My Holiday Gift to You

It's that time of year, and I'm finally back in town after escaping the snow and ice that fell on my parents' place during the holiday (see above). After sorting my presents into the various categories (very useful: electric toothbrush, small crockpot to use at work to heat up lunch; well-intentioned but unnecessary: a bathmat when I have lovely bathroom rugs in place; WTF: a squeezable stress ball...what is this, 1987?), I

 decided I owed you all a small gift as well. So here it is: my special recipe for Mike's Mustard.

Mike's Mustard
1 part each dijon mustard (Grey Poupon is the classic) and deli mustard (I use Kosciusko)
1/2 part coarse-ground mustard (again, Grey Poupon is a good one)
1/4 part horseradish

Mix it up and use on sandwiches, or at the dinner table with sausages, pork roasts, chicken, steaks, roasts, whatever you feel can use a little jazzing up with a lively mustard.

This is only a template; I've taken some and mixed in minced garlic and snipped parsley and other herbs I had on hand, and smeared it on chicken breasts that I was broiling. I have some Coleman's dry mustard and have wondered how a pinch of that would be mixed in. (By the way, if you get some Coleman's and use the instructions on the box for mixing up a wet mustard, the results are very similar to the mustard used in Chinese restaurants. At least that's been my experience.)  Find your own variation and make it uniquely yours.

And buy a vintage mustard pot to park on your table and impress your guests. This vintage Noritake number can be had from Replacements.com but there's tons inexpensively available on Ebay.

More fun coming! Happy New Year!