Free Recipe Wednesday! (Saucy Special!)

Welcome friends and food lovers to another edition of Free Recipe Wednesday. (10 days until vacation starts – had to throw that out there.) Today’s Free Recipe Wednesday is a special, delicious, one-of-a-kind, “saucy” edition. (See what I did there?) Anyway, below you will find recipes for 3 of the best sauces I’ve ever had. They all came as part of separate bigger recipes but the sauce alone was so good it deserved to have its own spotlight.

The first sauce is the Poblano Cream Sauce. I came across this sauce in a recipe for some sort of enchilada if I recall correctly. I’m not sure why but my brilliant culinary mind immediately thought “that would make an awesome pizza sauce” and oh man did it ever. I used this sauce just as you would pizza sauce on the bottom of the crust. I then topped it with seasoned grilled chicken, mozzarella cheese, and then drizzled more of the sauce over the top. Simply amazing and a must try. I can think of many many other uses for this sauce as well.

The second sauce is a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. This sauce was part of a Bobby Flay recipe for Grilled Steak Quesadillas with Caramelized Onions, Blue Cheese, Mushroom Relish, and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. For me the whole recipe was good but there was too much going on with too many flavors in my opinion. The Roasted Red Pepper Sauce was simply amazing though. I’m not a bell pepper fan but all of the ingredients, especially the honey, combined together makes this sauce so delicious. I enjoyed this sauce so much that I’ve even used it as a condiment on burgers and simple turkey and cheese sandwiches. Just like the Poblano Cream Sauce this sauce has a virtually unlimited amount of uses.

The third, and final, sauce is a Fish Taco White Sauce. This sauce, as the name would imply, is typically what you would find on fish tacos. I’m a huge fan of fish tacos and will order them anytime I’m at a restaurant that serves them. This sauce, in my opinion, is really what makes them so good. However, like the previous two sauces, this white sauce is so versatile that it could be used with so many other foods. One taste of this sauce and you’ll see what I mean.

Poblano Cream Sauce

• 6 Poblano Chiles
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 3/4 cup Butter
• 1/2 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1. Place chiles on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and broil 3 inches from heat 8-10 minutes on each side until charred.

2. Place chiles in a heavy-duty zip-lock plastic bag, seal, and let stand 10 minutes to loosen skins; peel and seed chiles.

3. Combine chiles and broth in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

4. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; stir in chile mixture.

5. Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese, stirring constantly.

6. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until cheese is fully melted.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

• 2 Red Bell Peppers
• 3 Tbsp Chopped Red Onion
• 2 tsp Chipotle Puree
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 3/4 cup Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Place bell peppers on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and broil 3 inches from heat 8-10 minutes on each side until charred.

2. Seal bell peppers in a heavy-duty zip-lock plastic bag; let stand 10 minutes to loosen skins then peel and seed bell peppers.

3. Combine bell peppers, onion, chipotle, lime juice, and honey in a blender and blend until smooth.

4. With the motor running, slowly add oil and blend until emulsified.

5. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Fish Taco White Sauce

• 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 Lime, juiced
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper, minced
• 1 teaspoon Minced Capers
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper

1. In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise.

2. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency is slightly runny.

3. Season with jalapeno, capers, oregano, cumin, dill, and cayenne; stir well to combine.