While we were making the leek-rolls yesterday we heard the old Dr. Demento classic “Cows with guns” a couple of times. So… Today we had steak!

And you can’t say steak without saying sauce bearnaise, so we threw our innocent selves into the fray of the 5 great french sauces – namely the Hollandaise, the “mother sauce” (french: “mère”) of bearnaise. As some of you probably know, true Bearnaise is also as a kitchen nightmare due to the sauce’s ability to separate just, when you think you are home free, but we went an had a go anyway:

According to one of our favorite cookery books “Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Cookery” ( “Den klassiske køkkenskole” in Danish) the recipe for the perfect sauce bearnaise is as follows:

175g butter

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp dry white wine

10 crushed peppercorn

3 finely chopped shallots

1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

3 egg yolks

salt and cayenne

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

You melt the butter, a nice large piece, and let it cool. Remember to remove the foam:

Boil the vinegar, wine, peppercorns, shallots and tarragon until it is reducesd to about 1tbsp.

Add 1 tbsp cold water to help cool the concentrate.  Add the egg yolks and then salt and cayenne to taste.  Then you whip like mad while you warm the sauce very carefuly  until the sauce is light and “airy”.

And now comes the tricky part: Take the sauce off the heat and pour in the warm butter very gently while still whipping like mad. Don’t use the whey at the bottom of the pot! The result should be that the sauce starts to thicken.Then you strain the sauce…

… add the parsley and it’s all done.

Sounds very easy, doesn’t it

French people must have 3 hands or more, but luckily about two danes can do the same.

And so, our very first real sauce Bearnaise was made, just in time to  become the best possible companion to the biggest rare steaks, that have enteret our kitchen.. ever…

A quick and easy version of the Italian classic … Chicken Parmesan

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. Chicken Breasts, boned & skinned, 1/2 inch thick
2 Cups of Cave’s Italian Sauce, warmed
8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2/3 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1/3 Cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, finely grated
1/2 Cup Milk

RECIPE

Preheat oven to 415°. If Chicken breasts are too thick, butterfly cut them to the proper size. You will probably end up with about six pieces of Chicken when properly sized.

Put bread crumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese on a plate and combine well.

Put milk onto similar sized plate (make sure the plates have raised edges to prevent spillage) and place next to bread crumb/cheese mixture. Take each breast and first fully coat in milk.

Then, take the breast and fully coat with bread crumb/cheese mixture.

Place evenly on cookie sheet or baking pan lightly coated with no-stick cooking spray and place into oven.

Cook for 20-25 minutes until edges turn golden brown and then carefully flip each breast. Return to oven for another 5 minutes. Then evenly spread approximately 1/3 cup of heated Italian Sauce on each breast.

And, cover each breast with Mozzarella Cheese.

Again, return to oven for another 2-3 minutes until cheese is fully melted. Serve with a side of pasta, salad and warm bread.

Prep Time = 5 minutes
Cook Time = 30 minutes
Serves 4-6

©2009 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

1 lb cranberry

1/3 lb sugar

1/2 lemon

1 tbsp brandy

wash cranberry and put in the pan

add sugar and lemon juice(squeeze lemon), and then medium heat it

when it is boiling, reduce heat low and cook till cranberry becomes soft

when it is cooked, add brandy

serve it with Thanksgiving meal, or…with cake.

I use this for that and sometimes mix with cake dough…it is very good!

If you made too much, then save the extra in a canning jar. It is OK to save it for a long time (put sauce into the jar, seal it. boil water and put jar in it, boil it for a few minutes, take it out from boiling water, and then turn it upside down.)

I hope you enjoy!

click please

Anything with mint is a winner for me and this jelly sauce is no exception. The combination of apple and mint gives the bitter sweet taste , you can use with roast pork and lamb, an ideal compliment for  your Sunday dinner.

What you Need:

8 small apples (granny smith are good especially apples with pinkish skin for colour), 450g sugar, 2 tablespoons liquid pectin, 30g fresh mint (roughly chopped), 1 juice of lemon.

First quarter the apples and add to a large saucepan, fill the pan with enough water to cover the apples and add the mint and lemon juice. Bring this mixture to the boil and then  simmer for 20-30 minutes. Take off the heat and cool. After,  drain the liquid from the apples and set aside. With a potato masher lightly mash the apple mint mixture and pour the puree into a sieve over a large bowl. With the back of a spoon push and mush the apple in the sieve to extract the juice and fine pulp, be patient you will find after a while you will have got quite a lot out of the mixture. Once you have extracted as much as you can discard the mush left overs, and take the strained juice/pulp and pour into a measuring jug and then top up with the  cooking juice, to 1 pint.

