Be a gourmet cook by making home-made sauces like our Dear Rat (in fact, recipes provided by RatUnderPaper). Thank you Rat!!

Ingredients:

2 cups of stock: seafood, fish or chicken
3 cups 35% cream
4 teaspoons VooDoo paste
1- 1/2 lb penne
2 lb shrimp/scallops

VooDoo paste ingredients:
4-5 T cayenne pepper
4 T paprika
6 T sea salt
2 T gumbo file
2-3 smooshed garlic cloves
sprig of thyme, chopped (2 T)
1/2 cup olive oil
8 oz. of tomato or V-8 juice
3-4 shakes tabasco

Here we go!

Mix together ingredients for the VooDoo paste. Set aside. Have penne on the boil while you make the sauce.

On medium heat, stir together stock and cream in saucepan. When heated, whisk in VooDoo paste. Blend and cook for a few minutes to reduce sauce slightly, then add scallops and shrimp and cook for about 1-1/2 -2 minutes. Do not overcook!
Pour the VooDoo sauce over your cooked and drained penne, and serve immediately.

• VooDoo paste keeps for a couple of months in the fridge.

Mollie made me think a little andouille sausage would go well with this.

This makes enough for four servings, I’m told. Two seems about right to me.

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Subtle, no? :)

I made Rat’s Saus Kacang tonight. I really didn’t know what to expect, but whatever it was, I was still suprised! I got me a large jar of sambal oelek and chunky natural peanut butter and went to work.

The result was really very tasty. It was a hot, sweet, peanutty sauce. I loved it! I was originally going to do it on chicken, but at the last minute we decided to have it with some hearty shrimp on Boston Lettuce wraps. Delish.

We have some sauce leftover so I will take some grilled chicken fingers to work tomorrow and use it as a dipping sauce.

Thank you, Dearest Rat!

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon hot chili-based sauce (like sambal oelek)
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion or shallot

This one is easy. Put all ingredients except the onion together in a saucepan, mix until smooth, and simmer over low heat. Stir constantly. Cook for about 5 minutes, until sauce looks like thick melted chocolate. Chop the onion or shallot, and add to the sauce.

Here’s a good thing to do with it. Cool the sauce. Coat 2 chicken breasts, legs, or a half chicken with the sauce. marinate for 24 hours.
Barbecue on a hot grill, 4-5 minutes for each side, or roast in a 375 degree oven until done.

Voila! (I hope somebody’s willing to try this.)

I shall write up a list of sauces that should take us groovily through the worst of the winter, bellying us up to our cookstoves with flair and elan, or at the very least a good glassful for each of us.

Rat has me coveting her ho-made sauces. She writes of them in her daily food gournal and I find myself drawn to idea of sauteeing, simmering, stirring until I, too, have a sauce so delectable that the mouth waters for days after, in gracious rememberance.

Rat has been so kind to agree to share with me. We shall document the sauce journey here.