Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Caffeine Cookout Sauce

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 piece (3 ") fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 cup brewed coffee
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. chili sauce
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tgsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 canned chipotle chili, minced
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 1/3 cups cold water
Coarse salt to taste



  1. Combine the oil, honey, brown sugar and onion in a heavy non-reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat until the onion is caramelized, 5 to 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.
  2. Stuir in the remaining ingredients, except for the salt, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the sauce until thick and flavourful, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring from time to time with a wooden spoon.
  3. Remove the herb sprigs and transfer the sauce to a blender. Puree and correct the seasoning, adding salt or any other ingredient if needed. Use right away or transfer the sauce to a jar, cover, cool to room temperature and refrigerate. The sauce will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Soy-Marsala Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine) or sweet wine
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Bring the soy sauce, Marsala, sugar, rice vinegar, and mirin to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer 3 minutes.

Combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to form a slurry. Thicken the sauce by stirring in the cornstarch slurry, bit by bit, until the sauce has a smooth consistency and coats the back of a spoon.

Spicy Pineapple-Apricot Sauce

1/2 pineapple preserves
1/2 apricot preserves
1/4 cup pineapple-apricot horseradish sauce or honey mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sambal oelek

Make the dipping sauce by mixing all ingredients together in a small heatproof bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute.