I was cooking dinner with Abby and Maddy the other day and had assigned them each to a different course. Abby was in charge of the side dish and was working on some cauli-tots (which I have to say are a really delicious way to eat cauliflower, still no replacement for real tater tots, though), and Maddy was working on a dipping sauce for our chicken. Both girls bounced around the kitchen like it was a pinball machine, hunting for the ingredients of their respective recipes.

And then we came to an ingredient that reminded me of a joke my grandpa used to tell. You know you’ve got a dad or a grandpa that loves to tell “funny” jokes. Well, for Maddy’s recipe, she needed to get out the Worcestershire Sauce. Her first attempt at pronunciation went something like “Wor-kester-shier” sauce. Abby gave it a try and “Wer-kest-sure” sauce came out. Then I told them that anytime we had to get that ingredient out at my grandparents’ house (probably for the fish we’d caught on the Rainbow River), my grandfather would say, “Joey, do you know why it’s called that?” I would say, “No, Grandpa,” and he would respond, “Because someone tasted it and said, ‘What’s-this-here’ sauce.” Which when he told it sounded really close to the official pronunciation of “Woos-ter-sher.” And he would chuckle to himself at his “humor,” and we would all sit down and enjoy some What’s This Here sauce with our dinner.

Of course, his name for the sauce was pretty good. After a little research, it seems that the original recipe has never been revealed, but it has origins in India and may contain vinegar, anchovies, tamarind, molasses, garlic, onions, sugar, and salt. I happen to like it and always use a dash when I’m making guacamole for a little extra zip and especially love it on a thick juicy steak. In my house, it will always be called “What’s This Here” sauce, and I am proud to say that I am carrying on the tradition of corny dad (and grandpa) jokes. I can see Abby and Maddy rolling their eyes from here.