The National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show kicked off March 3rd and ran through March 6th, at the Sandia Resort in Albuquerque. Last year’s show held an omen that predicted what’s becoming the next big deal in spicy: the sweet stuff. We’d seen a few fruit salsas and fired-up chocolate in 2015; this year, there were so many sweet offerings I half suspected to see a free insulin booth. Fruit salsas and hot sauces, jams, jellies, and chocolates made their presences felt with authority all over the showroom floor.
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Burn Tested: Chicken in Strawberry-Rhubarb Salsa
That went well. Any time I bust open a jar of fruit salsa, I’m a little skeptical. Mango and peach I understand. When you start throwing berries into the mix with onions and peppers, though, I’m still getting used to the idea. I like fruit salsa but I’m still trying to wrap my noggin around it. At last year’s show Chehalem Ridge Brands gave me four of their fruit salsas to test out. I made some good pork burgers with the pineapple. Last night a group of chicken thighs hit the grill slathered in the company’s Swingin’ Strawberry-Rhubarb Salsa. The results came out better than I hoped.
Peppered Strawberries in Champagne
In most areas you can find beautiful strawberries year round. Use a good quality champagne as the flavor really infuses the strawberries. Serve a glass of champagne with the dessert for a truly decadent finale to dinner.
5 Routes to Sweet Heat (That Don’t ALL Involve Chiles)
Lately, I’ve been posting a lot of recipes for spicy desserts. Not just because we writers are a lazy lot people who try to get the most out of a subject. Over the last few years we’ve seen more sweet offerings at the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show. Seeing a tendency like this at one show would be happenstance, twice coincidence, and three shows, well, that’s an outright movement. The easy route to sweet heat is the strategic application of cayenne or chile pepper to chocolate. While I’m as easy as the next guy, there’s no real art to just adding a chile to an existing dessert recipe and calling it a day. Here are some sources of heat to consider when you start your own adventures in spicy dessert.
Habanero and Lime Cheesecake
Between the lime and the habanero in this cheesecake recipe, you get a lovechild of sweet, sour, and hot. The other parents tend to tone down the hab’s fire from a roar to rumble, so it isn’t overpowering.
Grilled Banana Splits
When I think grilled desserts, my mind instantly hones in on hot sweets. Busting out barbecued ice cream dishes on the grill really advertises your grill master Kung Fu, though. Take this grilled banana split for example…
