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Sauces and Dressings

A good sauce can transform a dish. This collection features all of my favorite sauce recipes from tzatziki, Greek cucumber-yogurt sauce, to fresh tomato sauce to the only green sauce you need to this Thanksgiving staple: red wine cranberry sauce.

A large Mason jar filled with make-ahead gravy.

Simple Make-Ahead Gravy

In this tomato sauce, canned tomatoes are brightened by olive oil and sautéed onions, a few cloves of crushed garlic, a little white wine, some chopped fresh parsley, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. After about 20 minutes of simmering, it's done. And it's delicious. // alexandracooks.com

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with White Wine & Parsley

A jar of homemade harissa paste.

Simple, Delicious Harissa Paste Made at Home

A large bowl of chopped Thai salad satay ready to be served.

Chopped Thai Satay Salad with Peanut-Ginger Dressing

Pizza Margherita, Marcella Hazan Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, Homemade Ricotta

A plate of an egg taco topped with roasted vegetable salsa.

Breakfast Tacos with Roasted Poblano and Corn Salsa + Excellent Mail-Order Flour Tortillas

This is my favorite recipe for buttermilk dressing, which I love for slaw — so much lighter than mayonnaise-based dressings, and delicious, too: vinegar, Worcestershire, and hot sauce give it a nice kick/bite. To put it all together, I used cabbage, basil, cilantro, scallions, and two turnips as well as a couple of carrots. // alexandracooks.com

CSA Week 4: Buttermilk Dressing for Slaw | Reviving Greens | Zucchini Pickles

A fall salad of greens, pine nuts, goat cheese, and apples in a bowl.

5-Ingredient Apple Cider Vinaigrette

A quart of freshly made turkey stock.

Roasted Turkey Stock (Wings, Make-Ahead)

Tender and flaky, these buttermilk cheddar biscuits are the perfect vessel for housing slices of ham or turkey or roast beef, handfuls of arugula, and a slathering of mustard sauce, a must-have recipe if you're making ham this holiday season. // alexandracooks.com

Cheddar Biscuits

I can't seem to get enough of this bulgar bowl: a mix of bulgur and lentils, chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, toasted almonds, cilantro, and a lemon-tahini dressing. When you have some of the components prepared ahead of time, the assembly happens quickly! // alexandracooks.com

Bulgur, Lentils, Lemon-Tahini Drizzle

This garlic and thyme monkey bread with spicy tomato sauce would nicely complement any pasta dish (for all of you carb lovers that is) but would also be wildly received at any sort of Super Bowl gathering. // alexandracooks.com

Easy Garlic Monkey Bread

A sheet pan of baked chicken fingers.

Best Baked Chicken Fingers

Gramma's mustard sauce in a Weck jar.

My Grandmother’s Mustard Sauce (AKA: “The Ham Sauce”)

A pan of just-baked eggplant involtini.

Simple Roasted Eggplant Involtini

A plate of okonomiyaki with soy dipping sauce.

Okonomiyaki: Cabbage Pancakes

This green goddess dressing defies convention, omitting mayonnaise and sour cream in favor of olive oil and heavy cream (just a little). Many herbs can be used, but I love it when the predominant flavor is tarragon. // alexandracooks.com

Little Gems with Chez Panisse Green Goddess Dressing

Eggplant salad.

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce and Tomatoes

A bowl of no-fuss, easy, chicken enchilada casserole.

Easiest Chicken Enchilada Casserole

vegetable tacos

Grilled Vegetable Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

Two jars of homemade aioli.

How to Make Classic Garlic (or Ramp!) Aioli

A bowl of Cabbage Slaw with Miso-Carrot Dressing

Broccoli & Cabbage Slaw with Miso-Carrot Dressing

This cucumber salad with tahini-yogurt sauce essentially is a no-cook meal, a refreshing salad to make good use of those cool summer cucs, which might just be arriving in droves. I serve it along side broiled slices of ciabatta. Yum. // alexandracooks.com

Cucumber Salad with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce

This fish sears beautifully, the heat of the skillet creating a light bottom crust, which allows the fillet to release from the pan with the gentlest push of a spatula. Wrapped in tortillas warmed directly on the grill grates, a summery skillet-grilled dinner of fish tacos can materialize in no time. // alexandracooks.com

Skillet-Grilled Fish + Tacos

A plate of eggplant meatballs aside bread and ricottta.

Lemony herby chickpea salad in a large bowl.

A bowl of roasted butternut squash soup topped with croutons and fried sage.

A bowl over overnight chia oats and berries.

A bean salad in a serving bowl.

A jar of Greek salad dressing on a countertop.

More Vegetarian Recipes