Other Fun Sauce Recipes

Believe it or not, there are sauces other than barbecue sauces.

Change Your Life Rich Red Wine Sauce. Similar to the classic French Bordelaise sauce, this velvety rich sauce makes a classic topping for beef and lamb. I love it on beef tenderloin or filets mignon. It just illuminates a lightly smoked pork chop. As heretical as it may seem, it is great on pulled pork. I like to serve boiled baby potatoes on the side, and I douse them with this sauce too.

DC Mumbo Sauce. The Washington Post says "The Italians may have their marinara and the French their bearnaise, but for many DC natives, the sauce that captures the flavor of home is called mumbo. Few can tell you how it's made or where it originated, but they know this: If you grew up in one of the mostly African American areas of the city, you've likely known the taste your entire life. If you didn't, you probably have no idea what it is." Here's the story of Mumbo Sauce and a very nice recipe.

Gaucho Chimichurri Sauce. Chimichurri Sauce comes from Argentina where the pampas are for cattle grazing, and grilled grass-fed beef with bright green sauce is practically the national dish.

Marvelous Marinara Sauce. Marinara sauce is the great classic Italian tomato sauce from Naples via Spain. It is the base sauce (or gravy as many Italian-Americans call it) for spaghetti and meatballs, pizza sauce, and so many Mediterranean dishes. It is so easy to make, and it freezes well, so there is no reason to every buy it in a jar again.

Grownup Mustard Sauce. It's a barbecue sauce, it's a dipping sauce, it's a hot dog sauce, it's better than mustard whenever a recipe calls for mustard.

Genovese Pesto. The Italian basil based classic is super all by itself on meats and as an additive to other sauces.

Guy Fieri's Mojo Sauce. Mojo sauce is a catchall for a wide range of big flavored sauces and marinades from the Caribbean. Some are red, some are green. They are especially popular in Cuba and Puerto Rico where every mother has her own recipe, usually relying heavily on garlic, olive oil, citrus. Here Food Network Star Guy Fieri has paired his mojo with my favorite food, pork ribs, but in the Caribbean it is used on whole hog, chicken, fish, and beef.

Piccata Sauce for Grilled Veal, Chicken, or Pork. This is a simple Tuesday night sauce that produces Sunday night food. It is especially good on chicken breasts because they can be on the dry side. The classic piccata is cooked indoors in a skillet, and the sauce is called a pan sauce because it includes the brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan, but the recipe is a snap to make on the grill. Here's both the grilled and the pan version.

Horseradish Cream Sauce. This creamy mild horsey sauce works like Secretariat on the Triple Crown of roast beef sandwiches, smoked salmon, and baked potatoes. You can also use it on corned beef and its cousin, New England Boiled Dinner. We love it as a dip for carrots, celery, and potato chips.

Controlled Burn Hot Sauce. There are a gazillion hot pepper sauces on the market. The problem I have with them is that most are all about the heat. Well I'm all about the flavor. So here's my recipe for a fiery sauce with multiple dimensions, complexity, and depth of flavor. It will not overwhelm food or me. Because too hot a sauce makes me cry like a teenager who has lost her cell phone.

Harissa. The best hot pepper paste going. Make up a batch, put it in the fridge, and add it to anything that needs heat.

The Zen of Stock, Gravy, & Bouillon. Just what are the differences?

...more to come (to be notified when new recipes and other articles come online, be sure to subscribe to my free, spam free, email newsletter).