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.
Burn! Tested: All Spice Cafe Caribbean Spice Sauce
I don’t so much eat All Spice Cafe’s Caribbean Sauce as mainline it like pepper heroin. It’s really tasty to me. Cayenne pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon are the major players in it but you’ll also pick up a bit of turbinado sugar and black pepper when it hits your taste buds.
New Mexico Chiles: History Legend, and Lore
With most firsthand account books, someone dies or at the very least you get a graphic description of some horrible event, complete with gory photos. This is typically followed by a round of talk show appearances, and up until a few years ago, crying on TV in front of Oprah. You wont’ find any of that crap in this upbeat chile love letter. Unlike many eyewitness-esque works, Kelly Urig’s New Mexico Chiles: History, Legend, and Lore is a positive tribute to an icon from the writer’s childhood. Here’s what I mean…
Breadless Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe
Years ago, Jack-in-the-Box ran an ad with the lines, “But why a bun? A bun’s neither meat nor cheese.” They were joking. I wasn’t when I stole the idea and used Yanni Jalapeno Grilling Cheese as the bread for this sandwich. The company makes two types of grilling cheese and my cheese-only grilled cheese sandwich idea seemed like a great test flight for their products.
Burn! Tested: Chehalem Ridge Pineapple Salsa
Hu-La-La Tropical Fruit Salsa from Chehalem Ridge Brands is the good kind of fiery fruit: pineappple, mango, and garlic getting down with the sting of jalapeno, habanero, and serrano fire.
Reviewed: Chris Prieto and the Ultimate Book of BBQ
You may know champion ‘que man Christopher Prieto from seeing him on Barbecue Pitmasters. Earlier this year, he was the guiding force behind the tome, Southern Living Ultimate Book of BBQ. It’s not just a collection of recipes, though. Chris spent a lot of time pouring the lessons he’s learned at the pit into the book, sharing information that in some cases runs counter to conventional wisdom, but in a good way. Here’s what he had to tell me when I pinned him down for an interview.
Amberfyre: Manhattan Black Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce: Burn! Tested
Amber Button and CaJohn Hard brainstormed this sauce during talk of the big city steakhouses popularized during the 1950s and `60s. It’s a blend of Kentucky bourbon, marinated cherries, a touch of vanilla, chile peppers, and what you’d expect to find in many barbecue sauces.
