Fresh Tomato Sauce Sicilian

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 9 cups cored and chopped very ripe fresh tomatoes
• 4 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, crushed with juice
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp. dried marjoram
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 6 Tbl butter
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat a heavy stock pot, add the oil, garlic and onion. Sauté until the onion is clear. Add the remaining ingredients, except the butter , salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and gently cook, uncovered for 4 hours. Do not boil the sauce, it will become too runny. Stir in the butter, salt, and pepper, to taste.

Suggestions for serving:

• Add sliced Italian sausage, browned with garlic
• Add meatballs
• Add spiced ground beef
• Serve over fine spaghetti with very thinly sliced seasoned flank steak

Hot Salsa!

(From the kitchen of Grampa Katein!)

Grind together: (Don't use a Food Processor, blender, etc. or you may end up with spicey ketchup! If you must use one, use only short bursts and use them sparingly)

• 6 large tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• Up to 6 hot peppers (jalepeño)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig of fresh Cilantro (1 tsp. of dry leaves)
• ½ tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp black pepper

Serve with tortilla chips, tortilla shells sliced into wedges, cheddar cheese cubes, and any mexican, tex-mex, or spanish dish.

Thousand Island Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise (real mayo only)
• ¹/₃cup Ketchup
• Dash Tobasco
• 3 Tbl sweet pickle relish
• 1 hard cooked egg, chopped

Combine ingredients, refrigerate overnight if time allows.

Robin's Spinach Salad

Robin adapted/improved on an old recipe!

Salad:

• 8 Cups Fresh Spinach, washed.
• 1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
• 10 to 12 Fresh Strawberries, quartered
• 1 Tbl Chopped Red Onion

Dressing:

• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Vinegar (White or Taragon, or a mixture)
• 1 tsp Dry Mustard
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbl Poppy Seeds
• 3/4 Cup Canola Oil

Toss Salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

Combine Dressing ingredients in a shaker bottle or jar. Shake vigorously until combined. (Remember what a colloidal suspension is from Science class?)

Dress Salad, toss, and let sit for about 20 minutes. Toss again before serving.

BBQ Spice Mix

Modeled after my brother-in-laws' imitation of Rib Roundup^©

• 1 Tbl Salt
• 3 Tbl Chili Powder
• 2 Tbl Garlic Powder
• 1 Tbl Cumin
• 1 Tbl Finely Ground Black Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a shaker bottle. I use an empty Chili Powder spice bottle. Apply generously to meats to be cooked on the grill (is there any other way to cook meat?!?)

Use on ribs, roasts, steaks, chicken, pork, burgers... any grilled meat!

German Garlic and Tarragon Sauce

• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed to a paste
• 1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
• 1/2 cup real mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Refridgerate for 1-3 hours before serving.

Serving Suggetions:

Use as a topping for roasted potatoes, french fries, or crisps. Use in place of tartar sauce for fish.

Mornay Sauce

from Emeril's TV Dinners

ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup bleached all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

preparation instructions

Heat the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add the flour and whisk to blend. Season with salt and pepper, and add the nutmeg. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then slowly add the milk and whisk to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and, with a wooden spoon, stir constantly until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes. Add the cheese and whisk until it melts completely. Remove from the heat and use warm. Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, then reheated on low heat, with a little liquid added if necessary.

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups

 Classic Hollandaise Sauce

From a very old, very worn Betty Crocker book we received as a wedding gift

Stir 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice vigorously in 1-quart sauce pan with wooden spoon.  Add ¼ cup butter.  Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until margrine is melted.  Add a second ¼ cup butter, stirring vigorously until the margarine melts and the sauce thickens.  Be sure the margarine melts slowly; this gives the eggs time to gook and thicken the sauce without curdling.)  Serve immediately - hot or at room temperature.

Bob's notes:
When making this sauce, I use our smallest, 1-quart sauce pan with 1-cup water on medium-low heat and place a small mixing bowl on top of the sauce pan.  This is my version of a double-boiler and it works perfectly every time.