Simmer Sauces: For Idiots

My mom has this turn of phrase, that certain cooking styles or recipes are "for idiots." I made this new recipe last night, she'll say. It's, like, for idiots. Contrary to the negative connotations at first glance, it doesn't describe a recipe that only idiots would attempt, but rather one that's so easy a monkey could do it. This is a recipe compliment in our household.


I swear to all that is holy, my friend Leah and I invented these so-called "simmer sauces" one time when I went over to her place to make dinner and watch a movie. After perusing the aisles of Harris Teeter for dinner options, we ended up with a piece of salmon and a jar of peach salsa. How bad could this be? we thought. So we simmered the salmon in the salsa and OH MY GOD. It was delicious, and moist, and delightfully tropical.


Well, now they sell jars of simmer sauces, which are for idiots (again, a compliment). These things are so damn easy, and they make delicious, flavorful meals in about fifteen minutes. Today for lunch I made mango curry chicken with cardamom rice (yeah, that's cardamom sprinkled into a rice cooker... like I said, FOR IDIOTS).




Simmer Sauces
via my noggin

I'm not going to give you a set recipe for these, because you don't need one. If you're using a self-proclaimed "simmer sauce," there will be instructions on the jar. Although, a word to the wise: my jar listed far too long a cooking time; I took it off the stove at the halfway mark, and the chicken chunks weren't overcooked, but they weren't far off. Don't limit yourself to these jars -- if you're using your own sauce, like salsa (I highly recommend fruit salsas with fish!), just place the fish (or chicken) in a skillet and pour the salsa (or marinara, or whatever!) on top, ideally so that it covers the fillet or chunks of chicken. Bring to a simmer and take it off the stove when it's cooked to your liking.

It's that easy.