CHEF JOHN ASH

John Ash: Cooking One on One:
Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food
from a Master Teacher

"Teaching has come to be the thing I love most in life..." Chef John Ash

This sauce is based on the famous French dessert sauce call "Crème Anglaise" (English Cream). It's something everyone should know how to make with or without the ginger. Once cooled it makes not only a delicious sweet sauce but is the basis for the very best ice cream you'll ever eat. Simply put in an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. I'm cooking the ginger in a sugar syrup here to inactivate the enzymes that can cause the cream to curdle. If not using ginger you can omit this step.

Ginger Custard Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1-1/2 cups light cream
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 4 egg yolks

Place ginger, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small sauce pan and simmer for approximately 6 minutes. Syrup should be thick but not brown. Let sit off heat for 30 minutes for flavor to develop. Back on heat, add light cream and vanilla and bring just to the simmer.

In a separate bowl beat the egg yolks until slightly thickened. Stir in hot cream mixture slowly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Return entire mixture to heat and cook over moderate heat until sauce begins to thicken (180 degrees). Immediately strain and chill. To prevent a skin from forming, press a piece of plastic wrap right down on the surface of the sauce then cover and refrigerate. Can be made ahead and stored refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Cookbooks Authored by Chef John Ash
Winner of the Julia Child "Cookbook of the Year" from the IACP One of California's foremost chefs, in association with Fetzer Vineyards, celebrates the bounty of the garden and the vine with a collection of more than 300 recipes that pay magnificent tribute to fresh and healthy high-flavor food--plus a a helpful--and fun--approach to testing and evaluating wines. Color photos.	Winner of the 2005 James Beard Foundation Award John Ash: Cooking One-on-One: Private Lessons in Simple, Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher	American Game Cooking: A Contemporary Guide to Preparing Farm-Raised Game Birds and Meats Game farms have made exotic fowl and meats widely available to the non-hunter, and this is an excellent resource for those who want to cook on the wild side. From boar-based borscht to roast lacquered duck with muscat-tamarind sauce, the recipes contained herein are delicious.

"It's the process of cooking that's so much fun — the bonus is that you get something at the end to eat." Chef John Ash

Simple Sauces: Delicious and Healthy:

• “No Cream” Cream Sauce
  
  
• Chickpea and Roasted Garlic Cream
  
  
• Roasted Mushroom and Mustard Sauce
  
  
• Red Bell Pepper, Tomato and Chipotle Sauce
  
  
• Curried Butternut Squash Sauce
  
  
• Spicy Carrot Sauce
  
  
• Asian Peanut Sauce
  
  
• Mango Mustard Seed Sauce
  
  
• Cold Avocado Sauce
  
  
• Ancho Chile Salsa
  
  
• Ginger Custard Sauce
  
  
• Simple Sauces that are (shhhhhh!) Delicious and Healthy! (article)
  
  
• More Recipes

(Chef John Ash)