Introduction: Basic Condiments

[eGCI Team]

Welcome to the eGullet Culinary Institute's class on Basic Condiments, which will be presented next week, beginning Monday, June 13.

The Instructors

After spending her childhood on a farm in western Kentucky, Andie Paysinger (andiesenji) worked in her mother's bakery, eventually attending Dunwoodie School of Baking (later the Dunwoodie Institute) in Minneapolis. She joined the Army and was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, where she developed an avid interest in Mexico and Mexican food. A later post in San Francisco increased her international food interest.

Settling in California's San Fernando Valley, she worked in the medical field, but after taking some private cooking classes, she began working part time as a personal chef. Although she is no longer a personal chef, she retains her enthusiasm for baking and cooking, collecting cookbooks and recipes, trying to reproduce recipes mentioned in historical sources, and growing her own vegetables and herbs.

In addition to her abiding interest in food and cooking, Andie has been involved in showing basenji dogs and in painting and etching animals, mostly dogs and horses. One of her paintings is in the permanent collection of The Kennel Club, England, and has been published in the Illustrated Standards Book (frontispiece) 1998, and in Treasures of the Kennel Club (2000).

Mary Baker (Rebel Rose) is the administrative partner of Dover Canyon Winery, a small artisanal producer in Paso Robles, California. She has taught college-sponsored courses in wine appreciation, and frequently speaks on wine appreciation and food-and-wine pairing. Thirteen years in wine hospitality and winery business management include stints as the first tasting room manager for Wild Horse Winery, and later the business manager for Justin Winery. As one of the original moderators on AOL's Food and Drink Network, Mary hosted monthly online winemaker chats. From 2002 to 2004 she served as a director on the board of the local vintners' association, representing the Paso Robles appellation, entertaining international visitors, and speaking at local wine festivals and seminars. She was also chairman of the 2004 Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival, an annual wine festival featuring a grand tasting, live and silent auctions, press events, artist receptions, and open house events at over 80 wineries. In her spare time she writes and plants vegetables and flowers, many of which promptly die. She is the author of Fresh From Dover Canyon: Easy Elegant Recipes from Dover Canyon Winery.

The Course

The course will cover the basics of making mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup, including instructions and recipes for several variations of each. It will be presented in two sessions, the first on Monday June 13, and the second on Wednesday, June 15.

Session I: Four variations of mayonnaise

Shopping list:

Eggs: 1 or 2 per recipe

Extra virgin olive oil: Approximately 1 cup per recipe

(Optional: Corn or canola oil, mild nut oils, or grapeseed oil)

Powdered mustard: 1 tablespoon total

Lemon: 1/2 lemon or less per recipe

White pepper: 1/2 tsp. or less per recipe

Kosher salt: 2+ teaspoons per recipe

Garlic: 1-2 heads total

Chipotles (canned, packed in adobo sauce): One small can total

Saffron: 1/4 tsp of threads total

Equipment:

Whisks

Spoons

Measuring spoons and cups

Food processor, an immersion blender, or regular blender (or mortar and pestle)

Click here to go to the course.

[eGCI Team]

Session II: Mustard and Catsup

Shopping list

Mustards:

Whole mustard seed

Cider vinegar or rice vinegar

Sweet mirin or sweet white wine

Viognier

Chicken broth

Fresh tarragon

Cardamom

Kosher salt

Sugar

Apple jelly, other jelly or honey

Brown sugar

Garlic

Catsup:

Garlic

29 oz. can tomato sauce

6 oz. can tomato paste

Brown sugar or molasses

Dry white wine

Sundried tomatoes in oil, including oil

Fresh ginger root

Salt

Black pepper

Equipment:

1-quart jar with a tight fitting lid

Blender

Food processor or blade-style coffee/spice grinder

Small jars for storing finished sauces