The secret IS in the sauce.

As more people get serious about cooking at home, they look to dress up old recipes. The easiest and most effective way of doing this is by using a sauce, salad dressing or marinade. The addition of one of these elements can turn a simple meal into a spectacular meal.

Grilled steak with a rich mushroom sauce. Pomegranate vinaigrette dressing on fresh greens. These are just two examples of the incredibly delicious yet easy-to-prepare recipes featured in this book, and many are accompanied by tips and techniques. Cooking school chef George Geary provides recipes such as:

• Salad dressings and salads -- creamy two-cheese italian, Chinese chicken salad, tabouli
• Stock-based sauces and brown and white sauces -- poultry stock, champagne sauce, bechamel
• Pasta sauces -- fast and easy marinara, wild mushroom sauce, slow-cooker garlic and onion tomato sauce
• Marinades and rubs -- Caribbean jerk marinade, American BBQ sauce, curry rub
• Salsas, butters and spreads -- watermelon salsa, gorgonzola scallion butter, smoked salmon cheese spread
• Dessert sauces -- milk chocolate sauce, pecan-praline sauce, raspberry coulis, almond crunch fondue.

500 Best Sauces, Salad Dressings, Marinades & More has 500 secrets that assure success for every new and experienced home cook.