That glistening, dark river of sauce on the ice cream is made with balsamic vinegar. Not just any balsamic, of course, but a Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar from Benessere, an oil and vinegar store in downtown Portland. Coffee and chocolate are an excellent pairing, so I also used some Espresso Sugar from The Spice and [...]

Categories: chocolate, condiments, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, pantry, sauce
Tagged: chocolate, condiments, dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, pantry, sauce

If you have extra rosemary in the garden–if you have rosemary there’s always extra–or you want to make jelly but don’t have pectin, this simple jelly will work well for you. I used young, mild rosemary so if you’re using older, woodier rosemary you’ll want to use less. If you’ve never made a jelly before, [...]

Categories: condiments, preserving
Tagged: condiments, preserving

It’s June already. Time to start putting up the harvest, beginning with herbal jellies. You’ll need some basic equipment to make jellies that you’ll be able to use for other preservation projects. If you don’t already have a large stockpot that is more than 12″ in diameter, you’ll need a water-bath canner; if you do, [...]

Categories: condiments, mother recipe, preserving
Tagged: condiments, mother recipe, preserving

A mustard recipe was requested, I’m teaching a class on making Burgers this weekend, and I just happen to have some Guinness and two kinds of mustard seeds sitting around. Let’s make some mustard. It’ll only take two or three days. Mustard ½ cup yellow mustard seeds ¼ cup brown mustard seeds (optional) ¾ cup [...]

Categories: condiments, mother recipe
Tagged: condiments, mother recipe

Opening day of the Portland Farmers Market was a beautiful, warm Spring day. When I came across the Cherry Country booth I thought about how nice it would be to have venison or some other game, then remembered that I have a dinner class coming up where I’ll be serving lamb. Cherries are a classic sauce base for wild game, [...]

Categories: condiments, fruit, gluten-free, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, fruit, gluten-free, preserving, vegan, vegetarian

I want to make meatloaf, and for me a meatloaf has a bacon wrapping and a ketchup glaze. I could buy the bacon and ketchup, I suppose, but really, where’s the fun in that? Chipotle Ketchup 1 onion, chopped 1½ tablespoons oil from garlic confit or extra-virgin olive oil Put the onion and oil into [...]

Categories: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian

Usually I avoid a complicated combination of multiple recipes in one post, but everything except the rub I put on the sirloin was made from scratch in class last Sunday so it certainly can be done in one post. Besides, the people attending the class insisted that I post it. First, the rub. I created [...]

Categories: Lunch, beef, condiments, entertaining, entrée, salad, searing, supper, technique
Tagged: condiments, entertaining, entrée, Lunch, main course, salad, supper, technique

Whether you’re serving a nice pâté or are putting together a charcuterie platter, want some crunch in your sandwich or just need a quick burst of flavor, a sweet pickle chip is just right! Michael Ruhlman published a recipe for a delightfully simple, wonderfully flavored sweet pickle chip in Charcuterie, a book I highly recommend [...]

Categories: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Cranberry-Pear Salsa 12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen, roughly chopped 2 pears, diced 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced 1 serrano chile, seeded and diced zest of 1 orange 1 tablespoon blue agave syrup or honey 1 tablespoon canola oil salt to taste Mix ingredients together and adjust the seasoning. If you want more [...]

Categories: Thanksgiving, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetarian

The challenge: make a BLT from scratch by growing the tomato, growing the lettuce, curing the bacon, baking the bread, and making the mayonnaise. The result: a delicious sandwich that took all summer to make but was worth the wait!

Categories: Lunch, bread, charcuterie, child friendly, condiments
Tagged: bread, charcuterie, child friendly, condiments, Lunch