Yield: About 1 cup
Ingredients:
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup white-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
⅓ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces and chilled
Directions:
- Boil wine, vinegar, and shallot in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until liquid is syrupy and reduced to 2 to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes.
- Add cream, salt, and white pepper and boil 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to moderately low and add a few tablespoons butter, whisking constantly.
- Add remaining butter a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly and adding new pieces before previous ones have completely liquefied (the sauce should maintain consistency of hollandaise), lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture.
- Remove from heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper and pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a sauceboat, pressing on and then discarding shallot.
- Serve immediately.
Cooks’ Note
Wine mixture can be reduced, and cream and seasoning added, up to 1 hour ahead. Boil cream 1 minute before adding butter.