I got back to school at around noon today, just in time to join my class for the afternoon practicum on sauces.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never really been one to experiment much with sauces. Besides pasta toppings and maybe something on a special dish, I don’t usually give them a second thought. Today, though, we made a wide variety of sauces that could change just about any dish dramatically.

The first thing I worked on was an almond sauce, made with soaked blanched almonds, shallots reduced in white wine, canola and olive oils, vegetable stock and an entire head of roasted garlic.

I didn’t try any of the finished products today (I’m still nervous to subject my stomach to things like umeboshi paste and pureed bell peppers), but the general consensus was that this was a garlic sauce, not an almond one. I could tell that just by the smell of it- definitely potent!

I also worked on a parsley-pumpkinseed pesto, which eventually went atop udon noodles.

There are tons of variations on pesto (you can use just about any herb and nut/seed imaginable), but I’d never considered parsley as an option for it. It smelled very…green, to say the least, but seemed to go over well with the rest of the class.

Speaking of pestos, there were two other varieties, as well: a classic basil-pinenut mix, and a mint-pistachio one that went unpictured.

The pestos were popular, but not the udon noodles. I’m not a fan, either- they just taste so overpowering to me!

Other sauces included yellow curry (far left) and yellow bell pepper coulis (far right), with rice for tasting:

A creamy beurre blanc, with heavy cream and three sticks of butter (probably one of the most stereotypically “unhealthy” dishes we’ll make in this program):

A bright red carrot-beet sauce, which I was told tasted like tomato sauce (alongside the unmixed parsley pesto):

A leek-asparagus coulis and a chimichurri sauce,

The latter of which was drizzled over grilled seitan skewers.

A red pepper coulis and a slightly over-kuzu’ed (kuzu is a thickening agent) mushroom sauce that turned a bit gelatinous:

And two variations on a corn hollandaise, both with and without butter.

Though it was kind of a bummer not to try everything, I’m glad I erred on the safe side and stuck to some bland Cheerios and a banana as an afternoon snack. My appetite isn’t quite back yet, so I don’t want to mess with it too much. Tomorrow we’re covering poultry, which I’m actually excited for…I’ve never tried cooking chicken by myself before, so I’m eager to learn!

How frequently do you use sauces in your cooking? And what’s your all-time favorite type of sauce? Um…does chocolate sauce count?

*I wrote this post last night just as the hurricane was starting to hit, but my power went out mid-post. If you need a testament to how good these brownies are, there are only 4 left less than 24 hours later!)

Considering my first reaction to most crises is baking, it’s no surprise that I turned to baking in the midst of today’s (mild) natural disaster.

The only issue with rainstorm baking is that running out to the store to grab whatever you’re missing becomes a bit more difficult. So, this evening I went through the pantry and came up with a recipe that used minimal ingredients, with maximum mix-ins.

Hurricane Blondies

Totally worth braving a hurricane for.

adapted from Gracie’s Cake Batter Blondies

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup Nutella

My mom and I each had one warm from the oven, but these are actually even better when cooled. They get insanely chewy and dense- perfect for a glass of milk. (If I liked to drink milk straight-up. Sometimes I wish I liked the stuff solo just because it goes so well with cookies and the like.)

Word of warning: don’t be surprised if these magically disappear and you can’t figure out why you feel so icky. No power = lots of nibbling instead of electronic activities!

Currently, I’m still home in PA. The MTA has suspended most forms of public transportation, including subways and trains, so hopefully they get things cleaned up soon and I’ll back in the city in time for school tomorrow!

How did you spend your weekend? Were you at all affected by Hurricane Irene?

I find it somewhat ironic that the day after we were told to eat soy in moderation, my class prepared a smorgasboard of soy-based tofu and tempeh foods.

It was incredible, though!

After yesterday’s lectures and demos, this morning we jumped right into prepping our own tofu and tempeh dishes. My group handled the tempeh kebabs, white wine tempeh scallopine and a batch of tofu burgers. I put myself in charge of the kebabs:

The tempeh was sliced, simmered in a sweet-and-sour marinade, then diced, skewered and grilled with marinated vegetables. With the exception of the mushrooms on the kebabs (why must they be such a staple of healthy cuisine?), these were awesome. Enjoying tempeh is all about learning to cook it correctly!

Speaking of which, we also recreated yesterday’s mouthwatering tempeh sausage. I rarely think to myself that a vegetarian option could fool a meat eater (which is not to say they aren’t delicious, just not meat!), but this stuff is so incredible that you genuinely wouldn’t miss the meat.

While my preferred version of the tempeh sausage was dredged in corn meal and fried, there was also a baked version, served with steamed green beans.

Though I didn’t sample a full burger, the tofu burger patties were great, as well. The class prepared two versions,baked and fried, and I preferred the baked. Some of my classmates and I were discussing how we’ve been frying a lot lately, but we often prefer the baked versions of the recipes. There’s a time and a place of fried veggie burgers, but I don’t think you need to compensate for the healthfulness of the food by cooking it in oil.

Each group made a version of the tempeh scallopine dish, which I tried a small bite of but didn’t like at all. For some reason I have this really vivid memory of being a little kid and standing on my chair at the kitchen table, screaming because I didn’t want to eat the veal scallopine with mushrooms that my mom made.

It was a scarring experience.

There was also some super-spicy BBQ tofu that I loved. I went back just for a spoonful of sauce.

As well as a wok stir-fry with carrots, ginger and tofu,

All served over various grains, including pasta, millet and rice.

Yeah, I think I’m good on the soy for awhile now…

Tofu or tempeh? Baked or fried? Scallopini or parmesan dishes?