It always amazes me how easy some of the best and most versatile kitchen condiments are among the most easy of things to create from scratch. This no effort recipe simply needs to be mixed up, rest for 24-48 hours, and then blended into spicy emulsified oblivion.
I had to include this above shot, since the Saveur test kitchen photos accompanying the original article used a bowl of the same design as this dish I use for underneath my plants. Strange coincidence.
I only needed to let the mixture rest 24 hours, since the mustard seeds surprisingly swelled to double their size. I do love the smell of vinegar, which was the predominate aroma surrounding my project so far, and I was more than a little surprised at the spiciness that emerged after the spin in the food pro. One (over indulgent, since it actually brought tears to my eyes) sniff into the top of the whirring machine and I was instantly transported to my Dad's ever present little Inglehoffer jar on the top shelf of the fridge when I was a kid.
I always think of my Dad when I eat (or now make) spicy brown mustard, and my Mom for plain yellow (preferably French's), since those are their tastes respectively. I don't think I would have thought to claim a side in this happy Mustard War until now, when I am certainly convinced that Spicy Guinness Mustard is THE mustard of choice for me.
So why Muffins and Mustard, you ask? Because last week, Deena at Mostly Foodstuffs made Dorie Greenspan's Corniest Corn Muffins, where she also dictated the recipe, and I remembered how much I loved them. As I was invited to a Soup Nite, this was the perfect time to remember them, and thanks to Deena, I also remembered not to over mix.
Dorie uses a cup of fresh or frozen corn (frozen in my case), and also said to use up to 1/3 cup more corn if you so desire. I opted to chop up the same amount of some of my candied jalapenos for one batch, and some piquant Peppadew peppers for the second - which is the correct choice in my book since these muffins are on the sweeter side of corn-muffindom, and they can handle it! Luckily, I had an extra muffin - the larger, more rotund, gentleman seen below:
He gets his looks, which really is more of a muffin top physique, from baking these If You Care muffin liners without popping them into a muffin tin first. I actually never knew you could bake them on their own, until reading the side of the box one day. It's a good thing to know.
Since the corn muffin scent was lingering intoxicatingly in the air as I whirred up the mustard (3 short minutes is all it takes - it took longer to clean up the dishes from the mustard making ordeal!) I knew that taste test would have an inevitable outcome:
Not bad on a sweet Corniest Corn Muffin... but even better on a plain cheese sandwich on fresh bread - my lunch of choice yesterday when I ate so much mustard in one bite I had the dreaded "Wasabi Effect". Boy-O was looking at me wondering how he got saddled with such a strange and obsessive Mami...
the mustard looks great! how long does it last? do you know if it can be canned for longer shelf life?
ReplyDeleteYum. What a great idea to make your own mustard. I never thought of that but will have to try it sometime. The mustard with the corn muffins sounds amazing! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'll be back on yours too!
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you, Woman -- Best Mustard Ever. We love our little private jar of the stuff. And those corn muffins positively rock. You're invited back over to our house again any old time you like :)
ReplyDeleteLo,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad since it's such a happy place to be!
innBrooklyn, I did actually respond to your question earlier, and have no idea where the comment went! Not having good luck with you guys today!
ReplyDeleteThe mustard does have a 6 month shelf life, and the whole recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups. I made half a recipe, and gave a jar away, and I know the rest will not see the light of March, let alone August!
I do think that it would be a good candidate for canning due to all the vinegar, but don't know how long it would need to process. I'll do a bit of snooping and see if I can't find out for both of us. This would be great little gifts if they were shelf stable!
thanks rebecca: 6 months sounds pretty good but it would be even better if they could be canned... not that my friends will complain if i give them jars of homemade mustard! i'll see if anyone on the twitter canning groups has any ideas about processing times too...
ReplyDeletet
I always tear out the recipes I want from the magazines, so I keep them but not the clutter of the whole magazine. Then I file them in alphabetical order and periodically look through for new recipes to try.
ReplyDeleteThe mustard looks delicious!
Sarah