Take the 1 pint of mixture and add to a clean saucepan and mix in the sugar. On a low heat stir until all the sugar has dissolved, now add the pectin. Turn up the heat and rapidly boil the mixture for 15mins, once the jelly has done it should have reached the temperature of 105C. Take off the heat and pour into a recycled sterilised jar, seal straight away, cool at room temperature and then chill. Do not worry if your mixture is liquidly when you add it to the jar because as it cools it will set.

Enjoy.

Enjoy your Motha-truckin’ turkey day peeps!!!

INGREDIENTS

485g (1 pound) Frozen/fresh raspberries

15g/1 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp water

INSTRUCTIONS: Pulse raspberries through a food processor for a few minutes until well blended. Strain the mixture through a chinois or fine sieve, pushing mixure through with a spoon and scraping the juice from the bottom periodically. You will have a lot of residue mixture in the sieve, throw this away. Take the strained raspberries and simmer over a low heat for a few minutes. Add sugar to taste, a tbsp will give you a tart coulis with a sweet edge. If mixture is too strong, add the water. If you are happy with the consistency, leave as is.  To make a raspberry sauce, add 2 tsp of arrowroot powder to a tbsp of water, mix thoroughly then add in  thin stream to the sauce, whisking all the time until fully incorporated. Cornflour can be used but it gives a more ‘processed’ texture to the sauce.

everyone has their way to make gravy, but let’s face it…the gravy doesn’t always turn out.  sometimes it’s too thin, too thick, or even lumpy…but why?  well some people like to use a slurry of flour and water to make gravy, but the problem with this is that it takes a long time for the flour to give any thickening power to the sauce.  it’s lumpy because you didn’t use a whisk when you encorporated the flour into sauce.  and it’s too thick because it needs more liquid to thin it out.  want a no fuss recipe?  here’s a basic one that i made yesterday with some rotissere chicken.

Gravy
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 – 14 oz can chicken broth
black pepper
salt

in a sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat.  once completely melted add the flour as you whisk.  let that mixture cook for a minute or two to cook the flour.  then whisk as you add the chicken broth.  let the sauce come to a simmer as it will thicken as the temperature rises.  once the sauce comes thickens season and enjoy.

tips

• when you add equal amounts of fat and flour together you’ve made a roux.  this combination has the power to thicken any sauce, including a bechamel (a white cheesesauce)…macaroni and cheese anyone?
• if you have meat drippings, add them.  this will give the gravy even more flavor and color.  just add less broth.
• need more help?  watch this video…fast forward to the 5:08 mark

This tasty sauce, traditionally eaten as an accompaniment to turkey can also be used with goose, game and cheese.  Can be served either warm or cold.

 INGREDIENTS

1 orange, juice and zest

175g / 6 oz sugar

5 tablespoons port

359g / 12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries

1 eating apple, finely chopped

………………………………………………………..

If you are using fresh cranberries, give them a wash and pick them over to discard any that look ify.

Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice. 

Dissolve the sugar in a medium pan with 4 tablespoons of the port and the orange juice.

Stir in the cranberries, apple and orange zest.  Cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes (slightly longer if you are using frozen cranberries), until the fruit is soft and the juice has thickened slightly.  

Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of port.

……………………………………………………….

This sauce will keep for weeks if kept in warm sterilised jars with plastic lined, screw topped lids.  Store in the fridge.

To sterilise jars:  Thoroughly wash and rinse the jars and place, upside down, in a cold oven.  Set the oven temperature to 160C  /  325F  /  Gas 3  (140C  for a fan assisted oven).   When the oven has reached the right temperature, turn it off and open the door.  Sterilise the lids by boiling them for a few minutes in water.  Be careful when removing the glass jars from the oven – they will remain hot for quite some time.

I Love holidays!  Love with a capital L (as you can see).  I’m like a little kid, I get completely overexcited about holidays, especially the winter holidays that bring friends and family together around festive tables to combat the potential dreary winter blues.  And, I’m an absolute sucker for traditions.  I’m one of those people who likes to do the exact same thing every year for each holiday and heaven help you if you try to get me to change because it’ll be an uphill battle (though I’m always ready to adopt new traditions to have in addition to those I was raised with)!  I firmly believe that having the rhythm and dependability of strong traditions in our families and on our holidays roots us in a way that allows us to then be more creative and accepting of differences in the rest of life.

