Living, Dying and Food

     Friday evening last my wife's mother died.  She was the undisputed matriarch of her family.  A quiet and unassuming woman who was gracious and understated.  It was nearly 40 years ago that I first met her and I recall sitting around the dining room table of her home with the rest of the family for a Sunday dinner.  She was busy in the kitchen preparing the meal, and when it arrived at the table I was horrified to discover that in addition to the anticipated meat and potatoes she also served two vegetables.  At home I was loath to eat even one and now I had to be polite and fill my plate with a double dose of the dreaded side dishes.

     It was interesting to me that even though our homes were only about 25 miles apart the cultural differences were significant.  For the first time I was introduced to a Scotch-Irish cuisine, having grown up in a decidedly Pennsylvania German environment.  Things like scrapple and shoo fly pie were not a part of the diet there as they were in my home.  So for me, while the meals eaten with my in-laws were healthy and wholesome, they were different.

     So now as we prepare to celebrate a life well lived we will also gather together for a communal meal following in the church hall.  I can't help but wonder if I will see any funeral pie on the dessert table.  That, too, is a Pennsylvania "Dutch" tradition.  Funeral pie, or Rosina pie as it is sometimes called, is still commonly prepared and served at such events.  Raisins are the main element (Rosina is German for raisin), and unlike the seasonal fruits of apples, peaches and blueberries, is available year round as are the other ingredients: brown sugar, cornstarch, butter, cinnamon, sugar, flour and cider vinegar.  It can be made a day or two in advance and keeps well without refrigeration.  And it is very, very sweet.  Some say cloyingly so.  And that is done with the intention of helping the mourners forget the pain of their grief, if for only a moment.

     I don't expect to see any funeral pie on Friday.  But then again I hope not to see two vegetables either.

Artichoke International

     People around the world have been enjoying artichokes for centuries.  Consider the following:

     "Tiny artichokes simmered in white wine, rosemary, thyme and other aromatics, a la provencale; artichoke slices bathed in garlicky lemon oil and grill-seared, Barcelona style; tender hearts stewed with lamb and sweet spices in a Moroccan tagine; artichokes plumped with dill-scented rice, Turkish fashion; wedges braised with leeks and mint, a la grecque; and whole flattened miniatures, their flower-like forms fried leafy brown and dusted with coarse salt, alla guidia (Italian Jewish style)."

     In the United States California supplies markets year-round, but the peak season for artichokes is March through May with a secondary harvest in October.  They are graded by size and sold in quantity counts of 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60 & 72 to the case.

     Want to learn more?  Then plan to attend the Chefs' Summit in Castroville, CA the artichoke capital of the world.  It's sponsored by the California Artichoke Advisory Board.

In Season

     According to the April edition of Every Day Magazine, artichokes are now in season.  It is an under appreciated vegetable.  Most people don't know what to do with them.  But with some creativity they can become a welcome addition to your spring menu.  Shaved thin, they can be tossed with Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and olive oil for a simple and quick salad, quartered they can dress up a pizza, or steamed and added to pasta, garlic and parsley for a nutritious side dish.

     And here's a surprise...Artichokes ranked 7th overall in a USDA study measuring levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants in more than 100 of the most commonly eaten foods.  And I bet you didn't know that way back in 1948 Marilyn Monroe was crowned Artichoke Queen of Castroville, California, the self-proclaimed Artichoke Capital of the World.

Seasonal Vernacular

     It snowed here yesterday.  But it wasn't just any snow.  It was the onion snow.  That's a colloquial expression used by locals in certain parts of Pennsylvania to describe the final snowfall of the season that typically occurs after the spring onions have been planted.

     The onion snow always falls after Kunigund Day, March 3, when the frost will go no deeper into the ground and after St. Patrick's Day, March 17, when peas and onions are supposed to be planted, according to the editorial staff of the York Daily Record in York, PA.

     My question is, how do you know it is really the last snow of the season?

Eating the Rainbow

     Nutritionists have long advised that we should "eat the rainbow' of colors to insure a healthy diet.   But perhaps the most under-consumed color is purple.  Sadly, there are few fruits or vegetables that qualify.  That difficulty has been overcome, however, with the development of purple asparagus.  Yes, purple.

