made Sauces

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-and-Easy-Alfredo-Sauce...

this is a great alfredo recipe!

I have loved every sauce I have tried from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook or website. I always feel like a commercial, but their recipes really do turn out quite good. After a bunch of failed alfredo recipes, I can now make it!

I use a blend of recipes to make sauces. In the past, I looked at 2-3 marinara sauces and now I just make my own... using a little of everything that we like.

I love the starter marinara for pasta from the Everyday Italian cookbook. Beter Homes and Garden has a good basic recipe as well. Allrecipes.com is a great source.

A funny thing.... hubby and I LOVE anchovies on or on the side with our pizza with heavy sauce. My daughter always says EWWWW. Daughter is 16 and beginning to experiment with my recipes. She'll be shocked when she realizes a can of drained and chopped anchovies are in my homemade sauce that she eats almost daily!!

I don't add meat to my marinara. I cook homemade sausages from my local butcher shop.

I love the brown gravy mix you find by McCormick in the seasonings section of the grocery.

I have a homemade Alfredo made only with cream, butter and cheese... AWESOME but high fat.

I use a LOT of garlic, fresh basil, fresh rosemary and onion. Chopped carrots also are used to "sweeten" the marinara.

Enjoy cooking.

When you say gravy do you mean pasta sauce? I make chhese sause like this: melt 1/4 c butter add 1/4 c flour and stir until bubbly, add 2 c milk, heat while stirring add in cheeses. The more variety the better. You can use cheddar, mont jack, parmessan, swiss, mozzarella or any combination.
you can even just use velveeta. great on pasta,broccoli, anything really.Oh yeah, this is the important part...with the milk add salt,pepper,1/2 tsp mustard splash of worchestire sauce.

I'm wondering what you mean by store bought? Canned? In a jar? The biggest difference between home cooking and store bought is usually the larger amounts of salt added to the commercial brands.

I've been experimenting with Alfredo sauce b/c my son craves it and wants it for lunch every single day. He's skinny and needs the calories.

Last night's was a huge hit with him:

Saute A LOT of garlic (6-8) crushed cloves) in 1/2 C. of real butter and a drizzle of EVOO for about 2 minutes.
Pour in 2-3 Cups Half and Half ( I just can't bring myself to use heavy cream) and simmer for at least 5-7 minutes.
Add a heaping cup of grated Parmesan, a minimum of 1 tsp Salt and 1 tsp fresh ground pepper.
Stir gently over a low heat until cheese is melted and incorporated.

Pour over cooked pasta of your choice. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsely, or dry.

Last night I cooked the pasta Al Dente and needed to add more half and half to the pot to prevent it all from sticking. Wasn't quite saucy enough. My son has had 3 huge bowls of this. I would normally add shrimp or chicken strips but did not have any.

And I think the key to marinara sauce is to use a good organic tomato paste rinsed with either red wine or red vinegar. You can saute up any veggies your family enjoys: garlic, onions, mushrooms, peppers, olives, carrots, zucchini, eggplants....any Italian style veggies...add in any tomatoe sauce products, from stewed tomatoes, tomato purees, crushed tomatoes, plain sauce, depends upon how smooth or chunky you like, but you have to add that can of paste.

. I use the LAWRYS spagetti sauce mix packets from the store - NEVER store bought jars of sauce. 30 years ago my mom used Lawrys also. Good stuff. I fry a pound or two of hamburger, and include a very large onion diced fine.follow the instructions on the packet. The key to great sauce is to add 2 bay leaves and also some red chili pepper flakes- the red pepper flakes really make the difference. If you dont have those, a little bit of taco bell hot sauce from a bottle , or canned hot enchilada sauce, works. Dont use tabasco as it has to much vinegar. Be careful you dont over do it. You can always make it hotter, but it is not easy to take the heat out! The "heat" will build in the sauce the longer it cooks. Making the sauce one day, letting it sit, and using it the next day is another key to a great sauce. They need to steep. Or cook it on very low all day- strirring frequently. add freshly ground pepper and even some grated parmagian right into the sauce if desired. I get lots of compliments on my cooking and always on my spagetti.

Another key spice i use almost always when I cook is "cajun seasoning". It just gives everything a kick. It's great sprinkled liberally on chicken breasts and other meats.

Table salt is garbage and if you use sea salt you will find it actually has a more strong taste. Grinding you own pepper corns in a pepper grinder gives a better taste than using store 'ground pepper' from the canister.

