Mushroom Shallot Sauce

The original recipe, which I have modified quite a bit, is from Bon Appetit.  It is supposed to accompany the Brown Sugar-cured Turkey.  I never brought those two together but instead serve it with a roasted beef tenderloin.

I have been serving this combination since 1998 and everyone really enjoys it (even my son!).  It is great for a sit down dinner party and for Christmas, Easter, Birthdays or for the first meeting of the future in-laws (go with your stand by recipes for that one! haha!).  The best part is that the sauce can easily be made the day before and rewarmed very gently in the microwave the day of your big event.

Mushroom Shallot Sauce (adapted from Bon Appetit)

1/4 cup olive oil

10 shallots, peeled (sometimes they are so big 8 will do but when shopping get 10 and then see what fits in the dish)

4 large garlic cloves, peeled

12 ounces of white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1/4 inch

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1/2 cup Sherry (The brand that you must use:  Harveys Bristol Cream, original superior, in the blue bottle)

1-1/2 cups low salt chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Put shallots and garlic in a glass pie dish and pour on olive oil.   Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours until shallots and garlic are very tender and pale golden. (the smell of this alone is intoxicating!)

Transfer shallots and garlic including oil, into large saucepan.  The temperature on the dial of your stove burner should be between medium and high.  Add mushrooms, thyme and sage.  Saute until mushrooms are tender ~14 minutes.  Keep the temperature the same, between medium and high, add Sherry and boil until syrupy about 3 minutes .  Add chicken broth and boil for 10 minutes.  Add cream and boil for 5 minutes.    Watch carefully through out the whole procedure, stirring.  The sauce is very thick.  Serve with roasted beef tenderloin (makes about 3 cups).

Garlic, shallots with oil ready to go in the oven (I could not squeeze the other 2 shallots in, they were very big):

Garlic, shallots finished roasting:

White mushrooms cleaned and dried, ready to be sliced (these were a bit on the big size too but all that Shoprite had.  Smaller white mushrooms are fine too)

All ready to saute, with the next ingredients to be added:

Mushrooms cooking waiting for additional ingredients:

All finished:

Ready to eat!  mmmm: