Condiments and Sauces | An Inspired Cook

Category: Condiments and Sauces
- Tortellini, Sausage and Spinach with Fresh Tomato Sauce
  
  Posted at 10:39 am by NativeNM, on October 14, 2021
  When I woke up this morning it was 34 degrees! There’s a cold spell rolling through NM with snowfall in the northern mountains. But even though it was near freezing this morning, the sun is out and it feels warmer with every passing hour. With the cooler weather upon us I had a craving for a bowl of soothing pasta. I made a grocery run and picked up fresh ingredients to make tomato sauce with spinach and basil. That combined with Italian sausage and cooked tortellini made a pasta dish that was made for comfort. We had a leafy green salad with toasted bread, olive oil and dipping spices on the side. Simple yet tasty!
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes | 4 Comments | Tagged Italian Sausage and Tortellini, Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes, Tortellini Sausage and Spinach with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Tortellini with Sausage Spinach and Tomatoes
- Watermelon Arugula Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
  
  Posted at 1:44 pm by NativeNM, on October 8, 2021
  On our recent vacation to Wyoming we experienced some wonderful food, both familiar and some that was new to our palate. Josh took us to Calico’s Restaurant and Bar one evening. He had been hearing good things about their menu and wanted to give it a try. I was in the mood for a light meal and ordered their Watermelon Arugula salad. It was a big plate of marinated watermelon chunks with a sprinkling of arugula and goat cheese. The flavors in the honey lime marinade/dressing came through with just the right amount of sweetness. I was so impressed with this salad that I couldn’t wait to recreate it when we got home. I wasn’t sure if I could find watermelon since Fall is upon us. But sure enough when I went shopping they had some good sized watermelons that were on sale. While I was putting this together I kept thinking that this salad seemed familiar and not just from tasting it at Calico’s. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had seen a similar recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Karen at Back Road Journal. Karen’s recipe is a Spicy Stacked Watermelon Salad with Feta and Arugula which is a spicy version that looks absolutely delicious! If you haven’t tried a watermelon salad, you don’t know what you’re missing.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Entree, Recipes, Side Dishes | 4 Comments | Tagged Arugula, Calico's Restaurant and Bar Jackson Wyoming, Goat Cheese, Honey Lime Dressing, Honey Lime Marinade, Watermelon Arugula Salad
- Dion’s Toasted Roast Beef Sub
  
  Posted at 11:15 am by NativeNM, on August 27, 2021
  Dion’s is a local restaurant chain that has been around as long as I can remember. They are famous for their pizza, especially the “505 Pepperoni and Green Chile” which is a family favorite. They also make salads and subs which are equally good. All of their subs are delicious but the one thing that stands out is the Greek dressing that comes on the side with most every sandwich. There’s just something about adding that dressing that makes their sandwiches so special. My favorite sub is the Roast Beef & Provolone. It comes on a crusty roll with melted cheese, roast beef, red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, deli mustard and a pickle spear with a side of Greek dressing. Sounds simple but it tastes anything but. I found a copycat recipe online for Dion’s Greek dressing that tastes just like they serve at the restaurant. Once I had the dressing it was easy to recreate the rest of the sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always enjoy eating at Dion’s for their pizza, salads and subs but it’s satisfying to know that I can make a delicious sub at home that reminds me of Dion’s.
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  Posted in Burgers, Sandwiches, Paninis and Wraps, Condiments and Sauces, Recipes | 4 Comments | Tagged Dion's Greek Dressing, Dion's Greek Dressing Copycat, Dion's Roast Beef and Provolone Sub, Dion's Toasted Roast Beef Sub
- Deviled Egg Cobb Salad
  
