Maple Mustard Greatness

When I was in college, one of my favorite places to eat on campus was a little chicken place inside the student center. I’d order a chicken strips and waffle fries, and then proceed to dunk them in either barbecue or honey mustard sauce. Or both. Mmm. (No judgment about my less-than-healthy choices, OK? I was young. And I did have to walk halfway across the KSU campus to get my dinner…) 

Now that I’m all grown up (when exactly did that happen, anyway?), dinners of waffle fries and chicken strips are few and far between. However, my love for honey mustard has not faded, and this salad dressing is definitely a grown-up version of my favorite college condiment. It’s sweet, thanks to the maple syrup, with a little bit of a kick from the garlic and mustard. It’s good for salads, sandwiches AND chicken strips, in case you want to relieve your childhood (or college days).

And while I am a fan of dressings, sauces and all things mustard, Andy is not. Which means this stuff is all mine. 😀

A couple of notes: The full recipe makes a LOT of dressing (about two cups), which is much more than you need if you’re making this with the salad. It does, however, scale down very well, by both 50 percent and 25 percent. I’m including the full recipe below, since it keeps pretty well in the fridge, and if you’re making chicken strips, well, you want to have enough for eating with a spoon dipping. 🙂

If you’re looking for a way to use up any remaining butternut squash, I would definitely recommend the salad. (I’ve made it for both a work potluck and our Easter dinner, and it’s been well-received both times.) If you do make the it, I’d suggest roasting the squash and apples separately, as the apples seem to get mushy long before the squash is done.

Maple Mustard Salad Dressing

4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
2/3 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup canola oil
salt and pepper to taste, if needed (I found I didn’t need to add any.) 

Combine all of the ingredients, except for the oil, in a large measuring cup or blender. (I used my glass four-cup Pyrex and my immersion blender.) Blend until the garlic cloves are smooth and integrated. Slowly stream the oil into the measuring cup while the blender runs. Blend until emulsified and smooth. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

From Two Peas and Their Pod

Click here for a printable version.