Awesomesauce!

For most people, “awesomesauce” is a figure of speech, and a pretty inane one at that. For me, awesomesauce is an actual condiment, and a pretty—wait for it—awesome one at that.

Awesomesauce is basically a variation on chipotle mayo that I have whipped up in various forms/ingredient ratios for various purposes. Like salad dressings, it’s one of those things you make to taste, so I’ll tell you roughly what I did last time (gentle reader, I certainly did not measure) and you experiment with your own custom blend, ’k?

One note before starting: I may have mentioned this before, but I always have some chipotles in adobo on hand—you only need one or two for most recipes, but a can is usually under a couple bucks, and the remainder will keep in the fridge almost indefinitely as long as you decant it into a glass jar. (Once opened and exposed to oxygen, the metal can will react with the chipotles, and unless you’re a goat, eating rusty can is not a good look.) I recommend washing out and saving empty jars of mustard or jam or salsa for just such a purpose.

Okay, so on this occasion I had just plucked the last two chipotles from just such a jar that I had used for just this purpose. The chipotles went into a marinade for a pork loin roast (which was an amazing value at $2.99 a pound!), and the last traces of adobo sauce in the jar—you don't need much, especially if you’re mixing in the jar itself and will catch what’s on the sides—became the foundation of awesomesauce.

Into the jar with the maybe 1 teaspoon of adobo (if you still have chipotles left, tilt in a splash from that jar into the new one or a stain-proof bowl) went the following decidedly unscientific ingredient quantities:

• About 1/2 cup sour cream
• Maybe 1 or 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
• A drizzle of agave nectar (you could use maple syrup or honey—just go easy, as those are stronger flavors and this should just add a hint of sweetness to counter the spice)
• A good dollop of Hellmann’s mayonnaise (as usual, I am not paid to endorse any products that I mention on the basis of my own personal preference…but I sure would like to be! Come to think of it, I’d like to point out that I always go Goya on the chipotles en adobo. ¡Call me, guys!)

Now put the lid on the jar and shake it like a Polaroid picture. Dip in a finger, a spoon, or a potato chip to taste it. (I didn’t need to tell you to remove the lid first, right?)

If it’s too spicy, add more sour cream. If it’s not spicy enough, add more adobe. If it’s too tangy, add more agave. If it’s too sweet, add more mustard—sparingly. And if it’s not awesome enough, add more mayonnaise.

This awesomesauce was yummy on the roasted pork loin, and the remainder has kept in the fridge for a couple weeks and been delicious on sandwiches, such as the ham one in progress pictured above. I would keep it for a few weeks in the fridge in the sealed jar, and throw it out whenever it seems to have separated into an unpleasant consistency (again, washing and saving the jar for reuse).

Other possible uses of awesomesauce:

• Whisk with lime or lemon juice to make a dressing for salad or steamed asparagus
• Puree with drained canned red or black beans for a dip
• Dilute with yogurt or more mayo for chicken salad
• Mash with avocados for an awesome variant of guacamole
• Make it while reading this blog entry and drink every time the word “awesome” appears in any form

If you think of any others, please mention them in the comments!