Veloute
One of the five French mother sauces: a pale roux loosened with warm chicken or fish stock and sharpened with lemon.
Mornay
Bechamel enriched with Gruyere and Parmesan. The sauce behind gratins, croque monsieur, and the best macaroni cheese you will make.
Béchemel
One of the five French mother sauces: butter and flour cooked into a roux, whisked out with warm milk and finished with nutmeg and white pepper.
Anchovy Oil
Three anchovy fillets melted into good olive oil and tossed through pasta with Parmigiano. A five minute primo built almost entirely from the pantry.
Pie Dough
Flour, cold cubed butter and ice water worked to coarse crumbs. Makes one base, and it is the difference between a good pie and a great one.
Pumpkin Pie
Roasted pie pumpkin or butternut pureed with condensed milk and warm spices, including a little black pepper for lift.
Apple Pie
Grandma Foster's apple pie: Honey Crisp and Granny Smith apples with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter under a proper crust.
Pecan Whiskey Pie
Brown butter, whiskey and three cups of pecans in a blind-baked shell. Richer and less cloying than the pecan pie you grew up with.
Tomato Jam
Six pounds of heirloom tomatoes cooked down with sugar, balsamic and lemon zest. Yields five jars and belongs on every cheeseboard.
Trapani Pesto
The Sicilian pesto: tomatoes, almonds, basil and garlic. Made for busiate, since both come from Trapani.
Port Sauce with Truffles
A bottle of red port reduced with shallots, mounted with butter and finished with carpaccio truffles. Made for steak or pork chops.
Pickled Shallots
Shallots sliced thin on a mandoline and quick-pickled in red wine vinegar with peppercorns. Five minutes for acidity you will use all week.