Many cooks are intimidated by complex sauces with fancy names. Béarnaise, Marinara, Béchamel, Picatta...they all sound complicated, but they're not! These sauces combine simple ingredients with a little bit of patience and a hot pan to produce tasty results right in your own kitchen.

Béarnaise -- A Butter-Wine Sauce

Béarnaise is a butter-wine sauce thickened with egg yolks and flavored with tarragon and shallots. This creamy sauce is normally served alongside steak, but is also wonderful over other meats and dark green vegetables like asparagus.

Recipe: Béarnaise Sauce

(adapted from Tyler Florence, Food Network)

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 stick butter, melted
• Salt and pepper

In a small saucepan combine the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.