Spicy Guinness Mustard

To drink or to cook? In this case I got to do both, since I only made a half recipe (1+1/2 cups of mustard seeds is a lot!) and had half a can of leftover Guinness to drink. Only after buying a jar of yellow mustard seeds did I notice that this recipe called for brown mustard seeds. So I rummaged through my cupboard and actually found some brown ones. But even combining all the yellow and brown seeds, I still came up with only 3/4 of a cup. I don't know how much the final taste was affected by using half yellow seeds, but it certainly came out quite hot! Apparently the flavor will mellow as it ages, however. Like the ketchup I made a few weeks ago, this is from Saveur. Between the two I now I have a lot of condiments on hand. I guess I'll just have to step up my accompanying meats consumption for the next couple months!

12 ounces Guinness Extra Stout

1+1/2 cups brown mustard seeds

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1-2 days so that the mustard seeds soften and flavors meld. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until seeds are coarsely ground and mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a jar and cover. Refrigerate for up to 6 months.

pre-processing

post-processing

Ketchup

I've been wanting to try this Saveur recipe for a while, but when I opened the fridge and discovered that my ketchup had expired last year (!), I decided NOW was the time. This is spicier and hotter than commercial ketchup, which I like. I would definitely make this again, although what to do with all this ketchup? (I'm actually more of a mustard person!)

4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon whole allspice
2 pounds tomatoes, rough chopped (I used a combination of whole canned tomatoes and large cherry tomatoes, since big tomatoes are not in season)
1+1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar (orig. recipe called for 5 tablespoons)
1 onion, chopped
1 anaheim chile, chopped (I could only find a poblano)
3 cloves garlic, crushed (orig. recipe called for 1 clove)

Wrap cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, celery seeds, pepper flakes and allspice in a layer of cheesecloth; tie into a bundle and put in a 4-quart saucepan. [FYI, a lot of my celery seeds fell out of the cheesecloth so I just added them to the pot as is.] Add remaining ingredients and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions and chiles are very soft, about 4 minutes. You may need to turn down the heat and/or stir more often if it looks like it's starting to scorch.

Remove spice bundle and puree sauce in a blender until smooth. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer back into saucepan. [This takes forever, and I ended up adding about 1/3 of the solids back in because there's quite a lot left over and I couldn't bear to throw it all out. So mine is not super smooth, but I'm fine with that.] Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Add more salt, sugar or vinegar, if you like. Transfer to a glass jar and let cool. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Bubbling away... (sorry about the flash!)