     The cultivar was developed in Italy and although not often found in the U.S., is common throughout Europe.  Like other kinds of asparagus the purple variety is a spring vegetable that is less bitter and more sweet than its green counterpart.  In appearance the stalks are of a violet/lilac hue and green tinged beneath the skin with a white interior.

     
     Purple asparagus can be eaten raw, either as an appetizer or served in a salad.  It does not contain the customary fibrous tissue that is found in other asparagus spears; the tips are fleshy and sweet.  The best way to cook purple asparagus is to simmer briefly in salted water.  The brachs will turn a lovely shade of lavender and the spears a deep, hearty spruce green.  Served in that manner the only accompaniment is perhaps a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of sea salt.  The sweetness will shine through with the added benefit of their antioxidant qualities and high levels of Vitamin C.

The Other Asparagus

     "Europeans celebrate Spring with a quasi-religious fervor inspired by white asparagus--cut at the crack of dawn each day before any tips have a chance to emerge from the soil and take colour," so says Elizabeth Schneider, author of The Essential Reference: Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini.  According to the statistics coming out of the 9th International Asparagus Symposium, asparagus is grown in 61 countries worldwide and of that number 55% of the crop is the white variety.  Simply described by Brian Bensom, president of the California Asparagus Seed & Transplant organization, white asparagus is "harvested from plants whose spears have not seen the light of day."  The plants grow without the benefit of sunlight so that the green chlorophyll pigments don't have the opportunity to form.

     And while Europe reveres the white spears, they are virtually unknown in the United States.  And gourmands who go to great lengths to import European white asparagus from places like Germany, France and Holland, are woeful regarding the American attempt to grow the harbinger of Spring which tastes very little like the green counterpart.  Chef Hans Rockenwagner serves white asparagus in his restaurants in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills when he can get them.  "They are incredibly expensive and worth every penny, provided they are the real thing," he commented recently.

     In addition to the pre-dawn harvest, the stalks must be quickly cooled down to 34F and kept there until cooked.  And therein lies the major problem for U.S. markets, and the difference between the European and American versions.  White asparagus is only available in peak growing season, from March to May, and then only purchased from stores where it can be kept chilled.  There should be no evidence of shrinking or wrinkling and no fibrous ends protruding at the base.  The spears should be pearly in appearance, shiny and free of ridges.  Most importantly, they must be firm and juicy.  the tips should be totally closed and all white except for perhaps a touch of pink or lilac at the tip.  And bigger is definitely better. The bigger spears are sweeter, juicier and smoother textured.

     Tomorrow, yet another kind of asparagus to consider.

A Rare Treat

     I cooked something completely new and different last night.  Never before had I used cipollini onions in a meal preparation.  But walking through a local mega mart I saw some in a bin and decided to give them a try.  I wasn't even sure how to prepare them or how they would taste.  But I was feeling very adventuresome and so I purchased about a dozen of the petite saucer shaped bulbs and came home to do some investigating, or culinary research as it were.

     Turns out that the name means literally "little onion" in Italian and they are associated primarily with that cuisine.  Once a rare treat only served in the finest restaurants they are now becoming more popular and well known around the world.  Cipollini onions range in size from 1-3" in diameter and are flat on each end with a pale yellow translucent flesh and gold colored papery skin.  They are firm and semi-sweet due to a higher sugar content than the common yellow cooking onion.

     They are quite versatile in the kitchen and while they can be eaten fresh their sweetness is more pronounced when cooked either by frying, steaming, baking, sauteing, braising, or as I decided to do, roasting them in the oven.  Traditionally they are served whole as a main ingredient, not as just a spice or flavoring.

     I did discover in my research that even though they are small they can have a thin and tough skin.  Fortunately the recipe I used provided a solution to that problem.  So I soaked them in a small bowl of hot water for 5 minutes as recommended and the skin was easier to remove.  After another brief immersion in a combination of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey they went into a pan and then into the oven for 20 minutes and came out softened and sweetly caramelized.  A rare treat indeed!

And the day after that...

