If you’ve checked out the mayonnaise section at your neighborhood supermarket lately, you’ve probably noticed a few additions to the usual lineup of Hellman’s, Kraft and the generic store brands.

One is Duke’s Real Mayonnaise, which has been a favorite in the South for years. The word “real” means that it is made with eggs, something you don’t find in every mayonnaise on the shelf. What Duke’s doesn’t have is sugar, something you’ll find in too many other commercial mayonnaises.

Sugar-free does not mean low-calorie, mind you. There is a low-calorie version, which you can differentiate by label color. The regular version has a yellow label, while the low-cal’s is blue.

Of all the commercial mayonnaises I’ve tried, I prefer Duke’s. It’s got a more natural egg flavor without the ghastly acrid taste sugar often gives to mayonnaise and salad dressings. I used to have to drive across town to pick up Duke’s, so I’m real happy to be able to find this around the corner from me.

The price is about $2.75 for an 18-ounce jar. For recipes and tips on using Duke’s, click here.

Baconnaise is for a more targeted audience, to be sure.

Bacon lovers Justin and Dave took their winnings from “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and created an eponymous food company in which all of the products taste like bacon, according to the label.

They started with Bacon Salt, which comes in four flavors and is, believe it or not, a vegan product. Now J&D’s offers bacon-flavored mayonnaise in a recipe that is certified kosher (!?!).

Baconnaise also comes in a regular and light version that’s made with real eggs. It has a touch of sugar in it, but not enough to produce 1 gram in a tablespoon-sized serving.

If you taste it by itself, you may find the natural smoke flavor to be a little too pronounced. But that seems to balance out on a sandwich. In fact, the flavor on sourdough with lettuce makes me long for the fresh tomatoes coming in a few weeks.

J&D’s lineup doesn’t stop here. It also produces bacon-flavored popcorn and envelopes among other products.

The price is about $4.50 for a 15-ounce jar. Click here for more information on J&D’s and recipes.

Because both of these mayonnaises are made with egg, it is recommended that you refrigerate them after opening.

I loved the sounds of this recipe from the moment I looked at it because the egg salad isn’t sweet. Instead of pickle relish, there’s horseradish and cayenne pepper, if you want it. I added arugula to boost the peppery quality, but you could also add tomatoes, lettuce, even more onion to taste.

To chop the eggs quickly and finely, I placed them in the food processor and pulsed it for about 10 times.

Egg Salad With Bacon and Pecans

12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions, (green part only)
3/4 pound bacon, chopped, cooked crisp and drained
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons Creole mustard
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Combine the egg, celery, onion and bacon in a large mixing bowl.

Combine the horseradish, mayonnaise and mustard, and fold into the salad. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne. Add the pecans and parsley, and mix gently.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 8 servings.

From “Pecans” by Keith Courrégé and Marcelle Bienvenu

This dip is not for most dieters, though it would certainly work on a low-carb plan. Just serve it with celery instead of chips. It can be made up to two days in advance.

Bacon and Cheddar Dip

6 slices bacon, divided use
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded extra-sharp cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
3 scallions, white and green parts, finely chopped, divided use
Hot sauce, to taste

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes (starting the bacon in a cold skillet reduces shrinkage and splattering). Transfer to paper towels to drain and cool.

Chop the bacon. Wrap and refrigerate 2 tablespoons for the garnish.

0060002239[/amazon-productStir the cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, the remaining bacon and two-thirds of the scallions together in a bowl. Season with hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the reserved bacon and the remaining scallions. Serve chilled.

What to dip: potato chips, tortilla chips, baguette slices, crostini, flatbread crisps, broccoli florets, carrot sticks, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, zucchini slices.

From “Dip It!” by Rick Rodgers

Dips are not the most visually attractive foods on the planet. Yet few dishes are as easy to make and versatile at parties. So, whenever we can, we haul out the sour cream, the mayonnaise, the cream cheese, the mustard and whatever seasonings  we choose to create something you can sink a carrot or a tortilla chip into, stuff into a rib of celery, or just eat by itself (please, no fingers).

The possibilities are endless. You can even create themed dips to reflect the occasion. Think of a red and blue berry mixture with white yogurt for the Fourth of July, as an example, or pairing red and green salsas for Christmas.

Today, we offer three dip recipes for Super Bowl Sunday. All can be made in advance, all taste much better after the flavors are allowed to meld together. The Bacon and Cheddar Dip is for Colts fans, a reminder of the city where bacon, cheddar and hot sauce are all part of chili. So why not feature them in a dip of their own?

The Saints’ home turf is a known a bit more for its culinary treasures. In its honor, try New Orleans-style Muffuletta Dip or Cajun Shrimp and Artichoke Dip.

But what should you serve to dip with?

For vegetables, think of spears of raw asparagus, pepper slices, radishes celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower as well as strips of jícama, snow pea pods, fennel matchsticks and slightly shocked green beans (blanch with boiling water and set immediately on ice).

For crunchier bases, you can use pita chips, toasted baguette slices or crostini, hearty tortilla chips, hearty potato chips, pumpernickel and rye cocktail squares, bagel chips, crackers, black bread, and melba toast.

Recipe: Cajun Shrimp and Artichoke Dip.

