What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[tribdog]

I'll take your word for it. I just know it made my eyes water and I had to make that "glthhglthh" noise to dislodge the offensive tail.
You do peel your bananas don't you?

 

[turbo]

This is for Turbo1 and Astronuc. Well anyone that craves hot and unusual. Great little piece.

Szechuan flower pepper

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave2/sichuan.asp

Fatalii peppers

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_fatalii.asp

Thank you for those links. I have got to look for that chinese pepper/berry. It sounds like just the thing to spice up our habanero sauce!. The habaneros are getting bigger, and some are turning color, so we'll be making sauce soon.

Here is the link the the firegirl site. She started her business in Maine, but I notice that the address of her distribution center is now in PA. If you want hot, she's got it. When I was a papermaker, we visited a print shop in southern Maine to see how our paper was used, and they had printed firegirl posters that showed the illustrated labels of many of the brands she was carrying. She's got more, now! I wish I could have snagged one of the posters.

http://www.firegirl.com/fg0041.html

 

[turbo]

I've been to Thailand, and as a result, I do not like Thai food. You cannot get real real Thai food in the US, that's a GOOD thing.

I used to travel as a consultant, and often worked in the deep south, as far west as Texas. For that reason, I can no longer stand "Mexican" food as prepared in gringo-land. Once you have eaten Mexican food prepared by Mexicans to their tastes, you can't waste time and money on this pretend Mexican stuff up north. My method was to ask the locals where the most authentic Mexican food could be had, then while I was sipping a beer and looking at the menu, I'd talk to the waitress a bit and ask her what food (from that kitchen) she liked best, and what the kitchen staff usually had for lunch, and I'd pick from those. Almost always, I'd end up with something inexpensive and very tasty - maybe a chicken dish with rice and beans. The best Mexican restaurant (overall quality) that I found was on the north side of the breakwater that runs from Tampa to Clearwater. It looked like a collection of shacks strung together, and it was busy.

 

[tribdog]

If you talked to your waitress it wasn't an authentic Mexican restaurant, around here they don't speak English and don't socialize with gringos. You haven't had real Mexican food til you've had tortillas cooked on a garbage can lid (seriously, that's what's used) I'm of the opinion that Mexican food is a little bit better once it's been Americanized a little. Authentic Mexican food usually doesn't have the best cuts of meat, or they just aren't as critical of a bit of gristle. They do make the best salsa and pico de gallo though and they've taught me to ALWAYS squeeze a lime on your tacos.

 

[turbo]

My mouth is burning! (Good thing, in my pepper-driven world.) I just had some salsa on tortilla chips, and it was great. My wife and I just made up a batch of flame-roasted salsa with

4 tomatoes fresh from our garden
2 bell peppers fresh from our garden
3 large jalapeno peppers fresh from our garden
large red onion (store-bought)
cilantro fresh from our herb garden
juice of a store-bought lime

The preponderance of garden-fresh ingredients makes a huge difference in the taste and texture of this salsa. If we buy all the vegetables to make up a batch of fresh salsa in the winter, the result is better than our canned stuff and WAY better than the commercially-packaged salsa, but it can't hold a candle to this garden-fresh stuff.

The last time we tried flame-roasting, I used the grill-top and got too little scorching and too much cooking. This time, we roasted them on an open grilling basket over the burner of our propane camping stove. Direct flame and heat did the job beautifully. We blackened all the vegetables, then cut them up after they cooled, just like for fresh raw salsa. We left in all the jalapeno veins and seeds to get the maximum heat.

It is chilling in the 'fridge now. We're going to have salsa and chips with tonight's main course - jalapeno poppers. Just slice them in half, remove all or most of the seeds for a nice mild flavor, stuff with cream cheese and crumbled crisp bacon and top with shredded Monterey Jack. Cook on a grill on high (we put them on a metal pizza pan and close the cover) until the cheese is browned.

Yesterday, we put up our third batch of canned salsa, and intend to put up at least 20 more pints before the season is through. We've got plenty of tomatoes, but the habaneros are slow to ripen, so we're stuck with jalapenos for now. We're growing Red Carribean habaneros, and my understanding is that if they turn all red on the plant, they are considerably hotter than if you pick them green or orange, so I hope the frost holds off for at least another 3 weeks.

