Archive for April, 2013

One of my latest cookbook purchases is an ode to hot sauce making: Hot Sauce!

My attention first fell to the recipe for pili pili.  Literally meaning “pepper” in Swahili, pili pili is an African hot sauce that deals out a solid burn without forgoing flavor.   Unfortunately, this stuff is impossible to find here in the States.  Luckily, Fayaz has a few hook-ups in his native land of Tanzania to supply himself and a few friends.

In making the recipe, I used five jalapeños and one habanero.  The fresh flavor of the hot sauce was fantastic blend of sweet and spice.  I can see this stuff being great with everything.  On mac & cheese, burgers, pizza…  Yum. Though, on the next go, I may need to up the habaneros to give a little more heat.

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Ingredients:

• 2 cup of loosely packed fresh jalapeños or habaneros (about 6 or either), stemmed
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender and purée.  Transfer the mixture to a skillet and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.

Let cool a bit, then pour into glass bottles and seal.  Refrigerated, the sauce will keep for 2 weeks.

My plan was to pick-up a bottle of Bullet Rye (my go to whiskey).  But, once at the liquor store, I got to browsing the bottles of brown and something new in my price range caught my eye.  77 Whiskey hails from Breuckelen Distilling in Brooklyn.  A little post-purchase research shows the distillery is actually walking distance from my apartment.  My initial thoughts were mixed: “awesome, a whiskey from Brooklyn” and “what the hell do people in Brooklyn know about making whiskey.”  As it turns out, they are pretty good at it.

I was underwhelmed by my first sip, but, as my single ice cube melted and the whiskey opened-up, I fell in love.  Every sip is like drinking candy.  Not lemon drop “martini” candy, but a grown-up desert.  The stuff tastes like liquid crème brûlée and butter scotch. (I hate when people get to fancy with their description of booze, but this seriously tastes like decadently sweet and creamy crème brûlée.)  There are also some mild vanilla flavors.  This is a great whiskey to enjoy slow.  People who know me know me know I love whiskey.  I can unequivocally say go and buy 77 Whiskey.  Add a little ice, but only a little.

Next up up? The 77 Corn and Rye Whiskey.

Hardee’s Jim Beam Bourbon Thickburger

Good bourbon paired with Hardee’s.   Too funny.  Though I would be lying if I said this video didn’t make me want a burger…

This is a great little video about food and power in Quentin Tarantino movies.  The most obvious is the Samuel L. Jackson’s badass domination via a Big Kahuna Burger and Sprite in Pulp Fiction (see below). But food and conversations over a meal show-up again and again in his movies making scenes more relatable. I knew it was there, but not to the degree.  Looking for these scenes seems like a great reason to dust-off some Tarantino favorites.