Makes: 1 1/2 cups / Preparation time: 15 minutes / Total time: 30 minutes

This sauce is excellent as a marinade or glaze for slow-cooked pork, ribs, beef or grilled chicken. It will also enliven a pot of beans and give kick to tofu. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less chipotle.

Ingredients
4 to 8 medium chipotle chiles in adobe, about 1 can
5 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into small pieces or mashed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 to 1/2 cup water or broth, depending on thickness desired in sauce as well as desired heat level
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the chipotle chiles, along with the sauce clinging to the peppers, in a food processor. Add the garlic, vinegar, olive oil, honey, water, vanilla and lime juice and puree until smooth.

Pour the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds and fiber.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Place the mixture in a medium saucepan and bring it to almost a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture rest until the it’s cool. This will keep, chilled, up to 1 week.

From “Vanilla: The Cultural History of the World’s Favorite Flavor and Fragrance” by Patricia Rain (Tarcher/Penguin, $22.95). Tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen. Analysis per 2 tablespoons. 48 calories (43% from fat), 2 grams fat (0 grams sat. fat), 8 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams protein, 44 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 mg calcium, 0 grams fiber.

Article from the Detroit Free Press

At least according to these people:
A consumer group sued the federal government Thursday, saying that salt is killing tens of thousands of Americans and that regulators have done too little to control salt in food

“If we could reduce the sodium in processed and restaurant foods by half, we could save about 150,000 lives per year,”
Why not worry and focus on something else besides salt?

Hmmmm- Salt also has it’s own benefits.
I like salt – a lot. I’ve even asked my doctor if the amount of salt I consume is healthy and he said yes – I drink plently of water everyday and have very very low blood pressure, so low that it acutally concerns him more then my salt consumption…

I found a few old Chile Pepper Magazines this weekend and both of them featured ads from Absolut for thier Peppar Vodka. In recent issues of Chile Pepper Magazine, I could find no other Absolut Ads, so I thought I’d share the two that I did find.

From Chile Pepper Magazine 1991

From Chile Pepper Magazine 1997

Now, I’ve never had this vodka, don’t really care for Vodka – but I would be willing to try this one.
For those of you that have this vodka on hand or have access to it, below are a few recipes to use this vodka in.

Fucking Hot Drink Recipe
1 1/2 oz Absolut® Peppar vodka
1 1/2 oz DeKuyper® Hot Damn cinnamon schnapps
Pour both ingredients into an old-fashioned glass, stir briefly and serve.
Serve in: Old-Fashioned Glass

Salt and Pepper Martini Drink Recipe
1/8 oz vermouth
2 oz Absolut® Peppar vodka
Combine vermouth and absolut peppar in a mixing glass over ice. Stir, strain into a salt-rimmed cocktail glass, and serve.
Serve in: Cocktail Glass

Hell’s Mary Drink Recipe
2 oz Absolut® Peppar vodka
1 tbsp horseradish
6 oz Spicy Hot V8 Juice
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper corns
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Tabasco® sauce
Add all ingredients (except vodka) to a blender. Blend and add Absolut Peppar vodka. Blend again to stir in vodka. Pour into a whiskey sour glass half-filled with ice. Add a stick of celery, and serve.
Serve in: Whiskey Sour Glass

AfterBurner
½ oz. Absolut Peppar Vodka
½ oz. Kahlua
½ oz. Goldschlager
Shake well over ice.
Serve as a shot in small glass.

Sombrero
1 oz. Absolut Peppar Vodka
¼ oz. Kahlua
2 tbsp. Heavy Cream
Pour over ice. Float cream on top.

Well, just back from the 2005 Fiery Foods show and I’ve got a lot of new products to share with everyone!

The first up to bat was a break out hit of the show, with attendees and publc all fighting over it. From flavor to style Texas Hold’ Em Hot Sauce is a sure bet for hot sauce lovers.

Okay, sorry to report that I don’t have any pictures from Day 1 of the 2005 Fiery Foods Show – I spent most of my time there meeting and tasting. In fact, I met so many people that I had to return to the car to drop off piles of paper work and product information. I checked out early from the show (3pm) to head out and check out the local chile pepper shops and then headed to Walmart to buy an extra duffel dag to pack all the samples home in. Tomorrow I’ll be cruising around and taking some pictures of each of the displays, I promise. And for those of you that I didn’t get in touch with, no worries I’ll catch you Saturday or Sunday.

Hot Business Cards

These are all the business cards that I’ve collected from day one of the 2005 Fiery Foods Show.

So far, it seems that every vendor there has a different chipotle pepper sauce. I love chipotle and every sauce that I tried had it’s own unique spin on the smoked pepper. Tonight I’m going to head down to the Liquid Lounge and check out the Chili Head Party that’s being put on by Old Pueblo Distributing & Arizona Pickles. Free food and liqour – yeah, you know I’ll be there.

