Horseradish

I may or may not be having a love affair with horseradish.


 Alright so I am.


 My affair started with a trip to a sport's bar named Beef O'Brady's. My husband had ordered one of those appetizer combo type plates and there was this bright orange dressing in the basket. I asked the waitress what it was for and she said the onion rings. I don't like beer battered onion rings so I peeled the breading off and dipped the resulting string of onion in this "onion ring sauce".


 Angels began to sing.
 All was right with the world.



 For the rest of the meal I felt compelled to put this dressing on EVERYTHING on my plate. I had ordered a sliced beef sandwich that I promptly removed from the bread and mixed into my broccoli along with this amazing sauce. My husband began to look longingly at the empty table at the opposite side of the room as I besieged the waitress with a barrage of questions about the ingredients in this sauce and proceeded to ask for additional little to-go cups of amazingness to take home with me. 


Of course this may or may not have increased the price of our meal, and I may or may not have been on the receiving end of a few glares from my adoring husband. 


 Feeling the need to always have this dressing/topping/awesomeness, I began to search for recipes that might taste similar. There were so many of them, but I began to try out a few different ones and finally created one that met my personal needs.


              Horseradish Dip


 • ½ cup of mayonnaise (not salad dressing)
 • 2 teaspoons of Ketchup 
 • 2 teaspoons of prepared Horseradish
 • ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar (you can use stevia if you prefer)
 • ½ teaspoon Lemon juice (bottled is fine)
 • ¼ teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper 
 • ¼ teaspoon of paprika


 Mix everything together making sure that everything is well incorporated. Move the mixture into a glass jar. (I use a well cleaned pickle relish jar.) Put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let the flavors blend. Use as a dip for onion rings, French fries, or tator tots. The dressing is also great for use on steamed vegetables or as a sandwich topper in place of mayonnaise or mustard. Of course, it is also great on roast beef.
 Try it this way and make adjustments to suit your own preference for heat and flavor. Some adjustments that could be made are to add: 
 • Substitute zesty ketchup for regular
 • Add a few drops of hot sauce
 • Use just 1 ½ cups of mayonnaise and add ½ cup of sour cream