Older Bolder Life

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Recipe: Sauces

the Older Bolder Life Sauce Monday: Ancho Lemongrass Chile Oil

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We’re always on the lookout around our camp for interesting condiments that bring new dimensions of flavor to the table.

We happened to be in Austin recently and dined at one of our old haunts from our time there years ago, the Buenos Aires Cafe; they serve the best chimichurri I’ve personally ever tasted in my life, and we enjoyed it yet again.

We happened to be sitting near the kitchen, and I heard the chefs on duty chatting about a version of this Ancho Lemongrass Chile Oil. I happened to pester them for a taste and eventually a rough “back of the napkin” recipe, which I’ve played around with here at home to bring more in alignment with a Paleo/Primal palate (the oil in particular).

The fruity, almost raisin-like texture and taste of the oil soaked ancho chiles is wonderful; and as you can see from the image above, I like to throw in enough ancho to make this more of a paste than an oil drizzle. The combination of the shallots, garlic, and fresh ginger with the pepper is unique and just fits, as does the hint of lemongrass from the lemongrass puree. By the way, cutting the cleaned and seeded anchos with your kitchen shears makes it easy to pare the peppers down to size.

Perfect with grilled proteins hot of the grill, we served this over spaghetti squash a few nights ago and it was amazing – almost like an ancho lemongrass pesto….

1 large or 2 small shallots, trimmed and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1-inch nob of fresh ginger, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup avocado or mild olive oil
1/4 – 1/2 tsp good salt
1 tbsp lemongrass puree
2 large ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded, torn or chopped (see note)
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup roasted peanuts (salted), chopped
1-2 tsp fish sauce

Combine the shallots, garlic, ginger, salt, and the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat as needed, until the shallot is just beginning to brown around the edges (15-20 minutes).

Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the lemongrass puree, prepped ancho chiles, and the red pepper flakes. Let cool slowly, every 20 minutes for an hour, until the dried ancho pieces begin to soften.

Now into the blender the mixture goes for a quick puree, though be sure and leave some texture here (you want to be able to distinguish some of the chile pieces).

Pour into a small bowl, stir in the chopped peanuts and fish sauce, adjust for salt.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Avocado Monday: Bacon, Green Onion, and Avocado Dip

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Once again unintentionally dating myself a bit, I have to admit I grew up during what was probably the peak of the “French Onion Dip” era. You know, the dip recipe made using a carton of sour cream and the little packet of French onion soup mix. And while the ensuing mixture tasted like a little like a chemistry experiment gone awry, this dip showed up on the chip and dip table of many a gathering during my youth, and there was usually a crowd fighting over the best dipping chips and elbowing for prime position in front of the bowl. Oh my (deep sigh).

Just this past week we took a step back in time (to those French onion dip days) when Chef Libby in Austin shared this recipe with me, something she’d been working on for a catering event several weeks ago.

She is a huge fan of avocados, and had tweaked this recipe to serve with a big crudités platter for an event she’d done just after PaleoFx for one of the vendors. Sautéing the thinly sliced green onions in the bacon fat is a stroke of genius, and produces a flavor (in a real food way) very similar to the old-school dip recipe above.

Bacon is always good, no matter what, and the tartness of the yogurt (and the lime), combined with a bit of heat from a finely diced pepper (we favor serranos here) pack an amazing punch that’s surprisingly tasty. We dipped sliced raw vegetables in this recipe, and slathered it over grilled pastured-beef burger patties.

Wow, this one is good.

2-3 slices bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and crumbled
3 large green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 large or 2 small avocados, chopped
1-2 tsp fresh lime juice
3/4 to 1 tsp good salt

Optional
1 additional green onion, white and pale green parts thinly sliced
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, finely diced
2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Sauté the bacon until crisp, drain, then crumble into a medium bowl.

Using the reserved bacon fat, sauté the green onions until soft and just beginning to caramelize; add to the bowl with the bacon. Stir in the yogurt, salt, lime juice, and avocados, mashing the avocados up as you go, though we like to leave some chunks of avocado to add some texture. Add the diced pepper and cilantro if using.

Top with an additional scallion if desired, and go to it.

Enjoy.

The Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: I’m Just Here for the Spicy Peanut Sauce

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Summer has arrived with a vengeance these past few days here in North Texas, prompting my lovely wife to ask me to put her favorite vegetable-packed gado gado bowl with a spicy peanut sauce on the short list this week.