 

[Moonbear]

turbo, last time I tried your jalapeno popper recipe, I just mixed pepper jack cheese in with the cream cheese/bacon mixture (I can't find just plain Monteray Jack for some reason, but that's okay, because pepper jack works well for the recipe). Tasted even better to me with the cheese mixture. The first time I made them, the pepper jack kept falling off the top before I could even get the things to the oven (wasn't grilling that day, just popped them into a 350 F oven for about 40 min...certainly the easy way to go if you're planning on making them for a crowd, which is the eventual goal).

The second batch I made was MUCH hotter than the first (included some seeds, but I think the peppers started out hotter too), but you really don't notice how hot they are until the next day!

 

[turbo]

turbo, last time I tried your jalapeno popper recipe, I just mixed pepper jack cheese in with the cream cheese/bacon mixture (I can't find just plain Monteray Jack for some reason, but that's okay, because pepper jack works well for the recipe). Tasted even better to me with the cheese mixture. The first time I made them, the pepper jack kept falling off the top before I could even get the things to the oven (wasn't grilling that day, just popped them into a 350 F oven for about 40 min...certainly the easy way to go if you're planning on making them for a crowd, which is the eventual goal).

Pepperjack is probably made up with vegetable oils, etc, and that stuff melts WAY too early to brown properly. You could probably substitute mozerella or a nice sharp Vermont cheddar for an interesting variation. If you like, you could grate some hard dry Romano cheese over the poppers after they're built up with the other cheeses and top with a little freshly-ground black pepper. I do this to all my pizzas - it adds a round toasty finish to the flavor.

The second batch I made was MUCH hotter than the first (included some seeds, but I think the peppers started out hotter too), but you really don't notice how hot they are until the next day!

Yeah, the next day can be an adventure. It's hard predicting the hotness of peppers. The type of pepper has a bearing (quite substantial, in some instances), but so do the growing conditions, (like sunlight, water, nutrients, etc) and freshness and ripeness. Some people think that the hottest peppers come from plants that have been stressed by lots of sun, hot temperatures, shortage of water, shortage of key nutrients like nitrogen, etc. There has been substantial variation in the hotness of our jalapenos this year, so if someone gets a popper that seems to be a bit much for them, I tell 'em to slide it onto my plate and grab another on from the platter. I get the best ones that way. If it's just the two of us (like tonight) we leave a substantial number of seeds in, and put the rest of them in baggies and throw them in the freezer to use later in spaghetti sauces, marinades, etc.

BTW, my wife has wanted more-cooked poppers recently and we have been lowering the heat on the grill and cooking them for a longer time, though I am campaigning to raise the temperature and keep the jalapenos crispier with more of their natural "snap". Either way, they're great, but I tend to follow the "sear'em and eat 'em" model. If it's good enough for steaks and shrimp, it's good enough for poppers.

 

[turbo]

We just ate our late-afternoon supper of cheese and bacon-stuffed jalapeno poppers, tortilla chips and salsa. It was great! I have to add that to the salsa ingredients mentioned in a post above, my wife added (without my knowledge at the time) a dash of cold-pressed olive oil because she read or heard somewhere that olive oil complements lime juice in dishes like this. I can't find fault with that. This flame-roasted salsa has a wonderful flavor with a mild jalapeno burn.

 

[Astronuc]

I had a jalapeño sauce with Vegemite and Swiss Cheese on toast this morning for breakfast.

Vegemite and jalapeño go well together. It's some new Mexican-Australian thing.

 

[turbo]

I'm going to try adding chopped apple to serving-sized bowls of our flame-roasted salsa, to serve with tortilla chips - it's a new Maine-Mexican thing.

 

[Astronuc]

Raspberry jam and jalapeños on cream cheese and crackers are good too! I learned this from a Norwegian. I think adding Monterrey Jack would be good too!

I was looking at the blackened vegetables, and it reminded me of blackened peppers that lady told me about. She wraps the peppers in paper afterward and then peels the paper away with the blackened skin and this leaves the roasted flesh. I've done roasted peppers before, but I haven't tried blackened vegetables or peppers.

