Chocolate Glaze

4 oz unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1 TB corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 oz icing sugar, sifted

In a medium saucepan, bring about an inch of water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium.  Place a medium sized bowl on top of the simmering water, and add the butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla to it.  Once the butter as melted, add the chocolate chips in, whisking until the chocolate has melted.  Remove the bowl from the heat, and whisk in the icing sugar until smooth.  If the glaze has some lumps in it, return to the heat, and over heat, whisk the lumps away.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown of the Food Network.

Strawberry Sauce

1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons corn starch
5 oz sugar
2 cups strawberries
2 tablespoons cherry concentrate

How red do you like it?

If you want your sauce or tandoori chicken to be really red, without using food coloring,  just go crazy with beet root.  Natural and healthy for ya, plus a lovely color!

Marinara Sauce

4 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon asafetida powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper corns
curry leaves
4 oz onions

8 oz tomato, blanched
1 oz beet root
1 large red bell pepper

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon green chili, chopped fine

1 teaspoon corn starch
Water

In a blender, puree the tomato, beet root, and bell pepper until smooth. In a small bowl, measure out the salt, paprika, red chili powder, turmeric, mustard, and green chili. In another bowl, stir together corn starch and enough water to combine it. Set aside.

In a deep saucepan, or in a karahi, saute onions in oil with asafetida, cumin, pepper, and curry leaves over medium heat, until translucent. Pour the tomato puree, spices, and corn starch mixture into the pan. Lower the heat and cover, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens.

Pesto!

I’m not a fan of pesto.  The emerald-green is very enticing.  Then I taste it, and I’m like, um no.  Maybe it be nice with garlic bread. Granted, I have been very spoiled by ketchup and barbecue sauce. Mmmm…  Anyhoo, at least others love it, cuz basil is very healthy. Basil is high in Vitamin K, an “essential for many coagulant factors in the blood and plays a vital role in the bone strengthening function by helping mineralization process in the bones.”

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
4  cloves garlic
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4 cup freshly grated Cheddar cheese

Combine basil, garlic, and oil into a blender.  Blend until smooth, and then add nuts and blend again until smooth.  Repeat, adding cheese.

Alternatively, if you do not want the cheese blended into the sauce, you can simply stir it in.

It’s awesome as a pesto pizza. Spread it on homemade pita bread, with cheese sprinkled on top.