Strawberry Sauce

Sauce aux fraises (strawberry sauce) teaches restraint: strawberry's bright perfume survives only if the pan never gets the chance to bully it. Melt the jelly, give it the lightest liaison à l'arrow-root (arrowroot thickening), then stop the heat before the ruby color dulls. Kirsch goes in afterward, where its cherry perfume remains itself.

The source formula assumes a saucier melting whatever quantity service requires and sending it promptly. It needs neither a stockpot kept going nor a salamander. For one cook, one stove, one evening, the honest equivalent is a two-quart home batch, a heavy saucepan, and a whisk. The brigade's hot holding is scaffolding and goes; gentle melting, slight thickening, and kirsch off the fire are the dish and stay exactly where they belong.

Keep your eye on the edge of the pan. The instant the sauce turns translucent and lightly coats the spoon, take it off. If it boils and the arrowroot loosens, ça se rattrape: a small fresh slurry restores it, but the better victory is to warm the sauce through and stop there.