 

[Moonbear]

I had a jalapeño sauce with Vegemite and Swiss Cheese on toast this morning for breakfast.

Vegemite and jalapeño go well together. It's some new Mexican-Australian thing.

Well, sure, if you burn out your tastebuds with the jalapenos, you can't taste the vegemite anymore.

 

[Astronuc]

The sauce I used was Green Jalapeno Chili Sauce with Coriander, an "Australian Hot Sauce" from Byron Bay Chili Co.
http://www.byronbaychilli.com/hot_sauces.html

I can't burn my taste buds with jalapeños, they are way too mild. I used to eat them straight out of the can.

Besides - I don't mind pure capsaicin.

Another good place for hot sauce is http://www.2hotlicks.com/ . They have an incredible selection. There is one store in San Diego down by the bay - Seaport Village, 865 West Harbor Drive. San Diego, California 92126 - Phone 619.235.4000

Hot sauces - http://www.2hotlicks.com/sauces.htm

Xtra-hot sauces - http://www.2hotlicks.com/x_hot.htm

I'll have to try - http://www.2hotlicks.com/lg_images/endorphin_rush_lg.jpg

http://www.hotsauceblog.com/
http://www.hotsauceblog.com/hotsaucearchives/2005-fiery-foods-show-day-1/

 

[turbo]

Well, sure, if you burn out your tastebuds with the jalapenos, you can't taste the vegemite anymore.

If you can burn out your taste buds with jalapenos, you'll have to be carefull of actual hot peppers. My favorite home-made hot sauce (for inclusion in recipies, and not for direct addition after the fact, in most occasions) is made almost entirely of habaneros. If you're going to spice up a gallon of spaghetti sauce or perhaps a quart of pizza sauce,between a teaspoon and a tablespoon will do it, depending on how you like your "heat".

 

[tribdog]

Besides - I don't mind pure capsaicin.

Riiiiiiggghhhtt!

 

[Evo]

Your mention of green sauce reminded me of Ninfa's restaurant in Houston, TX. I used to get the bacon wrapped shrimp every time I went. But her "green sauce" was sooooo good. I used to make this all the time. Haven't had it in years.

Next weekend I'm making a ton of this. It's a version of guacamole with tomatillos. It's to die for. You will thank me for this recipe. (I just used all tomatillos instead of green tomatoes)

Ninfa's green sauce

3 medium avocados
3 medium green tomatoes
4 fresh tomatillos
3 garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh cilantro
2-3 jalapenos
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste

Peel avocados and place them in a blender.

In a medium saucepan, boil tomates, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapenos for 15 minutes.

Remove from saucepan and place all ingredients in a blender with avocados.

Add sour cream and blend until smooth.

http://www.recipezaar.com/34965

 

[turbo]

Your mention of green sauce reminded me of Ninfa's restaurant in Houston, TX. I used to get the bacon wrapped shrimp every time I went. But her "green sauce" was sooooo good. I used to make this all the time. Haven't had it in years.

Next weekend I'm making a ton of this. It's a version of guacamole with tomatillos. It's to die for. You will thank me for this recipe. (I just used all tomatillos instead of green tomatoes)

Ninfa's green sauce

3 medium avocados
3 medium green tomatoes
4 fresh tomatillos
3 garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh cilantro
2-3 jalapenos
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste

Peel avocados and place them in a blender.

In a medium saucepan, boil tomates, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapenos for 15 minutes.

Remove from saucepan and place all ingredients in a blender with avocados.

Add sour cream and blend until smooth.

http://www.recipezaar.com/34965

That sounds good! We want to keep our options open this winter, so we are freezing tomatoes, peppers, etc, hoping to combine them during the winter to make stuff that we like.

 

[Astronuc]

Ninfa's green sauce

Thanks! That recipe looks great. Makes me kind of homesick for Houston.

We used to go to a small Mexican restaurant, Leo's, on Shepherd Drive, up toward Westheimer Rd. Authentic Mexican. I miss that place. I think it is long gone.