I make my own alfredo sauce and it is easy:

Cut the top 1/4 inch off a large garlic bulb cluster, spray pam oil on it, and put the bulb of garlic in a piece of foil. Spray pam on it. close it up and toss it in the oven for 45 minutes. Meanwhile in a large fry pan, fry 1-2 C chopped canadian bacon for a few minutes then add 1 cube butter, 3 stalks of chopped green onion,1-2 C julianned mushrooms and 1-2 C julianned zuchini , fry for 5 -8 minutes. Add to the pan one pint of heavy whipping cream straight from the carton (not sweetened.) cook/boil for 3 or 4 minutes. Now add one 6 oz container of parmagian shredded cheese. Add 4 ounces of gorgonzola cheese. Squeeze the pulp out of the garlic cloves and into a cup. mash them. Add 1/2 C of the sauce you have prepared and really mash it in with the garlic . Once the garlic and sauce 'become one' add the garlicky sauce back into the large saucepan. Reduce heat and cook 5-8 more minutes until cheese is melted . Season with pepper and cajun seasoning.
We enjoy it over fetuchini noodles. Sprinkle tiny diced tomatoe and fresh shaved cheese over the top for presentation. YUM. I get raves about this sauce too. Always store your sauce and pasta noodles separately so that when you reheat it , it will still taste fresh.
My side dish to go with alfredo is steamed broccoli. I am a tasteaholic- with sensitive tastebuds, I must have flavor! So I dont just use water to steam my brocolli, I also add to the water 1/3 c soy sauce. Boil, covered, for about 8-10 minutes.

The key to a good turkey or chicken gravy at home is:

Remove your bird from the pan and pour your poulty pan drippings into a tall jar .I have a glass gravy separator but a jar (like a canning jar)works too. Let it sit for 5 minutes until the juice/drippings are at the bottom and all the fat is at the top. Now get a fry pan, and put it over low heat. Add to the pan 2 LEVEL tablespoons of the poultry FAT. Now add 2 LEVEL tablespoons of white flour. Stir. You just made what is called a "roux".
(The fat and flour MUST be equal, or you will get lumpy or greasy gravy.)
Stir the roux quickly and continuously (i use the back of a fork or a heat tolerant rubber spatula is even better), adjust heat accordingly, and cook. What you are trying to do is get it to brown. (but not burn!) When it is slightly browned, and thickened, now you can add your drippings (the juice, not the fat) or...use a can of chicken broth. stir quickly. You must work dilligently so have everything you need right there and available. If it seems its getting too thick, (it will thicken quickly as you keep boiling it) just add more juices or broth (or even water if you must), until it is desired consistency. reduce heat or remove and add chicken boullion to taste, cajun seasoning, pepper, and even some ground sage is excellent. If I am making thanksgiving, I usually do this recipe 3 or 4 times over and just keep making boats of gravy for the clan. Sometimes I will add a Knoor gravy packet and a cup of water to make more gravy if i dont have enough fat left. ps...I like to scrape all the 'small' chicken crusties off the bottom of the poultry pan and use it in my gravy.

My favorite meat is teriaki tri tip. I cut a tri tip roast into strips/do not remove fat.. (or I just butterfly it if I am tired) and put it in a ziplock with soy sauce, , sugar, garlic powder and sesame oil.. No need to measure the stuff just throw it in a bag.Fill the bag with water until the meat is covered. zip up, shake, and place in a salad bowl to keep the bag from tipping in the fridge, and marinate 6 hours in fridge - or overnight is even better. Next day prepare to cook it (if it is in strips) by threading on metal squewers. (I fold my meat in half before I thread it to keep it from rolling around the squewer when you try to turn the meat.)
Rub with a bbq sauce mix of :1/2 bullseye original and 1/2 yoshidas sweet and savory sauce and sprinkle with cajun. Cook on barbeque for about 2 minutes on each side. (they cook fast). Remove to a serving plate.Brush again with yoshidas. Serve over rice. Holy cow, its good.

This is how we make our red pasta sauce:
Saute some onions and garlic in olive oil. add about 3 large cans of tomato sauce, 1 small can of paste, fresh basil and some oregano. Simmer about 2 hours.
We like a simple red tomato sauce. If you like meat sauce, just brown a pound of lean ground meat and add to sauce after it's cooked.

The key to my red sauce is to add wine :)

I make my own spaghetti sauce. Start with 1 lb ground meat (I use buffalo, or beef), add some onion, and once the meat is cooked, add about a 1/2 cup of good red wine. Once that wine has cooked down, I add 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 1 or 2 cans of tomato sauce and italian spices. The other ingredient that I like is to add about a tsp of crushed fennel seeds. I often add them to the meat while browning. Also garlic (powder or fresh) is important. You can add it to the meat or to the sauce.

Cook at least an hour before serving.

Good luck!
J.

I make a variety of marinara sauces...the base is simple and wonderful....

I always use gourmet canned crushed or whole peeled tomatoes...there is a HUGE difference in flavor!! Cento or San Marzano tomotatoes.

Start with EVOO, add diced onion, garlic and whatever veg you want...finely diced carrot, celery and diced bell peppers. Saute until soft, add sliced mushrooms. Deglaze pan with about 1 c of red, dry wine...pinot noir or shiraz. Add you canned (2 large ones) of tomatoes. Season with S&P, fresh oregano, basil and parsley. Or add Italian seasoning.
Add Italian sausage to sauce and simmer until meat is cooked...or you can add the sausage in chunks to the veg before adding the liquids to brown it...then add the liquids and cook the meat in sauce completely.
Meanwhile cook your pasta and voila, awesome sauce!

You may wish to google 'mother sauces' and 'roux' and be sure to go to websites that are geared toward cooking (not like wikipedia or anything).

I don't have any but I'm excited to read some ideas!