Given this, you can probably guess about how much variation there is from year to year in what I think should be cooked and served for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.  That’s right.  Zippo!  Same thing, every year, and it’s good every time!  On the other hand, I feel completely free to experiment with the principle ingredients of holiday dishes the rest of time.  Right now I’ve been playing with cranberries, for example.  I got, shall we say, a little enthusiastic when I was buying cranberries in preparation for Thanksgiving.  So, I’ve been using cranberries in other ways, besides as a side dish for the bird.  One of the first places they showed up was in several loaves of pumpkin bread.  I also tried drying some – that was a total fiasco.  Now I’ve moved on to pairing them with savory dishes.  Turkey isn’t the only meat that goes well with a bit of something sweet-tart on the side.  Pork and chicken, basically the other white meats, are good with cranberries as well (and though I’ve never tried it, I would imagine that salmon, baked with mustard on it (don’t ask why but I imagine cranberry sauce being good with mustard, maybe I had it on a sandwich once) would be good with cranberries too – I may try it and get back to you).

Pan fried pork chops are one of the easiest dinners you can make (if you eat pork).  To cook pork chops, you can literally just salt and pepper them and then fry them over medium heat in a little butter or oil, turning them over every 5 minutes or so for 20-some minutes if they’re bone-in chops.  You have to cut into the thickest part to see if it’s done; it should have no pink, or just the slightest tinge of pink, left.  Anyway, these fried pork chops, then, are a canvas for any number of sauces because pork pairs well with everything.  The simplest is to toss a little wine, brandy, apple cider, or cream into the pan you just fried the chops in (aka deglazing) and scrape up the browned bits on the pan bottom into the liquid, let the liquid boil down just a bit and then use that as a sauce.  Pork is also good with most cooked fruit, like sautéed apple slices, or prunes that have been simmered for a while in wine or another cooking alcohol.  Which is why I decided to make a cranberry chutney.  I had some leftover dried figs in my pantry that I figured would be good with the cranberries – because they’re so tart cranberries need either a good dose of sugar or to be paired with another sweeter fruit (like apples, pears, dried apricots or figs, orange marmalade…), or both.  Cranberry flavor is delicious in and of itself, but it is also nice with warm spices, like ginger and cinnamon.  And, because I wanted to use the cranberry in a savory dish, I decided to add some curry powder, to make more of a chutney instead of a compote.  All the cooking required is putting the fruit, spices, sugar or honey and a little liquid together in a pot, bringing it to a boil, lowering it to a simmer, and then letting it cook until it becomes thick and sauce-like.  And the very best part of the whole endeavor is that cranberries pop as you simmer them!

Because I still had more cranberries, I decided to make the rest into a sauce with another fruit I had on hand, pears.  This took longer, but eventually it cooked down to the consistency of a chunky applesauce.  I then took it and put it in a couple of cleaned out jars, which I stuck in the fridge.  It’s making an excellent snack on it’s own and as a topping for plain yogurt.

Cranberry Fig Chutney

2 cups fresh cranberries, washed (and get rid of any rotten ones)

¼-1/2 cup dried figs (or other dried fruit), cut into smaller pieces

1 Tbs. minced fresh (or candied!) ginger, or 1 tsp. dried

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. curry powder

¼ cup honey (or sugar.  You can add more to taste depending on how sweet you like things.)

¾ cup water

Add all ingredients to a pot, cover and bring to a boil.  Remove cover, turn heat down to simmer, and let everything simmer together, stirring occasionally, until all the cranberries are popped the figs are soft and the sauce has thickened, probably around 20-30 minutes.  Serve with pork, turkey, or chicken.  It’s also delicious with Brie or another creamy cheese on bread.  I would even try it as a topping for vanilla ice cream.

Cranberry Pear Sauce

2 cups fresh cranberries, washed (and get rid of any rotten ones)

4 pears, cored and cut into smallish chunks

1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger

¼ cup honey or sugar

¼ cup water

Put everything in a pot, cover, and bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer, leaving the lid on.  As they cook, the pears will add moisture to the sauce.  If it appears to be getting too dry, add little bits of water.  Stir occasionally.  Cook until all the fruit is soft and mushing together.  Cool and serve.  This will keep in tupper ware or jars in the fridge for a number of weeks.

