I have to fess up here. My recipe choice for this cookbook was not really driven by the cookbook itself, but rather by a magazine recipe. See, I had this fabulous issue of Saveur from last year. And it called for making your own mustard. I'm always on board with an opportunity to make an everyday type item myself. How fun is making your own mustard? Pretty fun it turns out.
Best part was the Guinness. While I rarely drink beer, I'm apparently obsessed with ways to incorporate it into foods. It rocked in the mustard.
Spicy Guinness Mustard
From Saveur Issue 117
1 12-oz. bottle Guinness Extra Stout
1 1⁄2 cups brown mustard seeds (10 oz.)1 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. ground cloves
1⁄4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1⁄4 tsp. ground allspice
1. Combine ingredients in a nonreactive mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1–2 days so that the mustard seeds soften and the flavors meld.
2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor and process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until the seeds are coarsely ground and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a jar and cover.
3. Refrigerate overnight and use immediately or refrigerate for up to 6 months. (The flavor of the mustard will mellow as the condiment ages.)
So all that in a cookbook post to say that I took a recipe for Cheddar and Mustard Cod in Scottish Heritage Cookbook as an opportunity to make the mustard from the magazine.
The cookbook itself is all about armchair travel. Love the stories, love the photos but am not really a skin the rabbit myself before braising it kind of recipe girl. If you like fresh game and instructions on how to dissect and cook a freshly skinned pheasant or wild animal, this cookbook is PERFECT. If you don't, but love Scotland, it's still great journey into a whole food culture.
And Cod with Mustard and Cheddar? How bad can anything be with cheddar and Guinness topping it?
homemade mustard!!! you are so cool. that sounds yummy....and what you made with it looks great too
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. And I love thy you are making brekfast for me tomorrow. Yay! See u then
ReplyDelete-j
A friend sent me a link to your blog, and I'm so glad she did. I love Guinness in a bottle, but it sounds fabulous as a mustard ingredient! I must try to make some before my kitchen gets taken apart (renovation).
ReplyDeleteGena
What an interesting way to use Guinness in mustard ... I think it's brilliant! I wish I could find Guinness here. My husband would go nuts for it. I do see in Irish pubs but I wonder if I would be able to take a bottle home if I asked? Definitely worth a try if it'll make my hubby smile. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely something I am going to try. I have made mustard for a long time, but, not this particular recipe, so I am going to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the only beer I drink is Guinness. Love it. Although, my daughter's boyfriend is a beer rep and he is trying to get me to try some others. Still, there is nothing like a Guinness. Especially when you are in Ireland at the local pub.