Mustard Spareribs Recipe

Ingredients:

2 lbs. spareribs
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 t. pepper
2 t. dry mustard
2 t. sugar
1/2 cup prepared mustard

Step 1. Have the butcher saw the spareribs across the middle for finger length portions.

Step 2. In a flat pan, mix 1/2 cup water, lemon juice, pepper, dry mustard and sugar. Marinate spareribs in this mixture at least two hours in refrigerator. Turn once during marinating.

Step 3. Drain spareribs and spread with prepared mustard. Arrange on broiler pan.

Step 4. Place broiler pan 5 to 6 inches from preheated broiler. Broil 10 minutes; turn ribs and broil 5 additional minutes. Serve hot.

Mustard, Moutarde, Mostrich! (Mustard, mustard, mustard!)

Originally published April 12, 1984

The French humorist Anatole France observed in La Revolte des Anges (1914) that “a tale without love is like beef without mustard: an insipid dish.”

In the sophisticated cook’s kitchen, where interest in cooking has created a heightened awareness of all ingredients essential to good food, mustards play a major role.

Although there is a super abundance of mustards readily available to any cook - from the piquant Dusseldorf to the unintimidating varieties one often finds on frankfurters - many people consider French mustards the most flavorful. So it seems ironic that during the late 1700’s mustard was mostly in England, where an old woman named Clements made a fortune traveling from village to village selling her own mustard powder. To this day, English mustard is sold in powdered form and reconstituted with water. Nor has English mustard sauce changed much over the years. All over the British Isles it is served as an accompaniment to boiled leg of lamb or poached haddock. We like to add some Dijon mustard to the standard English mustard sauce and serve it with poached or steamed vegetables.

The most interesting mustard by far is from Dijon, France. Made from seeds grown in the region and mixed with white wine, Dijon mustard is not so hot as the English variety, but it has a wonderfully subtle and piquant flavor. A really good Dijon mustard enhances innumerable recipes.

Perhaps we cannot afford a Mercedes in our garage but we can afford to treat ourselves to some good mustards! And mustard sauces...

English Mustard Sauce
Apricot Mustard Sauce
Asparagus in Mustard Sauce
Chicken with Mustard Sauce
German Mustard Sauce

English Mustard Sauce Recipe

Serve this sauce hot over your favorite roast.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 T. butter or margarine
1 egg
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
3/4 cup cider vinegar

Step 1. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Step 2. In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg, sugars, mustard, salt and pepper until well combined.

Step 3. Beat in vinegar. Stir mixture into cooled butter. Mix well.

Step 4. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Apricot Mustard Sauce Recipe

This sauce will be great company for your next Sunday ham.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. dried apricots
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
1 T. ground ginger
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T. powdered mustard
Dry sherry

Procedure:
Wash the apricots. Put apricots in a saucepan and add 1/3 cup boiling water, corn syrup and brown sugar, and cook until the apricots are soft. Mash through a sieve or puree in a blender. Add extract, spices and thin with sherry until the consistency of prepared mustard. Tightly covered, this will keep up to a week in the refrigerator.

Asparagus in Mustard Sauce Recipe

For the next four to eight weeks (written in April) asparagus will be available in the green grocers and hopefully you will take advantage of this buyer’s market.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. asparagus, stems trimmed, pared
1 hard-cooked egg yolk.
1 raw egg yolk
1-1/2 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1-1/2 T. white wine vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. minced hard-cooked egg white

Step 1. Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 to 7 minutes, drain. Place asparagus in a large bowl of of ice water to cool. Drain on paper towels, transfer to platter and refrigerate.

Step 2. Mash hard-cooked egg yolk  in a small bowl with raw egg yolk and mustard until smooth. Gradually whisk in oil until smooth. Combine vinegar, salt and pepper; add to oil mixture. Whisk until smooth. Spoon mustard sauce over asparagus, garnish with egg white and serve.

Chicken with Mustard Sauce Recipe

Everyone will enjoy this French recipe. Serve it with noodles and a side order of mixed green salad.
Ingredients:
2 T. butter or margarine
2 T. vegetable oil
Serving pieces of chicken for six persons
Salt and pepper
2 onions, chopped
4 T. flour
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
3 generous tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup chopped fresh  parsley

Step 1. In an electric frying pan, heat the margarine and oil and brown the chicken parts; season, remove and set aside.

Step 2. In remaining fat, cook onion until translucent. To onion, add flour and cook gently, stirring, for five minutes.

Step 3. Combine liquids and heat, bringing nearly to a boil. Add to onion mixture and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. At this point you may stop and continue later.

Step 4. Bake chicken in 350 degree oven for about one hour or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to a warm serving platter. To sauce, add mustard and parsley, stirring to blend mixture. Pour over chicken and serve.

Note: The French lady that gave the Kitchen Mouse this recipe also recommends using one large tablespoon of curry powder and two teaspoons of sugar in place of the Dijon mustard. Really can’t say which I prefer!

German Mustard Sauce Recipe

Try this one on boiled ham, grilled meats or sausages.
Ingredients:
2 T. prepared mustard
1 T. prepared horseradish
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
3 T. mayonnaise
2 T. ketchup
1/4 t. Tabasco sauce

Procedure: combine all ingredients; stir until smooth. Makes about 1 cup.

The Kitchen Mouse's German Menu

Originally published March 12, 1984

The Kitchen Mouse enjoys foreign travel very much. However, since his food budget does not, too often, have enough of a surplus to cover the expense of airline tickets, he settles for entertaining specials friends with the flavor of international travel.

Just this last weekend we put such a meal together and served it to a group of eight friends. We had previously decided on a visit to Germany and following is the menu we used. All of the ingredients for this meal were available locally.

Menu:

Appetizer: Mustard Spareribs

Soup: Fresh Pea Soup (Hiilsenfruchtsuppe)

Entrée: Pork Chops, Rhinelander style, served with carrots

Wine: Liebfraumilch

Dessert: Brandied Apricots (Aprikosenkompott)

Coffee