Prep Class: Béchamel Sauce (e.g. "Basic White Sauce")

Béchamel sauce is considered one of the "meres" ("mother sauces") in French cooking. It is a quite basic white sauce that can be extended to all sorts of purposes. One of those purposes, of course, is in the creation of a gratin. The history of béchamel is a bit debated, but it was most likely created by Chef Francois Pierre de la Varenne (1615-1678). He was a court chef during King Louis XIV's (1643-1715) reign, during the same time that powerful financier Marquis Louis de Béchamel was there in court. La Varenne wrote Le Cuisinier Francois ("The True French Cook"), which included Béchamel Sauce - the first known place the recipe was seen in print. It is thought that he dedicated it to Béchamel as a compliment. Before you can make a proper gratin, you should master the technique of creating béchamel sauce. The core of making a béchamel is to make a roux - which you should know how to do by now if you tried to make my gumbo :). The most basic version comes from the master herself - Ms. Julia Child. From this core sauce you can build many others - including the necessary one for building the gratin.

Prep Class: How To Make a Roux

In order to prepare y'all for my Savannah-style seafood gumbo recipe coming later this week, first you gotta learn how to roux. A good roux is the basis for almost all southern sauces, gravies, stews, and soups. And now for the tip - my recipe isn't going to take you all the way to the very dark roux typical of New Orleans cooking (because, well, I'm not from Louisiana)... so learn to stop at the medium caramel kind. More to come in the full recipe later.

Recipe: Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of peeled and deveined shrimp

3 bell peppers, preferably red or yellow, diced

3 tbsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried tarragon

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 habanero peppers, finely diced

1 1/2 cups of yellow onion, diced

3 cups of diced tomatoes (1 large can), drained

1/4 cup of butter (approx. 1/2 stick)

1/4 cup of canola oil

4 tbsp. rice flour

1/2 cup of water

2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, habaneros, and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent - approximately 10 minutes. In a deep pan, heat the butter and canola oil over medium heat until the butter is fully melted and the mixture is hot. Add the flour to the oil mixture slowly, stirring to make a thick roux. Heat the roux until it turns a light brown color, stirring frequently. Stir in the water, dry spices, shrimp, tomatoes and the sauteed onion/pepper mixture. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for approximately 10 - 15 minutes until the shrimp are pink. Final consistency should be similar to a gravy. If not thick enough for you, mix 2 tsp. of cornstarch into 1 tbsp. of warm water and stir into the plan to thicken. Serve over rice.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe: Easy Pepper Gravy

Serve over grits and/or biscuits on a Sunday morning, be in a food coma by lunch... guaranteed!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of unsalted butter

1/4 cup of canola oil

3/4 cup rice flour

2 teaspoons sea salt

2/3 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped

2/3 teaspoon ground black pepper

2/3 teaspoon cracked red pepper

2/3 teaspoon ground white pepper

2/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 cups milk

Directions:

Melt the butter into the canola oil over medium heat. Once the butter is melted into the oil, whisk in all of the rice flour to make a roux. Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking frequently, until the roux starts to turn a light brown. Whisk in the milk one cup at a time, blending thoroughly. Add all of the salt and spices and whisk in thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue heating, whisking occasionally, until the mixture becomes a thick, creamy crazy. Whisk in the fresh chives. Remove from heat and ladle over biscuits, grits, chicken, steak... whatever makes you comfortable.

Makes 8 - 10 servings.

Recipe: Petrale Sole in Lemon-Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lb. of petrale sole filets (or other thin, delicate whitefish)
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. Herbs de Provence
2 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. cracked red pepper
2 tbsp. drained capers
1/8 cup fresh chives, chopped
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 tbsp. flour (for breading/searing)
1 tsp. of Wondra or other thin flour for making roux
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper generously over fish filets. Lightly coat with flour on both sides. Heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Place filets in hot oil and sear for approximately 2 - 3 minutes on each side, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add sherry to the pan and scrape up the bits using a wooden spoon. Add butter, capers, chives, Herbs de Provence, cracked red pepper, lemon juice, and Wondra to the pan. Stir constantly until sauce thickens - about 4 minutes. Pour sauce over fish filets and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.