Pain relief can come in odd forms. For example, the hot chile pepper. In my opinion, chile-pepper-based rub-on creams work better than “salicylate” or “menthol” rubs. Brand names for such over-the-counter products include Zostrix and Capzasin. After applying the cream, wash your hands really well or you might burn your eyes or whatever else you touch. You will see optimal benefits if you massage in the cream three or four times a day for a month. Read More…

I wanted to do a post follow up on the Sparx Cookie review, since I had also bought the Jalapeno Peanut Butter Sparx Cookies.

The peanut butter jalepeno cookies really intrigued me since, well hey, it’s peanut butter which is one of my four favorite food groups. But sadly, these cookies were not right. They were just plain wrong! Who would do that and intentionally call it food? Seriously took me back to the childhood days of eating Duke’s kibble. Same texture and smell, which never bodes well for a cookie. And the taste was just like it smelled, nowhere close to peanut butter and jalapeno.

But I still really want to like these cookies. The concept is perfect, heat and sweet. My mouth waters at the idea of a cookie that combines the two. I think I’ll hold out for a free sample before I try the Sparx Cookies again. Maybe they’ll be at the Fancy Foods Show in July.

You can buy them online here:
http://www.sparxfoods.com/

Just don’t let the bag get old.

So this weekend I spent a lot of time working and a little time eatin’ - Not exactly my ideal holiday weekend, but I did get a lot of stuff done. I also managed to cook up the Black ‘N Bleu Tenderloins ala Dinosaur BBQ as promised.

One word: Orgasmic (from the wife’s mouth )
I picked up the tenderloins from the butcher on Saturday morning. Not just any tenderloin, fillet minon tenderloins to be exact. Pretty spendy for such small pieces of meat, but well worth it. I could cut the meat with my fork it was so tender. The recipe calls for BBQ sauce, so I used the remainder from the Smokin’ Joes salmon recipe. The only other adjustment that I made was to put the bleu cheese atop my steak and then coat it with the sauce, but that was only because the wife doesn’t dig bleu cheese - either way the steaks were delicious. The sauce was just spicy enough and the blackened steaks turned out wonderful (cooked in cast iron). Try the recipe - you’ll love it! From start to finish it only took me about an hour to finish it all, that’s including the mashed potatoes.

Some like it hot.

Some like it somewhat hot.

It was with this latter group in mind that Harry Robertson began chopping peppers six years ago in pursuit of the perfectly balanced hot sauce.

“One of the big things that I saw in hot sauces is that there was a lot of hype out there for a really hot, hot sauce, a practical joke category of hot sauce that was inedible,” he says. “You would ruin your friend’s life or at least their night by feeding it to them.”

Robertson, 34, had a different vision: a sauce that artfully combined heat, sweetness and smoke. A sauce that would show the proper respect for the flavor of peppers, as well as their heat. It was a sauce that took several months of experimenting to perfect.

After leaving a job as a salesman at Soundtrack, Robertson started his search for the holy grail of hot, armed only with a lifelong love of hot peppers, $400 and a friend willing to taste-test whatever sauce he came up with. Read more here…

You can check out the Boulder Hot Sauce Company’s website to order yourself a bottle of these handmade hot sauces. I love supporting the little guys in the hot sauce world, some of the best sauces start from the home kitchens in America.

Check out this article from MSN’s frontpage today. Great stuff - Good to see the Big Green Egg featured!
http://slate.msn.com/id/2118542/entry/2118537/?GT1=6443

I’ve had several requests for more information on Fiery Food events around the country, so here goes. If I’ve missed some (which I know I have) please let me know.

