Condiment

Mexican Pickled Red Onions

December 19, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I had never tried pickling anything for a recipe before but it turned out to be surprisingly easy and was a delicious condiment on tacos. A simple pickling technique is to submerge the onions in vinegar, salt, and sugar for several hours. You can also add acidic juices and spices to provide more flavor. In this recipe I used orange, lime, and apple cider vinegar for a vibrant citrus flavor. I also added a little fresh oregano which tasted great with the onions. After a few hours, the onions soften and turn an even brighter shade of red. Another way to get the onions even softer is to blanch them prior to pickling. This will be a great condiment on mexican food and even sandwiches so I plan to use it again soon!

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Roasted Habanero Salsa

December 17, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Habanero Chilis are one of the hottest peppers in the world–just a few steps down from pure concentrated capsaicin (the ingredient found in pepper spray). I had never tried the habanero and I was looking forward to this very hot salsa. I recently made Cochinita Pibil tacos but the tacos had very minimal heat. I decided to try the habanero salsa with the tacos and the results were great, though I only needed a tiny bit (1/4 tsp per taco) to add the right amount of heat. The heat from the habanero sneaks up on you while eating so make sure to have sour cream, milk, or yogurt around to cool down the mouth. Water won’t do much when eating a habanero, and dairy or bread are the only things that really help. I can’t wait to use the habanero in tex-mex dishes like chili for some added heat.

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Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir

November 25, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I ended up making quite a bit of cranberry sauce this year for Thanksgiving. The nice thing is that it can be stored in the refrigerator or even frozen. Cranberry sauce is easy to make from scratch and tastes fresh and tangy–a perfect topping for a roast turkey or slathering on a piece of bread for a leftover turkey sandwich. I normally go with an orange-ginger cranberry sauce but this year I tried making it with pinot noir. I really enjoyed this version of cranberry sauce, and the addition of the pinot noir gave it a more full-bodied flavor.

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Spinach Pesto

October 14, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I was craving penne pasta the other night but I wanted to do something different than a tomato or cream sauce. I decided to go with a pesto sauce and I was not disappointed with the results! This pesto recipe has a light creaminess with just a hint of mint and walnuts. I threw in a little crumbled feta for extra creaminess. It was great on pasta and I would imagine it would be tasty on panini sandwiches as well. Since I don’t have a food processor I used a standard blender which worked fine.

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Roasted Sesame and Ginger Coleslaw

September 1, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

A great addition to the Korean BBQ Pork Sandwich was this sesame and ginger coleslaw. A standard pulled pork recipe just has to have a side of coleslaw either in or outside the bun! Coleslaw can get really heavy if you add too much mayo and sour cream, so I only add a little to give it just a mild creaminess while staying light. Since the pork was flavored with Korean sauces, I flavored the coleslaw with similar ingredients. The coleslaw turned out really nicely and provided a good balance against the spicy pulled pork.

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Korean BBQ Sauce

August 18, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

This all purpose BBQ sauce is great for sandwiches, marinades, and grilling. It has a nice balance between spicy, tangy and sweet with some added nutty flavor from the roasted sesame seeds.

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Chile Verde

July 14, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Chile Verde is a sweet, spicy salsa that is made most commonly with tomatillos and a number of different green chiles. This salsa goes well with chicken, pork and fish, and can be used as a topping for burritos, tacos, tamales, etc. The tomatillos provide a great sweet and sour flavor that I like a lot. Depending on how smooth you wish to puree the sauce, you could create a thicker version that would be great as a salsa dip as well.

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Blackberry Blueberry Jam

July 1, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

It’s blackberry season and of course the perfect time to make blackberry jam. Blackberries and blueberries make a great pair since their colors are so robust and the flavor of the berries is so good! The jam was less thick than other jams, which allows for a little more versatility. It’s great mixed in with yogurt or as an ice cream topping, but still works fine on toast.

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Cranberry Raspberry Jam

June 14, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Making new kinds of jam is pretty easy since there are so many combinations that go well together. I am a big fan of cranberry sauce and I thought it would add a little tartness to raspberry jam. The jam turned out really well! It was not very thick so I could use it for other things besides as a spread on toast. Since it’s more like a sauce than a jam, I’ve been adding this to plain yogurt and really enjoying the results. This definitely has been one of my favorite jams so far.

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Strawberry Lime Jam

May 31, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Jams are fun and easy to make, so I just keep trying new kinds! Jams require an acid component, like lemon juice, so I decided to go with lime juice for something a bit different. The lime zest also amped up the lime flavor of the jam which I liked quite a bit. Oddly enough, it reminds me of strawberry pez. You would think this would be strange on toast but it actually works quite well!

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