Ten Things...Number Three

Proof

positive

that

the

experiment

of

Pavlov's

Dogs

really

holds

true

for

humans

as

well...

is our number Three selection of Demi- Glace, which has me literally salivating from just uploading the photo of the jar. Demi- Glace is available in Beef, Chicken, and Veal flavorings from well stocked food shops, and we find them indispensable in the kitchen. The Williams Sonoma brand is excellent. The price on a good variety will cause you to choke right there in the store but because they are of such high concentration, a little goes a long way. They last quite a while, up to about six months if kept in the refrigerator once opened. Demi- Glace can be frozen indefinitely, which is good because investing in a high quality set of all three will probably set you back a cool hundred bucks. The Demi- Glace is a little known secret of some of the best chefs because they allow you to add very deep complex flavors to a dish without the time required to make your own reductions on the stove top. If all this is sounding a little Julia Child, whose name again is gracing everything related to cooking thanks to the hilariously funny Julie Powell, that's because the Demi- Glace is part of many classical French recipes. It is literally the foundation of the French sauce, and we all know how the French love their sauce! But seriously, back to the salivating portion of our story...the aroma of Demi- Glace is amazing. It has such a deep variation of flavor because making it involves using natural beef or poultry stock, along with seasoned aromatics, pieces of meat, browned bones, few vegetables, and a bit of red wine or sherry and simmering the pot for nearly a full day. It really is an art, and if done with a careful eye, gives you a very rich and dense glaze that just brings your dish to life. This "glaze" is exactly what the French mean by Glace. The Demi- Glace has its roots in Escoffier's Sauce Espagnole, which is really a separate essay in itself- and one we will definitely cover in the future. Traditionally, the glaze is made by combining one part Sauce Espagnole to one part veal stock- or beef or chicken stock as the case may be, and then preparing the careful reduction. What is so great about keeping a jar of prepared Demi- Glace in your pantry is that your plain and basic rice or risotto dishes, as well as vegetable and meat dishes can go from average to very memorable in the blink of an eye. I love a good brunch on a lazy weekend but I get a little weary of the traditional brunch fare. On special brunch occasions I like to present a dish of risotto in a Beef Demi- Glace sauce with fresh mushrooms and a hint of garlic. I still serve up heaping mounds of fresh scrambled farm eggs in parsley and mild cheese alongside but somehow this pairing is uniquely elegant. My goal this year is make make more of my own Demi- Glaces because, quite frankly, I have found an incredible recipe and want to perfect this skill. Perhaps no other addition to your kitchen will make such a wide sweeping change as that of adding Demi- Glace to your regular cooking routine. Bon Appetit!