Before I begin, I must take an oath… “I, Ashley, will never again eat canned, jarred, or any other type of pre-prepared-store-bought pasta sauce as long as I am able to chew.”

2 recipes in 1 dinner!:

• The All-Pantry Pasta Sauce
• Hail Caesar! Salad

Talk about a lot going on in the kitchen… The broiling tomatoes, the other components of the sauce, the salad, the pasta, the croutons, some garlic bread… my goodness. It was a whirlwind. I was only left with one severe burn…

I successfully broke in the broiler in my new apartment. According to AB, the broiler is the most underused appliance in the American kitchen… and I am a perfect example of this. Turns out, broilers get pretty darn hot… so hot in fact that the heat from a pan that has been, say, holding broiling tomatoes, goes completely through oven mitts. Also turns out, this transfer of heat from roasting pan, through mitt, to hand creates one pretty nasty, painful burn.

Eggs Boilin'

Fortunately, I had my eggs for the Caesar dressing in their ice-water bath in which I could plunge my singed hand. So that worked out nicely.

This sauce required “all-pantry” ingredients (Pantry Raid!), so no fresh tomatoes: canned whole tomatoes. I like AB’s justification for using canned tomatoes rather than fresh:

Oh, I know some of you are shocked that I would make tomato sauce with canned product, but riddle me this: If you had a nice fresh, ripe, tomato off the vine, full of summer goodness, rich with perfume- perfect- what’s the last thing you would do to it? If your answer isn’t “cook it,” then you don’t deserve that fat vermillion orb in the first place.

My pantry/refrigerator included almost everything for the sauce (white wine, sugar, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, carrot, onion, celery, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt and pepper). However, there was one key ingredient that I lacked: sherry vinegar. Now, I don’t know where (on what planet/ in what grocery store) this stuff exists, but I couldn’t find it.

How, I ask you, out of THIS aisle of vinegars… this MASSIVE selection… AND after checking 2 other stores’ aisles… could I not find it?! I want to know.

I asked people, I googled on my phone, I called Ben from the store so he could google it on a people-size computer. No dice.

After 3 stores and much frustration I gave up and bought White Wine Vinegar and Sherry White Wine. I used equal parts of each and called it a day.

I don’t care… it tasted amazing. The sauce was a perfect mix of heat and sweet. It completely and utterly shattered my ability to enjoy a quick pasta dinner slathered in microwave-warmed sauce out of a jar.

The salad… I now understand what a disgrace the Caesar salad I purchase for lunch at the cafe in town is… no more of those! Also, homemade croutons… like a different food. I could eat those like potato chips.

Final dinner of awesomeness:

Fried rice

Tomato cream sauce pasta

Broccoli

Kabocya(Japanese pumpkin)

Nimono

Chicken nugget

Sausage

Fried rice : fry beaten egg and rice, add Japanese soy sauce and dried parsley

Tomato cream pasta : boil small pasta. stir ham and corn with butter, add tomato-tin, fresh cream and pasta

This is Today’s Obento!

3 plum/roma tomatoes, sliced into wedges;

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar;

3/4 tablespoon brown sugar;

1/2 teaspoon paprika;

Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat a little olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy-based pan. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and paprika, and simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have collapsed. Season with salt and pepper.

Fried salmon on mashed potato in sauce. Scrumptious!

This is a nice tomato sauce with a bit of a kick that goes very well with Boerewors (a South African sausage) and polenta. If you are going to cook polenta, I find it works best cooked very slowly, and with milk instead of water. See Maggie Beer, Maggie’s Table, 200-1.

5 or 6 plum/roma tomatoes, sliced into wedges;

1 brown onion, diced;

2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped finely;

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil;

1/2 tablespoon brown sugar;

1/2 tablespoon extra hot Nando’s Peri-Peri sauce (or more to taste);

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar;

Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, add the onion and cook until it just begins to soften. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, before stirring through the sugar. Once the sugar has melted, add the tomatoes, peri-peri sauce and vinegar. Simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have collapsed, and season with salt and pepper.

There was a little mix up with the ribs that were supposed to come in for us at school so we could cook kalua pork.  I was a little frustrated because I really wanted some pork! So I asked my chef instructor if I could do a musubi instead since the pork wasn’t available.  He looked at me a little weird and said, “for $48,000 (tuition) I’ll get you a  can of Spam”.

