That was an exact wording of the recipe as written in the cookbook. I’ve not heard that term before either. I have made the sauces, though.
More subtle than today’s vivid sauces, but tasty.
Her name is spelled Catharine also. She states in the forward that she and her doctor husband lived 40 kilometers from Villa’s headquarters.
She saved recipes from rich and poor alike.

bill voss

I have never seen the term "button of garlic". I assume you mean clove. Just curious.

Cakes

Uncle Vic…here is an excellent homemade red sauce. We use it in many things.

Enjoy!

Stogie
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Mexican Red Sauce (Mexican)

1 1/2 tablespoon(s) Oil
1/2 tablespoon Flour
1/8 cup Chili powder
1 cup Chicken stock
6 ounce(s) Tomato paste
1 teaspoon Oregano, dried
1 teaspoon Cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Heat oil and add flour. Stir until smooth and cook for at least 1 minute.
Add chili powder and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
Boil and then reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
This sauce will thicken and smooth.

Old Time Recipes

Salsa de Chile Verde:
five large green bell peppers,

two green tomatos,

two large onions,

two buttons of garlic,

one half cup fruit vinegar,

one half cup olive oil, or two tablespoons lard,

one cup water,

one half teaspoon ground cinnamon,

one teaspoon salt,

one half teaspoon cloves,

Run vegetables through a fine grinder,

have oil/lard heating,

pour all ingredients in oil, cook for 15 minutes,

Salsa de Chile
ten large dry chile peppers,

two buttons of garlic,

one teaspoon of grated chocolate or cocoa,

one tablespoon sugar,

oneteaspoon salt,

two tablespoons lard,

Cook the peppers until tender; pass through the grinder and then pass
through seive. Have the lard very hot, put the chili paste into it with
sugar, salt, garlic, and chocolate. Add one pint of water and simmer
fifteen minutes.
both from:"Concha’s Mexican Kitchen Cookbook" by Catharine Ulmer Stoker
1946

You want "sauces" as opposed to "salsas"? You really just need a blender and a few simple ingredients. The restaurants probably just don’t want to tell you they buy canned! Red sauces are usually a mixture of dried red peppers (rehydrated in warm water) with chicken broth and sometimes a little masa. The green ones are usually tomatillos and jalapenos boiled then blended or processed. I can get you more precise recipes when I get home.