It being the beginning of grilling season, I thought it would be a good time to chat about condiments. I use both ketchup and mustard on my hamburger….but ONLY mustard on my Hebrew National hot dog. Spicy brown mustard, to be exact. Oh, yes, I’m a great believer in using just the right kind of condiments with food. You can’t have just ANY mustard, sauce or mayo! It has to match….
My friend, Donna, who just came back from France, bought me these little darlings:
A magnificent menagerie of mini mustards!! From Dijon, of course. I was thrilled with them. I make my own salad dressing and each of these will help my creativity when choosing which vinegar and/or fruit to add to the dressing. Imagine a pear vinaigrette made with the black current mustard, or adding lemon juice to the tarragon mustard. Fantastic! I can also use these as part of a marinade for chicken. So much to choose from!
And then there are these, from my friend Erika Penzer Kerekes. She’s a fellow member of the Food Bloggers of Los Angeles:
Erika’s company, Not Ketchup, started from her journey to eat healthier. She came up with a wonderful line of dips and marinades that have no “crap” in them…including table sugar. You’ll find them in Whole Foods and other places, including her website.
But I can’t write about her and her products without including THIS! 
I am a HUGE ketchup fan, so when she came out with this, I had to try it. Obviously, with the way I’m covering my turkey burger (and I make great burgers!), I kind of like it! Yes, tomatoes are also a fruit, but this ketchup much healthier and tastes gourmet. It’s now a staple in my pantry.
We haven’t spoken about mayonnaise. While not a fan of putting it on sandwiches (Jews don’t use mayo with roast beef or turkey, we use ketchup or russian dressing, of course!) I do use mayo for my protein salads- tuna, chicken and salmon. For this, I make homemade. It tastes WAYYY better than store bought and you can tweak it with little things to make it extra-special. For instance, instead of white vinegar, try champagne vinegar! It’s what I do and it’s delicious. Here’s my recipe for it.
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon mustard (yup, use whatever kind catches your fancy. Start with a plain Dijon if you'd like)
- 1 1/2 tsps of champagne vinegar
- 1 1/2 C vegetable oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine yolks, mustard and vinegar, whisking until mixture is smooth, or putting them in a blender.
- Using an extremely slow pour, add oil while whisking or while blender is on. As emulsion is established, the oil can be added more quickly.
- When all the oil is added, adjust consistency and season with more vinegar and salt and pepper, if needed
Have a great July 4th, enjoy your grilling season and if you have any questions, suggestions or want a recipe for something, let me know! I’ll do my best to whip one up for ya!
Talk to you soon,
Rona