Okay, so in alphabetical order ( or close to it) here is a list of the contacts I made today, mostly for my benefit so later I won’t forget anything, but I thought the readers out there would like to know some of the info to. Enjoy! And if your not on the list, either I didn’t meet you, or I’ve already forgotten what your product was – There’s a big benefit to giving out samples!

505 Southwestern www.505chile.com – Local to Albuquerque these guys have come out with individual serving size packets of hot sauces.

Amour Chocolates Inc www.amourchocolates.com – Local to Albuquerque these ladies offer gourmet chocolates and candied nuts. The Chocolate Chile Pecans are fabulous.

Bit & Spur – No website to list, but these guys are located in UT and have created a Red Chile Ketchup that is great on shrimp – Not too hot but good & chunky.

Bodine Etc www.bobarosa.com – These guys have a large variety of pickled garlic and are the original creators of the old Scorpion hot sauce (about 6-7 years ago). They have a very unique line of blues related hot sauces.

Byron Bay Chili Co. www.byronbaychilli.com – Australian hot sauces with great labels. These were the only hot sauces at the show that made me break into a sweat and they don’t add any of the extracts – the heat is all natural!

CaJohns Fiery Foods www.cajohns.com – The makers of Magma and Frostbite, as well as many others. You can get CaJohns products from Sweat N Spice already and we’re going to be caring more!

Casa Fiesta Foods www.casafiestafoods.com – Screaming Monkey Hot Sauces as well as some very tasty dry spices and rubs.

Chef Matt’s www.chefmatts.com – Great BBQ sauces that I’ve sampled before. The Raspberry BBQ sauce is an awesome flavor that will go great on ribs.

Chile Addict www.chileaddictstore.com – These guys had a booth at the show and after the show I dropped by their store located here in Albuquerque. I picked up some hard to find hot sauces and even found some old (very old) Chile Pepper Magazines that I will be reviewing later.

Chili Crop www.chilicrop.com – Another New Mexico based company, based in Jemez Springs. Great salsas including a 2005 Scovie Award Winning Italian Style cooking Sauce.

The Chile Pepper www.chilepepperemporium.com – These folks weren’t displaying at the show, but this morning when I got my coffee I happened upon their store. I asked the lady behind the counter if I could take a few pictures and she told me that I would have to come back tomorrow to talk to the owners. So hopefully I can take a few pictures to show you guys. Very large store with a wide variety of products.

Danny Cash Hot Sauces www.dannycash.com – Based in Denver, CO these guys have made one of the best habanero mustards I’ve ever tasted. Their Bottled Up Anger hot sauce mixes serrano and habanero peppers to make one mean hot sauce.

Darda Incorporated www.dardainc.com – Probably the most unique product that I tasted at the show today, this Liberian Fried Pepper sauce is great and Olga, the president of the company recommends mixing it with a little Ranch sauce for a great wing sauce. I’ll have to try it!

Deco Plates of Albuquerque No website to list, but these ladies create awesome looking deco plates that are relatively cheap. I’m thinking of picking up a few for christmas gifts.

Fallen Angel Sauces www.fallenangelsauces.com – Great cooking sauces with very unique labels. I’ll be getting a few bottles for review and I’ll be sure to create a couple of recipes that will allow you to see the full potential of these sauces.

Gardunos www.gardunosrestaurants.com – I spoke with Jeannine for quite a while and I must say, their salsas are great and local to Albuquerque. They have 4 locations in the city and I’m going to check one of them out tomorrow night for dinner. I’ll review later.

Garden Fresh Gourmet www.gardenfreshsalsa.com – Okay, I admit, I see this salsa at the Wholefoods in NYC everytime I go and have yet to buy it. Next time I go, I will be sure to pick some up. Particularly the Artichoke Garlic Salsa which I sampled at the show. Very tasty and fresh.

Jilli Pepper www.jillipepper.com – Great name and great salsas local to Albuquerque.

Kondike Candies www.klondikecandies.com – The only hot foods business I’ve ever heard of that’s from Alaska. Klondike candies produces wonderful peanut, cashew and pistachio brittles that have just a hint of spice.

Mac’s Hot Sauce www.macshotsauce.com – Another hot sauce local to Albuquerque, Mac’s hot sauce produces all natural hot sauces and salsa that have a unique flavor all their own.

Pilarcita’s www.pilarcitas.com – Mexican seasonings and dry marinades. Beatrice let me taste some shreded beef that was cooked with thier seasoning and it was wonderful. The seasoning doesn’t overpower the flavor of the meat, it simply enhances it while adding just a touch of heat.

PBR BBQ www.pbrbbq.com – Makers of the PBR brand of hot sauces, they’ve recently come out with a Texas Hold ‘Em Hot Sauce that will soon be hitting the shelves across the country.

