Special Sauce

Recipe.

I'm a firm believer that when entertaining it isn't necessary to make every single food item from scratch. Stick to your strengths and embellish store-bought items to make the overall presentation still impressive and special.

One of my "secrets" to making a special dessert in a pinch is to have a good homemade sauce on hand to spruce up store-bought desserts. This month's issue of Bon Appetit features a recipe for Caramel-Orange Sauce. They recommend serving it over their recipe for Ricotta Cheesecake...I'm sure that's an unbelievably delicious combo, but I have other ideas in mind.

Make the sauce a couple of days before your dinner party and reheat before serving. Then I'd use it to top whatever suits your fancy. Perhaps Hagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream or Mrs. Fields Cheesecake or even your local grocer's pound cake. Just serve everything on a pretty dish and no one will be the wiser that you didn't slave in the kitchen for hours.