We’ve had a favorite Spicy Peanut Sauce recipe we’ve used for years, and I even wrote about it years ago (2012) on ChiWulff.com, a fly fishing blog –

She was caught red-handed and she knew it.

I ran into the kitchen after the party had moved to the backyard and there she was in all her glory, emitting a moan of almost sensual ecstasy, leaning over the counter in what some might have considered to be very nearly a provocative pose.

My noisy entry startled our damned attractive friend (let’s just call her LB, and wife of residency training mate MB) enough to make her bump her 4-month pregnant belly on the counter and smear a streak of this Thai Peanut Sauce across her cheek.

We stared at one another wide-eyed for a moment and she simply offered up “I’m just here for the peanut sauce” as a matter of explanation. She then wordlessly reached into the drawer, handed me a spoon and moved the bowl midway between us.

We enjoyed a laugh (loudly enough to arouse her husband’s curiosity in fact) and stood at the counter and scraped just about every drop of this great peanut sauce from the bowl.

Haven’t seen LB in years, though we enjoyed yet another batch of this Thai-inspired (the coconut milk) peanut sauce with chicken satay hot off the grill this past week. There are a million peanut sauce recipes out there, for sure, but we keep coming back to this for its deep array of flavors and (for the most part) quick and easy prep…

It really is good enough to eat right out of the bowl, and it was amazing drizzled over a spiralized gado gado vegetable bowl (just zucchini, carrots, and daikon) with a piece of blackened mahi throw on top last night (image below).

2/3 cup + full fat coconut milk
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 and 1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 Thai or serrano peppers, seeded, minced OR
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, minced
4 scallions, green and white parts, minced
2 tbsp. tamari or coconut aminos
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. + fresh lime juice

Optional
1-2 tbsp honey, maple syrup, sweetener of choice
1/4 cup (+) fresh chopped cilantro

Combine all the ingredients (noting the sweetener and cilantro are optional) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine, bring just to a simmer, then reduce heat and simmer very slowly for 20-30 minutes, adding more coconut milk if needed.

Remove from the heat, let cool for ten minutes, and adjust the tamari/coconut aminos, fish sauce, and lime juice to taste.

Serve with your favorite pile of vegetables in a gado gado bowl as we did yesterday, or with your favorite chicken or beef satay. Or just a big spoon.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Sauce Monday: Turmeric Tzatziki

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I’m not sure where or how it came to be actually, but my wife is crazy about tzatziki.

We came to appreciate authentic Greek food in early adulthood, and while she’d traveled and lived internationally (North Africa and Switzerland), she’s never been to Greece and experienced the wonderful cuisine on the ground there. Her family did live and work in Algeria for a while, in a fairly multicultural setting, and there they were exposed to all sorts of Mediterranean delicacies.

No matter what the history, she loves tzatziki.

I was talking with a friend about dips to serve at an upcoming party she was hosting, and we somehow came around to this wonderful Turmeric Tzatziki, one of my wife’s recent new favorites. Blooming the turmeric in the hot oil is a genius step, and this dish really pops with a wonderful burst of lemon (using both fresh juice and zest), ginger, garlic, and of course the essential grated cucumber.

Classically made with greek yogurt, we think this is just as good (maybe even better) when made with sour cream. It’s delicious with a plate of crudite, and a perfect complement to any Greek-spiced protein. And for the bonus today – if you’re handy in the kitchen, this one will talk all of ten minutes to put together (ok, maybe 15).

And don’t forget the fresh ground pepper; you need those pepper based compounds (piperines) to optimize absorption of the curcumin in your turmeric. And is just tastes good…

1 to 2 tsp good ground turmeric
2 tbsp avocado oil (or EVOO)

2 small cucumbers or 1/2 English hothouse cucumber
1 tsp good salt

1 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 garlic cloves, grated
1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger (peeled)
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint (chiffonade), or more
1/2-1 tsp fresh lemon zest, grated
1/2-1 tsp fresh ground pepper
Good salt to taste (see note)

Stir the avocado oil (or EVOO) together with the turmeric in a small saucepan over medium heat; remove from the heat when it just starts to bubble, stir again, and set aside to cool.

As the oil is cooling, grate the cucumber coarsely, spread on a clean dishtowel on a plate, and salt with 1 tsp of good salt. Let rest for 10-15 minutes, then wring out as much water as possible from the cucumber, add to a medium bowl.

