Category: Sauces

Korean-inspired Rice Bowl with Gochujang Dressing by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

A rice bowl is a delicious and versatile meal. You start with a ‘flavor idea’ and then build your bowl from there. I bought a jar of Korean gochujang paste and built my rice bowl around wanting to use this ingredient. (Gochujang is a sweet & spicy fermented paste popular in Korean cooking; the sweetness comes from fermented rice and the ‘heat’ from chili peppers.) Once I decided to build a sauce with the gochujang paste and peanut butter (!) the rest of the ingredients just tumbled into the bowl.

Poached JUMBO Shrimp with a trio of sauces by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

As 2021 has faded away, it’s time to celebrate both the end of the old and the beginning of the new. And big jumbo shrimp say ‘CELEBRATION’ to me. I used already peeled & deveined super-jumbo shrimp; sized 8 to 12 pieces per pound. Big and ‘meaty’. I made a quick poaching broth, both aromatic and a touch acidic with the use of a mild white wine vinegar. I’m serving these poached shrimp with three sauces: a classic cocktail sauce and two other sauces that are a ‘riff’ on the famous Argentinian ‘chimichurri’ sauce. Here’s to happy cooking & eating in 2022!

Mushroom Turkey Gravy by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Sauces and gravies are very satisfying to make, and not so difficult.
That being said, I think turkey-gravy-making falls into two camps: Those who can make turkey gravy right in the roasting pan using the turkey drippings (the roasted bird having first been removed to a platter). No measuring involved. My mother belonged to this group. A true gravy-alchemist.
And then there’s the rest of us: Those who make a separate classic French flour-bound sauce; aka a ‘velouté’ using measured amounts of flour, butter and stock. No ‘winging it’ for this group!
I know that as a classically trained French chef, I lack my mother’s gravy-boldness. And I console myself by saying my version is perfect to make in advance. Waiting for drippings not necessary.
Small consolation, I know.
But, be assured this gravy is equally delicious and perfect for the smaller turkeys or turkey-parts we will be roasting this year.
And yes, it can be made in advance.

CHIMICHURRI SAUCE by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

A famous, uncooked green-herbal piquant sauce most-often served with grilled meats.  It hails from South America (Argentina and Uruguay) and has many variations.  All variations include parsley and oregano and beyond that the ingredients used are somewhat open to personal interpretation.  I love the brightness of cilantro, so I always include it.  Sometimes I substitute fresh mint for the oregano and I always use red wine vinegar.

But… what I never, ever do is make the sauce in the blender or food processor!  Chopping the herbs by hand yields a thicker, greener, lush and in my opinion, better sauce.