New favorite pickles!

Grillo's Hot. Fresh, crisp with great spices, and vinegar. Not sweet, but wonderfully tart and just slightly fragrant. And with a nice kick of heat! When you open the tub, you'll find nice fresh dill and spices right on the top. A quality food product, locally made, totally tasty. Lots of flavor for something that has roughly zero calories. Try them.

Simple Curry Marinade for Fish

Used this for marinated tuna skewers, grilled in grill pan, Excellent and easy. More heat than you'd think given how it's made.

1 small can coconut milk
2 tsp Thai Kitchen green curry paste
2 tsp fish sauce
1 Tbs ginger grated with microplaner
medium handful of cilantro chopped very fine (pulped)

mixed together and stored in jar in fridge for a few hours. Then smeared on tuna skewers and marinated for 2 hours or so. Reserving some of the marinade, heated in the jar and abbed on top after cooking.

Berbere

An Ethiopean spice mixture that we used in making an African roasted vegetable pizza (add a few table spoons to the dough. No really, to the dough). We've also tried it as a glaze for broiled fich and it was also excellent. Also good in stews.

1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves.
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp red wine
1/2 cup paprika
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sunflower or other light oil
salt

In a dry frying pan, toast the ginger, cardamon, ground coriander, fenugreek, nutmeg, and ground cloves over low heat until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Place toasted spices in bowl of food processor with chopped onion garlic, 1.2 tsp salt and process adding wine to slowly form a paste.
In a saucepan, toast the paprika, cayenne black pepper and 1 1/2 tsp salt, stirring constantly, until fragrant (oh and how beautifully fragrant it will be).
turn off heat and add the onion/spice mixture from the food processor. gradually mix in 1 1/2 cups water.
Place over low heat and cook stirring constantly for 10 to 15 minutes until it thickens.
Transfer to a sterilized jar, allow to cool, cover with oil and store in fridge (for up to 6 mo. if covered with oil).

Harissa

Caution: if you like spicy sauces, chutneys, salsas etc. you have been forewarned, this is an addictive North African condiment and you will be hooked. If you find yourself checking to see how much you have remaining, and planning you next batch so that you never run out, don't blame us. We warned you.

8 chilies
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. caraway seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
a large bunch of mint, chopped
1/2 cup Olive Oil
--
Chop the chilies, garlic and salt together to form a paste and transfer to a bowl
Grind spices in a spice grinder (Spice grinder? Yes, spice grinder. We use a spare coffee grinder that we use just for this purpose (Thanks Cheri). Don't use your regular coffee grinder, you'll be bummed. Get a spare cheap grinder, you won't use it all that often so no need to go for the super-duper Krups model, Black&Decker will do).
Add the spices to the chilies and add chopped mint.
Whisk in the Olive Oil, transfer to a jar and store in fridge. The flavor is better the second day, and the mixture will last longer than it will take to finish it if you keep it covered with oil. We brushed this over top of a roasted vegetable pizza after baking and it was awesome. But we don't think you'll have any problem finding uses.

Greek Village Salad with Cabbage

From the Frugal Gourmet.

Use any amount of the following according to your taste (now that's why we love Jeff Smith).
White or Yellow Onions peeled and sliced thin
Green Sweet Bell Peppers, cored and sliced thin
Feta Cheese, cut into tiny pieces
Greek Olives
Oregano, whole and crushed by hand
Cabbage, cut as for coleslaw
Cherry tomatoes or very ripe regular tomatoes cut or sliced to salad size
Cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
Salt andGroungPepper to taste.

Dressing:
3/4 cup good greek olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon
Salt and Pepper (and fresh oregano if you have it)
(mix, or immersion blend, baby).

Place the onions, feta cheese, greek olives and green peppers in a bowl with enough of the greek dressing, and enough oregano to taste for the entire salad, and marinate for 1 hour.
Toss all remaining salad ingredients with the marinated vegetables and the rest of the dressing. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.

