"Marrying the best of well-practiced techniques and methods with the adventurous innovation of the contemporary art, Peterson has forged a new direction for sauce-making that rings as true for home cooks as it does for professional chefs. More than just a compendium of recipes, Sauces explains how and why the ingredients of a sauce are combined. Structured around the framework of classical French cooking, it provides in thorough detail explanations of, and instructions for, preparing both traditional and contemporary versions of most every sauce imaginable. It is as much a celebration of cooking as a teaching volume -- at its heart, a reflection of Peterson's devotion in the kitchen, dedicated not only to broadening the appreciation and understanding of traditional principles, but also to empowering the reader to become an adept improviser." -- From publisher description.

A short history of sauce making -- Equipment -- Ingredients -- Stocks, glaces, and essences -- Liaisons: an overview -- White sauces for meat and vegetables -- Brown sauces -- Stock-based and nonintegral fish sauces -- Integral meat sauces -- Integral fish and shellfish sauces -- Crustacean sauces -- Jellies and chauds-froids -- Hot emulsified egg-yolk sauces -- Mayonnaise-based sauces -- Butter sauces -- Salad sauces, vinaigrettes, salsas, and relishes -- Purees and puree-thickened sauces -- Pasta sauces -- Asian sauces -- Dessert sauces.