I was stoked! So today I made musubi in class with a little spam, sticky rice, and nori.  The sauce to rule them all consists of a lemongrass, pineapple, and coconut milk reduction wiht a little sriracha and lime juice finisher. I took that same sauce and worked it into a buerre blanc for steamed clams and mussels that I made later on.  The true compliment for these two dishes I made from “the sauce to rule them all” was that my chef instructor told me to give it to another chef instructor for their dinner…..that’s how you know you’re making great stuff…..but two dishes in one night? Yeah, feeling pretty great right now.

Spam Musubi with the sauce to rule them all!!! I’m keeping the sauce recipe for myself though…sorry

I went a little MacGyver to make the mold for it.

Eric

I roasted a rib of beef for sunday lunch this week and made this horseradish sauce to go with it.  I was impressed with its fresh and zingy taste, much nicer than anything that you can buy in a jar.  We only grew one root of horseradish in the garden this year and this is it, but we will definitely be making space in the garden for some more next year as it really is lovely to have a freshly made sauce.  The grating of the horseradish root does make your eyes stream though so be prepared. Making it with yoghurt rather than the usual cream means it is a lot healthier.  This means you can have more with none of the guilt.

2 tbsp horseradish root, grated finely
1 tsp white wine vinegar
150g greek yoghurt
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Place the grated horseradish into a bowl with the white wine vinegar and mix well, stir in the yoghurt and add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill and serve with roast beef.

Get printable version

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I refuse to come to Thanksgiving empty handed, so when I found out that my step-mother-in-law usually does canned cranberry sauce, I volunteered to take on the task of making some from scratch. I’ve made a similar recipe before, but decided to give the one on Epicurious.com a try. I decided on this one, as it had the fewest steps, and didn’t include chopping the berries.

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, cut in fine julienne
  
• 1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
  

Directions:

1. Peel 1 orange and cut the zest (orange part only) into a very fine julienne, as thin as possible; set aside. Squeeze both oranges for juice; set aside.
   
2. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small sauté pan. Heat up slowly and continue cooking until the sugar begins to caramelize. If necessary, wash down the sides of the pan by brushing with a little water to keep the sugar from burning.
   
3. When the sugar is caramel colored, add the julienned ginger and orange zest. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the cranberries, orange juice and pepper. Continue to cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the cranberries are slightly broken but not mushy (frozen cranberries will take about 7 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool.

November 2009 Exercise – Jeremy Miller, Sous Chef Ireland’s Steak House, Hyatt Regency Bonaventure, Weston, FL

Nelson Erazo Shrimp wrapped in potato and fried with a Curry dipping sauce

To participate in the next exercise, please send an e mail to: jeffrey@bauscherinc.com

See all your favorite chefs’ collections of past submissions at the Deep Plate page on Facebook.  Please become a “Fan”. 

http://deepplate.wordpress.com and “Deep Plate” on Facebook

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I refuse to come to Thanksgiving empty handed, so when I found out that my step-mother-in-law usually does canned cranberry sauce, I volunteered to take on the task of making some from scratch. I’ve made a similar recipe before, but decided to give the one on Epicurious.com a try. I decided on this one, as it had the fewest steps, and didn’t include chopping the berries.

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, cut in fine julienne
• 1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Directions:

1. Peel 1 orange and cut the zest (orange part only) into a very fine julienne, as thin as possible; set aside. Squeeze both oranges for juice; set aside.
2. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small sauté pan. Heat up slowly and continue cooking until the sugar begins to caramelize. If necessary, wash down the sides of the pan by brushing with a little water to keep the sugar from burning.
3. When the sugar is caramel colored, add the julienned ginger and orange zest. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the cranberries, orange juice and pepper. Continue to cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the cranberries are slightly broken but not mushy (frozen cranberries will take about 7 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool.

Traditionally known as “gravy”. Commonly known as “pasta sauce”. But, I call it “Italian Sauce” because it can be used on so much more than pasta!

INGREDIENTS

29 oz. Can of Tomato Sauce (preferably Hunts or Contadina)
6 oz. Can of Tomato Paste (preferably Hunts or Contadina)
2 Roma Tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 Medium Sweet Onion, finely chopped
3-4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1.5 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Red Wine
2 Tbsp. World Spice Merchants “Italian Herbs”
2 tsp. Red Crushed Chili Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper

RECIPE

Chop onion and tomatoes, and mince garlic. Set aside.

