Sauce Goddess

what's new?

2009-12-09T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well I am working on a couple of new sauces and I am having a hard time with the final product... actually what to call it. hmm more tomorrow

a break in the world tour

2009-10-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

So the past week has been a nice break from the Northern California World Tour of a couple a weeks ago. I was busy personally doing demos for all our new retailers that have come on in the last 3 months or so. A lot of retailers in Marin and Sonoma counties and also Santa Cruz counties. It's really great to do show and tell with everyone and really talk about my sauces and seasonings.

I also managed to participate in a great new event (at least for Sauce Goddess)- that was the Autumn Food and Wine Festival. For those of you who really enjoy it when restaurant chef pairs food and wine, this event is for you. Saturday was the general tasting and cooking classes and so on. Sunday the event was a competition between restaurant chefs and their partner winery to see who would win top honors and pair a food and wine so perfectly that everyone loved it. I have to say for my taste buds there could have been 4 or 5 winners.

This break gives me time to finally write a blog for the first time in oh over a year.... bad blogging goddess. I am also looking for an intern to help with my social networking and help come up with a marketing plan. Who knows maybe he or she will write the next blog and share their experiences so far.

The big project I see that I have to address is branding my company products. I need to know that folks like you reading this blog will recognize the product and recommend it to others. I need the retailers to have heard of the company before my sales resp approach them. The best of all worlds would be a store calling and asking for it... but that may be asking for too much.

Well I'm going to go cook a Big Tangy Portobello with caramelized peppers and onions over couscous... yummy. I think I'll add some serranos to make it fun. Tata for now.
The Sauce Goddess

cooking class experience

2008-07-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

I taught my first cooking class at Great News Cookware and Cooking School last night. It was a fantastic experience! There were 30 people there including a couple of friends, Nicholas and Rebecca from Diego and Son Printing.

I was able to follow my passion for lean cooking and share several awesome recipes with all the participants. I got there a bit early at 3 for the 6 pm class. I had two terrific chefs, Corinne and Mia, to help me by doing all the prep for all 5 dishes I was going to be making. Together we made the Lean Cheesecake with Moroccan Twist Apple topping. Then they ran me through how the class works. How they set up one side while I'm cooking on the other side and talking through the recipes. How I'm not supposed to clean up, that they are little elves behind me doing all that while I continue to teach. The entire "behind the scenes" kind of stuff even though it's in front of the class.

Okay so other things I made that will be in my lean cooking cookbook out hopefully by 2009. Latin Heat Fajita Fritata, BBQ Sweet Heat Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers, Original Super Chunk Roasted Veggies, and Sweet& Spicy Turkey Meatloaf. All were great if I do say so myself. I always find things to improve upon, and with every cooking experience, there are always some adjustments that could need to be made. Like last night the meatloaf with very loose, juicy, like it had too much liquid, so we added more turkey and it came together. Everything tasted great, or so the class said. I think a couple of dishes may have been a bit on the spicy side and I noted adjustments for people to make.

Anyway I guess I just wanted to share with you all what a terrific experience it was. I really really enjoyed it and can't wait to do it again. Showing others how to cook better and easier is something I need to do to fill my heart.

Thank you. Jennifer

food for life & life for food

2008-06-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well I keep meeting people that I talk to about food. They find out I own a gourmet food company and the conversation turns to good food, grilling, family recipes and so on. Food is so much more than what we put in our bodies to sustain us. It's love caring, time, creativity and then the taste, smell, texture and all that physical side of things. Good thing food. I hope this note finds you all enjoying your day of food and family and friends.

Jen
sauce goddess

worldfest LA

2008-05-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

I did my first vegan festival last Saturday. It was a great crowd. They were okay with the fact that I am not a vegan but I can still make awesome products that happen to be vegan and that they can enjoy.

For those of you that don't know there are all different kinds of vegetarians. Some people eat fish, some eggs and dairy, some just dairy. Then there is vegan. My way of describing it is this (you vegans out there please correct me if I'm wrong) they don't eat anything that has any animal component to it. No dairy (comes from a cow), no eggs, meat, fish etc. So the odd twist that my Big Tangy Steak Sauce had a few of them thrown for a loop, but the way it tastes on a portabella mushroom if great and it's great on their mock steak sandwiches. And lastly those veggie burgers and dogs need a little sauce to make them extra tasty. It's just a great ketchup killer in my book.

So my message to those of you that are vegetarian or vegan (or those of you that cook for them), please try my sauces they are great and completely safe for those meatless friends. Also, please send me recipes for tofu and stuff. I want to add things like that to my site to mix it up. Thanks. Jennifer

my company is growing

2008-03-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

I am so excited with the growth of Sauce Goddess. I don't know how many of you have personal goal and all that. I do. My goal for 2008 is to turn on as many people as possible to how easy and great it is to cook with Sauce Goddess.