     Still have some corned beef around even after the St. Patrick's Day celebration and the morning after breakfast of corned beef hash?  Well then, you're in luck!  The iconic tinned meat served with cabbage every March 17th often gets pigeon-holed into specific recipes that include the above as well as an occasional Reuben sandwich with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing and caraway seeds on rye.

     But with some imagination, creativity (and perhaps a trip to the grocery store) it can be so much more.  Why not try corned beef soup?  After all, Corned Beef Colcannon Soup also has an Irish pedigree with the inclusion of potatoes and kale.  

Corned Beef Colcannon Soup

     
     For the soup, boil:

3 1/2 cups water                                  1 pkg dried North Woods Blend mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup dry pearled barley

     Mince:

1/2 cup each chopped onion, carrot & celery

4 cloves garlic, chopped

     Melt:

4 Tbsp unsalted butter                       salt & black pepper

1 Tbsp tomato paste                           1/2 cup dry red wine

     Stir in:

8 cups unsalted beef stock                 2 dried bay leaves

3 cups diced cooked corned beef       1 sprig fresh thyme

1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled      8 oz chopped kale (3 1/2 cups)

quartered lengthwise & sliced          1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

     For the topping, combine:

1/2 cup each sour cream & mayonnaise

1 Tbsp prepared horseradish

1 tsp minced fresh thyme

     Boil water in a saucepan; stir in barley and mushrooms.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, 40 minutes; drain, reserving liquid.  Mince onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in a food processor.  Melt butter in a large pot over high heat.  Add minced vegetables and tomato paste; season with salt and pepper.  Cook mixture until no liquid remains in pot, 3 minutes.  Deglaze pot with wine and reduce until nearly evaporated, 3 minutes.

     Stir in stock, reserved liquid, corned beef, potatoes, bay leaves, and thyme sprig; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 minutes.  Stir in cooked barley mixture, kale, and vinegar; heat through.  Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig.

     For the topping, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, horseradish, and minced thyme; season with salt and pepper.  Serve soup with topping.

Serves 8 (16 cups)

Recipe courtesy of Cuisine at home magazine, April 2014.

The Morning After

     St. Patrick's Day has come and gone for another year.  We have put away our green ties and dresses and our shamrock pins and decorations.  The Chicago River no longer flows green and the taps in beer halls once again pours amber brew.  The recipe for corned beef and cabbage has been safely filed away til next March.  But what to do with the left-over "tinned beef" from that meal we enjoyed on Monday?

     Many will shred up the beef brisket and cook up a breakfast of corned beef hash and crown it with a fried egg.  Cuisine at home magazine give us this spin on the iconic post St. Paddy's day meal:

     Corned beef hash is a must-do with leftover corned beef, but switch it up by ditching the potatoes in favor of other hearty ingredients like Brussels sprouts and mushrooms.  then, top it off with a creamy mayonnaise sauce.  If it's not hash to you without eggs, cook them separately --just the way you like.

And here's their recipe:

Corned Beef Hash

with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

For the hash, cook:

8 oz. buttoned mushrooms, quartered                          4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1 cup each, diced onions & red bell peppers                  5 cloves garlic, minced

                                                        salt and black pepper

Add:

1 1/4 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed & quartered

8 oz. cooked corned beef, diced

1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme

     cooked eggs

For the topping, combine:

1/4 cup mayonnaise                                                        1 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard                                         1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

For the hash, cook mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers in 2 Tbsp butter in a 10" cast iron skillet until liquid evaporates and mushrooms brown, 8-10 minutes.  Stir in garlic, season with salt and black pepper, and cook 30 seconds.  Transfer mixture to a bowl; wipe skillet clean.  Melt remaining 2 Tbsp butter in skillet over high heat.

Add Brussels sprouts and corned beef to skillet, season with salt and black pepper, and cook until liquid is released and evaporates, about 10 minutes.  Stir in thyme and mushroom mixture; heat through.

For the topping, combine mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and black pepper.  Serve hash with eggs and sauce

Far from Dublin

     When it comes to eating Irish Potatoes on St. Patrick's Day, there are 2 things you should know.  1)  They are not Irish and, 2) They are not potatoes.

