Basic Brown Sauce
Grrrrrgh!
Course : French
From: HungryMonster.com
Serves: 1
 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 medium carrots -- diced
1 medium onion -- chopped
2 sprigs parsley
1 dash thyme
1 small bay leaf
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups consomme
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
 

Preparation:

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add carrots, onions, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook over low flame, stirring constantly, until vegetables are golden brown. Stir in flour and cook until slightly brown. Stir in wine and consommé. Add tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain. Makes about 2 cups of sauce. Brown sauce may be prepared in advance and keeps well in refrigerator for more than two weeks. Comments: Brown sauce made in the "grande maniere" has always been practically impossible to prepare at home. It requires the previous preparation of stock, then the reducing of the stock to glaze or half-glaze, and then the making of the sauce itself. The housewife solves the problem by dispensing with glaze or half-glaze and using instead strong bouillon, consommé, or bouillon cubes. Canned beef consommé makes excellent brown sauce. The characteristic flavor of consommé fades away into the flavors of the other ingredients, leaving only that much of the taste which is part of the sauce. Recipe Source: THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING by Fernande Garvin