It reminded me of my quest for the perfect sauce à l'américaine.
So, when Delia told me that, once I'd got to grips with this chapter, I could "enjoy a lifetime of making and enjoying perfect sauces any time you want to", I quietly smiled to myself, thinking that the first and last perfect sauce I would make would be to service the needs of this column.
But there is also a tremendous opportunity for creativity in crafting the perfect sauce.
When Moskowitz charted the results, he saw that everyone had a slightly different definition of what a perfect spaghetti sauce tasted like.
Or, for one-fourth of that, there is a seductive chateaubriand of buffalo crowned with a perfectly cooked slab of foie gras, served with a perfect bearnaise sauce.
Rabbit with Umbrian chickpeas ($18) comes in an almost perfect tomato sauce, drained of harsh acidity, leaving just an enticing, flavorful coating to cushion the rabbit.
Pasternack may be able to make its meat taste like a mess of clams in a perfect red sauce, with a honking big bunch of bacon at its base.
He had a trained panel of food tasters analyze each of those varieties in depth.… When Moskowitz charted the results, he saw that everyone had a slightly different definition of what a perfect spaghetti sauce tasted like.… It may be hard today, fifteen years later — when every brand seems to come in multiple varieties — to appreciate how much of a breakthrough this was.
At Locanda Locatelli, they make it with their standard ragù alla bolognese, which, having tried and found wanting, I'm substituting for my own perfect bolognese sauce, which gently fries a mixture of coarsely minced beef, streaky bacon and finely chopped chicken livers with onion, carrot and celery, then slow-cooks the lot with milk, white wine and chopped tomatoes.
Learn to knead your dough just the right way, dollop on the perfect tomato sauce, and season with all the cheese and basil you can dream of.
The main course was Chateaubriand, the tender beef accompanied with a blue cheese potato aligot, Chanterelle mushrooms, spinach, and a perfect Béarnaise sauce.
