Shallot Mustard Sauce: Another Versatile Endeavor

Tired of making the same old grilled chicken breasts or pork chops for dinner?  

Yeah, we were too. We got tired of having to think ahead and marinate our proteins. We'd used up most of our inspiration regarding dry rubs.  We'd tried grilling, roasting, braising, and pan-frying.  And still, it seemed that dinner was growing a bit dull and uninspired.  

So, we decided to learn something new... which is how we got caught up in the effort of creating a few quick, easy master sauces.  

First, we became enamoured of the oh-so-tasty classic brandy peppercorn sauce... and now, I must confess,  we've gotten addicted to this beauty. 

One of the great things about sauces is that they're generally quick to throw together, and they don't require much fore-thought if you have a decent collection of staple items in your fridge. Our suggestions for a starter collection would be butter, cream, white wine, garlic, shallots and citrus juice. Even bottled lemon or lime juice generally works in a pinch.

Oh, yeah - and don't forget about the mustard.

In this case, the flavor of plain old Dijon mustard is enhanced by the richness of butter and the sweetness of shallots in this high end sauce that... well, we thinking it has the potential to take just about any dish from the realm of good into the territory of really great.

It will dress up an otherwise plain chicken breast. And it's pretty fabulous on roasted salmon. And pork medallions... and, well, you get the idea.  If you like the flavors that mustard brings to the table, I'm pretty sure this recipe is a fail-safe.

Looking for something different? Use it as a dipping sauce for homemade chicken tenders or as a topping for steamed broccoli or green beans.

Mustard Shallot Sauce

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Mustard + Beer = Spicy Beer Mustard = YUM

My mustard obsession, I will confess, began with a yellow barrel shaped bottle. I squeezed a bit on a brat with some sauteed onions and all at once, my condiment-schmeared face broke into a grin.  I'd caught it.

The mustard bug.
It bit me hard.

Eventually, I graduated to Dijon. A hint spicier, but sweet and seductive. This stuff was just as sophisticated as the commercials made it out to be. From there, no mustard was left behind. The more unusual flavor the better.

Why this obsession with mustard? Dunno. But I'm not the only one. After all, there is a National Mustard Day (August 6, 2011) so there have got to be other mustard-obsessors out there. I'm pretty sure there was never a mustard shortage in my house when I was growing up. Thinking about it, my dad probably was the one that got me hooked. Next to me, he's probably the second most mustard-obsessed person I know.  Who knows, maybe it's genetic!?

But, I digress.  A while back, our good friend Rebecca at Cakewalk made some Spicy Guinness Mustard. She was characteristically generous and shared a jar with us at one of last year's soup nights.  It was so delicious that we got hooked on the idea of making some mustard of our own and experimenting with the flavors a little bit.  More specifically, we wondered what would happen if we kicked up the spice quotient a notch by using one of the wonderful local pumpkin brews in place of the Guinness.

Now, history tells us that, even way back when, wealthy Romans would make mustard at home by grinding up the seeds and mixing it with wine. So, mixing it with beer really isn't such a stretch. And really, living in Milwaukee, it seems only fitting to use what's local. Right?

The beer we used for this particular batch was Tyranena's Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale. This is their fall seasonal brew and one of our favorite pumpkin brews.  The mellow pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices balances out the sharpness of the crushed mustard.  We also used unfiltered raw apple-cider vinegar, which gave the mustard a unique fruity flavor that really paired well with the pumpkin.

Now for a little lesson in nutrition.  Not only is it tasty, but the mustard plant also has some significant health benefits. The seeds contain nutrients called isothiocyanates (We have the interwebs at our house, so don't look so amazed). These isothio things have been shown to prevent the growth of cancer cells, specifically to stomach and colon cancer. The seed also contains selenium which is good for reducing the intensity of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. And if you have high blood pressure or frequent migraines, the seeds have magnesium which may reduce both of these things. Typically mustard is fat free and has very few calories.

So go ahead, double dip!

Of course, before I finish up this post, I also need to mention that the National Mustard Museum is right here in Wisconsin and all of an hour and half away from Milwaukee. We need to make another trek over there because they recently relocated to a bigger facility in Middleton. They have over 5200 different types of mustard on display. Road Trip!

Spicy Pumpkin Mustard


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