Pomarola (Tuscan Style Tomato Sauce)

Someone at my partner's work brought a giant box to share of San Marzano tomatoes they'd grown, and I ended up with a couple of pounds of them and decided to make this sauce.

Notes:

• I used fresh tomatoes rather than canned, and did not remove the skins.
  
• I didn't have fresh basil so I used dried oregano. I did put in the garlic because I had fresh garlic on hand and didn't have quite enough onion as the recipe called for.
  
• I blended the sauce at the end for a smooth texture.
  

Verdict: Pretty easy to make and tasted great! We ate it with gnocchi. If I ever found myself with a lot of the right kind of fresh tomatoes again, I would definitely make it.

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RECIPE: Pomarola (Filippo Trapella, PhilosoKitchen)

Cilantro Sauce

because the sauce all by itself might look a little gross, lol

When your partner buys three bunches of cilantro the day before he leaves you in the house by yourself  for two weeks and you're trying to find ways to use it up, you try this.

Verdict: It added some good bright flavor to the Mexican and Middle Eastern style food I ate it with. Not sure I'd make it on purpose again but it was a decent addition to my food for a while. I froze a bunch of it and have yet to see how that preserved, but hopefully it will still look and taste OK.

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RECIPE: Cilantro Sauce (Umami Girl)

Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

This sounded really good to me when it scrolled by, so I gave it a try!

Notes:

• Since the recipe is not very precise about how much of each ingredient to use I weighed mine out.
• 110 g carrot (95 g fully peeled/prepared)
  
• 17 g shallot (I would use even less next time, more like 10-12 g fully prepared)
  
• 15 g ginger
  

Verdict: I really liked it! I may use less shallot next time but I would definitely make it again. It's a fresh, bright tasting, and colorful addition to a salad.

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RECIPE: Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

General Tso's Sauce

Made because we wanted a Chinese style meal and we had all the ingredients for this sauce. Normally I'd buy this kind of thing, but we're staying at home during a pandemic so I used what I had at home instead.

Notes:

• I used Japanese sake for the rice wine, though Chinese rice wine would probably be better.
• I used Mitsukan rice vinegar for the "rice wine vinegar" (apparently rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are the same thing).
• I used gochujang paste (seasoned Korean red pepper paste) instead of a Chinese style red pepper/chili paste because it was all I had.
• We tossed this sauce with dry fried tofu and cooked broccoli and served it over brown rice.
• Since mine had a Korean bent to it with the gochujang, I drizzled in a little bit of sesame oil after it was done cooking.

Verdict: It was simple to make and surprisingly good! I'd absolutely consider making it again. It was a good amount of sauce for my liking. If you like your food swimming in sauce like it's served at most American Chinese restaurants, or are serving it with breaded meat (which tends to soak up sauce), you may want to make more.

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RECIPE:

General Tso's Sauce

from Food.com

Makes approximately 1/2 cup

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp rice wine

1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp chili paste

1/2 tbsp (1 1/2 tsp) cornstarch

Whisk together all ingredients in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and becomes clearer and slightly glossy, 5-7 minutes. Toss with cooked protein and vegetables of your choice.

Basil Vinaigrette

I first had basil vinaigrette at a college dining hall, of all places. I couldn't quite figure out why I liked the dressing on their green salad so much but I was so impressed with it I had to ask the staff what it was because the menu didn't say. Basil vinaigrette, they told me. I should have known. I love basil.

I immediately went looking for a recipe and found this one. I don't normally have this much basil on hand, but went to the farmer's market to get some. The other time I unexpectedly had a lot left in my garden box at the end of the summer and picked it all to make this.

Notes:

• I like putting this on spring mix + cherry tomatoes + small fresh mozzarella balls for a caprese-inspired type of salad but it's great on just greens, too.
• Make sure to pick as much of the stem off the leaves as possible because it can give the dressing an unpleasantly bitter flavor.
• I have made this twice now and have used a slightly smaller amount of red onion instead of shallot in a pinch.
• It starts to oxidize after a bit so make sure to eat it within 3-5 days before it turns brown and gross.

Verdict: This turned out a bit thicker and more tart than the basil vinaigrette I was trying to recreate but it's still quite good. Debating adding more olive oil to it to make it a little looser, maybe decreasing the vinegar a little too.

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RECIPE: Basil Vinaigrette

 

Update: I also like this recipe from What's Gaby Cooking and it doesn't brown as easily. 

Chip Dip

Posting a recipe in honor of my grandmother because it is her birthday today and this recipe is one that I know from her. I realize it sounds low-key gross just looking at the ingredient list, and maybe it is, but for me nostalgia wins on this one. This takes me straight back to family reunion cookouts in her backyard on Independence Day weekend. The fact that I still like it as an adult is enough. It is a mix of slightly sweet, salty, creamy, and tangy flavors.

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RECIPE:

Chip Dip

from my grandmother

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 to ½ cup tomato ketchup, to taste

1/3 to ½ cup red French dressing (she is partial to Western brand), to taste

Beat all ingredients in a medium bowl with electric mixer until thoroughly blended. Serve with potato chips.

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

I first found this recipe on Pinterest several years ago and made it to bring to an ice cream sundae party, but have made it several times since. Pinterest can be really terrible but this is one of the best things I ever found there. This is simple and incredibly delicious. Every time I make it I am fascinated by how something as simple as browning sugar can make such a difference in taste, and how intense the flavor can get.

I usually put it on ice cream, but it's also good in iced coffee, and I put it on top of a caramel mocha roll cake once (which was delicious).

Tips from making it several times:

• Getting the sugar mixture to the point of browning takes a while but once the sugar starts to brown it darkens quickly, so keep a close watch on it!
• The mixture will spatter when you add the cream, so be careful (the recipe tells you to pour it in slowly and this is important).
• Use the best bourbon you have, or at least something you know you like the taste of. My husband gets mad when I use his good bourbon to flavor this, which confuses me because if I asked to drink that same amount (1 tablespoon!) he would be absolutely fine with it. My favorite so far has been New Holland's Beer Barrel Bourbon, which is aged in barrels that previously aged Dragon's Milk Stout.
• I sometimes add ~1 tsp of high quality vanilla in addition to the bourbon.
• I like to store it in a canning jar. It's easy to get a spoon inside to scoop out the amount you want.
• This will keep for months in the refrigerator, though its magical flavor diminishes a bit after a couple of weeks.

RECIPE: 4 Ingredient Bourbon Caramel Sauce (from Minimalist Baker)

Garlic Scape Pesto

Verdict: Wonderfully garlicky and fresh tasting. Definitely keeping around for later.

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RECIPE: Garlic Scape Pesto (Dorie Greenspan)