This is a very basic recipe for this simple white sauce using what professional chefs call a roux. It can be used many ways besides thickening soup. There are lots of variations to this sauce and it is often used as a starter to other classic sauces or by itself as a sauce for cooked vegetables.

Beurre blanc, or white butter sauce, is exceptionally rich due to all of the butter. The fattiness is nicely balanced with a white wine/vinegar reduction. This classic French sauce pairs nicely with vegetables and lean meats.

A very authentic, and very simple-to-make, smoked jalapeno hot sauce that can be used in any number of ways. Make it as hot or as mild as you like.

"A remarkable blend of sweet and hot flavors. A beautiful presentation on a dark green plate." - Chef David Click Here to see my interview with Chef David including tips to home cooks.    ...

I found this recipe in my wife's 1978 cookbook called The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two. The cookbook is held together with some tape and lots of hope. This is a great recipe for cranberry sauce for turkey or chicken. We prepare this every year for Thanksgiving but with all thats going on, be sure to put it on the table. One year we didn't....

A quick and flavorful version of green peppercorn sauce that utilizes one of my favorite convenience products: Demi Glace Gold. Using it, this classic sauce can be ready in twenty minutes flat.

The reason this sauce takes so long is because there is a lot of stock reduction going on. Typically in a restaurant, they use an ingredient like demi glace, a brown sauce that is already reduced and is the base for all the classic sauces. Making a true demi glace at home takes a lot of bones and a lot of hours. Well worth the time if you have it and effort if you like this sort of thing, but for most of us, it is a pretty daunting task.

For those of you who are barbecuing today, here is a special treat from Chef Terrell Garrett. It is his very popular barbecue sauce that has been ten years in the making and according to Chef Terrell is close to perfection. This bbq sauce starts with a dry rub that Chef says is an integral part of the recipe.

Holandaise Sauce is very easy to make at home and will be much better than any of the powder forms you can find in those little envelopes at the supermarket. Here's a great article by contributing food writer, Chef Genevieve McGough. Video Demonstration For a very cool and informative video demonstration on how to make a classic Hollandaise Sauce at home, go to Cla...

This is Barbecue Bob's famous homemade barbecue sauce. We enjoyed it on chicken, but Bob says he uses it on all sorts of meats. This barbecue sauce is easy to make and is a great example of an unsmoked barbecue sauce.

If you're looking for a versatile condiment that's perfect for summer fare, consider salsa. I know many of you think of salsa as something to serve with tortilla chips or a Mexican dish, but there are a lot of interesting ways to use it. Salsa is the Spanish and Mexican word for sauce, but in America we think of it as a chunky tomato condiment that can be mild or rea...

How to make a brown beef stock, the backbone of many dishes from soups to braises to some classic French sauces. While making your own stock might sound intimidating, it is a very straightforward process. All it takes is time.

Mango salsa is one of those dishes that is very versatile and can be made with what you may have on hand in the refrigerator, my favorite kind of recipe.

My sister in law's version of mango salsa contains black beans. It is simply delicious, either with chips or pita as an appetizer or spooned on grilled chicken or fish. The addition of cumin along with the black beans make this right at home on a Mexican-inspired menu.

The chicken marsala recipe doesnt have the recipe for just the sauce....

This simple mint sauce stays bright green thanks to a bit of acid from vinegar. It is brimming with real mint flavor with just a hint of sugar--nothing like those cloyingly-sweet jars of bright green mint jelly that my mom used to buy.

Peaches, tomatoes and cilantro come together to make a sweet-tart, Mexican-inspired salsa that is not only delicious but a perfect way to use up all those ripe summer peaches. While my wife and I enjoy this on fish, the girls prefer it over chicken. Either way, it is a great salsa.

Pesto is the perfect way to use up bountiful summer basil. It also freezes well for use year round. Freeze it in tablespoon-sized portions or freeze it in ice cube trays. Add a portion to your sauces in the winter to remind you of summer again.