There used to be a small restaurant that was frequented by Rice students, The Hobbit Hole. It was on Shepherd Dr near W. Gray/Inwood. They served great sandwiches and smoothies. That's also apparently long gone too.

Well, afterall, that was about 30 years ago.

 

[Evo]

Astronuc mentioning eating jalepenos made me think of my dad. He'd sit there with a huge bowl of them and eat them like popcorn. I used to be able to down a can of jalapenos in a single sitting (my ex was appaled, he was a damn Yankee and couldn't even be in the same room with a jalapeno, wimp).

But my dad ate these things like they were nothing. I couldn't even eat these, they were freeking hot! It used to make my eyes water even watching him.

 

[Moonbear]

If you can burn out your taste buds with jalapenos, you'll have to be carefull of actual hot peppers.

It was more of a dig on vegemite. Then again, habaneros never made my fingers burn like the one batch of jalapenos did! That was something new. I've never had a problem with preparing hot peppers before that my fingers started burning afterward...even after I washed them!

 

[Evo]

There used to be a small restaurant that was frequented by Rice students, The Hobbit Hole. It was on Westheimer near W. Gray/Inwood. They served great sandwiches and smoothies. That's also apparently long gone too.

OMG! My boyfriend's best friend owned The Hobbit Hole! I remember when he opened it! We all spent so much time together we could have been considered living together! (and I can't remember his name or my boyfriend's) I've <cough> dated a lot.

 

[tribdog]

OMG! My boyfriend's best friend owned The Hobbit Hole! I remember when he opened it! We spent so much time together we could have been considered living together! (and I can't remember his name or my boyfriend's) I've <cough> dated a lot.

speaking of understatements...

 

[Astronuc]

OMG! My boyfriend's best friend owned The Hobbit Hole! I remember when he opened it! We all spent so much time together we could have been considered living together! (and I can't remember his name or my boyfriend's) I've <cough> dated a lot.

I made a correction. The Hobbit Hole was on Shepherd Dr, north of Westheimer, and I think just north of W. Gray. It was a decent place.

Evo, it's amazing how close we came to crossing paths. If you hung out at the Hobbit Hole, there's a good chance I saw you there. If you ever went to The Pub at th RMC, then I probably would have seen you there too - particularly on Thursday or Friday nights.

Astronuc mentioning eating jalepenos made me think of my dad. He'd sit there with a huge bowl of them and eat them like popcorn. I used to be able to down a can of jalapenos in a single sitting (my ex was appalled, he was a damn Yankee and couldn't even be in the same room with a jalapeno, wimp).

But my dad ate these things like they were nothing. I couldn't even eat these, they were freeking hot! It used to make my eyes water even watching him.

I think I would have liked your dad. Not too sure about your ex though.

 

[Evo]

speaking of understatements...

No amount of torture will make me reveal how many (hundreds). I just remember the tally as of age 23 because a girlfriend asked me and I counted them in my diary. I might qualify for the Guinness book of world records. I said before I never dated anyone for longer than 3 months and that was the LONGEST before I got married. It was not unusual for me to have 2-3 dates in one day on a Saturday.

I seriously only remember a handful of them and of those I can't remember most of their names. I don't even remember the name of the first boy I kissed, it just wasn't memorable.

 

[tribdog]

No amount of torture will make me reveal how many (hundreds). I just remember the tally as of age 23 because a girlfriend asked me and I counted them in my diary. I might qualify for the Guinness book of world records. I said before I never dated anyone for longer than 3 months and that was the LONGEST before I got married. It was not unusual for me to have 2-3 dates in one day on a Saturday.

I knew a girl like that but she was a prostitute so I won't make any comparisons.

I seriously only remember a handful of them and of those I can't remember most of their names. I don't even remember the name of the first boy I kissed, it just wasn't memorable.

Hey, I was nervous. give me another chance.

 

[Evo]

I knew a girl like that but she was a prostitute so I won't make any comparisons.

These were dates, like a movie, or dinner, not sex. Unfortunately when you meet people in real life, the only thing you have to go by initially are looks. I'd accept a date and then find out that the guy did not have a functioning brain.

