Mike & Diane (Ring of Fire Hot Sauces) emailed to let everyone know that they are doing fine in the wake of the fires that pounded Southern California. It’s good to hear that they were spared from the flames and can continue flaming our tongues with their tasty chilehead creations.

Diane and I have received numerous phone calls and e-mails from many of you checking on our well being during the devastating wild fires that have plagued San Diego this past week. We were both extremely flattered and genuinely touched by all of your concern.

We are among the lucky ones who did not have to evacuate our home or suffer any loss since the fires stayed about 15 miles away from our house and our factory. We have several friends and family members who were evacuated, some of them had to live in a supermarket parking lot for almost a week. Diane and I were as prepared as we could be just in case the reverse 911 call did come our way. Fortunately that call never arrived.

On a more flavorful note, I wanted to share a nice little cooking tip that Diane prepared for me last night. We got home late and didn’t have time to fire up the BBQ, so she sprinkled some Garlic Salt and Black Pepper on a couple of Tri Tip Steaks. She cooked them on the stove top in a sauté pan. As soon as the steaks were cooked, she deglazed the pan with about ¼ cup of Red Wine. (Merlot to be exact but any red wine will work)

She let the wine reduce by about one third while scraping off all the tasty bits and pieces that were stuck to the pan. Then, she added about 2 Tablespoons of Ring of Fire Steak Sauce and stirred it in. Next, she turned off the heat and added about 1 Tablespoon of butter and slowly melted it into the wine/steak sauce mixture. We poured the sauce over the steaks and enjoyed them immensely. I hope you all enjoy it too.

Thank you again for caring so much. You are what keeps us doing what we do.

All our best,

Mike & Diane