THE URBAN I-TIE

One of the more tastier pasta sauces out there, bolognese sauce is a hearty alternative to a marinara or ‘plain’ red sauce.  When you’re not in the mood for meatballs (wayy more work involved making meatballs) make a yummy goodness bolognese sauce….

Cocktail sauce — a tangy condiment that goes great with shrimp cocktail, breaded or coconut shrimp and even oysters; just a delicious sauce that goes great with seafood!  Some parts of the world add mayo or whiskey to the sauce, and some add chili sauce to kick things up a bit more.  If you like shrimp, oysters or feel adventurous and want to try the sauce with other seafood, do it!  If you’re feeling uber adventurous, try making it at home with this recipe.  Yum yum yum saucy goodness!!!

Everyone knows eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce, right?  Even though hollandaise sauce is most popularly known for being paired with eggs, it also tastes great with poached salmon, or even on some vegetables.  Although what is required to make the sauce isn’t that extensive, it’s the preparation that can either make or break the sauce – you can’t over or under cook it, it literally has to be juuuust right (just how Goldilocks liked things).  Check out this recipe for more.  Mmmm saucy goodness!!

Because I’m feeling in the fruity spirit – raspberry sauce is my choice for the week.  It’s a great addition to an ice-cream sundae, some serve it on top of duck or lamb, and of course there are always pastries you can include it with.  If you’re a lamb fan, apparently raspberry tastes great with it (recipe link).  Always great to experiment and try new things.  Mmmmm, saucy goodness.

In the holiday spirit, I thought I would pay respect to cranberry sauce.  Even though I’m not much of a fan, it’s a popular sauce.  It is usually on a family’s table for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, usually paired with some turkey.  Happy festivus!!

A classic and easy to make sauce, bechamel (French of course) is nice and creamy, and not so much on the alfredo sauce side of things, but is a base for other sauces.  Most commonly added in lasagnas, on meats, pasta or even veggies if you like.  You can find a recipe for this creamy goodness here.

If you haven’t tried Sweet Thai Chili sauce before, you must.  It’s got the best of both worlds: sweet and spicy (not THAT spicy).  Delicious on chicken wings or with spring rolls..it can compliment many things.  Mmm saucy goodness.

Caramel sauce….almost ties chocolate for first place in the sweet-dessert-type sauce category.  Whether it’s a “Caramel Macchiato” from the bux, or pastries or even with ice cream, caramel is great for those with a sweet tooth.  Mmmhmm, sweet, sticky, saucy goodness.

Mmmm, blue cheese sauce!  Most popular with chicken wings or as a veggie dip if you like.  Yeahhhh saucy goodness.

This week it’s all about garlic sauce – made famous in Middle Eastern cuisine.  Soooo yummy with shwarma (chicken or beef), falafels or just to dip some pita in.  Adds so much flavour and of course, saucy goooodness!!!

Apple Sauce!  Great for baby food; for when you’ve just had your wisdom teeth removed and you need to eat something soft and mushy to eat; yummy with pork chops or even as a simple snack.  Not a smooth, runny sauce but it’s still a sauce.  Saucy gooodness!!

Mmmmm plum sauce.  Such a great sauce that you can eat with chicken fingers, spring rolls. egg rolls….many things to eat or dip in it.  Sweet and sticky saucy goodness!!!

This week it’s all about jerk — sauce that is.  One of my fave jerk sauces is Busha Browne’s Spicy Jerk Sauce – you don’t need very much of it, just enough kick, it’s an awesome marinade and it resonates what jerk should taste like (at least for store bought sauces).  Definitely cooking some jerk chicken tonight!!!  Mmmmm spicy saucy goodness!!!!

Chocolate sauce….Well, what can I say?  It’s absolutely delicious on desserts or even fruit (mmm chocolate covered strawberries).  It’s quite a versatile sauce…we can all come up with others ways to use it (wink wink).  It  is definitely saucy goodness!!!!

This week it’s all about the Greek-ness.  Delicious tzatziki (pronounced ta-zee-kee) is a great addition to pitas, beef souvlaki or even grilled chicken breast because it’s amazing as a dip or spread all over.  Here’s an easy recipe which I found online:

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(recipe source)
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces (2 cups) of thick Greek yogurt – if you can, try regular Greek or Middle Eastern yogurt for bettter results, instead of non-fat
• 4 to 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of diced or grated cucumber (Kirby or “English”)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Preparation:

Prepare all ingredients in advance. Combine oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Fold the yogurt in slowly, making sure it mixes completely with the oil. Add the garlic, according to taste, and the cucumber. Stir until evenly distributed. Garnish with a bit of green and serve well chilled.

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups

Add mint or dill: Slight variations include 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh dill and/or
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