~Damn Yankee BBQ Sauce~

~Damn Yankee BBQ Sauce~

KC-style with maple syrup & spiced rum

Ingredients:
    • 1/2 cup ketchup
    • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (Grade A Dark preferred)
    • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
    • 1/4 cup spiced rum (e.g. Kraken, Captain Morgan)
    • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 tbsp Dijon or yellow mustard
    • 1/4 cup tomato paste
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • 1/2 tsp onion powder (Substitute 1 small yellow onion (about 1/2 cup purée* once blended))
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder ( Substitute 4–5 garlic cloves (about 1–2 tbsp purée once blended))
    • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
    • 1/2 tsp black pepper
    • 1 tsp liquid smoke (optional but highly recommended)
    • 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Whisk until smooth.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low. Let simmer uncovered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and glossy.
3. Taste and tweak:
    More maple syrup = sweeter
    More vinegar = tangier
    More rum = richer (simmer extra to mellow the alcohol)
4. Cool and transfer to a clean glass jar or bottle.

Storage:
 Keeps 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator.
 Freezes beautifully for longer storage.

Serving suggestions:
Smoked ribs, pulled pork, chicken thighs
Brushed on BBQ burgers or grilled mushrooms
Dunked with reckless abandon into fries or onion rings

* How to Prepare the Purée:
    • Rough chop the onion and garlic.
    • Add them to a food processor or blender with 1–2 tbsp of the spiced rum or water to help them blend smoothly.
    • Purée until smooth.

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The story behind this recipe…
 

I was looking for a recipe for homemade BBQ sauce and all I found was Texas BBQ sauce, Kansas City BBQ sauce, Louisiana BBQ sauce… and I noticed that there were no New England BBQ sauce.

So I was using ChatGPT AI to look for recipes, so I asked it… “make a New England style BBQ sauce recipe.” it paused for a second and them spit out the recipe. I liked it, a make a few changes to it, like maple syrup instead of cane sugar and spiced rum instead of Bourbon. Hence, Damn Yankee BBQ Sauce!

~~Florentine Sauce~~

~~Florentine Sauce~~

This is just the basic sauce and with it you can add your choice of seafoods (like lobster, shrimp, salmon.)  or meats plus you can jazz up the sauce with some common ingredients. Florentine sauce is very simple to make.  It is typically made with heavy cream, white wine, butter, garlic, and Parmesan cheese*.

You can add ingredients like sun-dr ied tomatoes and tomato paste. Another common addition is fresh spinach and/or cherry tomatoes halves. Some recipes add mushrooms. Shallot and green peppers adds a nice flavor to the sauce and you can also make it spicy with a few dried Calabrian peppers.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons (29ml) butter, or more
• 2 tablespoon (6.5g) onion, diced
• 4 teaspoon (10g) garlic, finely chopped (divided in half)
• 1 teaspoon (1g) fresh thyme, or dried Italian herbs
• ⅓ cup (79ml) white wine
• ¾ cup (178ml) heavy cream
• ⅓-½ cup chicken broth

The Cream Sauce:

• Add about 1-2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium heat, followed by the onions, minced garlic, and thyme. Stir for about 1-2 minutes, allowing the flavors to bloom.
• Pour in the wine and stir for about 30 seconds.
• Next, add the cream, and broth.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 3-4 minutes.
• Add your cooked seafood or meat to the pan.
• Adjust the condiment thickness with water or broth and adjust seasonings and salt according to preference.
• Simmer the with the seafood or meat for 3-5 minutes in the sauce or until cooked through.

Serve over pasta or rice.

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*When I add the Parmesan cheese it sometimes melts in clumps and it is hard to get it into a smooth creamy sauce so I asked Google’s Bard what to do.

Here are some tips on how to prevent Parmesan cheese from clumping in Florentine sauce:

•    Use finely grated Parmesan cheese. The larger the pieces of cheese, the more likely they are to clump together.
•    Add the cheese slowly, a little at a time, while stirring constantly. This will help the cheese to melt evenly and prevent it from clumping.
•    Add the cheese to a hot sauce. The heat will help the cheese to melt more quickly and evenly.
•    Add a small amount of liquid to the sauce before adding the cheese. This will help to prevent the cheese from drying out and clumping.
•    Use a microplane grater to grate the Parmesan cheese. This will give you the finest possible grate and help to prevent clumping.

If you follow these tips, you should be able to prevent Parmesan cheese from clumping in your Florentine sauce.

Here is an additional tip: If you do end up with some clumpy Parmesan cheese, you can try to smooth it out by whisking it into the sauce or by using an immersion blender.

~~ Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce~~

 A local restaurant on Cape Cod has Gorgonzola chicken which I liked so I researched the recipes and mashed up this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tsp. butter
• ½ cups heavy cream
• ¼ cup of sun dried tomatoes or an 8 ounce jar sun dried tomatoes (Drained)
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 Tsp. sherry wine or white wine or vermouth or brandy (Optional)
• ¾ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (Feta or blue cheese my be substituted for the  Gorgonzola)
• 1 Shallots diced
• 1 Green Bell pepper diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat then add the cream, shallots, garlic, parsley, and pepper. Warm slowly, stirring the pan occasionally until the sauce starts to thickens
• Add a 1/2 cup of Gorgonzola cheese stir until the cheeses has melted and sauce is creamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add the sherry and stir.
• Add the rest of the Gorgonzola cheese over the top of the meat.

Can be used on a variety of meats (chicken, pork, and steak) or seafoods (lobster or shrimp) and it can also be used over pasta for a creamy cheese sauce.

Options:

For a fiery sauce add a few dried spicy hot Calabrian Diavoletti Rossi chopped (Warning: these are HOT) and substitute Jalapeno pepper for the Bell peppers.

~~Hollandaise Sauce~~

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped, for serving

Directions:

• In a blender, combine the eggs yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and cayenne pepper. 
• Blend on high for 5 seconds. 
• Reduce the blender speed to low and pour in the melted butter in a thin, steady stream. Blend for 30 more seconds. 
• Cover and keep warm.

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~~Easy Mock Hollandaise Sauce~~

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• A dash of cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce (Optional)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard (Optional)

Directions:

• Melt the butter and stir in the lemon juice and the cayenne pepper (Optional). 
• Then add the mayonnaise
• Blend