Tag Archives: sauce

Steak Gyros

Ingredients:

  •  1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced and separated
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh mint
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rings
  • 1 onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  • 1 pound skirt steak
  • 4 pocketless pitas
  • 1 tomato, chopped

Directions:

  1. Start by making the tzatziki sauce. Strain the yogurt for at least 2 hours to remove as much water as possible (use a coffee filter). Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. Slice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.
  2. In food processor, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend.
  3. Make the marinade. Whisk the olive oil, garlic, mint, oregano, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Portion the marinade between the peppers and onions and the steak. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Cook the onion & pepper mix and the steak, preferably on a grill. Allow the steak to rest, then slice across the grain.
  5. To make up the gyros, add a heaping spoonful of tzatziki sauce to the middle of the pita, then add sliced steak, onions and peppers, and tomatoes. Top with hot sauce if desired.

Based on a tzatziki sauce recipe and a steak gyro recipe.

BBQ Center Dip

My favorite NC-style BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 Quart Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Quart water
  • 1.5 to 2 Quarts Ketchup
  • 3.5 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cayenne (or to taste)
  • 2 Tablespoons black pepper
  • 3.5 tablespoons salt

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan, simmer for 15 minutes, then bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let cool.

Walnut Pesto

Ingredients

* 2 cups packed basil leaves (approx. 2 oz)
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
* 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
* 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons softened butter (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet for about 20 seconds until you smell the aroma of their essential oils.

Place basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt in food processor, blend until thoroughly combined. Add Parmesan and butter (if using) and blend 5-10 seconds more.

Lemon Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 3 lemons, peeled and quartered
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 turns freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 dash hot pepper sauce
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut up, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

Heat a large nonreactive skillet over high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the wine, lemons, garlic, and shallots. Cook for 3 minutes, breaking up and mashing the lemons with a wire whisk. Stir in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and hot sauce and cook until the mixture is somewhat syrupy, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute.

Over low heat, whisk in the butter a few pats at a time. When all of the butter has been added, remove from the heat, but continue whisking until all of the butter is incorporated into the sauce.

Strain the sauce, pressing all of the liquid into a bowl. Stir in the parsley. Serve immediately, or keep warm for a few minutes until ready to use.

From Emeril Legasse

Faux Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Aged Balsamic Vinegar, or as it is known in Italy, tradizionale, accumulates its flavor in a variety of wooden casks for as long as one hundred years. The result is a very concentrated dark brown, thick sweet vinegar, and it is a great luxury. If you don’t have it in your pantry – chefs have learned to do as the Italians so – reduce your balsamic vinegar with a little brown sugar. It’s a good second.

  • 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar, commercial grade
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

In a small saucepan over medium to medium-high heat (depending on your stove), let mixture simmer and reduce the vinegar for approximately 4 minutes until thickened and reduce by 1/2. Add the brown sugar and simmer an additional 2 minutes longer.Makes 1/4 cup