Picadilla - Spanish for Awesomeness

I have a problem with salad dressing. My problem is that salad dressing comes in large bottles. I like a variety of salad dressings, but I don't use large amounts, so I end up with a graveyard of expired, half filled bottles of dressing in my fridge door. My solution is to make my own, and Picadilla is one of my favorites. I first had it at Thanksgiving, when my godmother's daughter brought it. Creamy, garlicky, with the nuttiness of almonds, it was amazing. When I got married, I received the recipe as a shower gift, probably because I had been licking my salad plate at the last several Thanksgivings. Now, I share a version of that recipe with you.


Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup Blanched Almonds

2 cloves Garlic

1/2 cup Olive Oil

2 tsp. Vinegar

2 tsp. Lemon Juice

Pinch of Salt and Pepper



This is going to be super easy to make. Just watch. Throw the almonds and garlic into a food processor.

Pulse until finely ground. Pour the olive oil in, in three or four parts, pulsing in between pours until fully incorporated.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and pulse until smooth.

That's it. It shouldn't have taken you more than 5 minutes. You now have a Spanish salad dressing that is pure deliciousness. You can put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for at least a couple weeks. When using it from the fridge, make sure you leave time for it to reach room temp, because the olive oil sometimes solidifies when chilled. And it's totally okay to lick the plate.

Hot Bar-B-Que!

The last days of our grilling season are here, so today I give you three delicious BBQ sauce recipes The Physicist and I created to celebrate his birthday over the summer. We like to have a variety of sauces when we have company, as our friends have a variety of tastes. Some like it sweet, some want it super spicy, and some want it tangy. We usually don't tell our guests who made which sauce, and then ask which one they liked best. Unfortunately for bragging rights, it's usually an even split.



The Physicist's Raspberry Melba BBQ Sauce

You'll need:

7 oz. Raspberry Preserves

2 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1/8 tsp. of Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. Chili Powder

1/8 tsp. Cloves

1/4 tsp. Cayenne

1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Horseradish

2 Tbsp. Honey

Stir and simmer all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick, about 15 minutes. That's it. This one is for those looking for a fruity flavor and just a little spice.

The Girl's Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce

You'll need:

1/2 cup Tomato Puree

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2/3 cup Orange Juice

1 tsp. Thai Red Curry Paste

1 tsp. Sriracha

3 tsp. Hoisin

1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp. Cayenne

2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Stir it all together and simmer it over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until nice and thick. This sauce has a lot of heat, particularly slow heat that sneaks up on you, but it balances nicely with the sweet.

The Girl's Mild Mustard BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup Tomato Puree

1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

7 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/8 tsp. Chili Powder

1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. Curry Powder

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/8 tsp. Wasabi Powder

1 tsp. Horseradish

2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp. Paprika

Same thing, stir it all together and simmer over medium heat until the flavors all meld and it thickens up a little, about 10 minutes. This one is VERY tangy and mustard-y, but light on spice.

Hollandaise: A Three Hand Sauce

I'm a huge fan of sauces. Luckily, The Physicist LOVES making sauces. But there is one sauce that I'm in charge of, and that's Hollandaise. I learned to make hollandaise when I was sixteen, after having it at a restaurant, and have tweaked the recipe to the point where I think it's perfect. Just adding a few more ingredients, you can also get Bearnaise sauce, which is just pure heaven over beef (see picture).



The trick to a good hollandaise is that you need no distractions, and preferably three hands. When conditions are perfect, it's a two person sauce. One person to make the sauce, and one to run interference with the phone, other distractions (like children), and to get the butter out of the fridge at the critical moment. It can be done by one person, but two just makes things easier.


You'll need:

4 egg yolks

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

A stick of cold butter (1/2 cup)

A small saucepan

A mixing spoon (not a whisk)


I like to put the egg yolks and the lemon juice together in the pan, before ever putting the pan on the stove. Stir 'em together real good, so you have a solid bright yellow sauce. Now, before you turn on your stove, is the last time for about 20 minutes you can do anything other than stir this sauce, so get your affairs in order. If need be, the saucepan can be left on your counter like this for 10-15 minutes (see picture).


Phone off? Pets and children locked up? (These things can also be handled by your third hand.)

Okay. Turn on your burner to the lowest possible setting, put half of your cold stick of butter (1/4 cup) into the egg yolk mixture (leave the other half in the fridge), and then place your saucepan over the low low heat. Start stirring. Constantly. Not fast, but constantly. I like to use my spoon to swirl the half stick of butter around (see picture). Keep stirring until the butter is completely melted. The second it is melted, add the other half of the stick of butter, preferably, using your third hand, so the stirring NEVER stops. Keep stirring.

If it ever looks like you might be getting a curd (pretty much, you accidentally made a bit of scrambled egg), just take your saucepan off the heat, and continue to stir until the curds reincorporate into the sauce, or if they are big curds, you stop getting more, and then return the pan to the low heat to continue to thicken. Your sauce got a bit too hot for a second. It happens to the best of us. If you catch it early (you see almost streaks in the sauce), you can recover, and you won't see curds in the final sauce. If you get big curds, don't worry too much, the sauce will still be delicious, just will have some lumps, and won't be too pretty.

Stir the sauce until the second half of the butter is melted. And then, keep stirring. When the sauce is done, it will become ever so slightly lighter, but if you're not that good at determining color, here's another way to check it: Unfinished sauce is the consistency of milk. Finished sauce is like a thin pancake batter (see picture).
Serve immediately.

It's great on asparagus, chicken, fish, and artichokes.

Now, if you want to make Bearnaise sauce, it's the same thing, just add 1 Tablespoon White Wine (or white wine vinegar) in with the lemon juice, and at the end, add 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon, 1/2 tsp. dried chervil, and a 1/2 tsp. onion powder. Bearnaise is amazing on red meat.