     But they are a traditional Philadelphia confection.  The size of a large marble, they are a candy with a creamy interior and rolled in cinnamon to give the appearance of small potatoes.  And they are a seasonal treat made primarily from January through March, although properly packaged they have a 6 month shelf life.

     Perhaps the most prolific purveyor of these treats is a shop in Linwood, PA.  Oh Ryan's ships 80,000 pounds of Irish Potatoes across the country each year.  If you're counting that's approximately 12 million.

     There are some variations in the recipe I've discovered.  While the interior is usually coconut cream, it can also be made from cream cheese.  And some recipes actually do use potatoes, mashing them without any additional liquid then gradually adding confectioner's sugar.  While still soft shredded coconut and vanilla are added before being allowed to dry and harden   They are then rolled in cinnamon or powdered cocoa.

     Wonder if the Irish have ever heard of Irish potatoes...

St Patrick's Day

     From all accounts St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with more acclaim in America than in Ireland.  And such is the case as well for the day's most iconic meal, corned beef and cabbage.

     Research has indicated that beef brisket was first preserved with coarse granular salt "corns" in Ireland in the Middle Ages.  But it was not until the Industrial Revolution that it was popularized and sold in tins, thus giving it the name of "tinned meat."

     Readily available it was considered a poor man's food and looked upon with disdain.  Today in Ireland it is sold mainly as a tourist item.  And of course it is eaten by the Irish-Americans across our land on this day.

Ghost Busters

     There is some disagreement concerning the hottest known chile pepper.  But most agree it is the ghost pepper, Bhut Jolokia, of Assam, India  Registering anywhere from 855,000-1,000,000 units on the Scoville scale it is over 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce and makes jalapenos look like child's play.

     Coming in powdered, flakes or dried whole it is combined with food as a spice and a remedy to summer heat.  But it is also used as a weapon in hand grenades and as pepper spray to control and disperse mobs.  It is also an acknowledged deterrent for angry elephants.  Known in the Indian sub-continent for centuries it has only recently been introduced to the Western world in 2000.  And the medical community has taken notice of it as well, regarding it as a potential cure for various cancers like lung and prostate as well as providing relief from migraines, depression and incontinence.  It is also beneficial for those with digestion problems, backache, high blood pressure and the flu.

     As the old saying goes, "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  So it is with the ghost pepper.

The Kindness of Strangers

     The first person I spoke with after landing in Albuquerque was a very kind woman at the car rental desk.  I could tell she was eager to tell me about her home town.  And she did so after first offering me a brand new beautiful 2014 Chevy Camaro convertible for only $5 a day more than the Ford Escort I had initially rented on line.

     Among all the maps and pamphlets that she provided was one outlining the scenic Turquoise Trail and another detailing some of the best area restaurants, including special offers and discounts.  So after a long day on the trail and an afternoon at the Fiery Food Festival I was ready to look for a place to sit down and enjoy a good meal.  So I turned to the restaurant guide I had been given and looked for something that sounded authentic.  El Pinto (meaning "The Spot" in Spanish)sounded good so I loaded the address into the car's GPS and headed off into the sunset.  It wasn't long before I was turning into a lane flanked by cottonwood trees and found myself walking under the arches of an amazing restaurant.

     First built in 1962 as a 1 room restaurant with a few tables and a very small kitchen, Jack & Connie Thomas lived right next door.  Eventually they slowly expanded their operation to include an additional room and an outdoor patio.  By the time their twin sons, Jim & John assumed the reins there were enough patios and indoor gardens to seat over 1,200 at a time, giving it the distinction of being the largest single restaurant in New Mexico.

     My meal started out small, or so I thought.  I began with some of their house made salsa and chips.  But when my cheerful waitress discovered I had a brochure promising something extra she brought out an additional serving of nachos and queso con fresco.  And that was all before my entree, a taco salad with red chile sauce.

     Try as I might I was unable to finish the meal, as delicioso as it was.  I asked my server what I could take along with me.  She promptly responded, "Everything!" and soon returned with all the appropriate containers and a bag so I could enjoy it all again.  And I did.

