Again I fail at photography. Not because my pictures were poor and blurry this time, I was just so busy and tired I forgot to take them altogether. I’m the worst. Anyway Saturday 9/30 I put the $70+ worth of mustard I purchased at the National Mustard Museum to good use. I had a dinner party where every dish (except dessert) had some type of mustard in it. Overall I’d say when it comes to cooking, I cut the mustard. Terrible.

I had some last minute purchases to make Saturday morning. From 8:00am until noon I ran around crazy buying last minute cheese, napkins, and place mats. My patio has seating for 6. I have 6 matching place mats. I had 7 guests (plus a place for me). This needed to be fixed. From noon until a bit after 8:00pm I cooked. So much standing, cooking, and snitching of foods!

Let’s discuss the menu. Friday night I made soft pretzel bites from scratch. Along with these I had cheese and various meats to dip in the mustards. All told, I had 15 small bowls with different types mustard in them. For hot, dipping appetizers I had mini-meatballs, bratwurst and fingerling potato skewers, and fantastic skewers with fresh basil leaves, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and hot, Italian sausage. These things were spread on the buffet (God I wish I took a picture of that beautiful scene) and the tables where we all ate.

The mustards I had available in the food and/or in the small sauce bowls were:

• Gingerbread
• Dijon Originale
• Mustard with Indian Spices
• Sweet n’ Nicely Hot – the Museum’s best seller and my personal favorite
• Tarragon
• Blackcurrant
• Raspberry Honey – a big winner with us
• Key Lime – my friend Brandon’s favorite, he describes it as “oddly wonderful”
• Maple Champagne
• Stone Ground Sweet and Hot
• Onion and Fresh Garlic
• Black and Green Olive
• Raye’s Top Dog
• Seed Style
• Honey Dill
• Balsamic Vinegar & Fresh Garlic

One side dish was cheese tortellini and asparagus in a mustard cream sauce. The main mustard was a simple Dijon. Sadly I didn’t get to taste this. By the time I sat down to visit with my friends I was too tired to be bothered with hitting the buffet. My friend Erik claimed that the tortellini was probably his favorite dish. The other side was a brussel sprout dish. I tossed and baked them in a spicy brown mustard and blue agave sauce. They were soft but crispy at the ends of the leaves. There were very few left at the end of the night so I’m assuming they were good.

Using the Mustard with Indian Spices, I made a flatbread sandwich on naan. It was lamb cooked in a mixture of the mustard and plain yogurt. This was placed on a bed of humus I spread on the naan. All of this was topped with cucumbers and feta cheese. I thought the ones at the party turned out beautifully. The picture below was made from leftovers and isn’t as aesthetically pleasing.

My favorite for the night were grilled cheese sandwiches! There were two types, each on rye slathered in brie and the Sweet n’ Nicely Hot Mustard. Half of the sandwiches had apple slices and the other half had pears. The sandwiches were simultaneously sweet and burned my tongue. It was like a dessert that opens your sinuses. No pictures but you can picture a grilled cheese on rye. I ate the leftovers at 2:00am when they were all congealed and soggy…still totally delicious though.

For the main course I cooked a pork tenderloin sous vide. My friend Brandon loved it and said it was one of the most tender cuts of pork he’s had. Sous vide is awesome as it takes little effort and cooks meats perfectly. To dress up the pork and use mustard I made three different sauces to pour on it. One sauce was made with the blackcurrant mustard and another with the champagne maple mustard (both pictured below). The last was a Diablo sauce made with Dijon and extra spicy horseradish. I think they all turned out well but I doubt I will make them again.

For dessert we had spiked apple cider, spiked hot chocolate, and an amazing pie! It was a brûléed maple bourbon pumpkin pie served with homemade maple whipped cream.  I had so much filling I ended up with two pies. After everyone had left and we cleaned up a bit, Erik, Megan and I destroyed the second pie. We ate all of the center and left the crust for the birds because we’re adults and can do that if we want.

After everything was eaten and everyone had left, my kitchen was a beautiful mess. The following day was all about running the dishwasher, soaking pots, and washing napkins and place mats. Overall I think it was a success. Thanks National Mustard Museum!