19th Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show
Dates: March 2-4, 2007
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Run by: Sunbelt Shows, Inc., owner of the Fiery-Foods & Barbecue SuperSite
Description: The 18th Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show will return to Albuquerque and promises to deliver more business and pleasure than ever. This unique show attracts attendees from around the globe and more than 10,000 general public attendance. Exhibitors in the show can take advantage of this opportunity to meet and greet new buyers, introduce their line of products or services, and reaffirm their commitment to their current customers who will be attending the show.
More Information: Go Here

The Fiery Food Challenge AKA ZestFest
Dates: September 8, 9 & 10th 2007
Location: Fort Worth, Texas.
Run by: Chile Pepper Magazine
Description: The Fiery Food Challenge is the most recognized, most prestigious competition of zesty products and it is heating up again for its tenth anniversary year. With over 80 categories from salsa to apparel, entrants vie for the coveted first place Golden Chile award. To find the best in zest, our culinary expert judges sample every product through a series of blind tastings and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners are announced at the awards ceremony during the week of ZestFest 2005. The race for the Golden Chile is on and the clock is ticking…
More Information: 2006 - Go Here

Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
Dates: August 28th, 2005
Location: Austin, Texas.
Sponsored by: The Austin Chronicle
Description: In the fifteen years since its inception, what started out as a small contest with a few spectators has turned into one of Austin’s biggest and best-known annual parties. The event is a favorite among hot and spicy food lovers from all over the country. The Hot Sauce Festival serves as a major fundraiser for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Last years festival raised approximately $4,500 and over 19,000 lbs. of food in a six hour period.
More Information: Go Here

Houston Hot Sauce Festival
Dates:September 22 & 23, 2007
Sat. 11 - 6 p.m. / Sun. Noon - 5 p.m.
Houston Farm and Ranch Club
(just off Hwy 6 - 1.5 miles north of I10)
Location: Houston, Texas.
Sponsored by: Houston Press
Description: The Original Houston Hot Sauce Festival, an annual event “Always in September”, featuring hot sauce, salsa, chipotle, jams, spices, marinades, chips, dips and more fiery food products. Thousands of Chiliheads pour into the Arena to sample 100’s of award winning products. There’s also ongoing stage entertainment, free kids activities, cold drinks, a wide variety of food, “amateur salsa competition”, contests, prizes, arts & crafts, pepper merchandise, and more…. Information 281-558-3518 or email:carol@houstonhotsauce.com
More Information: Go Here

The Zesty Best Food Show
Dates: June
Location: Costa Mesa, CA
Run by: Bruce & Mary Carter, Promoters
Description: America’s Zesty Best Professional Food Competition takes place in Southern California. The judges are all professionals in the food industry and they know good food! Your entry will be judged by its appearance, aroma, texture, flavor, heat and overall impression. Non-food categories are judged visually and by description/application. Product labels are judged on design, creativity, visual impact, originality, marketability and overall impression.
More Information: Go Here

Oh boy, do I really love having TiVo now. If you’re unfamiliar with the workings of TiVo, you can tell TiVo your favorite types of programs and it will record “recommended” programs based on your choices. Now, the wife uses this feature more then I do, but I have managed to train TiVo to record anything that is related to hot sauces, BBQ or chili. (I keep my options open)

While the wife is sleeping in this morning I decided to fire up the laptop and get some work done. Then I made the mistake of turning on the Tivo and there I found that it had recorded Inside Dish w/ Rachel Ray. This edition of Inside Dish focuses on Joe Perry (Aerosmith) and his line of hot sauces. Talk about serendipity, its hot sauce, Aerosmith and Rachel Ray (if I wasn’t married…)

Joe Perry’s line of hot sauces is entitled Rock Your World & line includes Boneyard Brew (the Original) and the newest Mango Peach Tango. Both of these sauces are wonderful and full of distinct flavor. These sauces are more then just a name thrown on a label, the flavors have been created after many many tastings and test runs.

Now, I’ve met Joe once (see this post), very briefly, but on Inside Dish, Rachel sits down and discusses the ins and outs of the rocker life style with Joe. Once the interview was finished, Rachel finally digs into the hot sauce side of things. It took over 4 years to get the right hot sauce flavor for Boneyard Brew and at the time of filming the Inside Dish, Mango Peach Tango was still in the testing stages and the band was preparing to film their scenes in Be Cool (just watch Get Shorty last night).

Below is a chili recipe you can put to use this weekend - Rock On!

KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF TURN YOUR WAIST ON CHILI
Recipe from the Boneyard Brew Website

1 lb. (+/-) ground turkey
1 red sweet pepper
¼ Tsp white pepper
1 green bell pepper
½ Tsp cayenne pepper (fresh)
1 yellow and/or orange pepper
¼ Tsp. paprika 3
scallions chopped (incl. chives)
¼ Tsp. garlic powder
1 whole Italian onion diced
¼ Tsp white pepper
16 oz. (+/-) dark red kidney beans
3 Tbs. Joe Perry’s Rock Your World ™ Boneyard Brew Hot Sauce
16 oz. (+/-) pink pinto beans
15 oz. (+/-) tomato sauce
Oyster crackers (optional) 8 oz. (+/-)
Italian stewed/diced tomatoes
Fresh Italian Bread
¼ Cup water Asagio cheese (shredded; optional)
1/8 Tsp salt
1/8 Tsp black pepper

Chop, mix and simmer ALL ingredients over medium heat for 20 minutes in a large deep skillet with a lid.
Reduce heat to low for another 10-15 minutes keeping covered and not allowing steam to escape.
Cook until vegetables are tender but not mushy.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes prior to serving.
Optional: Serve with Oyster crackers or Italian Bread (fresh). Top with shredded Asagio cheese to taste.

Ever have one of those days? Get the Don’t Piss Me Off Hot Sauce today and show someone you care. Put it on your bosses desk, threaten your kids or just ride with it on the subway. Don’t Piss Me Off Hot Sauce will let everyone know how you feel.

I rarely have bad days, which is one thing about me that actually upsets the wife. She gets upset over the fact that I don’t get upset. Imagine that and welcome to my world. Well, today was an off day for me, but I vow to not let it ruin the rest of the weekend.

Just don’t piss me off!

Gourmet food distributor Innuendo Enterprises LLC join with local food manufacturers at Hot Licks Festival to raise funds for ALS research.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 22nd, 2005 – Innuendo Enterprises LLC, a distributor of shelf stable gourmet food products, participated Sunday, in the Hot Licks Annual Fiery Food Festival.

The Hot Licks Fiery Food Festival, which began in 1995, was designed to showcase the wild and emerging world of spicy foods in San Diego. It has grown during the past 10 years, and is attended by thousands of people each year. Besides the sheer entertainment value of this event, each year proceeds from the event are donated to a charitable organization. This year proceeds were raised to benefit ALSA.

The ALS Association (ALSA) is the only national not-for-profit voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (often called Lou Gehrig’s disease). The mission of The ALS Association is to find a cure for and improve living with ALS. The ALS Association, Greater San Diego Chapter is dedicated to families affected by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis through patient support, advocacy efforts, public awareness and education while enabling research for a cure and improving quality of life.

Innuendo Enterprises LLC is extremely proud to be a part of events like this which benefit organizations that help so many people. Craig Learner and his business associate Jane Wagner are the owners of the fabulous Seaport store, Hot Licks, which hosts this event.
For additional information (or sample, copy or demo), contact: Ron Levi at Innuendo Enterprises LLC, 8010 El Matador Drive, Gilroy, CA 95020 or email sales@chile-heads.com.

When I lived in San Diego, I had the oppurtunity to attend the Hot Licks Festival in person and was quite fascinated with the number of small manufacturers within the San Diego area. In fact, the Hot Licks store in Seaport is where I first picked up a bottle of Baboon Ass Brand Hot Sauce. It wasn’t until many years later that I picked the bottle up again and sent Ron a snail mail inquiry regarding his products. Now, Sweat ‘N Spice carries both Baboon Ass Hot Sauces. Although it’s very small, the Seaport Hot Licks is well worth the trip if your in the area.

I’ve reviewed Dinosaur BBQ before, but this time I’ve got pictures! The wife and I worked around the apartment all day Saturday, so by Saturday night we were craving something hearty and relatively inexpensive. Dinosaur BBQ is in Harlem, so it’s a longer train ride then normal, but well worth the trip. We’ve never made reservations and can usually get a seat within 20 minutes or so.

