[Sca-cooks] Re: sauce help

[Mark S. Harris]

Annan said:
> Right now the only theme, besides burger king's, going through my head is
> easier the better, I just don't like the idea of plain fish.  Might just
> whimp out and throw acouple of lemon slices on the tray.

I'm surprized the more experienced cooks here haven't offered you a
bunch of possiblities. But just in case you still need ideas by the
time you see this, here are some comments from the sauces-msg file
in the Florilegium.
--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****

> For a nice fish sauce (Greek, and probably period), heat a cup of
> pomegranate juice, thicken it with bread crumbs, and stir in about three
> tablespoons of pine nuts.
>
> Bear

> Sauce for stockysshe in an-other maner (Ashmole MS 1439, Two 15th Cent.
> Cookery Books, p109), has walnuts, garlic, pepper, bread and salt ground
> together and thinned with fish broth: thick garlic walnut milk.  It goes great
> with more than fish, and very easy in a blender.
>
> Rudd Rayfield
(this recipe or similar ones are in this file)


> Hi all from Anne-Marie
>
> For her Highness, there is are several outstanding creamy yet slightly tart
> sauces in ther period and Elizabethan repetoire. Sauce Robert comes to mind
> (butter, mustard, vinegar, capers and chives), as does la Varennes "white
> sauce" (an egg yolk emulsion sauce with vinegar. Sound familiar?)

> SAUCE ROBERT
>         This rich, creamy, slightly tangy sauce appears in many of the French
> sources. There is some variation, for example le Cuisinier franois updates his
> with capers, but all use verjuice and mustard and butter. What it's served on
> seems to vary as well, with le Menagier a Paris putting it on poached sole
> (M30), le Viandier de Taillevent on poached or baked John Dory (a North Atlantic
> flat fish) (T115, T207), and le Cuisinier fran=E7ois on Poor John (another fish,
> maybe a regional name for a John Dory?) (V80), goose (V33, p41), pork loin
> (V56, p48), or wild boar (V39, p67). We've enjoyed this sauce on fish, pork,
> and even veggies, though there's no documentation for the latter. Heck, it's
> even good with bits of bread...
> Poor John with a Sauce Robert. (V80)
> You may put it with butter, a drop of verjuice, and some mustard, you may also
> mixe with it some capers and chibols.
>
> Barbe Robert [Sauce] (T207)
> Take small onions fried in lard (or butter according to the day), verjuice,
> vinegar, mustard, small spices and salt. Boil everything together. (A 1583
> cookbook quoted by Pichon et al., p109)

>> Sorrel Sauce (Take a 1000 eggs or more) - will have to taste test this one,
>> see if it goes with anything served above.
>
> This Sorrel sauce goes brilliantly with Roast Pork or suckling Pig which I
> made it to accompany for Charles of the Park's "Fine Food Feast" posted to
> the list last Sept/Oct.
>
> I have it on authority from my friends who can eat seafood that it also
> goes well with light flavoured fish.
>
> Filippa Ginevra.

There are a number of other sauces that say (or people who have made them
say) they are good on fish. But these quotes are probably too long for the
list already.