If you hurry, you can still by me the pitmaster/chilehead on your list some really great grilling and barbecue gifts. Over the next three days I’ll be posting lists from big expensive gifts to stocking stuffers. Let’s start with the expensive goodies and work our way down. For purposes of our list, all of the items below cost at least $450.
Star Wars: The Grill Awakens
In nine days, Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits movie theaters, hoping to avenge the accidental tragicomedy known as the prequels. People are flocking to theaters to see it. If, like me, you’re one of them, consider a tailgate party near the theater, complete with all this Darth Vader grilling gear I found for you on Amazon.com. Just make sure mom doesn’t find it in the basement. We both know she’ll throw it all out like she did my old toy Millenium Falcon after I left for college. Which is now worth a fortune. That I don’t have. Because someone threw it out.
Pickled Habaneros
I have a habanero problem. Not the normal addiction issue (although I do loves myself some hab). My dilemma involves gardening. I have more habanero peppers than I know what to do with. With Christmas rounding third base and heading for home, I’m pickling a bunch of them as gifts. Here’s the recipe I’m using from our sister site, Fiery Foods and Barbecue Central.
Pickled Habaneros
Don’t mess with the vinegar ratio. Unless, of course, you like unhealthy bacterial growth in your food.
Cornferno: Is this the World’s Hottest Popcorn?
When you claim to make “The Any-est Anything Ever” you better be able to back it up. People are going to test you. Pop Pop Shoppe claims its Cornferno is “The Hottest Popcorn. Ever.” After passing it around at a party and having eaten two big handfuls myself, I’m inclined to agree with that claim.
Steak and Pepper Sandwich with Chipotle Garlic Cheese Spread
Only if you’ve done it right. Luckily, mixing All Spice Cafe’s Chipotle Garlic sauce with Karoun Kefir Cheese Labne worked extremely well. If it hadn’t, there’d be a new hole in my backyard. The sort of hole Joe Pesci bitched about having to dig in Casino, only without a snitch in it. The sauce packs a medium-sized heat and smoky flavor with garlic and tartness. Traditionally made by draining whey from slightly salted yogurt, Labne is a thick and creamy yogurt cheese that’s a healthier alternative to regular cream cheese. It’s also rich enough to be used as a substitute for sour cream.
Home-Cured Olives Revisited
You may remember the article we ran on Harald Zoschke’s home-cured olive how-to.
He’s been busy again.
Since early 2014, Harald and his wife Renate have lived in Northern Italy, at beautiful Garda Lake. This is the world’s northernmost region where olive trees grow (on a commercial scale). Here they have some nice olive trees in their yard, and in early November 2015 they had a wonderful harvest of 12 kg (about 26 lbs.) dark mature olives (cultivar Leccino).
