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1 6-ounce can tomato paste

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Sweat the onion and garlic with a three-finger pinch of salt in the olive oil over medium heat in a nonreactive 2-quart saucepan until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the fresno chilies, ancho chile, and red pepper flakes. Cook for a minute or two. Add the brown sugar, cumin, cinnamon, tomato paste, and vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 3 cups water, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook over low heat for 2 hours.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. Purée the mixture in a blender and strain through a sieve, pushing any solids through. Let cool, then cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Be careful when you purée hot liquids: Trapped hot air will shoot the lid off your blender when you start it up. It’s best to remove the center piece of the lid and cover the opening with a kitchen towel, holding it down over the lid when you start the blender, to prevent a scalding mess.

LOLA STEAK SAUCE

Over time, I simply got tired of saying no when people asked me for steak sauce; God bless Cleveland, but it’s a little too reliant on A1. This is a delicious balsamic-based sauce that’s sweet, acidic, and spicy from the cloves and cumin and picks up some depth from the anchovy. It’s a great sauce for simply grilled steaks or game, and it’s delicious on a burger.

Makes 1 cup

2 cups balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup raisins

1 small yellow onion, diced (½ cup)

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon whole cloves

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ tablespoon celery salt

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1 or 2 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped (1 tablespoon)

Combine the balsamic and red wine vinegars, raisins, onion, garlic, brown sugar, cloves, cumin, celery salt, rosemary, and anchovies in a large nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture has reduced by one third. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer twice or until you have a nice smooth sauce; discard the solids. Let cool, then cover, and refrigerate in a jar for up to 1 month.

COFFEE BARBECUE SAUCE

This sauce has great complexity and depth of flavor—or guts, as I call it. Bitterness and acidity come from the coffee, acidity from the sherry vinegar, spice from the coriander, spicy heat from the chipotle powder; and its backbone is provided by homemade ketchup. It’s a great all-around sauce for poultry, grilled beef, and pork.

We also make a version of this without the sugar and with twice the vinegar, which I prefer with fattier cuts and smoked meats.

Makes 3 cups

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher salt

1½ tablespoons coriander seeds, toasted (see Symon Says)

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup sherry vinegar

1 cup strong coffee

1 cup Spicy Ketchup

½ cup tomato juice

½ tablespoon chipotle powder

Sweat the onion in the olive oil with a good pinch of salt in a nonreactive 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the coriander, brown sugar, vinegar, and coffee and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the ketchup, tomato juice, and chipotle powder, and simmer for 2 hours. Strain, discard the solids, and let cool. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

RED PEPPER RELISH

I love to have this in my fridge all the time. Sweet, tangy, spicy, and citrusy, it livens up eggs and sandwiches and makes a brightly flavored sauce for grilled fish.

Makes 2 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ small red onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced

2 jalapeños, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted (see Symon Says)

¼ cup packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup fresh orange juice

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil to glaze the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, garlic, and a