Magic Sauce

Have I ever told you about my magic sauce?

I really don’t think I have. So I am going to tell you now.

It is magic for three reasons:

1. It is easy.

2. It is quick.

3. It makes pretty much ANYTHING taste better.

You are suspicious, I can tell.

So please, allow me to prove my points with very scientific, um, proofs.

1. It is easy.

First of all, the Magic Sauce has only four ingredients. And it requires only three kitchen items. Well, three items and a stove. And all of the kitchen items and ingredients are likely to be kitchen items and ingredients that you already have. AND you don’t have to really measure the ingredients, because you use equal parts of all four of them! Which means you ALSO don’t need to use a recipe! AND once you turn on the stove, you don’t really need to do anything except give it a stir once in a while! Really! It cooks itself just fine and dandy!

See? EASY.

2. It is quick.

The Magic Sauce takes about 10 minutes, from Combining Ingredients to Done.

And I am being 100% honest here. Because I hate when you find a recipe that says, “This takes 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook!” and then that 10 minutes is supposed to be enough time for you to wash and chop AND measure AND combine ingredients.

But this Magic Sauce is just dumping equal parts of four ingredients into a saucepan. And turning on the stove. And stirring, if you feel like it.

3. It makes pretty much ANYTHING better.

Now, I have not tried the Magic Sauce on EVERYTHING. Partly because that would be impossible and partly because there are some foods I just won’t eat.

But I HAVE tried it on several things.

It is delicious on:

-          Broiled salmon (I season the salmon with salt, pepper, and cayenne and throw it under the broiler until the Magic Sauce is done. This makes for some crispy ass salmon, but I tend to like meats overcooked.)

Please do not judge the Magic Sauce on this poorly photographed image of broiled salmon slathered in Magic Sauce. What it lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in deliciousness. Also, I think this may be a case of "just because you have a photo of the Magic Sauce doesn't mean you should include it." But I have spent too much time writing this caption to listen to that advice.

-          Baked potato

-          Endive appetizers (You take some Belgian endive leaves – those are the little white pointy endives with the yellow tips – and fill them with some dried cranberries, toasted pecans/walnuts, and goat cheese crumbles, and then drizzle them with not-super-hot Magic Sauce.)

-          Grilled chicken

-          Pan fried pork chops

-          Ice cream (bet you didn’t see that one coming!) (I have only tried Magic Sauce on vanilla ice cream, but I think it would be good on lemon ice cream, or raspberry, or chocolate. Or goat cheese ice cream. Have you ever had that? It is GOOD. Well, if you already like goat cheese.)

I also suspect – based on my copious Magic Sauce-eating experience – that it would taste good on several other foods. Like sautéed/grilled/roasted asparagus. Or Brussels sprouts. Or chocolate cake. Or fresh fruit (like strawberries, blueberries, or peaches). Or swordfish.

Now you want the recipe, don’t you?

Here it is:

Step 1: Combine equal parts brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and water in a medium saucepan. (I usually use ½ cup of each.) (Make sure you don’t fill the sauce pan too full, as there is some bubbling involved.)

Step 2: Stir until dissolved. Or don’t. It doesn’t really matter.

Step 3: Turn the burner on high.

Step 4: Wait until the Magic Sauce has transformed from Extremely Liquid-y to Thick And Sauce-Like. (It will bubble a LOT to get to that point. The bubbles will get increasingly sticky.) You will know the sauce is perfect when it is your ideal thickness. This takes about eight minutes, at least with my stove.

Step 5: Drown Pour over whatever food you want to enhance. Seriously.

You can save the Magic Sauce, if you have any leftover. But… It gets a bit, well, unusable. I have not yet figured out how to reheat it in a satisfactory manner.

Aside from its un-save-ability, there is one drawback to the Magic Sauce. I don’t actually find it a drawback, but my husband does.  So in the interest of full disclosure, I feel that I must share it with you.

Anyway, when the Magic Sauce is bubbling away, it gives off a very strong Vinegar Aroma. This aroma does not bother me. But it offends my husband’s delicate nostrils, so much so that he groans loudly if I want to make the Magic Sauce in his presence.

The aroma dissipates quickly, though.  So if I make Magic Sauce while my husband is working late, he doesn’t come home and wrinkle his nose in Nostril Offense.

Well! That is my Magic Sauce. Go forth and sauce it up! And then please report back with your results.

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