Master the Five Mother Sauces

The Five Mother Sauces are the foundations for many dishes and other sauces. A sauce can elevate your cooking, adding complexity and refinement to every dish.  These five mother sauces pack tons of flavor and enhance whatever they’re served with. Join Chef Carol Dearth as she instructs you through the hands-on process of creating each of the five mother sauces, and discusses how to combine or modify them for endless dishes and other sauces. In this hands-on class we will discuss roux, emulsion and reductions and make:

  • Hollandaise & Aioli, emulsions
  • Tomato Sauce, sauce tomat
  • Béchamel, a roux based sauce varied with the addition of cheese or dairy
  • Espagnole, a basic brown sauce from roux
  • Velouté, a traditional pan sauce or gravy beginning with a roux

We will enjoy these sauces with a glass of wine and a menu of:

Fried Polenta Sticks, New York Steak, Roasted Potatoes, and Vegetable Sticks

The Fundamental Foundations – Series 101 – Week 3 – Sauces

Week 3 – May 16th – Basics of Sauce Making

What’s the difference between béchamel and veloute? How do I make a pan sauce without lumps? What is roux and how do I make it? Knowing the basics of sauce making is like having a secret power.  Sauces can transform any dish to restaurant quality, in minutes! In this class, we will not only learn the basics of sauce making but build on them for limitless variations, for what good is a sauce if there is nothing to smother? This week we will focus on Sauce Making while creating this menu:

  • Pan-Seared Steak with Mushrooms & Red Wine Demi-Glace
  • Cauliflower Gratin
  • Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Beurre Blanc
  • Dark Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla Crème Anglaise

Sauces:

  • Red Wine Pan-Sauce (Demi-Glace – reduction-thickened)
  • Bechamel/Mornay (roux-thickened)
  • Beurre Blanc (emulsified butter sauce)
  • Crème Angalise (custard/egg-thickened)

Additional Skills/Fundamentals:

  • Flavor-building and balance
  • How to handle fresh herbs
  • Knife skills: dice, chiffonade, mince
  • Pan-searing, vegetable cookery, grilling,
  • Timing and organization/mise en place
  • Plating & presentation