Getting Saucy!

You may have picked up from earlier posts that I like to peruse the library on a weekly basis. One of my favorite aisles is the cookbook aisle. Don't you love the ones with tons of glossy pictures? Perhaps I do have a small addiction to food porn, come to think of it. And even though I stick to my Zone diet pretty consistently, I like to look at recipes that are naughty. Forbidden. Is this wrong?

If you plan to do more than just look, you may want to avoid The Good Stuff Cookbook by Spike Mendelsohn with Micheline Mendelsohn. One glance at the cover will give you the whole story: this cookbook is filled with the stuff of cravings. Burgers of every variety ever invented, as well as salads, shakes, fries, and desserts to drool for abound. I may not be making a toasted marshmallow milkshake anytime soon, but I did learn a lot from this cookbook about sauces.

If you are on the Zone diet, or any weight loss program, you are probably avoiding highly processed, sugary sauces. But if you are putting together some lean protein and steamed veggies, a delicious sauce could be the ticket to making the meal more savory and delectable. And I learned from this cookbook that building delicious sauces is a snap! All you need is mayo and maybe one or two other ingredients and VOILA! Une sauce, as the French say.

As you already know from practically every recipe I post, I am a big Hellmann's mayonnaise fan. And so is Spike Mendelsohn, so I am in good company! Now I would never call this product a health food. And I don't recommend eating tons of it because of the soybean oil.  A healthier substitution would be homemade mayo made with olive oil or you could try Greek yogurt instead.

Once you have chosen your creamy base, then you can start adding condiments to create your sauce. Spike suggests adding tapenade (a mixture of chopped olives, capers, red peppers, etc.) to create a sauce. Tapenade is available pre-made in several varieties at Trader Joe's. You can throw in a few chopped anchovies as well for a stronger, more pungent sauce. He calls this one Mayolive. A curry-flavored sauce is truly simple: just a dash or two of curry powder in the mayo. Spike adds sweetened condensed milk to this mixture which just sounds scary to me. I will not be trying that! Another version is a Sriracha mayo which involves a dash of (you guessed it!) Thai spicy chili sauce in the mayo. There is also a Pesto Mayo and a Good Stuff Sauce which uses ketchup and molasses in the mayo. I think you get the picture!

My latest creation is not from the book. Leftover from Passover, in my fridge I have a small bottle of deep purple horseradish condiment made with grated beets. A tablespoon of the horseradish in a tablespoon of mayo and you have a gorgeous pink, creamy tiger sauce which is heavenly on a salmon burger, a turkey burger, or on the side with cold roast beef.

Play around with your own condiments and get saucy! Let me know if you discover a combination that turns you on!

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