basic barbeque sauce

when i served this bbq sauce with chicken recently, jim gave me the thumbs up with his, "it's turbo-charged" reference. turbo = fast = good.

       we use a lot of car and driving references at our house. my husband's motto after all is "all things audi".  he once showed me an article in a car magazine about a man who cooked on his car engine and thought i might like to try it.      

       besides a plate of food, an easy way to get jim's attention is to talk manifolds, tire pressure, or track events . . . i've been the interested wife on a tour of the audi plant in ingolstadt, and ooohhheed over the original r8 at the forum museum. i know what cornering is, how to take the fastest line on a track, and i've gripped the passenger seat of our rental car going over 175 kph on the autobahn.
       so i will refer to this bbq sauce as either accelerated: if you're lead-footed with the chipotle chili powder and cayenne / or down-shifted: if your spice-like is cruising speed and you back off the cayenne. this is my go-to-basic bbq sauce because i always have most of the ingredients. if i don't have a red pepper to roast, i use a couple of jalapenos, a banana pepper or some other kind. and, try using chipotle chili powder to add elements of earth and smoke . . . it's a tasty break from regular chili powder, and i wouldn't steer you wrong.

ingredients

• 1/4 cup of safflower oil
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 and 1/2 cups of tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup apple cidar vinegar
• 1 large roasted red pepper, chopped
• 1 tbl. chipotle chili powder
• a dash or 2 of cayenne
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• a little salt and pepper
• about 1/3 cup of red wine

directions

1. sauté the garlic in the oil until fragrant and golden. let it cool slightly.
2. pour the garlic, oil and the rest of the ingredients (except the wine) into the blender. process until smooth.
3. marinate chicken or tofu in the sauce for about 45 min. / shrimp for about 20 min.
4. pour off the excess sauce into a saucepan and add the wine. bring it to the edge of a boil and then lower to a simmer while the protein is grilling.
5. plate the chicken, tofu, or shrimp and serve it with the reduced sauce.

sauté a few garlic cloves in some safflower oil and then purée all of the ingredients in the blender.

smoked chipotle chili powder makes this basic bbq sauce vroom-vroom!