Sauce

Here's a good base recipe for using frozen berries to prepare a flavorful sauce. I find that frozen berries need to cook a little to make them less watery and to concentrate their flavor. Look for raspberries that come frozen in a bag. Feel the bag to make sure all of the individual berries are loose and not clumped together. Bags of frozen berries tend to taste better than those frozen in a block.

This may be more of a rémoulade than a tartar sauce, but we've been making it this way since I came to the Oyster Bar. Has it changed at all since 1974? There's no way for me to know—but I doubt it. Be sure the hard-cooked egg and potato are cold when you make this.

I introduced this recipe to the Oyster Bar in the early 1990s. We serve about 12 gallons of it every day.

This dressing is served on the side with Junior's Reuben sandwiches. It's so good that you'll find many other foods it matches up perfectly with, like sliced roasted turkey or chicken salad, a cold poached salmon salad, cold roast beef, or a fresh tomato salad.

Yes, gravy should be lump-free (always whisk, don't stir), but it's the flavor of the roux that makes or breaks what gets passed at the table. Toasting flour in butter is what develops its deep, nutty taste. You'll know it's done when it's the color of graham crackers and smells like popcorn.

This bright, creamy yogurt sauce is lightly flecked with herbs and is great for everything from drizzling over savory bowls of grains to spooning on top of fried rice, breakfast hash, or Buckwheat Crepes. Double the recipe for a larger group or to keep a little jar of the sauce in the refrigerator. It's season-less, really. Morning Notes: Depending on the kind of yogurt you use and how you prefer the consistency of this sauce, feel free to add a spoonful (or two) of cold water to thin it out.

Using mature arugula leaves instead of the baby variety will make for a more peppery salsa. For a nice variation, try it with fresh basil and/or parsley.

Strisce means strips—any long pasta will work—and Chiantigiana refers to the Tuscan wine used to flavor the sauce.

"Set sun-dried tomatoes on paper towels to soak up some of their oil so the dish doesn't get greasy," Bemis suggests.

This bright, vegetarian sauce features lemon three ways: juice, zest, and preserved lemon peel.

Earthy mushrooms, wine, and tomato bring out the best in this tender game meat. The mushrooms, with their meaty texture, round out the portion, so you get an extra-generous amount on your plate. If you can't get venison, pork tenderloin works well, too.

Mayonnaise is a breeze to make when the blender is enlisted to do most of the work. For more about mayonnaise and other salad dressings, see our Homemade Salad Dressing Primer. Note that raw eggs are not recommended for infants, pregnant women, the elderly, or those with a compromised immune system. To avoid the risk of salmonella infection, use pasteurized eggs instead.

Samaki har'ra is a dish that is very popular in the Arab world, especially in Lebanon and particularly in the port city of Tripoli. While my version may not look traditional, the taste is truly authentic. It's definitely something a little different from the usual salmon dish. Sea bass or snapper are also good fish for this recipe.

A spicy, tangy option for anyone who loves to put mayo on burgers.

Editor's note: Serve this sauce with Michael Chiarello's Grilled Pasta with Grilled Meatballs . Grilling the tomatoes and roasting the red pepper gives this sauce an underlying flavor that I really like. I tend to double this recipe and freeze what I don't need. I'm always glad to have this sauce on hand. It's best to grill tomatoes over charcoal or a wood fire that's about 30 minutes past its hottest point. I like to use a plancha but you can use a cast-iron pan or grill the tomatoes directly on the grill rack.

Editor's note: Use this sauce to make Myron Mixon's Smoked Whiskey Wings . I have heard people eating barbecue at festivals say that "the sauce makes the barbecue." It's not true. The smoke makes the barbecue. The sauce is a finisher. It's what you put on your meat after it cooks to enhance its appeal. It can add a great punch, but I've had plenty of delicious barbecued meat with no sauce at all. I've been around barbecue sauces of different stripes all of my life. My family's sauce recipe, which my parents were just beginning to market when my father suddenly passed away, is what got me into cooking competitive barbecue in the first place. We have always preferred a hickory-style sauce, meant to closely evoke and complement the flavor of hickory-smoked meats. It's world famous and a secret recipe, so the only way you'll taste the original is to order it from me, but if you insist on not giving me your business, here's a reasonable approximation that is still damn delicious.