I’ve been watching a bunch of cooking shows lately and am always intrigued with the chefs when they have to work with unusual ingredients. I was watching Guy Fieri’s GUY’S GROCERY GAMES recently and was inspired by a Chef Darnell. This man was so inspiring with his outside of the box thinking. So I sat down today to make up my own sauce with what I had on hand using his inspiration. I also did a little research first on sauces in general.
A sauce is a seasoned thin or thick cream, liquid or semi-solid food. Semi-solids are where the liquid comes primarily from the ingredients themselves, like a salsa. Sauces can be sweet, savory or sweet and sour. Sauces add flavor, moisture and/or a visual element to recipes. Sauces range in complexity with French sauces being some of the most complex and Asian sauces being some of the simplest. Sauces with starches in them will continue to thicken as they cool. So, remember to stop the heat a smidgen before your desired consistency. “Mother” sauces are primarily from French cuisine although there are cuisine specific sauces based on ethnicity, such as Italian sauces. Sauces using a “Mother” sauce as a base with augmentation or added ingredients is known as a “daughter” or “secondary” sauce.
Why name it McGillicuddy sauce? I was watching an old I Love Lucy at the time 😀 It was just off the wall enough to make it original.
PAN SEARED CHICKEN with MCGILLICUDDY SAUCE
4 Chicken Steaks, fairly thin
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 (2+1) tablespoons butter
1 medium Shallot, finely minced
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup McGillicuddy’s Honey Whiskey
1/3 cup Peach Nectar
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in skillet over medium high heat.
- Add shallot and garlic, sauteing a minute or two.
- Add whiskey, bringing to a QUICK boil.
- Add cream, stirring to combine
- Pour into a bowl and set aside at room temperature.
- Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet.
- Generously season chicken with fresh ground salt and pepper.
- Sear chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through.
- Set chicken aside, keeping warm.
- Add juice to skillet and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Add sauce base, whisking to combine and bring to a SLOW boil.
- Let sit a minute or two to thicken.
- Spoon over chicken to serve.
ROASTED CARROTS and ASPARAGUS
2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 cups diagonally cut carrot slices
10 asparagus stalks, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon + Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
- Heat oven to 425°.
- Toss the carrots with 1 tablespoon oil and transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast for 15 minutes.
- Add the asparagus to the pan, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil and toss to combine.
- Pulse together the garlic and lemon zest until roughly chopped. Add lemon juice.
- Drizzle over vegetables.
- Roast until the vegetables are tender, another 10 to 12 more minutes.
- Sprinkle for Parmesan cheese when serving.
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