Sauce Up Your Boards is a Cheese Lover's Dream Cookbook

I’ve been a fan of Hillary Davis since she released her debut cookbook, Cuisine Niçoise: Sun-Kissed Cooking from the French Riviera, and have collected all her subsequent cookbooks. While her earlier works celebrated French cuisine, her latest release, Sauce Up Your Boards (Gibbs Smith, October 22, 2024) goes in a different direction. In this book, Davis who is also a cooking instructor, dives into the world of condiments. She not only highlights what makes a condiment an essential part of a meal but also shows how to stock your pantry with store-bought staples and key items like dipping bowls, salt cellars, and glass bottles. Each chapter highlights a specific condiment—such as savory jams, unique relishes, and flavored sugars—and presents readers with over 250 recipes designed to elevate their cooking and impress their guests. Many also just happen to pair beautifully with cheese.

As Davis highlights, condiments transform meals by introducing diverse flavors that elevate simple dishes into memorable experiences. With an assortment of seasoned salts and vinaigrettes, guests can creatively enhance their plates, turning any meal into a standout occasion. We spoke with her to find out more about her passion for condiments.

Interview with Hillary Davis

What inspired you to write Sauce Up Your Boards and what do you hope readers will gain from it?

Hillary Davis: It became evident that I am the condiment queen. I have been obsessed with condiments from a very young age when our family table always displayed an array of condiments on a big wooden lazy Susan. I’ve always kept a variety of salts and different colored peppercorns to mill by my stove. And I am one of those people who travels with a bottle of hot sauce in my bag!

I began making my own condiments after reading the ingredients on a jar of mayonnaise. I then checked the ingredients on other items in my fridge and pantry, and the majority surprised me. Since I now focus on eating clean and only consuming ingredients I can pronounce and spell, making my own condiments seemed like the natural choice. The joy came when I discovered how easy and quick most of them are to prepare. Plus, they taste significantly better and offer a wide variety of flavors that you won’t find on store shelves. I hope readers will benefit from learning to create their own condiments with fresh ingredients, free from chemicals, preservatives, MSG, corn syrup, artificial flavors, and dyes.

What are three of your favorite cheeses and how do you use sauces to enhance their flavors?

I lived in France for years and wrote French cookbooks, so most of my favorite cheeses are French. Traditionally, they are presented simply with bread. But being a condiment lover and loving putting together an interesting board, I embroider the experience of eating French cheeses to my liking. For instance, I adore a strong-flavored cheese such as Epoisses from Burgundy. It is pungent and unforgettable. I like to pair it with pickles, often with my recipe for Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles, or with something sort of outrageous, like my recipe for Candied Pickled Jalapenos! Sacre bleu!!!!!

Fruit preserves and jams always go well with cheese. One of my favorites to make is my Northern Italian Apricot and Cherry Mostarda, which features a mix of apples, pears, dried cherries, and apricots. To make it a true Northern Italian pairing, I offer it with an aged Tuscan pecorino, truly one of my favorite cheeses. Read more about pecorino cheese including pecorino Toscano.

A childhood favorite that still appears on my cheese board is a seriously strong American cheddar, which I love to complement my New England Cranberry Chutney recipe. The sharpness of the cheese pairs beautifully with the tangy-sweet cranberry spread, making it a holiday favorite at my house. Read more about Cheddar.

Are there any condiment and cheese pairings you believe are especially underrated or overlooked?

Sweet and salty pairings are delightful. Munster, whether in a round or wedge (not pre-sliced), from the Vosges region of France, is smooth and creamy with a distinct tang. It pairs beautifully with my slightly sweet Yummy Orange Mustard or Sweet Apricot Mustard, served on a slice of baguette or soft pretzel.

Use a condiment with heat to enhance cheese. I like to sprinkle my Holiday Rum Sugar over a round of Brie after removing the top layer. I generously coat the top with the sugar and bake it. I enjoy using a dessert sauce with cheese as a nice addition to an after-dinner cheese tray.

I place a bowl of my Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread on the board next to a mild Cheddar or nutty French Comté. I show how to eat it by spreading a bit on a salty cracker and topping it with a thin slice of cheese. Since chocolates are often served with a cheese board after dinner, many people end up enjoying this combination.

Which recipes from your book pair exceptionally well with cheese?

I had never heard of Southern Jezebel Sauce but when I experimented making it myself, I loved it. It’s an excellent alternative to traditional hot pepper jelly served over cream cheese. It also works well served alongside a cheese fondue, allowing you to dip the same piece of bread into both the melted cheese and the sauce.

My Balsamic Cherry Tomato Jam is remarkable when paired with a strong blue such as Roquefort cheese. The combination is a burst of summer flavor, with a hint of sweetness that complements the bold, tangy notes of salty blue cheeses.

A ripe Camembert is another of my favorite cheeses. I often serve Sweet and Salty Pineapple-Bacon Jam with it because it's a cheese that can handle and hold up to the texture and delightful flavors in the bacon-centric jam.

What’s the most memorable feedback or reaction you’ve received about your condiment pairings?

Surprise. People are often amazed at how easy and quick it is to make their own condiments. Once they experience it, they rarely return to store-bought options. For example, homemade refrigerator jams are effortless, fast, affordable, and healthier. Those who try them respond with enthusiasm.

You’ve written several cookbooks, are you still writing about French food?

Yes. In the spring of 2024 my cookbook, French From The Market, was published. It celebrates everyday cooking with recipes I learned from friends and neighbors during my many years living there. People in France cook with ingredients from their gardens and local farmers’ markets, and their shopping primarily focuses on sourcing fresh, local ingredients to prepare simple, nourishing meals for their families. I think it is a fun book because recipes are accessible, and I include many lesser-known shortcuts the French use at home to make those delicious dishes we all dream of.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about Sauce Up Your Boards?

I think Sauce Up Your Boards is as much a complement to making great boards as it is a resource book you can keep on your counter to make everyday seasonings in your home kitchen. It can be appreciated from either perspective. In both cases, it makes a delightful gift. This holiday season, I plan to give my loved ones a charcuterie board, accompanied by beautifully wrapped bottles and jars filled with recipes from the book.

Condiment Recipes

Southern Jezebel Sauce

MAKES 1 CUP

1 (5-ounce) jar apple jelly

1 (5-ounce) jar pineapple preserves

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/3 cup prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Briskly stir all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Transfer to a serving bowl or a glass jar with a screw top and refrigerate. This is popular over cream cheese and crackers and would go well on a cheese or charcuterie board.

Sweet and Salty Pineapple-Bacon Jam

MAKES 1 CUP

1 pound bacon, finely chopped

1 small yellow onion, cut into small dice

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup canned crushed pineapple, with the juice

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened.

Add the brown sugar, honey, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and cloves and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar melts. Add the crushed pineapple and stir well. Add the reserved bacon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for about 60 minutes, or until the jam thickens. Cool to room temperature.

Serve or transfer to glass jars with a screw top and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

Balsamic Cherry Tomato Jam

MAKES 2 CUPS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2/3 cup finely chopped white onion

1 pint ripe cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 tablespoons dark balsamic vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.

Recipes excerpted from Sauce Up Your Boards: More Than 250 Recipes for Condiments, Dips, Jams & Spreads by Hillary Davis. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.