Oh, the magic of green sauces. Pesto, chermoula, tomatillo salsa and chimichurri make everything they touch taste better. Throw some basic steaks on the grill with just Maldon sea salt and fresh ground pepper and top them with a drizzle of this stuff. Dinner will go from good to great in a matter of seconds….
Condiments
Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing
About every other week, my kids request a meatless Monday sushi night. We steam rice and fill sheets of nori with avocado, cucumber, julienned carrots or peppers. On the side, it’s a simple butter lettuce salad topped with carrot ginger salad dressing. It’s a vegetable-based vinaigrette that’s flavorful, addictive and full of umami. The only…
Sriracha Mayo
Need a delicious condiment that will take your burger night from ho-hum to hurray? Sriracha mayo is my go-to for burgers or an out-of-this-world BLT. You can also use it as a dip for roasted potato wedges or shishito peppers. Spicy, with a touch of soy and lime, it takes all of five minutes to…
Orange Blossom Honey Butter
Orange Blossom Honey Butter Friends, summer is here. Which means I’m feeling lazy, reading books, testing new recipes and cleaning out closets. Or actually, my husband is cleaning closets and I’m trying to hide. With my book. I meant to post this recipe back in April, and here it is July. But better late than…
Chermoula
PrintChermoulaAuthor Marcia W. SmartYield 1 1/2 cups I first learned how to make this tasty green sauce as a catering assistant for Thomas Fogarty Winery when I was fresh out of cooking school. It’s the perfect condiment for fish, chicken or roasted vegetables. I also love it mixed into couscous, cooked white beans or…
Whole30 Romesco
Romesco to the rescue. I’m a sucker for a snack platter: Colorful crudité, cheese, fruit, you name it. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure way of eating. Just put out all the options and let everyone dig in. Case in point, this Whole30 red pepper romesco with colorful veggies ready for dipping. Beautiful enough to set out for…
Meyer Lemon Cranberry Sauce
PrintMeyer Lemon Cranberry SauceAuthor Marcia W. Smart Feel free to substitute regular lemons if you can’t find Meyer lemons, or use orange or tangerine zest and juice. Use a paring knife to cut off a 1-inch wide piece of the lemon rind to add to the pot as zest, just remove the lemon rind and…
Jalapeño Buttermilk Ranch
Ranch dressing: the natural partner for cold and crunchy iceberg lettuce, carrot sticks and slices of takeout pizza. I have two different versions of ranch dressing, one full of herbs and lemon, and the other full of jalapeño and cilantro. I’ve also been known to tone down the “green things” for picky eaters. For a…
La Taqueria Green Sauce
This is stuff dreams are made of. Or at least really good food memories. Mouth-watering day dreams of dorado carnitas with spicy green sauce oozing from tabletop squeeze bottles. The parking is impossible, the line is long and the plancha is sizzling at this ubiquitous Mexican joint. La Taqueria, in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood, has some of the…
Whole30 Pickled Red Onions
Mexican food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, please. I’ll start with huevos rancheros or chilaquiles and then move on to tacos, tacos, tacos. Take a super simple grilled chicken and top it with tangy tomatillo salsa and some pickled red onions, and you’re elevating it a completely different beast. Sure, filling your tortilla with crispy-edged carnitas or a…