Sauce Series: Building Flavor

Unlock the secret to amazing home cooking: sauce-making. In this comprehensive hands-on class, you’ll learn the fundamental techniques to transform simple ingredients into complex, dynamic sauces, leaving bottled and jarred options behind forever. We’ll focus on four distinct methods of building flavor, from the stovetop to the food processor: The Power of Pan Sauces: Master the art of deglazing the pan—turning the browned bits (fond) from searing meat into a luxurious, savory reduction, perfectly complementing Beef Medallions. Quick Pan Gravy: Build upon pan drippings by incorporating a thickening agent to create a classic, comforting gravy for our Pan-Seared Chicken Breast. This bridges the gap between simple reduction and full roux-based thickening. Compound Butter (Maître's Butter): Learn to infuse softened butter with herbs and aromatics to create quick, rich finishing sauces that melt beautifully over meats, seafood, or vegetables. Fresh & Vibrant Sauces: Master two classic flavor profiles: building a balanced, bright Tomato Sauce for fresh pasta through proper simmering and aromatic layering, and creating fast, flavorful Pesto using cold emulsification and pureeing techniques. You'll leave this class with core confidence in the kitchen and the practical skills to elevate every weeknight meal.