A Few of My Favorite Pre-Made Sauces

Although I haven't been posting new recipes as of late, I have been cooking quite a bit. I have come to the conclusion that I missed cooking some of our family's favorite meals while we were kitchenless so I have been sticking with the basics. I have however, been thumbing through my cookbooks again, which always leads to trouble. Stay tuned for some good summer dishes coming your way.......

In the meantime, I have decided to feature a few of my favorite items to use in the kitchen. For this post, I am concentrating on Pre-Made Sauces. I will write about other types of products in the future but I thought this was a good place to start.

Over the past few years, I have turned into a sauce snob. I never realized how great sauces can taste until I started preparing them from scratch. There are three pre-made sauces, however, that I cannot duplicate or improve. The first is San-J Teriyaki Stir-Fry & Marinade Sauce (this item happens to be gluten-free). The ingredients include soy sauce, honey, apple cider vinegar, ginger puree, plum juice and sake. Somehow, the mixture of these ingredients creates the perfect salty meets sweet flavor. Every time I serve this sauce whether in stir-fry, as meatball marinade or on rice, it solicits positive comments. If the crowd that I am feeding is happy, my work is done.

Roasted Apple Grille Sauce by Stonewall Kitchen has become a staple in our family. I typically serve it with pork or with sausage but the bottle also recommends adding it to homemade baked beans.  Consider this recommendation officially on my list of things to try. This sauce can be used during the cooking process or used cold as a condiment. I can't decide whether it is so good because the apples are roasted or if the cider vinegar, maple syrup and dijon mustard make it fantastic. It has a tangy quality that really appeals to me and the texture is absolute perfection. All I can say, is that this is one of our favorite foods and it makes every pork dish taste better. Check out other sauces and products by Stonewall Kitchen by clicking on this link. They also make an amazing Strawberry Jam that is a family favorite.

Finally, Patak's Original Brinjal Egglplant is technically considered a relish but I use it like a sauce on rice, pita bread and as a spread on sandwiches. This product contains eggplant, chili pepper, fenugreek, turmeric and mustard which create a spicy pickled flavor. It definitely delivers a kick but in my opinion, it offers just the right amount of spice. As a side note, it is both gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians. This is truly one of my favorites. Enjoy!