Cool thing is I keep getting emails from people telling me how great my own rubs and sauces are. I'm not bragging here. I love to make it easy and really really tasty.

Like this email from my friend Erik at Happy Macs . He sent this to me over the weekend
"Latin Heat ! Oh my god!! Everyone loved the steak tonight!
:-)"

I will starting also be starting to email those of you that have purchased my products before or that I have met at an event and you have asked to be on my email "list". I am finally doing it.

That's all my thoughts for now. May your table be full of great food and plenty of smiling people.

Jen
The Sauce Goddess

continuing to experiment

2008-01-20T17:15:00.000-08:00

I just had the most fun today creating some recipes for a tv spot on Super Bowl Sunday. New dip with blue cheese, cream cheese and my sweet & spicy grill glaze. yummy! It'll be on my site soon, but you can watch for it live on KUSI in San Diego or kusi.com. I'm pretty sure you can watch it on live feed.

Jennifer

holiday party ideas

2007-12-10T09:42:00.000-08:00

How many of you are ready to cook for the holidays? Are you entertaining? Going to a holiday party maybe? Supposed to bring the "something to share". Well I have to tell you some small preparation and Sauce Goddess can help make it easy. Here's 3 of my favorites, BBQ Sweet Heat Shrimp, Latin Heat Dip with veggies or chips, and Sweet & Spicy Grilled Eggplant Puree with baguette for dipping or spreading. All 3 of these taste fantastic, and make a nice presentation. All of these reciplease are on our website-check it out.

Happy holidays to you!

Jennifer

saying thanks

2007-10-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

It's so great when such a good thing can come out of something so bad. All of you around the country have heard of the nasty fires that have decimated parts of San Diego. Well some of us not affected as much have been volunteering, donating, helping out in any way we can. The generosity of San Diegans is unbelievable.

Yesterday morning I woke up to 100.7 Jack fm in San Diego, listening to Monique and the Man show (as I almost always do because it's a great way to wake up-nice positive show with fun music). They were talking about a huge donation that Outback Steakhouse and Westfield North County Fair were holding later that day. Outback Steakhouse and their suppliers donated 10,000 pounds of meat and salad and fruit to feed those displaced by the fire and to say a huge THANK YOU to the firefighters (many of whom have been in San Diego from Arizona, Oregon and other places for a week or so to help out).

I knew immediately that I had to be there. It was the perfect way to me to personally say Thanks to all the firefighters who saved my friends homes and lives. I could give them all sauce to take back to their firehouses. Sauce Goddess is a small company but I feel it's really important to do the things that move you. This day moved me. The cheers the firefighters got when just walking through the area was very very neat to see. All of them were just saying "it's my job, no problem", "it's what we do"and things like that. So modest for such a dangerous and giving career choice.

So I want to say thanks to Joe Gatto at Outback Steakhouse for letting me tag along and give my sauces to the firefighters. Thanks to Monique and Greg for waking me up yesterday and thanks to Kelly Nelson and her friendly staff at Westfield Shopping Towns for their generosity in allowing me to join in as well.

Thank you to all the firefighters for all that you do to keep us safe.

calling all vegetarians

2007-09-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Help! I really need help from some of you vegetarians out there. I began advertising in VegNews magazine and as I read the magazine and the recipes, I realize that I have fallen into the same mental block a lot of other meat-eaters do. I tend to think of vegetarians as eating veggies most of the time. I know darn well that beans and rice fulfill the protein needs, but I have little experience with cooking with tofu and other meat alternatives. I turn to eggplant as my go-to meat alternative. As much as I love eggplant, it has little nutritional value at all.

So I am asking for your help. Please submit any vegan reciplease you can-using my sauces or spice rubs of course (or give me something to work with and I'll create it from there). You don't need to be a full blown veg-head to know how to cook really well with meat substitutes.

I am so focused on making sure my sauces and spice rubs were made with good ingredients, all natural and preservative free and yes vegan. I am proud of them, but not proud of my ineptness at fully incorporating a vegan reciplease section to my website.

Thanks for your help.

Jennifer

making life flavorful

2007-08-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you how much I love cooking for my friends. It doesn't matter if I'm using Sauce Goddess or not (SG makes it "mine"). I just love to make my life and those around me full. The tool I use is food. The flavors are use are part of my life's toolbox. Right now I'm into spicy shrimp for some reason (low calorie, great richness). Next week it could be more grilled veggies that I have been making when I entertain. The other "flavor" in my life right now is sausage. I've been eating a lot of store bought sausage, but I just made some chicken andouille sausage and have been playing with those types of spices... thyme and peppers (peppers for sure-as you can't guess by all my spicy rubs and sauces) and allspice and stuff. Good flavors... they can be very intense without needing to be spicy. I am getting ready for some fun Sauce Goddess events here in the next couple of months so there's always opportunities for cooking, but what's recharging my batteries right now is cooking for those in my life that I love and want to help make their lives more fun and flavorful.

