At a baby shower, you expect to see your pregnant expectant mother (nope - the baby decided to grace the world with her presence early), a display of dainty finger foods (the hostess outdid herself with a wonderful and filling spread), and cutely packaged gifts about to be torn open with gusto (yup!)... you don't expect to go home with a new recipe.
However, there was this creamy, cheesey-looking, red-tinged sauce standing at attention beside the shrimp skewers, so of course I helped myself to a plop. But not only did I dip my shrimp into it, I also enjoyed it with my couscous and roasted veggies, and finished it off with some nice crusty bread.
The hostess was more than willing to share, and I found out it was from a page she tore out of a Taste of Home Magazine (December January 2011 issue), and that there is NO CHEESE in it. Wow, really? And it consisted of only two ingredients: mayonnaise and Thai red chili paste.
But with a such a simple recipe, each ingredient plays a starring role. So with the hostess' permission, I raided her fridge for the precise brand of ingredients she had used: Spectrum Naturals Organic Mayonnaise made with cagefree eggs (I think she shops at Wholefoods...), and Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste.
Spicy Mayonnaise (although I have trouble thinking of it as such, since I didn't find it particularly spicy...)
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tsp. Thai red chili paste
Combine mayonnaise and chili paste in a bowl.
Source: Taste of Home Magazine, December January 2011
Yup, that's it! Simple, yet delicious! Definitely an example of when the whole is so much more than the sum of its parts!
