Product Review: Surf and Turf & Crate and Barrel's Ginger Dipping Sauce

It's Summertime! 

Don't you just love it?  Well if you are not having a heat wave that is...!

Here in LA we love summer.  We usually have great weather with the exception of several weeks of sweltering heat late summer.  Right now we're having what we call "June Gloom".  It is cloudy in the morning, even chilly, and then it burns off and heats up in the afternoon.

Just preparing us for the heat to come...

Lovin' summer so much I have to share a pretty summer tablescape with you!  A crisp white quilted runner sets the cool mood.  Dark green chargers bring in a touch of the outdoors.  The pretty white plates with dotted edges add texture and set the canvas for a beautiful, summer colored salad plate of pretty flowers!  Even the flatware reflects nature, depicting leaves on the handles.  Isn't this tablescape fresh looking?

But I digress..so on to the product review.  So for summer solstice we decided to grill some surf and turf.  Steak, fillet mignon, and shrimp to be exact.  So I got out my Lodge cast iron grill skillet (one of my best skillets!) and fired it up.

I wanted to try a new product I found at Crate & Barrel...a favorite store of mine!  The Ginger Dipping Sauce sounded so good and reminded me of that great sauce that you get from Benihana's.  You know the one?  It's just awesome...and I want it!

So I picked this one up having high hopes of that great tasting Ginger sauce.  Here's what Crate & Barrel has to say about their product.

Ginger Dipping Sauce. 9.5 oz.

Savory, all natural Asian sauce flavors delicious meals with a minimum of fuss. Dip egg or spring rolls into ginger dipping sauce, season veggies or noodles, or use as a marinade for virtually any protein.

• Ginger Dipping Sauce contains onion, tomato, celery, Japanese soy sauce, canola oil, corn syrup, vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, spices and herbs

As you can see the ingredients are all natural, and very well balanced.

So we grilled our fillet mignons... (just using salt & pepper)

and our shrimp....(again just using salt & pepper)

and served it with the Ginger Dipping Sauce.    I wanted the food to be all about the dipping sauce complimenting the steak and shrimp's natural flavors.

I liked the sauce but there was a definite prominent vinegar taste.  The ginger was a prominent flavor as well.  A good sauce, but not exactly like that of Benihana fame...I would definitely buy this again...and the price is reasonable at $5.95 as you will get multiple uses out of it if you use this as a dipping sauce.  I'm still going to recreate the famous Benihana sauce but  I would recommend that you pick up a bottle of this if you have the opportunity, it's a close second.  You can buy this online here, ginger dipping sauce which sells for $5.95 at Crate & Barrel.

This dish goes great with my Zucchini and Thyme side dish.  yum!

What your favorite dipping sauce is?
Happy summer!!!