Remember the jingle: “Two all beef patties, SPECIAL SAUCE, lettuce, cheese…” . Well, if you are old enough you know it (and you just sang it in your head too, didn’t you?). Special Sauces infer a secret, a magical recipe, something only you can make. And you can, make your own that is.

I’ve seen recipes for different sauces in cookbooks and magazines. Most of the time it’s a kicked up aioli sauce. What’s aioli? Basically a Mediterranean sauce starting with garlic and olive oil, with an emulsifier, most often an egg. And what is that? Mayonnaise. So aioli is a pepped up mayonnaise sauce.

Therefore, any sauce suggestion I make in my recipe below can be changed, ingredients swapped in or additions made.It starts with mayonnaise, and I prefer homemade mayonnaise , but store bought works just fine. Add in some tomato base, some spices, herbs and salt and you come up with a unique sauce. A Special Sauce. Your Special Sauce.

I liked mine so much that I know keep a small container of it in the fridge. It goes on burgers, sandwiches, even a dab into pasta. As a dip for vegetables crudites, crackers or even on the side with french fries.

Take the basic recipe below and make it your own.

• Add in other Herbs: fresh dill, tarragon, or chives.

• For a spicy version, substitute harissa or sriracha as flavorings instead of ketchup or chili sauce.

• Try adding smoked paprika or cumin or 5 spice powder, onion or garlic salt, even celery salt.
• For a brighter more acidic sauce, add some lemon juice (mayo has lemon juice!) or pickle juice
• sub in relish for or in addition to the capers

I’m still changing my version to get it just right. To make it my very own, like no one else’s, Special Sauce. Or maybe I’ll have a couple versions, one with herbs, one with smoky southwestern flavors.

How many do you want to keep in your fridge?