Ok, the number of guys I "dated" at least once, by my 23rd birthday was 309. Hey, if the shoe doesn't fit, you don't wear it, right?

 

[Evo]

Evo, it's amazing how close we came to crossing paths.

It was funny, but because I knew the owner, I didn't go there much. He was a great guy, a true vegetarian. He asked if I had any vegetable recipes and I gave him my mom's ratatouille recipe. He goes "I can't use this, it has bacon drippings in it". I said "don't use the bacon drippings".

Do you remember a sandwich with avocado in it? That was his favorite.

 

[turbo]

It was more of a dig on vegemite. Then again, habaneros never made my fingers burn like the one batch of jalapenos did! That was something new. I've never had a problem with preparing hot peppers before that my fingers started burning afterward...even after I washed them!

I know what you mean. Some of our jalapenos have a real bite to them. When my cousin's daughter and her fiance came up from Florida for a visit, we made a huge batch of poppers, and since not everybody likes their food really hot, I took out all the seeds and all the veins, leaving just the outer flesh to stuff. After slicing the peppers in half, I cleaned out the seeds with my fingers and stripped out the veins with my fingernails. My fingers were "warm" whenever I got them wet (especially when doing dishes) for the next couple of days.

 

[Astronuc]

It was funny, but because I knew the owner, I didn't go there much. He was a great guy, a true vegetarian. He asked if I had any vegetable recipes and I gave him my mom's ratatouille recipe. He goes "I can't use this, it has bacon drippings in it". I said "don't use the bacon drippings".

Yeah, I remember the owner. The employees were much the same. It was an interesting group of people there. Yuppies and hippies.

Do you remember a sandwich with avocado in it? That was his favorite.

Yep - it was one of my favorites, and one of the reasons I went to HH - hat and the Mythril Mix smoothie.

I know what you mean. Some of our jalapenos have a real bite to them. When my cousin's daughter and her fiance came up from Florida for a visit, we made a huge batch of poppers, and since not everybody likes their food really hot, I took out all the seeds and all the veins, leaving just the outer flesh to stuff. After slicing the peppers in half, I cleaned out the seeds with my fingers and stripped out the veins with my fingernails. My fingers were "warm" whenever I got them wet (especially when doing dishes) for the next couple of days.

I've never had that problem. Strange. For me, habañeros are hotter than jalapeños.

Hey, turbo - what do you do with the seeds and ribs after you remove them from the pepper? Hopefully they go into hot sauce.

 

[turbo]

I've never had that problem. Strange. For me, habañeros are hotter than jalapeños.

Habaneros (especially the Red Caribbeans we're growing) are significantly hotter than jalapenos. The difference is that I routinely de-seed store-bought jalapenos with my fingers without actually feeling much of a burn. These home-grown jalapenos are much hotter on average than the ones from the stores, so I had tingley fingers for a couple of days. My brother made a tray of poppers for a recent family get-together, using store-bought jalapenos, and his were very tame compared to the ones we make.

Hey, turbo - what do you do with the seeds and ribs after you remove them from the pepper? Hopefully they go into hot sauce.

We freeze them in small plastic bags, and when we want to make hot sauces later, or spice up spaghetti or soups, out they come. We don't waste anything useful. The only part of a pepper that goes to the compost pile is the stem.

Anybody that looked into our chest freezers would think we were stocking up for armageddon. Gallons and gallons of wild berries, at least 5 gallons of fiddleheads, dozens of chickens, frozen sauces (in addition to the canned ones) bags and bags of zucchini, string beans, Swiss chard, steaks, hamburg, roasts. Except for staples like olive oil, butter, flour, etc, we could be entirely self-sufficient food-wise for at least a year - maybe longer, because I haven't factored in all the stuff we've canned. And we've still got about 4 gallons of berries in my father's freezer (overflow, when the 2nd freezer got back-ordered) that I've got to bring back.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

An old friend of mine was visiting this weekend and made the greatest BBQ chicken tacos. Chop up a garlic and mix with enchilada sauce. BBQ the chicken using the enchilada sauce like a BBQ sauce. Also, BBQ kebab style: zucchini, onions, red bell peppers, and mushrooms, with liberal doses of italian salad dressing. Fry up the taco shells, chop the vegies, place all on the taco shells and serve.

