26 New To Me Recipes in 2026 # 5 and #6 -Sauces

I love cooking with a lot of spices and I love a glaze or sauce.  A good sauce can be utilized in so many different ways and really give a basic meal a nice kick. 

At the end of March, we met my brother and his family at Fridays to spend some time together and catch up.  We haven't been to a Friday's since we lived in Florida, and it was TGI Fridays back then.   I ordered the chicken sandwich with whiskey sauce and as soon as I started eating, I remembered that sauce very well.  As I ate, I was thinking about all of the different things this sauce would be delicious on.  Chicken, fish, salmon, burgers...so many uses.  I looked up copycat recipes and landed on this one and it does not disappoint.

Friday's Whiskey Glaze

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup pineapple juice

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup Jack Daniel's whiskey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic granulated or powder

1 teaspoon onion granulated or powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except for the cornstarch.  Heat and whisk over medium heat until the mixture is reduced by a third and coats the back of a spoon.  It took about 20 minutes.

Whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and then whisk into the glaze.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 

Once cooled, refrigerate for at least one hour and it will continue to thicken.

I've made this twice in the last month and we've enjoyed it on a variety of meats. 

In early April we had lunch at Drakes which we enjoy two or three times a year.  I love their burgers but once I tried their club sandwich a few years ago, I was hooked.  They use a wheat berry bread perfectly toasted and are very generous with the meats, cheese, lettuce and tomato.  Another thing that really puts it over the top is their honey mustard sauce.  It is delicious so again I searched for a good copycat recipe and landed on this one.

Drakes Honey Mustard Sauce

1/2 cup mayo (you can also use sour cream or yogurt, but I used mayo)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

pinch of paprika

Place in a jar with a lid and shake it all up.  Refrigerate for at least an hour to let it all combine well.

This is good on a salad, sandwiches, chicken strips, fries and probably a lot more.

I don't know how we are already at the April, but here we are.  I hope everyone had a lovely month and that May is even better.

Do you have a favorite sauce??  Inquiring minds would like to know.

Food for Thought

 

 I am really hoping they were being 'funny' and not serious.

26 New To Me Recipes in 2026 #4 Cinnamon Roll Cake

I found this recipe at https://www.thecountrycook.net and it is a keeper.  The recipe is simple, straightforward and delicious.  7 different people tried a piece and all of them including us were very happy with it. The cinnamon filling is perfect, and the cake is very moist.  It does taste like you're eating a cinnamon roll and  I will be making this again.

For the cake:

3 cups AP flour

1 cup white sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups milk

1 stick of butter, melted and cooled

For the Cinnamon filling:

1 and 1/2 sticks of room temperature butter (I used one and it was perfectly good)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons AP flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

For the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

5 tablespoons of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  In a large bowl combine the first 5 ingredients for the cake.  Then slowly add the butter.  Mix just until combined.  Do not over mix.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the ingredients for the filling and mix together well. Once combined, drop the cinnamon filling by spoonfuls onto the cake batter. 

Take a butter knife and make swirly, marble effect patterns all around the cake dragging the knife through both the cinnamon and cake batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. (40 minutes was perfect for my oven)

Combine all of the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle over the cake once it has cooled a bit.

ENJOY!

In My Kitchen-March 2026

March was a pretty good month even though it flew by.  Honestly though, they all seem to fly by now so I'm trying to just enjoy each day.

The weather was all over the place this month with spring, summer and winter temperatures so our meals were a mixture too.  Here are some of my favorite meals from March.

Chicken noodle and white bean soup with onions, garlic, ginger and cumin.  Such a comforting meal.

Lamb burgers with spicey 'fries'.  

BIG salad with lots of veggies and chicken. 

Beef and potato hand pie with a small side salad.  

Naan 'pizza' and a salad

I have always made quite a bit of our bread, but I've been on a roll and have made all of the various breads we've eaten since January.  I don't think there is any going back to store bought now.  Here are two of my favorites.

Loaf of white Dutch oven bread.  Culinary Adventures with Lori: My new go to Bread recipe

NY style bagels  Culinary Adventures with Lori: 52 Recipes in 52 Weeks #3 New York style bagels

A friend of mine loves dates and sweets so I used peanut butter to stuff in a date and then dipped them in chocolate and sprinkled some with pistachio nuts and she LOVED them.  They really are pretty good and mostly pretty healthy too.  She is always bringing me things from Poland like this cute trivet and a couple more kitchen towels.

So that is what March looked like in my kitchen.  I am joining Sherry at sherrys pickings who hosts In My Kitchen and connects us to each other from all over the globe.  Thank you again for hosting Sherry. I hope everyone has a wonderful April.

Things That Make Me Smile

 

This half of our backyard is always so pretty this time of year, and it always brings a smile to my face.

        I hope everyone has a great day and a wonderful Easter weekend!!