French sauce cheating

Planning for France has reawakened my interest in the art of sauce making.  For last night's dinner of roasted chicken, carrots and brown rice I made a simple (and hopefully really French) glaze to drizzle over everything.

Set aside about 1.5 cups of the juices and drippings that result from cooking the meat.  In this case, I was using chicken that had brined (soaked in a flavored salty water bath)  with tumeric and a bay leaf so after cooking the liquid had those infusions on top of the usual "salty poultry" flavor.  To this broth I added a crushed thread of saffron and simmered for 1 minute in the microwave.  The idea is to add any good combination of flavorings to create delicious liquid with a slightly overseasoned taste.

 Meanwhile in a small saucepan use a tablespoon of good butter to cook 2 rounded tablespoons of pastry flour.  If you don't have pastry flour, use the most finely ground soft white flour you have.  Unfortunately this is a case where healthy whole wheat won't work, but you don't use much.  Stir this paste in the bottom of your pan over med-low heat for 3 minutes.

Slowly add in the broth and turn up the heat.  After a minute or so of bubbling the sauce will thicken and you are done!  If you aren't worried about calories, an extra pat or 2 of butter melted in at this stage will give you a glossy finish.

I wish I could credit and thank the many sources I gleaned this technique from; a chef friend, my genius big sister,  the Food Network and internet recipe sharers.  This is, obviously, very flexible and inexact.  I do it differently every time but the method is the same. More art, less science, all yum!

Please add any comments, suggestions, thoughts and results on your own saucy experiences!