We eat a lot of salmon around here and while we love it, it does get a bit boring. I went on the the hunt for a sauce to add to the rotation. I love mushrooms so when this one popped up on my Facebook homepage I knew I had to try it. It's definitely time consuming but so worth it! We liked it so much that I think I will try it with chicken next time. Peter loved it so much that when I looked away from my plate for a moment, he stole a huge bite sauce from my plate. I will need to be more vigilent next time!
The original recipe serves six so I cut most of the portions in half. I also greatly reduced the amount of oil because it was way too oily!
Wild Mushroom Sauce
6 ounces wild mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup cognac
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon thyme, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
In a non-stick pan over medium heat, melt one tablespoon of butter into half a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the shallots and cook for about five minutes. Add half the amount of mushrooms and all of the garlic. Saute for five minutes. Pour in the cognac, remove from the burner and use a long match to light the alcohol on fire. Once the flames have subsided, move back onto the burner and add the chicken stock. Simmer for five to eight minutes, until volume reduces by one fourth. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Pour the sauce into a mini food processor and puree.
Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and move back over medium heat. Melt the remaining butter and oil. Add the remaining mushrooms and saute for five minutes. Add the mushroom puree, thyme and salt and pepper. Keep warm while cooking the salmon. Reheat before serving.
I fully intended to make these from scratch but then I saw the prepared crab cakes on sale at Whole Foods. One of these days I will make my own!
I did make the sauce and it was wonderful! Peter really loved it because of the jalapenos. That guy loves spicy food! I prepared extra sauce and froze it for another crab cake meal in the future. The spicy corn side dish from December was the perfect compliment to this meal!
Spicy Avocado Sauce
1/2 large avocado, pitted and diced
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large jalapeno, seeded and quartered
1/2 cup skim milk
Add the first five ingredients into a food processor and pulse four times. Slowly add the milk until creamy. I used a little less than half a cup of milk but you may need the full amount depending on how much avocado you have.