Red Lion Spicy Foods Co www.betterthanhot.com – These guys make the 20 Pepper Hot Sauce line that’s expanding every time I turn around. They’ve recently come out with some hot pickled garlic that’s perfect for the garlic lover in your life.

Reel Heat, Inc. www.reelheat.com – With hot sauces named Too Hot Tuna and Wailing Wahoo, Reel Heat Inc has more then a great name, these hot sauces have a great taste as well.

Spepper www.spepper.com – As seen on Food Tv, these guys are true to thier craft. In addition to Original Spepper, they’ve created Garlic Spepper and Hot & Spicy Spepper.

Sweet Peppers LLC No website to list, but Ben has a great BBQ sauce on his hands.

Schizophrenic Chipotle www.chipotlepeople.com – Tom, the head pepper, of Pfleider Pfoods, Inc has a great line of sauces. I personally love cooking with the Fresh Cream chipotle and Crazzberry is one of our best sellers.

Susie’s Hot Sauce www.susieshotsauce.com – All the way from the West Indies, these hot sauces reflect the peppers of that region, which are hot hot hot. Well, not that hot, but these sauces are great pepper based hot sauce without the extra fluff that’s in a lot of the sauces on the market.

Tahiti Joe’s Hot Sauces www.tahitijoeshotsauces.com – Who would think that a hot sauce with the name Camel Toe would actually taste good? Tahiti Joe’s Hot Sauces will open your eyes to a whole new world, where the hot sauce labels are funny AND the sauces taste good.

Tres Gringas www.tresgringas.com – Makers of the Ay! Chihuahua Barbeque & Dipping Sauces, these ladies have a great sauce on their hands. They also have a wonderful Chipotle Pecan seasoning that we’re going to be carrying very soon.

Willow Creek Foods These folks produce a wonderful line of salsas and spreads. The spreads are my personal favorite, since they are very close to a hot jam or a jelly.

Uncle Bunk’s www.unclebunks.com – Located in Sistervile, WV – Uncle Bunks has created a 1st Place Scovie Award 2005 winner with their mustard relish. Their rustic pepper sauce is just as wonderful.

Okay, so I’ve been to the New York Dinosaur BBQ twice in the last month. Okay, twice in the last two weeks really. Why? Cause it’s damn good. And people keep eating my food! I’m not a starving guy by far, but I still don’t like sharing my food. I grew up with too many brothers and sisters and if you didn’t eat it as fast as you could, you never knew when you’d get more food. I’m not talking about 3-4 brothers and sisters. I’m talking 16 brothers and sisters. The youngest is 4 and the eldest is now 25. I come from a family that’s 1/2 Mormon and 1/2 Catholic. Yeah, I’m surprised I’m not more screwed up. And I’m a triplet. Hell, I’m surprised I lived through my childhood.

So anyways, two weeks ago an old friend from Oregon was in town and he loves BBQ. I go to him for BBQ advice, he’s that good. But I decided that I should try to impress the guy with some NYC BBQ and Dinosaur was the perfect choice. We braved Harlem and the snow to feed our cravings.

Inside, the decor is just what you’d expect of a BBQ joint, license plates on the walls (a place after my own heart), wooden floors and the infamous Dinosaurs playing poker wall painting. There’s a bustling waitstaff, a bouncer and a hostess that all look like they love their jobs and love their BBQ.

The menu is simple and I had no qualms about going straight for the ribs. I ordered a 1/2 rack with a side of salt potatoes and mac & cheese. Jake ordered the big ass pork plate and we decided to split a pitcher of Dinosaur BBQ’s own Ape Hanger Ale.

First, the beer. I love beer. I’m a consosier of sorts without being a snob about it. I’ll drink Pabst Blue Ribbon if the mood suits me or I’ll go all out and get the strongest ale I can find. I also love whiskey, but that’s another story. The beer was great. A lite ale that for the lame beer drinker comes off as a cross between a Coors light and a Fat Tire Pale Ale. Don’t know what Fat Tire is? Find it online if you can’t find it in your local store, it will be worth the shipping cost. Yes, you can buy beer online. Try to get some Arrogant Bastard too. You’ll feel it in the morning and one 40 is enough for 2 people.

Our waitress was bootylicious. I can say that because in my second trip, I even caught my wife checking out her ass. And her name is Strawberry. That’s about all I can say about her without getting into trouble, but if you can, go check her out.

Okay, onto the BBQ! The ribs and the big ass pork plate were quick to arrive and we dug in without any fan fare. Being the nice guy that I am, I offered Jake a rib. He accepted and I gave him one rib. As he cleans off the bone, he declares it the best rib he’s ever had and that’s saying a lot.