  Posted at 8:39 am by NativeNM, on July 27, 2021
  I haven’t had a cobb salad in ages They are traditionally made with a bed of romaine lettuce topped with sliced chicken breast, bacon bits, tomatoes, onions, avocado, hard boiled eggs and crumbled bleu cheese. I changed it up a bit to fit our tastes and substituted sliced green onions for the red onion and crumbled goat cheese for the bleu cheese. Joe suggested he would like deviled eggs instead of plain hard boiled eggs so that’s our twist on this classic salad. It tasted so good and with a simple vinaigrette drizzled over top. I prepped the eggs and bacon earlier in the day when it was cooler so as to avoid the afternoon heat. This salad was more than enough for the two of us plus leftovers for lunch the next day. Whether the idea of deviled eggs with a cobb salad sounds intriguing to your taste buds or not, cobb salad is a classic for a reason. You can take this tried and true recipe and change it up to make it your own.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Entree, Recipes | 3 Comments | Tagged Cobb Salad, Cobb Salad with Deviled Eggs, Cobb Salad with Goat Cheese, Deviled Egg Cobb Salad, Dijon Vinaigrette, Mustard Vinaigrette
- Blueberry Lavender Jam
  
  Posted at 10:30 am by NativeNM, on June 18, 2021
  It’s almost lavender season here in New Mexico. Normally there would be lavender festivals at Los Poblanos Farms in Albuquerque and at Purple Adobe Lavender Farm in Abiquiu over the next few week; however they will be cancelled for a second year in a row due to Covid. Luckily I live close to Los Poblanos which includes the Los Poblanos Historic Inn, Hacienda Spa and CAMPO restaurant that uses their own harvest vegetables to make up their menu. They also have a farm shop with a bakery and many lavender products including culinary lavender and lavender honey. And they make lavender lotions, soap and hand sanitizers plus many more items. Our first lavender festival experience was just after our move back to New Mexico. We went to the Purple Adobe Lavender Festival near Abiquiu. We had a wonderful time and would encourage anyone who has a chance to visit next year in late June or first of July to please check out these wonderful festivals. Earlier in the week I visited the farm shop and picked up some lavender and honey to make Blueberry Lavender Jam. It was a wonderful combination of slightly sweet blueberries with a hint of lavender flowers in the background.
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  Posted in Breakfast, Condiments and Sauces, Dessert, Recipes | 2 Comments | Tagged Blueberry Jam, Blueberry Jam with Lavender, Blueberry Lavender Jam, Culinary Lavender, Lavender and Blueberry Jam, Los Poblanos Lavender Farm
- Braised Chicken and Rice
  
  Posted at 10:49 am by NativeNM, on May 11, 2021
  For the past few month’s I’ve been partnering with NM Dept. of Agriculture on a campaign to promote local New Mexico products. I try to come up with creative recipes using these products in ways that may seem “outside the box”. This week I tried a soup mix from Cibolo Junction and a dressing mix from Jillipepper. With the weather turning warmer soup isn’t ideal so I used the mix to make Braised Chicken and Rice. The ingredients list is light on the details but it includes different types of chiles, cilantro and lime with rice. It sounds Southwest but Joe and I both agreed that it had a lot of Cajun flavors going on. A possibility might be because I used less liquid and the flavors were enhanced. It was quite tasty and Joe (who loves Cajun dishes) really enjoyed it. This was paired with a simple salad on the side with Jillipepper’s Dress It mix. This dressing mix was one of the best things I’ve tried yet. I used it as a marinade for chicken, a dressing for pasta salad and had a little bit left over for our salads here. The one thing I’ve found is that using good local products helps our economy and can make our meals a bit easier to prepare. Of course I will always enjoy the meals made from scratch but it’s been fun trying out new things and tasting all the local products. Some products come from our local restaurants while others are entrepreneurships that have started out of one’s garden or kitchen. I’ve found some real gems that I would buy over and over again. Even if you don’t live in NM, maybe this will inspire you to try local products from your state that give you new and innovative ideas to incorporate them into your meals.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Dutch Oven and Cast Iron, Entree, Recipes, Red or Green | 4 Comments | Tagged Braised Chicken and Rice, Cibolo Junction Three Chile Soup, Jillipepper Dress It Salad Fixin, Simple Salad with Jillipepper Dressing, Soup Mix Recipes
- Spicy Pickled Radish Mix
  
