Nik’s “Everything” Sauce

This is Candice. In her hands is a steak and cheese egg casserole. I’ll get to that in a moment.

First, let’s talk about Candice. She came to my breakfast-themed Pouch Party about a week ago and she’s the kind of person I love to meet at my cooking demos. When I called on her to be my “kitchen assistant” she told me, emphatically, that she cannot cook but would like to learn. With that, I took the sous chef role and Candice made the beautiful creation she’s holding.

Her casserole was a hit! And so was this condiment I served alongside it. See? Here it is:

I don’t think it’s any kind of new invention but, as with all my food, it has a story behind it. I used to love steak and cheese subs. I could pack away a big one in my former life. I used to order them with “everything” which, I’ve learned, had different meanings depending on your particular region. For me, everything is well represented in this sauce recipe:

Nik’s “Everything” Sauce
(makes enough to set out at your next barbecue)

12 oz. unflavored Greek yogurt
1/3 c. no-sugar added ketchup
1/3 c. mustard (whatever kind you like — I used yellow)
2 heaping tablespoons mayo (light because I think fat-free is a freak of nature)
1 large pickle, diced (or ¼ c. unsweetened pickle relish)
5 banana peppers, chopped (omit if you don’t like spicy things)
1/3 c. chopped tomatoes
½ a small onion, chopped

Other optional add-ins: shredded lettuce, diced green peppers, olives…just anything really!

Directions:

Combine yogurt, ketchup, mustard and mayo in a bowl and mix well. Add pickles, peppers, tomatoes and onion and stir well. Refrigerate until using.

Two great things about this recipe. First, there are a million different ways to make it based on what YOU might put on your burger or sub. Second, it goes well with so many different things. I have put it on hot dogs, dipped meatballs in it. The whole nine.

I am the self-professed Queen of Condiments. I like to play with them as there is a lot of room to customize your food. When I was visiting Pam, she got to witness this first hand as I made myself a spicy mayo to top my chili lime chicken burger. I’ll be sharing more creative condiment recipes with you over the summer. If you have a recipe, feel free to share it in the comments.

Yes, yes, I know what you’re about to say. Where’s the recipe to the casserole??? It’s coming! I am doing a compilation of my various approaches to cheese steak cravings and will post that later on this week. Stay tuned!