So, it’s a nice day outside today, and I’m itching for a nice rib eye steak, except I’m looking for a different taste than usual. I like to stay away from barbecue sauce on my steaks, and I’m kind of tired of Montreal steak spice, so I go looking for a marinade or a dry rub that’s a little different than I’m used to making.

Do you know what I find on the interweb? People can’t cook. They think Italian salad dressing is an ingredient. Tell me that isn’t lazy. That super secret recipe of Italian dressing is just oil, vinegar, and spices you can buy right off the shelf…plus all the sodium and preservatives (definite cooking essentials).

I’m no gourmet, but I can’t stand looking at recipes that are based around prepackaged foods and condiments. Try looking for a recipe for pot roast. I’d bet that if you read 5 recipes, you’d see one that calls for cream of mushroom soup and a packet of dried onion soup mix. That’s some good old-fashioned home cookin’.

Granted, there are some off-the-shelf products that just take too much time to make, so it’s easier to use them. Dijon mustard, for example, is used in all kinds of salad dressings and marinades. It’s just mustard seed, vinegar, white wine, and spices, but it takes a long time to make because it has to refrigerate overnight. I use it myself in marinades, but it’s definitely low on the list of ingredients. It’s always there to compliment something else.

Now, I’m not against condiments. I use them all the time…as condiments. As I mentioned earlier, I use Montreal steak spice on my steaks sometimes. But that’s the dry rub. I don’t try to use it as an ingredient in a new concoction. If you insist on using prepackaged condiments as the main ingredient in a marinade, you might as well just buy a bottle of marinade off the shelf instead.

Rant complete.