To me, a good sauce is worth the effort even if it takes hours to prepare. I don’t back off from a sauce with a long reduction time. After all, it’s not really work. It’s just time to build up the anticipation.

One of my favorite sauces is a red wine reduction sauce. Yes, it take a bit, over one hour. The result however, is out of this world.

The nice thing about these types of sauces is that they are relatively low in calories. The reduction time concentrates the flavors, so a little goes a long way. Another good thing about them is that you may use a little less butter on your baked potato if you pour a little sauce on it.

Here are some elements of a good sauce:

• No cooking wines. Use a wine that you would drink, preferably the same one that you’ll be drinking with dinner. Cooking wines are high in salt to preserve their shelf life. A salty sauce is not a good sauce.
• Use good stock. My favorite is Swanson brand. Use the low-sodium, low-fat varieties for a healthy alternative. I prefer to use broth out of the carton rather than cans to avoid that tinny taste.
• Always use fresh herbs rather than dried. You’ll often find that fresh herbs add some nuances lost in dried.
• To lower the glycemic value, use cornstarch and cold water rather than flour to thicken your sauce. I will finish with a bit of butter, but for thickening, I prefer the smooth texture of cornstarch.
• Speaking of butter, a good sauce demands a good butter. Skip the grocery store brands and opt for a better, unsalted butter. I use Plugra exclusively.

Sauces are a fun way to stretch your culinary talents to turn an ordinary meal into something truly special.

March is the perfect time to stretch your culinary wings and celebrate National Sauce Month.

Perhaps it’s another one of those bizarre celebrations with no definite origin. No worries though, as if I needed an excuse to celebrate sauces.

A good sauce is one way you can add flavor to your meal, with fewer calories. A highly-flavored sauce can truly make a meal.

I routinely will prepare sauces. I take pride in it. Of course, since it’s just my husband and me, I can take the time to prepare a complicated sauce. The reward is worth it to me. Besides, oftentimes a sauce is just a lot of reduction time. It’s not like you’re slaving away in the kitchen.

I prepared this delightful mustard-cognac sauce from Epicurious last week for a date night dinner. There was some reduction time, but actually relatively little. Except for a bit of clean up on the stove, it was very easy. The ingredients were readily available.

As you prepare your meals for the week, take some time to plan for some tasty sauces. I’ll be writing about some of my favorites this month. Bon appetit!