Thousand Island Dressing (and a burger idea)

I skipped over this recipe in the cookbook until someone came back raving about the burgers. I was skeptical since I'm not a huge fan of pickles, but I decided to give it a go. And you know what? It's a fantastic dressing and made for amazing burgers. Below is just the recipe for the dressing. For excellent burgers, combine with simple burger patties, sharp Cheddar cheese, arugula, and maybe some minced pickles and scallions. Or just use the dressing on salad. I'm a convert.

Two years ago: Pear Buckwheat Cake
Three years ago: Black Lentils and Yellow Split Peas

Thousand Island Dressing (from Big Small Plates)

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 - 3 tbsp ketchup
3 or 4 drops Tabasco sauce
1 drop Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp cognac or brandy

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce

I developed a minor addiction to Thai dipping sauce after being introduced to it by some Australian friends. Who knew it was so easy to make though?

One year ago: Spicy Red Cabbage with Apples and Carrots
Two years ago: Red Lentil, Tomato, and Coconut Soup
Three years ago: Penne with Potatoes and Arugula

Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce (from Real Thai)

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili-garlic sauce or coarsely ground dried red chili (or sambal oelek)

1. In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar, water, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Stir, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes until mixture thickens.
2. Remove from heat, stir in chili garlic sauce, and let cool to room temperature.

Beet Tzatziki

This tzatziki is shockingly magenta to the point of looking artificial; however, the taste is excellent. It pairs wonderfully with the lamb souvlaki.

One year ago: Butter Chicken

Beet Tzatziki (from The Olive and the Caper)

Ingredients
1/2 tsp salt
1 large garlic clove
1 1/2 cups yogurt
1 large beet, cooked, peeled, and very finely chopped or shredded
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1. Spread salt on a chopping board and finely chop garlic on top of salt.
2. Place yogurt in medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Add beet, garlic, salt, and dill and mix well.
4. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Wasabi-Ginger Mayonnaise

The perfect side to Japanese flavoured burgers? French fries of course ... with wasabi spiked mayonnaise! The burgers were fine, but the mayo? It's definitely a keeper.

One year ago: Cocoa Brownies (so good, so easy)
Two years ago: Hockey and Baking (I miss Olympic hockey!)

Wasabi-Ginger Mayonnaise (from All About Roasting)

Ingredients
1 tbsp wasabi powder (I used prepared)
1 lime
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/3 cup mayonnaise
kosher salt

1. In a small bowl, moisten wasabi powder with 2 tsp water. Stir to make a paste and let sit 10 minutes (or just use prepared).
2. Grate 1/2 tsp of lime zest and squeeze 1 tbsp lime juice.
3. Add zest, juice, ginger, and soy sauce to wasabi.
4. Add mayo, stir to combine, and season with salt to taste.

Garlic-Chile Mayonnaise

I grew up with a strong dread of mayonnaise and when I first moved to Montreal, I was horrified to find that fries were often served with mayonnaise with no ketchup to be seem unless you specifically asked for it. Two years later, I realized I had adapted to Montreal when I found myself sitting in a bistro in Vermont requested mayo for my fries. The addition of garlic and chiles to mayo makes it just that much better.

Garlic-Chile Mayonnaise (from All About Roasting)

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers, we included a minced pepper or two as well!)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl, stir together mayo, adobo sauce, garlic, and lime juice.
2. Season to taste.