Bordelaise sauce

This is amazing on steaks!

1 cup red wine
1 chopped shallot
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (14 ounces) basic brown soup broth or stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water
1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 clove crushed garlic

Place the wine and stock in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce to half. Saute the mushrooms, shallots and garlic in the butter until tender; add to the wine and stock mixture. Add salt and pepper, and simmer for a few minutes. Thicken with the cornstarch mixture.

Cranberry sauce

I made cranberry sauce last week and it was really good and so easy. I can’t believe I’ve been eating the stuff out of a can all my life. As simple as this is, everyone should have homemade cranberry sauce. I even made another batch yesterday because I liked it so much I wanted more leftovers. This recipe calls for cinnamon sticks but I didn’t have any so I just used a half teaspoon or so of ground cinnamon instead.

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Discard cinnamon stick; cool completely.

Bearnaise sauce

This is incredibly rich, so a little goes a long way and I don’t usually make it except on very special occasions. It’s hard to get just right because if it’s too hot when you add the eggs, it will scramble them.

1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced green onion
1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter (do not substitute margarine)

Combine first 4 ingredients over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes. Strain into double boiler and add eggs, beating with whisk. Beat constantly until thick. Add butter one tablespoon at a time. Keep warm over low heat.