Honey-Lime Dressing

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (or more to taste)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 tsp chopped jalapeño pepper (use canned for less heat)

Cilantro Salad Dressing

Cilantro adds a fresh citrus flavor to this dressing. Use it over your regular side salad or drizzle on carne asada tacos for an authentic taste.

1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
pinch of garlic powder
pinch of Mexican oregano
pinch cumin
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on low speed until almost smooth.

Salsa Verde

>Another scarf from Beyond Salmon, where it's featured both in Helen's excellent Swordfish recipe, as well as a Bluefish Fajita recipe that we'll definitely have to make.  

8 medium tomatillos, with paper-like husks removed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced (use less if you prefer it less spicy)
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Quarter tomatillos. In a bowl of a food processor, combine tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice. Process until chopped into tiny pieces. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Move to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Horseradish Cream Whip:

We used this as a topping for smoked fish on crackers, it provides a light layer that will make other toppings like caviar or capers stay put.  We had a lot extra, so we're going to try it as a garnish/topping for a grilled/roasted fish dish...

1 1/2 cups heavy cream 

1/3 cup prepared horseradish, plus more to taste 
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 
freshly ground white pepper

In a bowl, using a whisk or an electric mixer set on medium speed, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Stir in the horseradish, lemon zest, and white pepper to taste. Spoon into a bowl and pass at the table.

Cucumber-Mint Raita

Simple staple to have alongside spicy indian dishes (ours is a little chunkier than the picture).

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Wrap grated cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Whisk yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and toss to coat. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle raita with pinch of cayenne pepper and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

From Epicurious, photo from wikipedia.

Gingered Soy Sauce

Combine:
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 T. water
1 T. fresh ginger, minced
2 t. Brown Sugar
1 t. hot chile sesame oil, or toasted semame oil
1 scallion sliced
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime.

let stand at room temp. for 10 minutes.

Eggplant-Mushroom Sauce

Recipe By : the California Culinary Academy
Serving Size : 5 Preparation Time :0:35

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
28 ounces canned tomatoes -- undrained
1/4 cup dry red or white wine or vermouth
1 1/2 pounds eggplant, unpeeled -- cut into 3/4" cubes
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons fresh basil -- finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh oregano -- finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt and freshly ground pepper -- to taste

1. In a wide-bottomed pan or skillet with high sides over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add onion and garlic; saute about 2 minutes.

2. Break tomatoes into bits. Add to pan with their juice, wine, eggplant, mushrooms, herbs, and sugar.

3. Cover pan and simmer 5 minutes. Remove cover and cook over medium heat until sauce reduces and thickens, 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate or freeze (see Timesaver Tip).

5. To serve: Cook 12 ounces dried spaghetti, following package directions. Drain. Serve sauce over pasta. Serve with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

I served it over pan-fried or toasted polenta.

Make 5 to 6 cups (5 to 6 servings).

* Timesaver Tip: Sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated, or it can be frozen. To freeze, spoon into freezer container, cover, label, and freeze at 0 degrees F up to 4 months. To serve, defrost sauce 20 to 30 minutes in microwave oven on Defrost setting, stirring several times, or thaw in refrigerator 8 to 24 hours. Gently warm sauce in saucepan or in microwave oven on 50% power, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring several times.

Cilantro-lime Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons lime juice
6 tablespoons oil (half olive, half vegetable)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small hot pepper, finely chopped (or to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients in small jar. Shake well and set aside (puree if desired).

Asian Flavored Aioli (Dipping Sauce)

Combine:
1/2 cup Mayo
2 T shallot minced
2 T hot chile sesame oil or toasted sesame oil
1 T Soy Sauce
1 T. Brown Sugar
1 T. chopped fresh silantro
1 f. Dijon Mustard
1/2 t anchovy paste
Juice of 1/2 lime

wisk until smooth, Chill.