Articles & Recipes

August is all about the plentiful, local harvests that grace our kitchens. Corn, beans, summer squash, zucchini, and tomatoes -- it's an abundance of freshness unrivaled by any other time of the year. IN THIS ISSUE, we're focused on the tomato, with three featured recipes that take advantage of these garden fresh, local fruits.Try our recipes for a sweet and savory Tomato Jam, a quick Blistered Caprese Salad, and Homemade Oven "Sun-Dried" Tomatoes showcased in a rich Creamy Pasta Dish.

Tools

Epicurean Cutting Board Wood composite boards constructed to last for all summer's slicing and dicing! Even dishwasher safe! Made in the USA.

Zyliss Soft Skin Peeler The micro-serrated, swivel blade makes it easy to skin everything from tomato to peaches ans potatoes!

Chef'n Looseleaf Kale and Green Stripper   A simple device that really works! Trims leaves from stems quickly with herbs, kale and greens.

Norpro Tomato and Strawberry Corer   Remove the tough tomato core in a jiffy with this simple, but unique tool. The "toothy" edge grabs the tomato's skin. Very useful for seeding as well!

Wusthof Classic Tomato knife          Especially designed for prepping tomatoes, the blade is serrated and features and forked tip for transferring slices.

Zwilling Pro 7" Santoku Knife A fabulous all-purpose knife that slices and dices all summer produce with ease.

IN THIS ISSUE, we acquaint you with some of our very favorite blueberry desserts. We include three treasured recipes that provide a sweet finish to any summer occasion.

Tools

Zyliss Ice Cream Scoop Is Ice cream your favorite dessert topping? Serve it quick and easily with this scoop! Sturdy grip and easy-release scoop.

Emile Henry Baking Dishes  This quality stoneware bakes food evenly and retains its warmth at the table. Many sizes, shapes, and Colors!

R.S.V.P Precision Pierced Berry Colander Rinse summer fruits quickly and easily with a sturdy colander that drains quickly.

Bia 8 oz. Au Gratin Bakers   Individual bakers are fun to use throughout the year, including for serving fresh summer fruit desserts.

Fletcher's Mill French Rolling Pin Roll Pastry crusts to buttery, flaky perfection with this rolling pin. The beginning to many fine sweet endings.

Nordic ware Nonstick Oven Liner It happens... protect your oven from spills and overflows with an easy-to-clean mat that lines the oven's bottom

Makes about 2-1/2 to 3 cups

Béchamel is a basic white sauce, one of the most commonly used mother sauces in the kitchen -- one that you are probably very familiar with. It is the base for many delicious daughter sauces and recipes including as a cheesy white sauce in mac-and-cheese, a rich layer in lasagna, and is often used in gratins.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk, warmed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 
1. Prepare the roux. In a saucier or saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour until the mixture is completely smooth. Continue cooking and stirring for about 2 minutes, but don't let it brown. This process removes the raw flour flavor and helps create a silky sauce.

2. Create the béchamel sauce by very slowly pouring the milk into the roux. Continue whisking the mixture until the sauce is smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and continue stirring while the sauce simmers and begins to thicken. Add Kosher salt and pepper, to taste. Continue whisking over medium-low heat for another 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens and becomes very creamy. The consistency of the sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

3. From here, you can get creative with other flavor additions like nutmeg, cayenne, or crushed red pepper. Further, transform the sauce by adding grated cheese like Gruyère to make a Mornay sauce.

4. To avoid a skin from forming on the top of the sauce, coat the top layer of the finished sauce with a pat of butter. Simply slide the butter around on the surface, this will help keep the sauce from creating a skin. When ready to enjoy, whisk the surface butter into the sauce.

The name of velouté sauce comes from the French word for velvet - aptly named for the texture of this light but super smooth sauce. Similar to a béchamel, a velouté is a white sauce, but it uses stock to thin the roux instead of milk. Chicken stock is most commonly used but veal or fish stock may be used, as well.

This base sauce may be transformed with combinations of other ingredients like cream, Dijon mustard, white wine, capers, lemon juice, mushrooms, herbs, or shallots. For this sauce variation, we added white wine, cream, and lemon juice to transform the velouté into a tasty white wine sauce that is perfect when served over a chicken cutlet.

