|
|
CONDIMENTS
I've had a long time personal quest to see how many aisles in the grocery store I could pass up. So far I pass up the bread and bakery aisles. I
don't pass up the meat counter, but don't buy any pre-prepared or ground meat -- I tend to buy roasts and grind my own (which is so much safer and
better than purchasing a mix from a grinder that may or may not have been cleaned). Also there is nothing in the store that can compare to making your
own sausage. I also can (but sometimes don't) pass the condiment aisle as I've learned
how to make my own mayo, mustard, etc. By the way homemade mayo is SO much better. I can and DO pass up the salad dressing aisle -- they are so
simple to make from scratch and don't contain any preservatives or odd chemicals. My current quest is to pass up the pasta aisle. I haven't found a way
to do the mararoni, but I make my own egg noodles, fettucini, lasagna and ravioli pasta.
Even if you don't want the fuss of making your own condiments, give these recipes at least one try. Some of them might come in handy some day when
you run out of the store bought versions and just don't want to make the trip.
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
There are so many uses for Ranch Dressing beyond salads: pretzel dip, sandwich spread, beer cheese dip, vegetable dip,
marinate
3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
11/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup good mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt, such as Fage Total
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken
Place the scallions, basil, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree for 15 to 20 seconds to make a smooth mixture. Add the mayonnaise, yogurt, and buttermilk and blend until smooth. Transfer the dressing to a container, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour for the flavors to develop.
Beer Cheese Dip
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
¼ cup ranch dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup beer
2 green onions, chopped
BEAT cream cheese and dressing in medium bowl with mixer until blended.
STIR in remaining ingredients.
REFRIGERATE several hours or until chilled.
Crispy Ranch Fried Chicken
1 roasting chicken about 3 pounds, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup Ranch Dressing
1 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs (or cornflake crumbs)
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Combine ranch dressing with bread crumbs in a gallon-size Food Storage Bag.
Add chicken pieces and seal bag. Shake the bag to evenly coat chicken.
Bake chicken on ungreased baking pan at 375°F for 50 minutes or until juices run clear or an internal temperature of 165F.
Ranch Spinach Dip
1 box (10 ounces) frozen spinach chopped, thawed, well drained
1 container (16 ounces) sour cream
1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts
1 cup Ranch Dressing
1 round loaf French bread
fresh vegetable sticks
Stir together dips mix, sour cream, spinach and water chestnuts. Chill 30 minutes or until just before serving.
Cut top off the bread and remove center (using firm bread pieces as dippers). Fill bread bowl with dip. Serve with cubed bread
and vegetables.
Homemade Mayonaise
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
3/4 cup canola oil, divided
Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk until blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds.
Using 1/4 teaspoon measure and whisking constantly, add 1/4 cup oil to yolk mixture, a few drops at a time, about 4 minutes. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup oil in very slow thin stream, whisking constantly, until mayonnaise is thick, about 8 minutes (mayonnaise will be lighter in color). Cover and chill. do ahead Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Aioli
1 large egg yolk
1 minced garlic clove
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
3/4 cup extravirgin olive oil, divided
Combine egg, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and salt. Gradually drizzle in olive oil while mixing until you get the consistency you want.
Remoulade
Perfect topping for crab cakes.
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons Creole whole-grain mustard
3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process for 30 seconds. Use immediately or store. Will keep for several days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Homemade Ketchup
Ketchup is something that is so easy to buy, but just once, try making it yourself. By using the slow cooker, most of the
labor is out of the process.
makes 3 cups
2 (28 ounce) cans peeled ground tomatoes
1/2 cup water, divided
2/3 cup white sugar
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black
1 whole clove (or 1/8 tsp ground clove)
Pour ground tomatoes into slow cooker. Swirl 1/4 cup water in each emptied can and pour into slow cooker. Add sugar, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, celery salt, mustard powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and whole clove; whisk to combine.
Cook on high, uncovered, until mixture is reduced by half and very thick, 10 to 12 hours. Stir every hour or so.
Smooth the texture of the ketchup using an immersion blender, about 20 seconds.
Ladle the ketchup into a fine strainer and press mixture with the back of a ladle to strain out any skins and seeds.
Transfer the strained ketchup to a bowl. Cool completely before tasting to adjust salt, black pepper, or cayenne.
Spicy Mustard
1/4 cup ground mustard, such as Colman’s
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Place the ground mustard, sugar, and salt in a medium heatproof, nonreactive bowl and whisk to combine. Add the egg and whisk until smooth. Add the vinegar, paprika, and turmeric and whisk until combined. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring it to a bare simmer over low heat. Remove the plastic wrap from the mustard mixture, place the bowl over the simmering water, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mustard mixture has thickened to the consistency of olive oil, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Check to make sure the water isn’t boiling by periodically removing the bowl from the saucepan using a potholder or dry towel. If the water is boiling, reduce the heat so the egg doesn’t curdle.)
Transfer the mustard to a nonreactive container with a tightfitting lid and cool completely. Seal the container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Homemade Sausage
I purchase a pork butt roast and grind my own meat to start. For a 4lb roast I'll divide the ground meat in half and do one batch of
breakfast sausage and one batch of Italian sausage.. you can always purchase ground pork at the store. The spices in the recipes below are arbitrary to
say the least. This is how I start. The trick is to fry up about a teaspoon of the mix and taste test it and make your personal adjustments before
wrapping it up. I prefer a strong fennel taste in the italian sausage and a little more red pepper kick to the breakfast sausage.
For the breakfast sausage, I just make up patties divided by waxed (or parchment) paper.. put them in a freezer bag. For the italian
sausage I make 'sausage rolls, wrap then in saran wrap, twisting the ends to tighten the sausage, put the in a freezer bag and store them.
Breakfast Sausage
2 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch ground cloves
2 pounds ground pork
In a small, bowl, combine the sage, salt, ground black pepper, marjoram, brown sugar, crushed red pepper and cloves. Mix well.
Place the pork in a large bowl and add the mixed spices to it. Mix well with your hands and form into patties.
Saute the patties in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes per side, or until internal pork temperature reaches 160 degrees F (73 degrees C).
Italian Sausage
3 pounds ground pork
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/4 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Place the pork and red wine vinegar in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, paprika, red pepper flakes, fennel seed, brown sugar, oregano, and thyme. Knead until flecks of spice are evenly distributed through the sausage.
Divide the sausage into thirds, and form into 3 logs; wrap each in plastic wrap. Place wrapped sausage into a freezer bag before
freezing, or store in refrigerator for at least 12 hours before cooking.
|
|
