Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, 3rd Edition

 I received a copy of  Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, 3rd edition by James Peterson for review from Wiley. This is a true masterpiece of cooking techniques. The variety of sauces taught in this 656 page recipe collection is astounding.

 Just check out the table of contents to give you a hint of what I am talking about.

 

CHAPTER 1 A SHORT HISTORY OF SAUCE MAKING.
CHAPTER 2 EQUIPMENT.

CHAPTER 3 INGREDIENTS.

CHAPTER 4 STOCKS, GLACES, AND ESSENCES.

CHAPTER 5 LIAISONS : AN OVERVIEW.
CHAPTER 6 WHITE SAUCES FOR MEAT AND VEGETABLES.

CHAPTER 7 BROWN SAUCES.

CHAPTER 8 STOCK- BASED AND NON - INTEGRAL FISH SAUCES.

CHAPTER 9 INTEGRAL MEAT SAUCES.

CHAPTER 10 INTEGRAL FISH AND SHELLFISH SAUCES.

CHAPTER 11CRUSTACEAN SAUCES.
CHAPTER 12 JELLIES AND CHAUDS- FROIDS.
CHAPTER 13 HOTEMULSIFIED EGG YOLK SAUCES.

CHAPTER 14 MAONNAISE- BASED SAUCES.

CHAPTER 15 BUTTER SAUCES.

CHAPTER 16 SALAD SAUCES, VINAIGRETTES, SALSAS, ANDRELISHES.

CHAPTER 17 PURÉES AND PURÉE THICKENED SAUCES.

CHAPTER 18 PASTA SAUCES.

CHAPTER 19 ASIAN SAUCES.
CHAPTER 20 DESSERT SAUCES.

Sauces have long been the way to dress your entree or side dish so as to present it finished as well as too add a little flair. This cookbook shows techniques for creating excellent sauces from a wide variety of choices. Whether you are looking for a coulis, demi-glace, or just want to learn how to make a rich tasting broth this is the book for you.

  As you can see we had a little trouble deciding which recipe to start with. Being the chocolate lover that I am I opted for one from chapter 20. Yes, I went straight for desert.  Chocolate Butter Sauce is like ganache but shinier and richer. so I went to the pantry and fixed a butter cake to top with the Chocolate butter Sauce.
 This super easy to prepare recipe made a quart of Chocolate Butter Sauce so it was quite a bit more than we needed, but we though hey, why not. Let me tell y'all this is amazing. This will be my new topping for all things that need chocolate. Just look how shiny and delicious that is. I gotta go work out now...Then I can come back and test out another recipe.
I like that all the recipes in this cookbook have the ingredients already listed for you in metric and English. This is a great time saver.
 Here is the poduct description from Wiley:
This 3rd edition of Sauces is infused with new life. Peterson overhauls the text by simplifying the book without taking out anything critical. Many of the sauces are lightened and the old French names are dispensed with or relegated to a separate section. Many of the sauces in the current book are in chart form since the procedure is identical for large numbers of them, and there is a chapter that has all the charts for easy reference. The author also standardizes the terminology for the consistency of liquids (for instance, in the Liaisons chapter, a chart showing thicknesses ranges from "water" to "mayonnaise") because it is the consistency that's most important (and the hardest) to show. An updated bibliography and source list of purveyors is also included. The photos are redone to be included in a bigger insert with fewer images since the photos in the current book are too small for anyone to really appreciate the details. The technique photographs are larger and focus on the essential steps that a reader cannot visualize based on the narrative instruction. Also, there are more color photos in this edition with an emphasis on how-to and cooking techniques (since many of the sauces are derivatives of techniques like braising, sauteing, poaching, etc.).

  Here is an example of a recipe from the book.This is what's for dinner at my house next Sunday night.As you can see there is no shortage of edible possibilities here. I love this cookbook. This recipe along with a few other scrumptious examples are available in the descriptive portion of the Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, 3rd Edition page:

CHICKEN WITH ANCHOVIES, OLIVES,
CAPERS, AND ORANGE JUICE
This chicken comes from a book by the late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenthcentury
writer Massailot. This combination of olives, capers, and orange juice
was very popular at the time. This recipe is completely authentic except for finishing
the sauce with butter.
Y I E L D : 4 M A I N - CO U R S E S E RV I N G S
chicken, quartered, 1 4 pounds 2 kilograms
salt and pepper to taste to taste
olive oil 2 teaspoons 10 milliliters
chicken broth 2 cups 500 milliliters
dry white wine 1⁄2 cup 125 milliliters
pitted olives 1⁄2 cup 125 milliliters
capers, drained 1 tablespoon 15 milliliters
anchovy fillets, rinsed 12 12
minced chives 1 tablespoon 15 milliliters
finely chopped parsley 1 tablespoon 15 milliliters
juice of 1 orange
butter 2 ounces 60 grams
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown it in a sauté pan in
olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side over high heat.
2. Take the chicken out of the pan, discard the fat, put the chicken back in
and pour over the chicken broth and white wine. Simmer the chicken, covered,
for about 10 minutes, until firm to the touch.
3. Take the chicken out of the broth and simmer the broth down to a syrupy
glaze. Add the olives, capers, anchovy fillets, chopped herbs, and the orange
juice and stir gently to heat through all the ingredients.
4. Whisk in the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce
over the chicken.

Ready to get yourself a copy of this fantastic cookbook, or check out all of the other amazing titles available head on over to Wiley .They sell books in numerous other subjects as well.