Now add the yogurt or sour cream, lemon juice, grated garlic and ginger, mint, lemon zest, fresh ground pepper, and the turmeric oil. Stir well to combine, and correct the seasonings, including salt as needed.

Best served promptly, will keep covered in the fridge for a bit.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Sauce Monday: Fifteen Mayo (and Aioli) Flavors That’ll Change Your Life

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One of our common daily quests is to prepare and enjoy healthy foods that are packed with flavor, varied and interesting, and (for the most part) easy to prepare.

One of the ways we do that around our kitchen is to use the incredibly versatile avocado or olive mayo recipe we keep referencing in recipes here on the Older Bolder Life; with an immersion blender in hand making this is child’s play, and having practiced a bit, it takes me all of 3-4 minutes to blend up a double recipe in a quart Mason jar every 7-10 days.

Technically we’re making a mayonnaise, even though some good folks out there call it an aioli; they’re kissing cousins, but there are some critical differences (for a reasonable take on the distinctions, see this).

The avocado oil mayo recipe we’ve shared (link above) is a perfect vehicle to carry a host of great flavors to compliment whatever you’re serving; here are fifteen of our favorites. The beauty of every one of these suggestions is your ability to add as much or as little of any ingredient you want to to suit your own (or your family’s) tastes.

Two quick tips: one, when incorporating whole ingredients, for example roasted garlic, roasted red peppers, chipotle peppers in adobo, etc, the more finely you chop them (or blend in a mini-food processor), the smoother your finished mayo will be. Prefer some texture in the finished product? Don’t blend as much. And two, remember that when adding spices to a mayo or aioli, their flavor tends to intensify over time.

Roasted garlic. Cut a head of garlic in half, rub the cut sides with avocado or olive oil, and roast until browned and soft. Squeeze into your mayo, add a bit of lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Cilantro Lime. One of our favorites; don’t forget a bit of fresh lime zest along with the juice too.

Roasted red pepper. Roast your own or used a quality jarred brand, allow to drain before chopping or blending in. We like this with a little bit of Dijon or Cajun mustard and lemon juice too. Try with a few soaked and softened sun-dried tomatoes too.

Chipotle. Use either dried and soaked chipotles or those packed in the little cans with clinging adobo (which I tend to reach for first as it’s easier, and the clinging adobo sauce is so well flavored). Consider a whiff of cumin too.

Chipotle lime. Ditto the above; lime juice and lime zest make this one probably one of the all time flavor favorites.

Smoked Paprika. Surprisingly tasty, this one needs a bit of cumin to really bring out the flavors, at least in our book, and is very good with a quality sweet paprika too.

Lemon Dill. Fresh dill is best, though dried works, and use both fresh lemon juice and zest to make this one pop.

Truffle. Just a few drops of truffle oil are all it takes; I have to admit perhaps my personal least favorite but my wife loves this one.

Sriracha. Try different sriracha brands, or use this paleo version.

Avocado or avocado garlic. A recent addition to our rotation, this one is great and even better with roasted garlic. Don’t forget a bit of lemon juice to keep this one fresh.

Roasted garlic and chipotle. ‘Nuff said and better with a splash of lemon or lime juice.

Creole mustard. We keep reaching for Zatarain’s Creole mustard when making this one; even better with a bit of a Cajun spice blend mixed in.

Ginger sesame. Best with minced fresh ginger, though fresh ground ginger works too; try it with a splash of toasted sesame oil.

Blue cheese. Try this one with good blue cheese crumbles, and splashes of Worcestershire and lemon juice.

Curry. This one sings with a good, fresh curry powder, lime (or lemon juice), and perhaps even a whisper of cayenne.

the Older Bolder Life Recipe File: Buttermilk Sour Cream Salad Dressing

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I don’t know about you, but we’re always on the lookout for new salad dressing recipes to brighten up the (almost) daily salad we enjoy week in and week out.

Just like you, we have our favorites, most of which we stir together at home to ensure we’re using the freshest, and cleanest, ingredients we can. (Insert your favorite rant here about how most commercially prepared salad dressings are based on terrible, PUFA-laden franken oils, or cost ten bucks a bottle for the good stuff.)

Just like you, we’re always on the lookout for great salad dressings that can serve double duty as a dip for crudite, or a slather for leftover proteins coming out of the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch too.

