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If Marie-Antoine "Antonin" Careme  were alive today, he would undoubtedly have his own television show on the Food Network.

Heck, he might even own the Food Network.

The 18th-century Frenchman was known as “the king of cooks, and the cook of kings,” and for good reason: He cooked for Napoleon of France,  Alexander I of Russia, England’s George IV  and the Rothschild family of banking fame.

He also created dishes for one of his biggest (and roundest) fans, Italian composer Gioachino Antonio Rossini .

Careme may have been the original celebrity chef, but he left a legacy much broader than his name. He was the first to publish a classification for sauces, calling four basic recipes the “mother sauces.”

His four categories included espagnole (brown stock-based), veloute (clear stock-based), bechamel (cream-based) and allemande , a veloute enriched with eggs that is very similar to hollandaise sauce.

It wasn’t that nobody was making these sauces before Careme came along; he was just the first to point out that an array of different sauces could be created just by embellishing these mother sauces.

In essence, they are the building blocks of saucemaking.

Continue reading this column.

To see recipes for espagnole sauce and chicken Marsala, read on...

Espagnole Sauce

Makes about 1 gallon (can be frozen for later use)

3 oz. vegetable oil
1 lb. mirepoix (one part chopped celery, one part chopped carrots and two parts chopped onions)
2 oz. tomato paste
1 gallon hot beef or veal stock
2 Tbsp. parsley, unchopped
2 Tbsp. thyme, unchopped
3 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

For roux*:
2 sticks (1/2  pound) butter
1/2 pound all-purpose flour
* Roux is equal parts butter and flour. It is best to measure  by weight rather than volume.

1. Sweat the mirepoix in vegetable oil in a large pot until the vegetables begin to look translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Do not let them brown.
2. Whisk in tomato paste and cook for several minutes until a sweet aroma develops.
3. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Add herbs. Simmer for one hour, skimming away any foam that develops on the surface.
4. Strain out all of the vegetables and herbs. Return broth to the pot on medium heat.
5. Melt butter in a skillet. Whisk in flour until a smooth roux forms. Continue whisking constantly over a low to medium heat until the roux has turned the color of peanut butter. Be careful not to burn it.
6. Bring stock to a boil and gradually add roux, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened to the point where it will coat the back of a spoon. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Marsala

Using the recipe above, you can create a chicken Marsala that will have guests begging for seconds.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups Marsala wine*
Flour for coating chicken
Oil for sauteing
2 cups sliced mushrooms (optional)
4 cups espagnole sauce

1. Wash chicken breasts and pat dry. Pound out to about 1/2 -inch thickness. Dredge in flour.
2. Heat oil in a skillet.
3. Saute chicken breasts until golden brown on each side and cooked through.
4. Add Marsala wine to the skillet, whisking in all of the bits of flour and chicken stuck to the pan. Add mushrooms, if using. Allow to simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
5. Whisk in espagnole sauce until combined with wine reduction. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Serve chicken with sauce over pasta or rice.

* Look for the good stuff in the wine department, not the Marsala cooking wine in the baking section.

Recipe source: Steve Alls, Kroger