Hot Dog Relish

 

 When I decided to do a recipe for Hamburger Relish, I figured it's only fair to make a hot dog relish as well, dontcha think?? So here it is! This is basically a version of a recipe I found on a website called Our Country Life. Yes, it's the perfect condiment for grilled hot dogs, but it's great for other things too! Serve on grilled hamburgers, sausages, or anywhere you’d like a sweet tangy hit of mustard. It's also really great added to deviled eggs or potato salad. I also like it served with a thick juicy ham steak. SO good! 

 So if you're a mustard person, you need to add this to your pantry! Yum!

 

 

 

3 lbs cucumbers
1 lb onions
1 cup bell peppers, green and red

2 tbs mustard powder
1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
1 tbs ginger powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp celery seed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water 
2 cups white vinegar

2 tbs Clear Jel or regular corn starch, optional




Finely chop all veggies. Add to a large pot with all remaining ingredients.
Bring it up to heat, reduce to a simmer. 
Let it simmer for at least 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies cook down a bit. 
Be sure to stir from the bottom to make sure it doesn’t burn. 
If it gets too thick, just add some water until you reach your desired consistency. 

Store in the fridge or freeze in ziploc bags. 

For canning:
For 1/2 pint or pint jars, leave 1/2 inch head space, process in a water bath for 10 minutes. 

Reminder.. when canning, you must use clear gel instead of regular corn starch, if using.


Tips:
Before storing or canning, be sure to taste it and make adjustments. Would you like it to be sweeter? Add more sugar. Would you like to it be more tangy? Add more vinegar. Would you like a stronger mustard hit? Add more yellow mustard. You could also add other kinds of prepared mustard.. ground, Dijon, spicy brown, it all works!  Would you like some heat? Add some minced jalapeños or other hot peppers.
One other thing…
Many pickling recipes say to salt your vegetables for several hours and then rinse them before pickling. This is mainly to extract some of the moisture and preserve a crunchy texture for your pickles or vegetables. I don’t like a crunchy relish, so I just threw everything into a pot and let it cook. Any moisture that the salt would have extracted will evaporate during the cooking time anyway, so I just skip the salty step. But if you do a lot of pickling and you’d prefer to salt everything, who am I to stop you???!! :)

Dijon Potato Salad

 Here's a quick and easy alternative to your regular mayonnaise based potato salad. Not that there's anything wrong with regular potato salad (which I LOVE, btw), but sometimes you might go for something a little different, no? Something with a little sharper flavor, perhaps? How about mustard instead of mayo? This recipe (from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food) is basically just a simple mustard vinaigrette tossed with some steamed potatoes. Easy! And the freshness that you get from the chopped parsley makes this the perfect side dish. Chris and Claire loved it when I made it for them. I think you'll love it too! Sometimes the simplest things are the best, dontcha think?

1 1/2 pounds red new potatoes, scrubbed and halved (quartered if large)
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley


Place a steamer basket in a saucepan filled with 1 inch water. Bring to a gentle boil. Add potatoes. Cover, and cook just until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
In a serving bowl, combine vinegar and Dijon; season with salt and pepper. Add hot cooked potatoes; toss. Let cool, tossing occasionally.
Add oil and parsley to cooled potato mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and toss.

Tip:
I added a tiny bit of honey to the mustard just before tossing it with the potatoes. It's not enough to make it sweet, in fact you barely notice it's there. It's just so the mustard and the vinegar aren't too harsh. Oh, and be sure to toss the dressing on the potatoes while they're still hot so that the flavor really sinks in.

Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

I've never understood why people pay TONS of money for bottled vinaigrettes when it's so simple to make your own. Basically, I use 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. Add some mustard and whatever extra flavorings you like, and there you have it. It's really just that simple and it's ready in minutes. This recipe is slightly different from Dina's Honey Dijon Vinaigrette, (which I absolutely LOVE), but it's always nice to have variations, don't you think?
I recently showed this recipe to Terri and Phil, and their son Nicholas was my little helper guy. I got such a kick out of the fact that it was time for bed and he wanted to keep cooking with Uncle Joey. How awesome is that? Who knows? Maybe some day he'll be a future chef! Hey, it could happen!
Thanx Nicholas!




1 heaping tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 cup vinegar (red wine, apple cider, or plain white)
1 tbs honey (or more to taste)
1 tsp kosher salt
lots of freshly cracked black pepper
3/4 cup oil

In medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the oil. SLOWLY add the oil in a steady thin stream while vigorously whisking constantly. (you can also use a mixer with a wire whisk attachment). Adjust the seasoning if needed*, then pour into an airtight container or salad dressing decanter. Store in the fridge.

Tips:
*When you test to see if the seasoning is right, taste it on a piece of whatever it is you'll be serving. If you're making the dressing for a pasta salad, taste the dressing on a piece of cooked pasta. If it's a tossed green salad, taste it on a piece of lettuce. You'll get a better idea of whether or not to add more of anything.

I like to enjoy this dressing over a Chef's Salad, which is basically composed of different kinds of sliced or cubed meats and cheeses on a bed of lettuce. Sometimes I'll add a few slices of apple, which go nicely if you use apple cider vinegar in the dressing.

This is definitely a recipe that lends itself to experimentation. The components stay the same but there are countless combinations. All you need is any variety of mustard, an acid, a sweetener, and any variety of oil.

Try different flavored vinegars, such as raspberry, champagne, or white wine, etc.
Also try adding chopped fresh herbs such as basil, rosemary, or parsley.

For a citrus vinaigrette, use freshly squeezed lemon and/or lime juice instead of vinegar, and a tbs of orange marmalade instead of the honey.

If you're counting your carbs, substitute Splenda for the honey and choose a vinegar with zero carbs.

Kielbasa Bites

Here's a quick and easy appetizer that you can throw together in a snap. It may seem like an unlikely combination of ingredients, but just wait until you taste it. It's sweet and salty and tangy, all at the same time. Try it!

2 tbs Dijon mustard
1 small jar apple jelly
1 or 2 pkg Polish kielbasa

Mix together the mustard and jelly. Slice kielbasa into small pieces and place in a small oven safe dish. Pour mustard mixture over kielbasa. Bake in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly. And that's it! Pretty simple, huh? Skewer them with toothpicks so that your guests can just help themselves.

Tip:
If your oven is busy, you can easily make this in a saute pan on your stove top. Just throw everything into the pan and let it simmer over medium heat.
I've seen other versions of this recipe that use different kinds of jelly. Try using grape or currant jelly for an easy variation. REALLY!

Dina's Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

Dina is another one of my most favorite people on the entire planet, and she just happens to be a fabulous cook. Every time I stop over for a visit, we inevitably wind up talking about food and whatever new recipes we've tried and cooking shows and such. She recently made this vinaigrette for Tricia's bridal shower and it was a big hit. I'm so glad she shared it with me! Thanx Dina!



Here's the recipe for the salad dressing. It should yield you about 2 cups, enough to dress a couple pounds of lettuce - if you need more just double it! I used baby spinach for Tricia's shower. Enjoy! (P.S. If you're not into mayo, omit it and just add a bit more honey!)
Love, Dina



1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup vinegar (red, white, or cider)
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together mustard, mayo, vinegar, honey, salt & pepper. Gradually
whisk in the oil. Season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Note from Joey:
When I made it, I didn't have the exact ingredients, but I used what I had on hand and it all worked. I used regular vegetable oil instead of olive oil. I used half cider vinegar and half white vinegar. And I doubled the amount of honey, just because I like a sweeter dressing. My friend, Paul, loved it so much he said he wanted to bathe in it. It's THAT good!!!!