"The Guy Cooks!"

Sauces: The right sauce - as a marinade or baste - can be the secret of your success!

For steaks, and roasts, some of my best results start with either some Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce, Teriyaki, or Jack Daniel’s BBQ Sauce, with a few extras to jazz things up. Start by pouring some in a medium-sized Pyrex pitcher or mug with a pat of butter in the bottom. Heat it up in the microwave for about 45 seconds, then you can add a shot of white wine, maybe some crushed garlic, and a few dashes of some sort of seasoned salt, pepper and/or herbs.

For chicken or other poultry, one that my dad used quite often, was melted butter with a few shakes of paprika. Sometimes, he’d add some crushed garlic. Simple, but wonderful!

Something new! Here's something I tried on a Rock Cornish game hen not long ago. It was so good, I just used it on our Thanksgiving turkey, as well, with great results: Pour some olive oil in a 12 to 16 inch skillet and warm it up on the stove. Chop 2-3cups of onion into really fine little chunks, about ¼ inch or less. (One of those rotating “slap choppers” works great.) Add some finely-chopped garlic and sauté in the pan over medium heat with the oil until it starts to brown. Then pour in few splashes of white wine, vermouth or sake and let it caramelize a bit. While that’s going on, take some sort of basting sauce, BBQ sauce or glaze like Mr. Yoshida’s Sauce, or teriyaki, or similar and pour about 1-2 cups into a good-sized Pyrex (microwave-proof) measuring cup (you’re going to use this as a basting cup) and pour the onion-garlic mix from the pan right in. It should feel like a thick syrup. You can warm it up in the microwave for a minute or two. Then, stir well, and use the mix to thoroughly baste the bird while cooking. With a whole bird, splash some inside the cavity as well.


The ultimate, though, is my dad's old Spanish recipe - aioli. Rumored to have originated somewhere in 14th century Spain, its consistency is somewhat like mayonnaise. Best used as a dipping sauce at the table, it starts with a couple cloves of garlic, crushed and mashed into the bottom of a mixing bowl until it’s almost liquefied. Then, add one egg yolk (no white, just the yolk). Mash that around until blended, then add a piece of bread about the size of a silver dollar. Mash that into a paste, then start adding olive oil very slowly (we’re talking a tiny, slow trickle) as you continue to swirl the contents in the bottom of the bowl. The traditional way to make it is with mortar and pestle (round-bottom marble bowl with a flat-ended wooden dowel, where you’re swirling the mix around for a long time, slowly dribbling in the olive oil. On a visit to Spain to see the family, I caught an aunt in the kitchen, whipping it up with a blender. But I find the easy way to do this is with a hand-held food processor. (My dad would not approve!)

Periodically, use a rubber spatula to wipe the sides of the bowl back down into the mix. Be careful! If you add the oil too quickly, it’ll separate into an oily mess. If you do it slow and easy, it thickens into this wonderful garlic paste. If you’re doing it right, the blender or food processor will start to slow down. It’s getting thick! For chicken and fish, I like to add a bit of Teriyaki sauce towards the end of the process for some added zip. This one takes some time, but the result is worth it!