  Posted at 9:43 am by NativeNM, on April 13, 2021
  I often make pickled red onions or pickled jalapenos which are the perfect condiment to go with many dishes, especially tacos and sandwiches, nachos or burgers. Recently I’ve noticed that radishes have become popular as a pickled condiment. It made me think, why not make a mix of all three? If you love pickled veggies you’ll love this mix that adds a spicy kick. I added them to tacos and a barbeque sandwich which gave a salty spicy crunch that really elevated the taste. I’m thinking they might be good in potato salad or chicken salad too. After experimenting with pickling red onions I found I like the taste of lime juice over vinegar when it comes to pickling. I came across the lime juice method years ago from Rick Bayless and never went back. This is the perfect time of year to make a jar of spicy pickled radish mix to go with many of your favorite meals.
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Recipes | 0 Comments | Tagged Pickled Jalapenos, Pickled Radish and Red Onions, Pickled Radish Mix, Pickled Radishes, Pickled Radishes for Tacos, Spicy Pickled Radish Mix
- Southwest Chicken Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing
  
  Posted at 9:11 am by NativeNM, on February 12, 2021
  Southwest Chicken Salad also referred to as a Santa Fe Chicken Salad is a healthy alternative for dinner that is loaded with flavors. It’s a popular salad that can be made at home to taste just as good or even better than your favorite restaurant. Nearly always you will find a bed of greens topped with grilled chicken, corn and black beans along with avocado, tomatoes and cheese. These are things that most of us already have in our pantry or refrigerator. The toppings vary and you can always add or leave out ingredients that work for you. The salad dressing is a personal choice but there are many recipes for dressings that enhance the flavors of this salad. I chose a chipotle ranch dressing that paired well with all the toppings and gave it a spicy kick. If you have some or all of these ingredients handy, you too could put together a salad for dinner that is scrumptious and healthy which is ways a plus!
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Entree, Recipes | 2 Comments | Tagged Chipotle Ranch Dressing, Cibolo Junction Chipotle Ranch Dip Mix, Grilled Chicken, Los Chileros Chicken Fantastico Rub, Santa Fe Chicken Salad, Southwest Chicken Salad, Southwest Chicken Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Caesar Salad
  
  Posted at 9:51 am by NativeNM, on February 5, 2021
  Salad is the side dish that we have most often, it goes with almost everything. I miss going out to restaurants and getting those great salads with the house made dressings. They are always so good and you just can’t replicate the same taste from a store bought dressing. So lately I’ve been making more homemade dressings in small batches so that can change it up without taking up too much space in the fridge. One of my favorite salads is the ever popular Caesar salad, however it’s taken some time experimenting with recipes that tastes like the dressing you might eat at a restaurant, or takeout as we do these days. I found a recipe that checks all the boxes, simple to make, tastes great and no anchovies! I tweaked it a little bit and now it’s my go to Caesar dressing. Once you have a good salad dressing, the rest is simple. Romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese and croutons complete the salad. So what has kept this salad so popular over the decades, it’s the dressing of course!
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  Posted in Condiments and Sauces, Entree, Recipes, Side Dishes | 0 Comments | Tagged Caesar Dressing, Caesar Salad, Caesar Salad with Chicken, Homemade Croutons
- Red Plum Jam
  
  Posted at 10:14 am by NativeNM, on October 9, 2020
  Awhile back I picked up some red plums that were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. They were naturally sweet and flavorful, perfect for making jam. I’ve only made jam a few times but I’m learning more through each process. To preserve the jam I like to pack it in jars and seal using a hot water bath. It’s easy and has so far been very reliable. The one thing I’ve found is that the more naturally sweet your fruit is, the less sugar you need to add. Ball has a “Low or No Sugar” pectin that is an easy way to thicken your jam without all the sugar. Now that I’ve figured that out I plan to pick fruit when it is in season and at the height of sweetness. If you make a few jars here and there you will have a variety of jam to enjoy for several month’s or share with family and friends.
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  Posted in Breakfast, Condiments and Sauces, Recipes | 8 Comments | Tagged Homemade Plum Jam, Low or No Sugar Pectin, Plum Jam, Red Plum Jam, Red Plums
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