Chipotle Mayonnaise

Have you ever been addicted to something?  Well my kids have been addicted to Aioli ever since I can remember - they have it with chips, burgers, chicken, even bacon sandwiches that was until they found Chipotle Mayonnaise.  Now that is the new favourite.

 

As everyone knows we cook with a lot of herbs and spices so this new found love wasn't at all surprising.  What was more surprising when the kids read the weekly menu only to see that Friday night's menu plan was Homemade Hamburgers with Coleslaw and Chipotle Mayonnaise.  It was an awesome reaction and I knew that no shop purchased Chipotle Mayonnaise would cut the mustard, so to speak.

 

I had recently taken a trip to USA Foods, an American Food Store, in Moorabbin and during that visit purchased some Chipotle Chilli Powder along with some dried Chipotle Chillies so I was already in possession of the most important ingredient - now to work the rest of the ingredients out.  Of course my next step was Google and once again an overload of mayonnaise recipes presented themselves.  After reading quite a few, obviously every single one different with a different spin on this humble spicy mayonnaise, I decided to wing it and make up my own. 

 

Now some recipes called for the Adobo Chilli and it's sauce others used chilli and paprika powder.  Having no Adobo Chilli I of course had no other choice than using the powders.  So as you can imagine some recipes had similar ingredients so gathering a list of commonly used ones wasn't too hard and knowing the flavor I was actually trying to achieve made it easier.  I did not make my own mayonnaise but you can do it you wish.

 

Mixing each individual ingredient together I could only think to myself - Jo you cannot fail on this one... there will be a mutiny and it won't end well.  My teenagers have now become my harshest food critics and there is generally no forgiving for offering up something substandard. And I am being serious.

 

So here is my take on Chipotle Mayonnaise - a version that is somewhat smoky and creamy with the right amount of heat and kick to it.  You can taste the traces of lime and garlic making this mayonnaise perfectly balanced.  Best of all the flavours just kept developing while we were waiting for dinner.

 

The outcome..... I passed.  It was smothered all over the hamburgers tonight and I made enough that there is some left for lunch tomorrow.  I am presuming that sealed this will keep in the fridge for at least a week as there is no milk products as ingredients - who knows maybe even longer.  Saying this I know there won't be much left by tomorrow afternoon.

 

 

Chipotle Mayonnaise

 

Makes: approx. 1 cup

SmartPoints per 2 teaspoons: 2 

 

1 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

juice of half fresh lime

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

 

Store in refrigerator in a sealed jar.

 

 

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

 

Chunky Apple Sauce

We had Crumbed Pork Cutlets for dinner and of course, during cooking I realised that I didn't have a jar of Apple Sauce in the house.  It was too late to run down the shops and buy some and to be totally honest the thought of going to the shops for one item NEVER appeals to me especially at night.

Thankfully there were apples sitting in the fruit basket and I decided they would become our Apple Sauce!  Apple Sauce is a really simple and quick sauce to make.  After quickly Googling many recipes it can also be as Plain Jane or as decadent as you wish.

This recipe is a simple one - 4 ingredients plus salt and pepper if you desire (however I didn't use any). As there wasn't a large amount of sugar compared to some recipes it wasn't overly sugary yet it was naturally sweet from the apples.  I also prefer a chunkier style Apple Sauce but you can easily puree it in a food processer to be smooth.

Beats shop brought Apple Sauce any day......

Chunky Apple Sauce

(Recipe sourced from Taste.com)

Makes: 1 1/2 cups

2 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon mixed spice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt, if required

ground white pepper, if required

Place apple, sugar, mixed spice, lemon juice and 1/4 cup cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until apple is tender.

Season with salt and pepper, if required.

Allow to cool and serve.

If you prefer a smooth apple sauce place mixture in a food processor. Process until smooth.

(Click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Tomato and Chilli Jam

I really enjoy Chilli Jam, especially served with a nice juicy steak!!  As I mentioned we have been having some really enjoyable steak recently so I thought I would try my hand at making my own chilli jam.

 

Variations of this relish are numerous, some actually resembling jelly and others being more relish like.  I love The Gourmet Sauce Company's Chilli Jam which is relish like and would buy jars of it every time I went to Tasmania with work.

 

I came across this recipe on Taste.com and it looked basic enough to experiment with.  To my surprise it was nice. Slightly sweet but a nice consistency however I woulf prefer more of a chilli kick so next time I am thinking that I would add one small bullet chilli also.

 



 

Tomato and Chilli Jam

(recipe sourced from Taste.com)

 

Serves: 4

ProPoints per Serve: 2

 

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

3 long red chillies, finely chopped

400 gram can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoons fish sauce

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and chilli. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion has softened.

Add tomato, sugar, vinegar and fish sauce. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low.

Simmer for 15 minutes or until mixture has thickened.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Garlic and Spring Onion Mayonnaise and Seafood Cocktail Sauce

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I wanted to serve something nicer than plain mayonnaise or tomato sauce with our entree, Mixed Seafood Platter. So I decided on two different flavoured mayonnaises or sauces with I thought would compliment the flavours of the different seafoods nicely and I must say they did.

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Seafood Cocktail Sauce

(pictured on the left hand side)

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Serves 8

Points per serve: 1

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1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chilli sauce

2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup low fat cream

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In a medium sized bowl combine mayonnaise, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, brandy (if using) and lemon juice. Mix well until combined.

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Stir through the cream.

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Place in the refrigerator to chill until required. This will also maximize flavour.

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Garlic and Spring Onion Mayonnaise

(pictured on the right hand side)

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Serves 8

Points per serve: 1

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1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise

1/4 cup low fat cream

2 tsp crushed garlic

1 spring onion, finely sliced

freshly ground black pepper

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In a medium size bowl mix all the ingredients until combined.

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Place in the refrigerator to chill until required. This will also maximize flavour.

Mint Raita

This is my take on a favourite condiment for Indian Food, especially Tandoori flavoured meats such as Tandoori Chicken Drumsticks. Traditionally this would have grated cucumber in it but as only two out of four of us like it I omit the cucumber. Saves on arguments that way!!
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Mint Raita

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Serves 8

Points per serve: 0.5

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1 cup low fat natural yoghurt

2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped

1 teaspoon caster sugar

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Mix all ingredients together until combined.
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Place in refrigerator until needed. The longer the dip stands the more the flavours will develop.