Notes from Stella's Kitchen

(Originally published in November 2004)

Down in our area of the south, we often use the French word lagniappe, “a little bit extra.” It’s like a small bonus; buying a pound of green beans at your local farmers’ market and having the farmer throws an extra handful in ‘cause you’re a good customer’; that’s lagniappe

For me, one lagniappe in cooking is the sauce. In the past, Paul and I have be downright snobs as far as sauces were concerned. We have always had the feeling that sauces were primarily used to cover an inferior ingredient of a recipe. Of course this is what sauces were originally meant to do in the days before refrigeration and keeping food at their prime was sometimes difficult.

In time, people became good at making these “hide the bad food” sauces and after a bit the sauce became the end product of many cook’s recipes, rather than the entrée base. Nowadays, the French are particularly odious in this regard. It’s interesting that they have appeared to have a change of heart, the French term “nouveau cuisine” originally dealt with entrees with little or no embellishment.

Well, this past summer as Paul and I were experimenting with different sauces, dips and, more recently, coulees, and we’ve had a change of heart. It slowly dawned on us that our dislike for sauces is based on our exposure to their often inappropriate use in restaurants.

Let me explain. It isn’t really a matter of using or not using a sauce as much as in how a sauce is used when it becomes part of a recipe. I hope I am clear on that point. Restaurants, even very good ones, too often dump their sauces over the entrée to the point of not being able to determine what the entrée is. I think this is a sort of a by product of having to do the same dish over and over again. It shouldn’t be if the restaurant is very good, but it happens even in the best.

However, Paul and I have noted during our summer’s experiments that sauces used correctly with an entrée, do what they are supposed to do--that is, enhance the flavor of an entrée instead of masking its taste completely. The sauce so used becomes an accompaniment much like a garnish or a seasoning that enhances rather than obliterates the taste of the entrée.

The secret, of course, is to use these accompaniments in accordance to the entrée. With fish, a small amount of sauce will usually do the trick whereas with mashed potatoes, you may wish a large amount of a good gravy.

In essence, in making use of any accompaniment, you must first consider the strength of the entrée. For instance, a nice heavy piece of beet or lamb will require a stronger tasting sauce than that you would use for a fresh, delicate fillet of fish. Often, the sauce you make will start with drippings or cooking broth that resulted from cooking the entrée. By concentrating these, you can add that little bit extra to the entrée without overpowering the basic taste of the entrée. On the other hand, you may want to give that fillet of fish a little pizzazz by adding a tangy, biting sauce to enhance its flavor. Once again, it must enhance; not overpower.

Your best test for accomplishing “that little bit of extra” will be by taste testing your creation. This will enable you to satisfy your own personal preferences and determine the quality of that “extra” you have created. While you can use a recipe to achieve your sauce, the tasting will provide your with the quality control you wish. You must remember that ingredients vary in taste with time, so you always should taste and adjust to get the flavor that suits you for any given meal.

I have attached some different sauces for you to try. They are splendid workhorses that can be used in a variety of widely different dishes. Practice using them. You will find that you can use them to have “that little bit of extra” or lagniappe in your cooking adventures and makes your family and friends very happy.

Bon Appetit!