Most excellent!

 

[Astronuc]

An old friend of mine was visiting this weekend and made the greatest BBQ chicken tacos. Chop up a garlic and mix with enchilada sauce. BBQ the chicken using the enchilada sauce like a BBQ sauce. Also, BBQ kebab style: zucchini, onions, red bell peppers, and mushrooms, with liberal doses of italian salad dressing. Fry up the taco shells, chop the vegies, place all on the taco shells and serve.

Most excellent!

Sounds excellent. I start salivating when I read this thread.

We freeze them in small plastic bags, and when we want to make hot sauces later, or spice up spaghetti or soups, out they come. We don't waste anything useful. The only part of a pepper that goes to the compost pile is the stem.

Excellent. I'll save some seeds for next year. One of habañero plants has probably close to 100 peppers on it. It's amazing! It is producing more than the other 4 combined. I am still waiting for the hot Portugal peppers to rippen, although I picked 4 that were close to ripe. They look like red habañeros. I ate a freshly picked Serrano yesterday, but it was rather mild, like a jalapeño.

Anybody that looked into our chest freezers would think we were stocking up for armageddon. Gallons and gallons of wild berries, at least 5 gallons of fiddleheads, dozens of chickens, frozen sauces (in addition to the canned ones) bags and bags of zucchini, string beans, Swiss chard, steaks, hamburg, roasts. Except for staples like olive oil, butter, flour, etc, we could be entirely self-sufficient food-wise for at least a year - maybe longer, because I haven't factored in all the stuff we've canned. And we've still got about 4 gallons of berries in my father's freezer (overflow, when the 2nd freezer got back-ordered) that I've got to bring back.

Maybe it's time to start your own food company. Think of Turbo's (or Turbo One's) Hot Sauces and Picante Salsas and Dressings.

Unfortunately when you meet people in real life, the only thing you have to go by initially are looks. I'd accept a date and then find out that the guy did not have a functioning brain. . . . . 309

I had a similar problem, sort of, but I didn't date as many women. My problem was that the very intelligent women (and generally very attractive) I knew, didn't care for rock and roll, and I was way too wild for them. The women I knew who liked rock and roll weren't much interested in science or were not otherwise intellectually compatible. Eventually I did find one who could at least tolerate my 'wildness' and who was intellectually compatible - and we've been together ever since.

 

[turbo]

Maybe it's time to start your own food company. Think of Turbo's (or Turbo One's) Hot Sauces and Picante Salsas and Dressings.

I have been thinking of something lately. Some wild blackberry jam that we made didn't jell (too little sugar) and we had to unseal the jars and reprocess all the jam with No-Sugar pectin. While we were doing that, I should have doctored a couple of jars with jalapenos. We already make hot-pepper jelly with habaneros and jalapenos (fantastic on triscuits with some cream cheese!), so blackberry-pepper jam might have been a good idea. I'm going to have to try a few jars in our next batch of jam.

The pepper jellies are a big hit at family get-togethers, and some of the more brazen relatives "hint around" that they'd like a jar or two to take home, so we usually make more than we think we're going to use. The hot pepper jelly makes a tasty glaze on pork roast, BTW, and my neice uses it as a dipping sauce for her breaded mozarella sticks. It's sweet and hot. By now, the kids know that the green jelly (jalapeno) is hot and the pink jelly (made with red habaneros) is really hot.

 

[Math Is Hard]

OMG! My boyfriend's best friend owned The Hobbit Hole! I remember when he opened it! We all spent so much time together we could have been considered living together! (and I can't remember his name or my boyfriend's) I've <cough> dated a lot.

I have chowed down many times at the Hobbit Hole.

 

[Astronuc]

I have chowed down many times at the Hobbit Hole.

MIH, I missed you too?! Aww, Nuts!

I think I was probably long gone from the area by then.


As for the avocado sandwich, I like avocado, so I used to have it added to whatever sandwich.

When I go to Karl's Jr, I get The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger(TM) double.