NEWBURG SAUCE
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 teaspoons shallots, minced, 1/4 ounce
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup heavy cream
4 egg yolks
In a double boiler over simmering water melt the butter. Add the sherry, shallots and paprika. Whisk and cook until the shallots are tender, about 5-10 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the the cream and egg yolks. Whisk the cream and yolk mixture quickly into the butter mixture and cook just until thickened, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat as soon as it will coat a spoon and not a second longer. If the sauce cooks too long it will separate and curdle (see my tip for repairing a broken sauce below). Season with a little salt to taste and serve at once over seafood.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups or 6 servings
Do not freeze
TIP: If your sauce does curdle, remove it from the heat and add one ice cube. Whisk briskly until the sauce becomes creamy again. If necessary, repeat with one more ice cube. You may need to return it to the double boiler very briefly to bring it back to temperature, but be very careful. This trick really does work. I wasn't sure how thick the sauce was supposed to get and I ended up breaking mine and the ice really did bring it back together.
Per 1/4 Cup Serving: 324 Calories; 33g Fat; 3g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
I think I'm in love with this new sauce. It's creamy and very rich and would go wonderfully with all kinds of seafood. I served it over some Salmon Patties, but I think that all the seasonings in the patties were a little too overpowering for the delicate sauce. This is traditionally served with chunks of lobster in it, but I think it would be lovely over baked tilapia or any mild fish.
I haven't had much experience using a double boiler and I was a little frustrated with how slowly the sauce cooked, even on moderately high heat. I've seen several Newburg Sauce recipes on the internet that don't use a double boiler. I think that next time I will be brave and use a regular saucepan. That way I can sauté the shallots in the butter before adding the other ingredients.
This makes quite a bit of sauce and I don't know yet if it can be successfully reheated. For now I suggest making half a batch if you don't think you can use up 1 1/2 cups in one sitting.
UPDATE: It looks like this sauce can't be successfully reheated. It definitely can't be microwaved. It will separate and the eggs will scramble. It can be thinned down on the stove, but not to the point where it gets hot or even warm. What I did was put part of the chilled sauce in a small saucepan and heated it over low heat while whisking constantly. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the sauce begins to look glossy. Keep whisking and return to the heat. Keep heating and removing from heat, whisking all the while. If the sauce breaks, whisk in a little of the cold sauce to bring it back together. In the end, this sauce is best when served immediately after making it and don't make more than you'll need.