And while this Buttermilk Sour Cream Dressing may give away a bit of our Texas heritage, growing up eating wedge salads with a classic Ranch dressing, this recipe is based on tangy sour cream, a healthy dose of lemon (fresh juice and zest), with a hint of garlic and dill. You could of course sub in any fresh herb you have on hand, the dill just seems to fit here…

Given this one a spin, it’ll become one you reach for over and again.

3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
2 tbsp full-fat buttermilk
2 tbsp avocado or olive oil mayonnaise
3 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2-3 tsp lemon zest
1 garlic clove, grated
1-2 tsp finely chopped fresh dill (optional)
1 -2 tsp good salt
1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

This one couldn’t be easier; simple combine the entire ingredient list in a small bowl, and whisk to combine. Add a tbsp of additional buttermilk if you want to thin the mixture. Can make up to a day ahead, store covered in the fridge if not savoring this one right away.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Snack Tuesday: Buttermilk Feta Dip

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As the seasonal turn to spring picks up momentum here in North Texas, we’ve been reaching for some of our favorite sauces and salsa to flavor up some of our typical proteins in the rotation.

My wife and I love great Greek food; I think she’d eat tzatziki sauce at every meal given the chance, though this Buttermilk Feta Dip is stunningly tasty, particularly when you track down some really nice feta (try it with a brined, goat’s milk feta).

Of course this is one for the dairy tolerant, and while it’s great with just the feta, buttermilk, salt, and olive oil, throwing in any or all of the goods on the optional list below adds layers of flavor and interest.

We had this last night again with radishes and sliced pickling cucumbers; it was even amazing on the cumin-dusted sautéed mahi too.

1/2 pound good feta, in brine, look for goat’s milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup full-fat buttermilk
Good extra virgin olive oil drizzled

Optional
1/2 teaspoon (or more) good sea salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more) fresh ground pepper
1-2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, mint, or oregano
1 teaspoon (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, minced (or pressed)

Drain the feta and crumble into a medium-sized bowl. With a stiff whisk, work the feta to break it down a bit further, then drizzle and whisk in buttermilk (1-2 tbsp at a time) until the mixture looks like a smooth, creamy dip.

Taste for salt, and add any or all of the optional ingredients, whisk again to combine, top with a drizzle of good olive oil, and another grind of fresh black pepper.

Set this out with a platter of fresh, crunchy crudite or grilled vegetables (bell peppers and mushrooms are our favorites currently) and watch it disappear. It’s also unbelievably tasty on cold, leftover grilled lamb.

Enjoy.

the Older Bolder Life Sauce Tuesday: Spicy Cilantro Pesto

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Here in the Southern tier of the country, the forecast is looking like a genuine turn to spring this week, and count us among those who couldn’t be happier grilling season officially opens now. (We grill year round here in North Texas, which really isn’t brag worthy as the weather is so mild, though we did year round in Montana for years, and that’s another story…).

Nifty grilled proteins call for interesting sauces to drizzle over; last week I posted this House Chimichurri, and like many of you, we have a pile of great guacamole recipes like this Quick Columbian Guacamole. And how about this Columbian Aji Sauce?

Another one we’ve been playing with over the years is this Spicy Cilantro Pesto; our favorite flavors here come with using toasted cashews or pepitas, with a little onion, lime, and a serrano thrown in.

Pestos are a great addition to your table; they’re not only tasty but packed with nutritious, vibrant ingredients, and endlessly customizable to suit your palate and mood of the day.

Try this one with cotija if you can get your hands on some, and don’t forget to add good salt at the end to taste.

2 cups packed cilantro, leaves and tender stems
1/4 cup toasted cashews, pine nuts, pepitas, walnuts, or almonds
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/3 to 2/3 cup oil (avocado or extra virgin olive oil) to desired consistency
1/2 cup grated good parmesan cheese or cotija
Good salt to taste

Optional
2-4 tbsp chopped red onion
1/4 to 1 seeded and chopped serrano chile
1/2 to 1 tsp fresh lime zest

Into your trusty food processor go the cilantro and nuts of choice, pulse several times to finely chop, then add the garlic, onion and pepper if using, and pulse to combine.

At this point, we like to add the lime juice and then dribble in the oil with the processor running until smooth, then pulse in the cheese and lime zest if using. Importantly, salt to taste and stir well.

Enjoy.