The ribs are cooked for over 16 hours. You can tear them apart with your fingers and almost suck the meat off the bone. This night, knowing the wife was sick at home. I asked Strawberry if I could get the my exact order togo cause I knew I wouldn’t have any leftovers. Jake and I both cleaned our plates, finished the pitcher of beer and got the to go order. Now mind you it’s now close to 11 o’clock at night when I finally drag my ass in to the house. Jake and I, our minds muddled by the beer decided to finish up the night at the jazz bar below my apartment. But the BBQ ribs I had with me saved my ass because I distracted the wife with them and she could have cared less about what time I got in. She ate the entire order in one sitting and I’m sure she had eaten something earlier. Now, don’t get any ideas, she’s a knockout and the only woman I’ve ever dated that will actually eat. That’s why I married her. I think after the first time I saw her destroy a pizza I knew I was in love. She’s just one of those damn people with a high metabolism. My metabolism on the other hand needs to be jump started.

Okay, so after seeing the wife inhale the ribs that I brought home, I convinced her that she needed to come with me and get some of her own. So we went last night, before my flight to New Mexico, as a farwell dinner of sorts. I decided on the ribs again and I was trying to convice her to get the same, but she decided that she would order something different and just have “one” of my ribs. Hearing that, I immediately switched my order from a 1/2 rack to a full rack, that way I could be sure to get my fill of ribs and she could eat all she wanted.

I under estimated the size of a full rack of ribs. The plate itself had to be at least 2 feet long. This time around I decided to get a side of salt potatoes and an iceberg wedge (had to get some vegetables in). Again, being the nice guy that I am, I offered the wife a rib and she readily accepted my offer. I really do enjoy seeing her suck the meat off a bone. But when she reach for another, without asking, I had to resist the urge to use my fork to defend my plate. My twin brother Wayne would always defend his plate with his fork and I’ve got the scars on my hand to prove it.

This latest trip to Dinosaur BBQ was just as pleasing and filling as the first and as my wife says, it won’t be our last trip either. Next time I’ll be sure to make her order her own damn ribs. And we’re going to venture out on a limb and try the fried green tomatoes and I HATE tomatoes. Love salsa and anything made with tomatoes, but the fruit itself almost makes me gag. But that’s another story because my laptop battery is about to die.

Dinosaur BBQ NYC is located on the corner of 12th Ave. and 131st St.

Just South of Fairway Market and North of the Cotton Club
under the Riverside Drive Bridge.

Exit 125th street off of the Henry Hudson Highway

The closest subway stop is the 1,
at the intrsection of Broadway and MLK Blvd.

Garlic, garlic and more garlic – Went to the store and while shopping I found the largest head of garlic I’ve ever seen, so I couldn’t resist. I also got into an argument with the clerk about the peppers, but that’s another story. So anyways, I picked up some pasta, peppers, chicken and parsley

Garlic Habanero Spaghetti

• Spaghetti (1/2 a box for 2 people)
• 2-3 Habanero Peppers
• Olive oil
• 2-3 Pinches of Fresh chopped parsley
• Parmesaen Reggiao (fresh grated)
• Garlic (fresh & minced)

Garlic Parmesaen Chicken

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• Garlic
• Fresh Parsley
• Olive Oil
• Parmesean Cheese

Step 1: Ingredients

The garlic is called elephant garlic from Christopher Farms, about 1/2 my fist. Mince 2-4 cloves of garlic

Step 2: Peppers

These were labeled “italian peppers” at the store, sure look like habaneros to me. Chop up as many peppers as you can handle.

Step 3: Saute the Garlic & Peppers

While your spaghetti is boiling, saute your garlic and peppers in olive oil until your garlic turns golden brown. Remove from heat and wait for the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti aldente.

Step 4: Putting the Chicken Together

While the spaghetti is cooking, you can also throw the chicken together. Toss the breasts in minced garlic, fresh grated parmesean cheese, olive oil and a little bit of parsley (for color) – Bake at 400 for about 20 mintues, or just until the breasts are golden brown.

Step 5: Putting it all together

Alright, I skipped a few photos. But once your spaghetti is aldente, drain it and then throw it into the skillet (removed from heat) and toss with the garlic, olive oil and peppers. Then add in your parsley and parmesean, toss to mix the colors and your ready to serve.

There you go: A very garlic based dinner with a little bit of heat. I didn’t combine the habaneros with the chicken because I wanted each dish to have it’s own unique flavor.

I ventured across this site a little under a year ago and here it is again. I’m impress by the sheer number of hot sauce packets he’s managed to collect.
I think the Quizno’s marketers need to re-think the design of the Batch 81 Hot Sauce Packet – Looks like a condom to me. Better safe then sorry!

Okay, this one had to be added: Taco Bell & Rosey Palms

See the Hot Sauce Codiment Museum Page for more.