Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Back to our homemade shenanigans. Honey mustard vinaigrette was something we were craving. This recipe is savory and not as tangy as others we've tasted. It is a good complement to more spiced salad toppings or seasoned meat or poultry. We used Dijon, but also recommend a whole grain mustard for a more robust mustard flavor. 

Prep time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• dash of Kosher salt
• dash of black pepper

Using your favorite whisk or salad dressing contraption, whisk together ingredient. Serve cold or at room temperature. 

The Week's Favorite Meal: Barbecue Pork and Cheese Biscuits

We wanted to share one of the easiest menus that last a number of meals-it's pretty well balanced to boot. It's easy to reheat and initial preparation takes about 45 minutes. 

Menu:

• Barbecue Pork, with homemade barbecue sauce (prep time: 20 minutes)
• Baby spinach salad with thai vinaigrette (prep time: 5 minutes)
• Cheese biscuits (prep time: 25 minutes)

To prepare the barbecue pork, use thinly cut, boneless pork chops:

• Set the broiler
• Brush one side of the pork loin with the barbecue sauce and broil for 6 minutes
• Flip and brush the other side and broil for another 6 minutes

Experiment Update: Vanilla Extract

We wish there was a way to hold a taste test with you all! For the past few weeks, we've baked cookies (White Chocolate and Almond cookies to be exact) and banana bread with the newly made extract. The difference in flavor between our homemade version and store bought was quite shocking.

Both products had a more noticeable and crisper vanilla taste, which in turn enhanced the other ingredients; almost as if you could taste the individual morsels in the baked good. However, because the taste was stronger, half the amount should yield a less prominent taste.

For fun, below are all the pictures of the six week experiment and one we took today.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

August 20, 2012

Barbecue Sauce With Six Ingredients

We're on a homemade kick and we blame the salad dressing. With Labor Day approaching, we wanted to try our hand at barbecue sauce. The base of all sauces is roughly the same: ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce. We wanted something a bit sweet and spicy and ended up with a six ingredient sauce:

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1.5 tablespoons sriracha (natch)
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

Mix it all together and slather on your favorite meats!