Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making by James Peterson

  • Dried chile cream sauce (page 83)

    from Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making Sauces by James Peterson

    • Categories: Sauces, general; Vegetarian
    • Ingredients: dried chillies; heavy cream
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Notes about this book

  • rmardel on January 11, 2026

    Red Wine Mustard, page 40

  • nomadchowwoman on January 09, 2010

    Big, unwieldy book, yes, but very thjorough, w/useful photos. A great reference book.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Sautéed salmon fillet with sorrel cream sauce

    • rmardel on January 14, 2026

      This is a. simplification of the technique used by Jean and Pierre Troisgros. Peterson uses heavy cream instead of creme fraiche, which softens the tartness of the sorrel somewhat. But this is the base for my regular "everyday" salmon with sorrel sauce, which, I am lucky to make regularly since I have a thriving sorrel bed. I only use the Troisgros technique when I want to be fancy.

  • Caper and cornichon relish

    • ethedens on February 04, 2025

      Pretty good! Would make again. 3.5/5

  • Genoese pesto

    • JKDLady on August 10, 2015

      This was a disaster for me. I tried to use a blender, but it would not purée. Perhaps I should have put the ingredients in the blender in a different order. Any way about it, however, there was way too much for my blender. This is a huge amount of basil. I ended up moving everything to the food processor. I can't imagine the mortal and pestle large enough for this recipe. The taste was fine, but there was too much salt for our palettes.

  • Fettuccine and shrimp with crustacean cream sauce (Fettuccine alla crema di scampi)

    • emiliang on January 22, 2013

      The cream sauce is the real standout here, and I think it's become my favorite go-to sauce for shrimp and pasta dishes. I didn't have time to prepare the "crustacean butter" required by the recipe. Instead I made a quick stock using the shrimp shells and mixed in some butter. Also, I replaced dried thyme for fresh and oregano for marjoram. Still an outstanding sauce!

  • Ponzu sauce

    • ripleypickles on June 05, 2021

      Spot-on recipe. I didn't have bonito flakes so I used a couple of dashes of fish sauce. Worked perfectly.

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  • ISBN 10 0442237731
  • ISBN 13 9780442237738
  • Published Jan 01 1991
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 512
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Van Nostrand Reinhold

Publishers Text

Original Hardcover with Seal "Cookbook of the Year - The James Beard Awards" copyright 1991 with 504 pages. Size: 7" x 9 1/2". - Techniques of sauce making have changed radically over the years. Both professional chefs and serious amateur cooks are not only eager to invent new taste combinations and improve upon traditional methods, but they have set out to make sauces healthier and less rich as well. Until this book, however, they have had to rely on trial and error to produce innovative new sauces, as no single source systematically described the ingredients, methods, and principles used in making both classic sauces and modern variations. This comprehensive volume does just that, providing complete analyses of how both classic and contemporary sauces are constructed and flavored. Sauces explains how and why the ingredients for a sauce are combined. Over 300 recipes comprise not only classic and modern sauces but delicious first course and entree preparations that incorporate the sauce-making techniques described. - You'll also find practical discussions of the equipment and ingredients most commonly used by sauciers. Advice on how and when to use the different kinds of cookware, tools, machinery, and serving utensils. Selecting the highest-quality ingredients is key to preparing an excellent sauce, and you'll learn how to choose and use dairy products, herbs and spices, wines and spirits, mushrooms and truffles, chocolate, pork products, and other ingredients to their best advantage. A comprehensive glossary of terms and flow charts that illustrate the major classical sauce families and methods of preparation round out this reference to one of the most exciting and challenging areas of cooking.

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