Stendahl's Mock Demi-Glaze

 

 A demi-glaze is used as a sauce for meat generally, as a vehicle for both cooking and as a topping. As chef Eric just told me, "A true demi is a mother sauce."

"The above stock will be about 4 quarts. To make a demi-glaze, you have to thicken the brown stock. Put two quarts of the stock into a pan and add:

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup tomato sauce or puree

Reduce until a spoon becomes coated when dipped into the sauce. About 2 hours"

More from Chef Eric:

"It takes days to cook properly and it is the end result of the proteins from your bones and vegetables coming together in a thick gravy. Mostly you would then use it as that - the most rich amazing gravy ever. Or as a base to say a red wine and shallot sauce. Take the shallots, sweat them down, add a bay leaf or 2. Reduce a bottle of wine down with your demi until it is thick and delicious. "

Stendahl's Short-Cut Brown Stock

 

This is another recipe from NYC food critic Stendahl. 

Ingredients

1 pound beef short ribs

1 carrot, chopped

2 pounds veal bones

1 celery stalk, chopped

herbs of choice

1 onion chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

bit of flour

***Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley, thyme, marjoram, etc. Optional: add a good dash of Tabasco Sauce. NO SALT OR PEPPER T THIS STAGE, EVER***

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

2. Line a large roasting pan with the cur up beef, bones, and vegetables. sprinkle lightly with flour, and roast for 1/2 hour. 

3. Turn everything over and roast for another 1/2 hour. If the bones get a bit blackened, good. 

4. Transfer all to an 8-quart pot. Add water to fill the pot after you put in the meat and vegetables. 

5. Slowly bring pot to a boil. Skim off the scum with a spoon. 

6. Add the herbs, partially cover, and simmer for several hours - at least 4. 

7. Cool. Skim fat from the top and strain the stock through a fine sieve or cheesecloth.

8. Pour stock into paper cups, seal, and freeze. It's ready for a soup, stew or gravy base when needed. 

Freezing in paper cups is an interesting direction, but given that it is from anywhere from 1960 to 1980 I am not that surprised.

Simplified Brown Stock

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe is an interesting enigma. As you can see in the picture, Hi-Ho wrote, "I sent for this" and when I called my Dad, in my writing, he said it was a business acquaintance. But the internet tells me that Stendahl was a New York City Food critic. The article (or rather his obituary) states, "Arthur W. Bernal, who under the name Stendahl was a food and restaurant critic for The Daily News and WNCN-FM radio, died Sunday morning at his home in Bayside, Queens. He was 78 years old. All the above is likely true, but this piece of paper has three recipes, two for stock and one for demi-glaze.

Where was this recipe when I tinkered with making it at home!?

Directions

"Escoffier and other cookbooks detail stock-making methods that take many hours. A very simple way to get a usable stock is merely to throw your left over meats, plus a few vegetables, into a big pot of water and to simmer for 3 or 4 hours. Strain and keep in the fridge. If you do not use the stock within five days, boil it up again adding a few more bits of meat and vegetables. "