• Creole mustard is a staple in New Orleans cuisine. It can be used as a sandwich condiment, a marinade for meat, a dip and incorporated into seafood dishes. Creole mustard is grainier in appearance and tastes tangier than other mustards due to its higher concentration of brown mustard seeds. (Today, some products labeled “Creole mustard” are sweet-style mustards made with molasses. Check the label before purchasing. See our Mustard Glossary for more information on the many types of mustard.)
• Seafood is often served with a sauce or dip that has a bit of pungency or heat (think horseradish in cocktail sauce). Creole mustard is especially tasty when used as the base for Creole-style rémoulade sauce, a perfect accent to fried fish, or incorporated into breaded seafood dishes such as crab cakes or fishburgers.

Fried green tomatoes topped with jumbo
lump crab are an elegant first course. Photo courtesy McCormick.

And whip up a Creole mustard dip in addition to/instead of a tomato-based cocktail sauce for your next shrimp cocktail or raw bar. Use your favorite dip base—fat free yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream, etc., or a combination. Add mustard to taste along with a complementary fresh herb—chives, thyme, etc.

Saké and sangria are currently hot beverage trends. What if you combined them?

Make saké sangria for a party, barbecue or an afternoon break. This recipe is courtesy of Riingo, a Japanese fusion restaurant in New York City.

This is a sophisticated sangria—not your typical party punch.

Recipe For One Cocktail

1. Combine 2 ounces rosé wine, 1-1/2 ounces infused saké, 1/2 ounce peach liqueur, 1 tablespoon mixed fresh fruit (apples, blood oranges, blueberries), a splash of pomegranate juice and a splash of orange juice.

2. Place ice cubes and fruit in large wine glass. Add the remaining ingredients, stir and serve.

Another idea for saké lovers: Fruit-infused sakés are growing in popularity. You can buy them or make your own.

As with vodka, you can infuse saké with any fresh or dried fruit (we used fresh pears) by steeping it for 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight jar. Keep the jar in a cool, dark place, then use a funnel to decant the saké into the original saké bottle.

• Chives are the smallest member of the onion family. The part used for culinary dishes is the thin, hollow, tubular leaves that resemble large stalks of grass. Mild in flavor, chives are used in a multitude of dishes, including dips, potatoes, fish and eggs, and is especially prevalent in French cuisine. Chives are also a lovely garnish, whole or chopped.
• Fish sauce is an Asian condiment derived from fermented fish. If that sounds odd, that’s what Worcestershire sauce is; and the ancient Romans’ favorite condiment was a fermented fish sauce called garum.

Different countries have their own ways of preparing the sauce, but anchovies are used most often (in Worcestershire sauce, garum, the nam pla of Thailand and Vietnam, and others); some nations or regions use shellfish (for example, belachan, or shrimp paste, in Malaysia), squid or other small fish.

Chives and fish sauce are used as salad
dressing instead of dipping sauce.
Photo courtesy McCormick.

• Recipe: Try a “Deconstructed” Spring Roll Salad With Pork Hors D’Oeuvres, and taste the fusion of French and Asian cuisine. You can enjoy the chive and fish sauce dressing on many other recipes, too.
• Find more recipes and foods with international flair.