Basic Velouté Sauce
Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth, warmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Directions: 
1. In a saucier or saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour, and whisk together until a thick roux is formed. Heat and stir the roux until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Slowly add the warmed broth to the roux while continuously whisking. Whisk the sauce until smooth and well-combined. Bring to a low simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced by 1/3, and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

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White Wine Velouté Sauce
Makes just over 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups Chicken Velouté sauce (above)
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Directions: 
1. In a small saucepan, bring the wine to a low simmer, and boil until it reduces by half.

2. Add the veloute sauce to the wine and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the cream, stir, and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the fresh lemon juice, and season to taste with additional lemon juice; salt and pepper, as needed.

4. Serve the white wine sauce over chicken, fish, or roasted vegetables.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Hollandaise is a familiar, rich, and delicious sauce used to top Eggs 
Benedict, crab cakes, and other seafood dishes. It is also used as a dipping sauce for vegetables like asparagus or baby potatoes. Spoon a bit of sauce over roasted asparagus for a very swoon-worthy side-dish.

Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
Pinch of cayenne (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 
1. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, and water. Whisk vigorously until the volume almost doubles.

2. In a double boiler over simmering water, continue whisking the egg yolks and lemon juice. Continue to whisk until the eggs begin to thicken. As this process happens and the egg mixture heats, it might thin out temporarily, then re-thicken. Continue whisking, and wait for the mixture to thicken. Then, slowly add the melted butter until the sauce is combined and smooth. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

3. Add the cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste, and set aside. Hold the sauce at room temperature; if the sauce gets too warm the butter will separate from the eggs.

4. Serve over roasted asparagus, baby potatoes, Eggs Benedict, crab cakes, or seafood.

Makes about 8 cups

Sauce Tomat is a classic French tomato sauce. It differs from other versions of tomato sauce that you may be more familiar with by using a mirepoix (a mixture of onion, celery, carrot), salt pork, and a ham bone to infuse flavor while the tomatoes reduce into a very rich and flavorful sauce.

Ingredients:
2 ounces salt pork, chopped
2 cups yellow onions, finely diced
1 cup carrots, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 ham bone
Pinch kosher salt, to taste
Pinch of sugar, to taste

For the Sachet:
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
8-10 black peppercorns

Directions: 
1. In a large Dutch oven, render the salt pork until the fat has been released.

2. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent about 5 minutes.

3. Use a small sachet, or make one out of cheesecloth for the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. After the sauce has cooked, the sachet is easy to remove from the sauce before pureeing.

4. Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, ham bone, and the sachet of herbs.

5. Bring the sauce to a simmer, stir, and then cover.

6. Bake in a 300-degree oven for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about one-third.

7. Remove the ham bone and sachet from the sauce. Taste the sauce and season with additional salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar, as needed. If you desire, you may then blend the sauce with an immersion blender or blender. Or, you may strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove any solids.

Makes about 2 cups

Translated as the ‘Spanish’ sauce, Espagnole is a rich-bodied brown sauce. The sauce is the base of many other sauces, but perhaps most popularly, the demi-glace. Demi-glace is a time-consuming super-concentrated sauce popular in restaurant dishes. Using a less-traditional, quicker recipe, we served this Espagnole sauce directly on a seared steak for an enhanced savory flavor in each bite!

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1/4 cup flour
4 cups beef stock
1/4 cup tomato puree
10 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions: 
1. In a saucier or saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion, carrot, and celery until the onion is translucent.

2. Sprinkle the sautéed vegetables with flour, and stir to form a roux. Let the roux become browned, but monitor carefully to avoid scorching or burning.

3. Once the roux has a nutty smell and is a darker brown, add the beef stock, tomato puree, peppercorns, bay leaf, parsley, and thyme.

4. Simmer the sauce for about 20-30 minutes or until it has thickened and reduced by about one-third. 

5. Skim off any excess fats or oils that have risen to the surface.

6. Strain the sauce using a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids.

7. Serve the brown sauce as is, or refine it further into a demi-glace or red wine sauce. Freeze any excess Espagnole sauce in an airtight container, and use within one month.