We decided to make the trek up to Harlem and headed on our way. We made the trip within 20 minutes on the local and got a seat within 15 minutes, although the hostess did tell us it was a 30 minute wait. If you’ve never been to Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem, I don’t think I can quite describe it enough so that you can get an idea of the interior/atmosphere of this bbq joint. The wife put it well when she commented that “The waitstaff here looks like a group of bikers, with all the tattoos and piercings” - It’s true the waitstaff does look a little sketchy, but that’s what makes it some of the best bbq I’ve ever had. And the waitstaff is as prompt and curteous as any restaraunt, if not more personable and happy. How often have you had a crabby waiter or a waitress from hell? I’ve had plenty, but none at Dinosaur BBQ. I got way off tangent, but anyways… The wife and I were seated way in the back, which was fine by us, less people walking around back there. Now, after trying the fried green tomatoes at Spanky’s, we agreed that we needed to try the ones at Dinosaur BBQ as well. You know, just for comparison reasons So we ordered our tomatoes, our meals and our beers. She went with the root beer they have on tap and I went with the Dinosaur BBQ’s own brand, Apehanger. Good stuff, mellow but hearty.

Shortly there after, the appetizer arrived and we dug in. Side by side comparison, the Dinosaur BBQ’s fried green tomatoe appetizer (large) was cheaper (only $7.50 to Spanky’s $8.50), larger (5 Large slices to Spanky’s 4 med sized) and spicier. But, the Spanky’s Jack Daniel Cream Sauce that was very tasty. It’s a toss up between the two, so the wife and I will just have to keep trying them

Right after we split the last tomato, the real food arrived! The wife had ordered the brisket & rib plate while I went with the full rack.

Mine: As you can see, the ribs cover the entire plate. In fact they hang over the sides. Why order so much meat? Well, it’s my strategy for scraps. I order enough ribs for me to eat, the wife to steal and me to have for the next day. Plus is just plain economics. The ribs at Dinosaur BBQ are slow cooked for 24 hours with their own dry rub and then lightly coated with the Dinosaur BBQ Sauce (Wango Tango BBQ Sauce). I ordered the salt potatoes and the iceberg wedge as a my sides, which came along with the standard cornbread. The ribs were delicious as always, as were the sides. After eating the sides, I only managed to consume 4 ribs and the wife had ordered her own this time, so I took home an entire meal in ribs alone. (Score One for Sunday)

The wife’s: She even let me take a picture of hers. Now that’s love… or maybe just because I was buying dinner. Her 1/4 rack of ribs were cooked just like mine, but her brisket was what I was interested in. The brisket at Dinosaur BBQ was good, but the Spanky’s brisket was better. I dunno, there was just something that it was lacking. The Dinosaur BBQ brisket had less of a smoke ring and less crust. But it did have the Dinosaur BBQ Sauce and the wife is a huge fan of any BBQ sauce, with a penchant for the Dinosaur BBQ brand. I can attribute at least 2 opens bottles to her. She ended up like me though, taking most of her meal home. Damn diet is shrinking our stomaches I guess. She gave Dinosaur BBQ an enthusiastic thumbs up and blech, which is always sexy. She needs to lay off the root beer.

Now, I cruised the recipe pages on the Dinosaur BBQ website and I came across this one:

Black and Blue Pan Seared Beef Tenderloins
For the Sauce:
2 tbsp. butter
1 large shallot, minced fine
2 lg. cloves garlic, minced fine
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup BBQ Sauce
1 tsp salt

For the Finish:
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp cracked black pepper
4 8oz. beef tenderloin steaks
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp crumbly bleu cheese
2 tbsp sliced scallions

Step 1: Heat the butter ’til melted in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, cook until soft.
Add remaining ingredients, stir and keep warm on back burner.
Step 2: Heat a large skillet (cast iron is our choice) over high heat until smoking hot. Press salt and pepper into the steaks, coating both sides. Add olive oil to hot pan, swirl to coat surface, then add Steaks. Blacken steaks for 4 minutes on each side ’til medium rare, or longer depending on your preference. Remove steaks from heat and keep warm on serving platter.
Step 3: Replace saucepan to front burner and quickly add bleu cheese. Stir quickly, then pour over steaks before cheese melts completely. Garnish with scallions and enjoy!

These tenderloins have become my next weekend recipe project, so watch out for some Black and Blue Tenderloin steaks for Memorial Day. But I’d have to say, even if the tenderloins were on the menu at Dino BBQ, I would still order the ribs. In fact, I’ve never ordered any but the ribs from there. Why ruin a good thing?