Make it a tasty day!

ready for CBS

2007-07-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I've been planning and cooking and getting ready for my next TV appearance tomorrow morning. My PR firm has been working hard to hep me get the word out about Sauce Goddess. It's really fun to do the TV shows. It's fast and furious but incredibly fun.

Tomorrow I will show off my spice rubs on zucchini (super chunk) and baby peppers (latin heat). I will also be cooking ribs (as much as you can in 3 minutes on air (which means they will be done ahead of time). I am also cooking shrimp live with this great little marinade I came up with a month or so ago. The reciplease will be on my website as well as the show

So check out CBS Wed. July 25th at 7:30 or so. I'll be there smilin' and grillin' away.

Thee Sauce Goddess

I love to show off my goods!

2007-07-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

Well I got to do an in-store appearance at one of my favorite retailers (happens to be the first retailer that took a chance on my company and sauces right from the start)- Great News! Cookware and Cooking School here in Pacific Beach/San Diego. I love their store-very cool cookware and gadgets. I love the people that work at Great News-they know their stuff. I love the shoppers that wander in to "check it out" and those that come in with a purpose because they are looking for some obscure cooking tool or flavoring.... they KNOW Great News will have it. You can check them out on-line at www.great-news.com.

So this past month has been their 30th anniversary and I wanted to help them celebrate. I cooked all day long in the middle of the store with all my rubs and sauces. It was so much fun and a lot of people came in to see me (since it's been a while since I have been there showing off my goods). I wanted to say thanks to everyone for that opportunity to show off a bit. I love turning people on to my sauces and rubs. It's so fun to see the look on their face as they realize what they're tasting isn't the same 'ol BBQ sauce and the rubs are really really different. Too much fun!

I'll let you know when and where my next live demo will happen so you can experience the taste as well.

Till next time....
Jen

Back in the Saddle and a Tip

2007-07-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm back after a few days of non-stop living. Life has a tendency to take over, priorities and focus change, and before you know it...

....well, you probably know what I mean; there's no need to elaborate on that. However, you can use a BBQ'g metaphor here. Sometimes the quicker you try to make something happen, you end-up with an un-cooked middle and a charred or blackened outside. The best results happen when you use mild heat and a slow-hand. Take the proper time to 'cook' things right and you finish with a moist, nicely-cooked (and tasty) result. The tendency is to rush through things in order to get to the 'next' thing on your list. Rushing anything usually ends-up with results that are unsatisfactory. So take the 'slow' route when BBQ'g or going through life and savor the results!

I made an excellent dinner last night - really good grilled eggplant with BBQ Sweet Heat sprinkled on and a little extra Sweet & Spicy glaze to finish it off. I also had some Walleye from my sister's friend in western NY. I seasoned it up with Original Super Chunk. Yummy! You can check out some of these products at the Sauce Goddess website. I will be providing some recipes in follow-up posts.

Thanks for reading! Till Next Time....

BBQ Secrets to be Revealed

2007-07-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hello, I’m Jen, affectionately named the Sauce Goddess by my friends. I hope to include you among my friends as we get to know each other through this blog and subsequent emails.

Here’s a little about me….

I love to cook and host parties for my friends and family. From an early age I was interested in cooking and the sauces used to create fantastic foods. I learned about BBQ sauces in particular from my father, who is a great cook in his own right. In the course of entertaining my friends and family over the years, I was challenged by them to take my natural enthusiasm for cooking and creating to the next level and start my own business. So, I started my business in 2000 and have been growing it gradually ever since. You can visit my website at Sauce Goddess. I have created several different types of glazes, sauces, and spice rubs which complement any meat or veggie. My vegan friends are especially excited that all my sauces are vegan in nature and are excellent on vegetables.

So, what’s the secret to a great BBQ? Well, that depends on what you’re cooking and how. The sauce itself depends on the ingredient mix and the tender-loving-care applied in the making. How you cook depends on the type of meat or veggie you’re grilling. I will share some of my secrets as we go along this journey in my posts. The main ingredient for a successful BBQ is love. When you infuse your preparations and ingredients with anticipation of the joy and fun you will be bringing through your food, you set-up a joyous, harmonious, experience for all. That is the key. I will expand on this theme in further posts, so please stay tuned.

I was just featured on a television show on station KUSI here in San Diego this morning (Tuesday 7-03-07). It was the second time I've been on a TV segment, the other being on KNSD a few months ago. It was a blast and I will post some clips as soon as they are ready.
so this post is the first of many more to come.

I will provide my insights and experiences to help you on your grilling journey. Periodically, I will provide recipes and tips, and soon, a recipe booklet will be ready, so look for that in the near future. Please feel free to contact me via email (jreynolds@saucegoddess.com) with your comments and suggestions. Also check-out my website, Sauce Goddess, for product info and other goodies.

Till next time,
The Sauce Goddess