Recipe: Muffuletta Dip

Recipe: Bacon and Cheddar Dip

Serving cabbage on New Year’s is meant to signify that you’ll be rolling in money for the rest of the year. Whether it’s true or not is beside the point when you taste this Scandinavian cabbage dish crowned with dill butter and bacon.

Cabbage With Dill Butter and Bacon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup salt
1 head cabbage, cored and halved
1/4 pound bacon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Sea salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, using a fork, mix the butter with the dill. Refrigerate.

Combine 4 quarts of water and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cabbage, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the cabbages are tender but still offer some resistance when pricked with a fork.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon in the unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat for 7 to 9 minutes or until crisp.

Drain the cabbage well and cut into quarters. Place on individual plates. Add the dill butter and bacon. Season each with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from “Kitchen of Light” by Andreas Viestad

Serve this on Christmas morning, as an appetizer, crumbled on top of green beans or in a Candied Bacon Apple Pie.

Five-Spice Bacon

16 thick slices bacon, about 1 pound
2 tablespoons five-spice powder
4 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Carefully separate slices of bacon. In a small bowl, mix five-spice powder and powdered sugar. Sprinkle each slice lightly with mixture. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then pour off fat. Bake for about 10 minutes longer, or until crisp. Remove from oven and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes before serving.

Makes 16 slices.

From “Christmas 1-2-3″ by Rozanne Gold

Dan Lewis of the Plaza Club developed this version of macaroni and cheese while working at Ironstone Vineyards. You can make it in individual dishes or in a family-style casserole dish. This variation combines three cheeses and a few herbs in a way that makes “this every day dish really stand out,” he says in the “Discover Ironstone Vineyards” cookbook. “Any type of pasta can be used, so here is your opportunity to use that guitar-shaped pasta that seemed like a good idea when you bought it three years ago!”

Ironstone Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups whipping cream, divided use
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup finely diced pancetta or applewood-smoked bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 cup crumbled blue cheese or roquefort
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
8 ounces pasta, cooked
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon minced parsley
2 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
8 oregano sprigs

Whisk 1/4 cup of the cream with the cornstarch and set aside. Sauté the pancetta in the butter over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, shallot and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add the blue cheese, goat cheese and the remaining whipping cream and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan and stir for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked pasta and chives.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pasta in 8 individual baking dishes. Combine the breadcrumbs, parsley, Romano cheese, salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned. (This can also be made family-style by putting it in one large casserole dish and baking for 30 to 40 minutes.) Top each serving with an oregano sprig and serve immediately.

Wine suggestion: Light and fruit or semisweet white wine

Makes 8 servings.

From “Discover Ironstone Vineyards” by Dan Lewis

In “A Christmas Story,” the narrator gleefully describes all of the leftover turkey dishes that won’t be served in his household that winter after the neighbors’ dogs have made away with their dinner: “No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, all gone!”

Not on his list of leftover ideas is one that I grew up with in Louisville, Ky. It’s known as the Hot Brown, and it originated at one of the city’s finer hotels, the Brown.

According to the dish’s history on the hotel’s website, chef Fred Schmidt created the Hot Brown in the 1920s after patrons of the nightly dinner dance grew tired of the same ham and eggs to sober them up before leaving. He combined a Mornay sauce and bacon with turkey breast meat and broiled the dish until it was bubbly. A culinary tradition was born.

The state also had something of a signature dish with the Hot Brown, which I remember in my younger days being served at political functions, at fancy dress dinners, at derby parties, in people’s homes. It was, and is, a staple.

As with any good dish, variations have cropped up over the years. If one is to believe the recipe offered by the Brown, Texas toast is used as the base. I have had it served more often on homemade biscuits. Food Network star Bobby Flay’s gussied up variation uses an egg-batter bread.

Some swear the original did not come with slices of tomato. I like the addition because the freshness and brightness of the tomato’s acid cuts through the rich sauce.

The Brown’s recipe is also served with parsley on top. I don’t recall ever seeing that on a Hot Brown in the past, even when I’ve had it at the Brown Hotel. Nothing about this dish calls for a touch of green. And why would you want to hide the bacon?

I even devised a low-fat version one year using fat-free half-and-half, reduced-fat cheese and turkey bacon. It wasn’t bad, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend it as more than an experiment.

I visited my folks at the beginning of the month, and we shared a Thanksgiving feast a little early. The next day, Mom whipped up some Hot Browns for us, and she offered a new version: To cut the carbs somewhat (though not completely when you count the flour in the sauce), she left the bread out completely. No biscuits, no Texas toast, nothing. She also served the leftover cran-raspberry relish on the side, which added to its luster. A glass of white Burgundy and you’re all set for some good eats.

So, don’t feel tied to tradition when making your own version. The beauty of this dish is that it will make you forget you’re using leftover turkey.

Cabbage is a fall staple that gains brightness from coriander and citrus juice.

Sautéed Cabbage With Bacon

2 tablespoons butter
2 strips bacon
1 small head cabbage, core removed and cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground ginger
Salt, to taste
Lemon juice or orange juice, to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Remove to paper towels and dry.

Add cabbage to the pan and sauté. Stir in coriander and ginger. Add salt to taste. When the cabbage is soft, stir in the bacon and squeeze a spritz of lemon juice on top before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.

From John Griffin