In a medium/large sauce pan heat oil. Then add garlic, onions and ONE tablespoon of the Italian Herbs, saute until they start to become translucent.

Add tomatoes and continue to saute until they become soft.

Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, chili pepper, remaining Italian Herbs, garlic salt and pepper and stir well.
HINT #1: In a pinch, you can substitute a 30+ oz. bottle of basic pasta sauce instead of the tomato sauce and paste. If you do, omit the salt, pepper and 1/2 a teaspoon of the herbs.

Cover and simmer for at least two hours (the longer the better) over the smallest flame possible. Stir often.

Serve over your favorite pasta, use in your favorite lasagna or chicken parmesan recipe, or makes a great sauce for homemade pizza.
HINT #2: While this version is veggie-friendly, the carnivore crowd will be pleased to know that browning a pound of ground beef in the oil, onions, garlic and herbs (just before adding the tomatoes) turns this into a great meat sauce. You can also add some grilled Italian sausage or homemade meatballs to this sauce 1/2 hour before serving over pasta for a great main course.

Prep Time = 12 minutes
Cook Time = 2.25 hours
Serves 6-8

©2009 Caution: Caveman Cooking/UHearMe, Inc. All rights reserved. This recipe originally appeared on the Caution: Caveman Cooking blog at http://cavemancooking.wordpress.com authored by Caveman. This recipe may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it.

Waha Wera heißt „brennender Mund“ in der Sprache der Maori, den Ureinwohnern Neuseelands. Und so mystisch die Geschichten über Kannibalismus und Kriegstänze sind, die sich um die Maori ranken, so mystisch ist auch diese Chillisauce. Die Waha Wera ist eine Mischung aus Kiwifrucht, Manuka Honig und Habanero Pfeffer Sauce. 1996 findet die Ozeanierin erstmals die Anerkennung als „Weltbeste scharfe Fruchtsauce“. Das Chile Peppers Magazine „Fiery Foods Challenge“ in Albuquerque (USA) ist genauso überzeugt wie wir…

Unübertroffen ist die die Sauce für Marinaden oder einfach als würziger grüner Begleiter auf dem Tisch. Die Waha Wera Sauce bringt Sie geschmacklich recht zielsicher ans andere Ende der Welt.

Today’s recipe is a bit of an experiement. It’s currently bubbling on the stove so the taste test will have to wait.

I wanted to use up the chorizo from yesterdays recipe and I also had some mushrooms that were starting to get wrinkly that I wanted to use up. So, I threw it all together along with some minced turkey, garlic, some herbs and a bottled tomato sauce.

Chorizo, Turkey and Mushroom Meat Sauce

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

60g chorizo

250g turkey mince

6 medium buttom mushrooms

3 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 jar tomato sauce

1. Prepare the ingredients: Remove the skin of the chorizo and dice roughly, chop up the mushrooms and mince the garlic (I used a garlic press).

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add in the diced chorizo, cook for 5 minutes or until the oils are released and the chorizo is browned.

3. Throw in the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring for a few minutes or until garlic is fragrant. Shake in the dried herbs.

4. Add the turkey mince and stir, making sure it’s browning evenly. About 10 minutes.

5. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir, lifting up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Fill the jar halfway with water and shake getting any excess sauce of the sides of the jar. Pour this into the sauce mixture.

6. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat back to a simmer. Cover with a lid and leave for 45 minutes, stirring every now and then.

7. Serve with your pasta of choice and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Final Verdict:

Delicious! The chorizo added some nice spice while the turkey and mushroom melted in with the tomato sauce.

This was pretty easy to make, took me all of 5-7 minutes from beginning to tableside. I used it to bring some turkey back to life, but I bet it would work with any poultry or vegetable.

Here’s how: Heat up a pan and add 2 tbsps extra virgin olive, add 1 cp finely diced onions and cook until translucent and beginning to brown. Remove the onions from the pan.

In the same pan add 1/2 cp butter and melt over medium heat; once melted it will begin to foam, keep stirring and the foam will begin to brown. Make sure you don’t allow it to burn, though, keep your eye on it.  Add the onions, stir. Then add 1/2 cp vermouth or white wine, you can flame this to burn out the alcohol, or just cook it for a few more minutes.

This rocks over turkey AND over mashed potatoes.