France's answer to pesto, pistou includes tomatoes while leaving out the pine nuts. The resulting thick sauce is the classic garnish for Soup au Pistou, and it also is a flavorful condiment for all sorts of meats and vegetables.

This short cut pan sauce is long on flavor. Using Demi Glace Gold and just a few other ingredients, you can make a great pan sauce, building on the fond from whatever meat you cook. Dinner is served in just a few minutes, and a great pan sauce is always a welcome addition to a meal.

Roasting the red pepper for this coulis adds sweetness and depth of flavor. It is a perfect simple accompaniment to chicken or seafood dishes.

This sauce is easy to make and don't take that much time and the quick recipe cuts down the time even more. In a restaurant, they would have on hand demi-glace or a reduced brown sauce to make these sauces but most of us don't have the time or energy to make them at home. It is a time consuming process but the results are spectacular. There are commercial products on...

Although remoulade was invented in France, I always think of it as Danish because when I was a kid, my Danish mom always had a tube of it from Denmark for making smørrebrød - a delicious open-faced sandwich made with a variety of ingredients. Here is a Danish version and also a quick version based on a recipe by Paula Deen.

A simple reduction sauce for a stuffed pork tenderloin (or any meat, really), this one is based on shallots, port and beef stock.

If you are looking for a sauce to finish your favorite pan seared fish like scrod, flounder, haddock or orange roughy, you will love this sauce. It's made with a lobster stock reduction from More Than Gourmet and will let you make restaurant quality sauces at home in minutes. It really is one of the finest products I know on the market if you want to make classic soup...

The KISS principal (Keep It Simple, Stupid) also applies to pasta sauce. Try this simple but very tasty 4 ingredient pasta sauce with sweet Italian sausage, grape tomatoes and great quality extra virgin olive oil. As far as fast meals go, this one is a real winner.

We all have our favorite formulas for making 'gravy' and I would love to hear about how you make yours but this is a good one to start with if you are just learning how to cook. Feel free to make additions and/or substitutions to adjust the flavor to your own preference.

This recipe came is from Suzanna Foo Chinese Cuisine. I am a huge fan of her restaurant here in Philadelphia and of her sister's restaurant in Ardmore on the Main Line. I have this sauce posted because it goes so well with her Pork Dumplings that we made as a family one afternoon with everyone helping out. You can read about the experience and see the recipe at Dumpli...

Wild Mushroom Sauce for Steak "This recipe for steak with wild mushroom sauce was posted back in 1997 but was lost in the transition to the new site so that's why it is showing up now." - RG My wife and I spent Valentine's Day 1997 with five good friends who flew in from both coasts. Living in Park City and being a holiday weekend, this was a perfect opportunity...

I have a recipe for Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta that calls for using a commercial brand of Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto or your own homemade version. Unfortunately the recipe didn't make it in the transfer to the new site so here it is. For the record, this pesto goes great on pasta but you can use it on chicken and some fish dishes as well as steamed or sauteed vegetables...

This cheesy dipping sauce is thick and rich and very flavorful. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but it is basically a flavored mornay sauce (bechamel sauce with cheese), just like you'd make for macaroni and cheese. But this one has beer in it and goes perfectly with soft pretzels.

When I think of salsa, I think of fresh tomato salsa with chunks of red tomato and bell peppers. Salsa is Spanish for "sauce" so there are many different types of salsa to enjoy. This vibrant salsa is made with tomatillos and jalapenos, and it's one of my favorites.

I call this Turkey Gravy In a Hurry. It's fast to make and requires few ingredients.

This is a pretty involved recipe, but I like to go all out for Thanksgiving. To save some time on the day, you can always make the quick stock the day before. You owe it to yourself to try this gravy; you'll be glad that you did.

Sauces with French names sounds kind of scary, but don't worry. A veloute is basically just a stock thickened with roux. This is one of the French "mother sauces" and is a good one to have in your repertoire.

Rich and flavorful, this sauce can easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the pancetta. If you have access to wild mushrooms (we get ours from the farmer's market), do try this. You can make it with commercial mushrooms, but the flavor of the wild mushrooms is hard to beat.