Fire up weeknight favorites with horseradish

I love a steakhouse. I don’t go for a $75 hunk of meat more than once a year — but that’s not really why I go. I am a firm believer in two things: the steakhouse meatloaf is usually the best thing on the menu and no one wants to admit it, and the real joy of the place lives in the sides — cream me some spinach, Hasselback me a potato, hand me a basket of Parkerhouse rolls still warm from the oven — and, naturally, the sauces.

Nestled among the béarnaise and peppercorn, there it is: horseradish. Sometimes whipped into a creamy spread, sometimes tucked into cocktail sauce, always waiting to sneak in a little fire. It’s never the star of the show, but I’d argue it’s the most intriguing character on the table — sharp, floral, peppery, the kind of heat that lingers just long enough to make you