     El Pinto is a great restaurant, but that's not all it is.  On the premises they also commercially produce their own brand of salsa and sauces under the El Pinto Foods label.  Each day they ship 2,000 cases of their product across the country.  They are also beginning to grow herbicide & pesticide free heirloom tomatoes and have plans to include a greenhouse so they can cultivate vegetables and lettuces year 'round.

     Their chile sauce isn't the only thing that is green.  The Thomas family intentionally sources non-GMO corn for their chips and tortillas as well as purchasing hormone and antibiotic free chickens for their meals.  They have eliminated the use of trans fats and only fry in fat free rice bran oil.  You will never find partially hydrogenated oils in their fine print.

     It was through the kindness of strangers that I had an incredible day and a fantastic meal.

Perhaps a Perfect Pepper

     In northern New Mexico between Santa Fe and Taos is the town of Chimayo.  It's not particularly distinctive but it is known for a very famous and popular variety of chile pepper. I'm not sure if the pepper got the name from the town or the other way around.  Legend has it that Chimayo peppers were first brought there from Mexico by a culinary entrepreneur, Don Juan de Onate in 1598.  

     They are irregular in shape and length and can also vary in heat.  They also are versatile in their use.  Deborah Madison of Sauveur Magazine describes them this way:

     "Its perfume is remarkable-a particular mix of sweetness, richness & spiciness-simultaneously grounding and exhilerating.  It is piquant without being overbearingly hot, with a bite that offsets the complexity of its distinctive chile flavor."

     Wow!  There are wines that are not so descriptively chronicled.  It is perhaps the perfect pepper.

     They can be eaten green or allowed to ripen on the vine to a bright, deep red and then dried and strung on long chains called ristras.  Tradition has it that the length of the ristra is as long as the height of the person stringing it.  They can also be charred to remove the thin skin and then ground into a powder called molido.  Chimayo chiles continue to be a mainstay of southwest culture.  They're not just a spice, they are a way of life.

     Here's just one way to use them:

Red Chile Sauce

1 cup dried, seeded chimayo red chiles                    1 tsp parsley

1 tsp chopped garlic                                                     1 cup chicken stock

1 onion, diced                                                                zest of 1 lemon

1 diced bell pepper                                                       salt & pepper

1 tomato, chopped                                                        1/2 cup olive oil

pinch oregano                                                               1/4 cup white wine

pinch thyme                                                                

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil.  Add red chile and saute for 1-3 minutes on medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add remaining vegetables and spices and reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Add remaining liquids and cook on medium heat for 12-15 minutes.  Add salt & pepper. Allow to cool.

Blend to smooth consistency.  Refigerate.

Recipe courtesy of  il piatto restaurant, Sante Fe, NM

                                        

Muy Grande!

     

     On my first full day in New Mexico I decided to get acclimated to both the geography and the cuisine.  I set the onboard GPS of the Camaro to head up the Turquoise Trail, an historic byway that links Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  It was a beautiful day and I took in the sights along the 62 mile route.  Of particular interest was the old mining town of Madrid.  I would have enjoyed a meal at Maggie's Diner, but it was closed.

     After strolling around the town square in Sante Fe, the state capitol, I reset my GPS and headed just out of town to The Ranch House, a restaurant featuring Southwestern food.  It seemed to look authentic enough as I parked and sashayed into the place.  I was greeted by what appeared to be one of the line cooks, dressed in black with his ball cap on backward.  He seated me and handed me a menu.  So many choices of items I've never had previously!  Barbecued brisket quesadilla, rib meat tostados, salmon tacos, and buffalo burgers were just a few items on the menu.  It was a difficult decision but I finally chose the smoked chicken enchilada with green chile sauce.



     My limited experience with the foods of the southwest was painfully apparent .  I seemed to recall that an enchilada was a corn tortilla rolled around a filling of meat, seafood, or vegetables and then covered with some sort of chile pepper sauce.  It dates back to the time of the Mayans and is still a popular Mexican street food.  But when my meal appeared it covered the entire plate and was flat, more like a tortilla, and immersed in a combination of spicy green chile sauce and refried beans with a small side salad. It was indeed muy grande!

     

     As I downed my last delicious morsel the man in black came by the table to see how I enjoyed my meal.  We got into conversation and as it turned out he is a part of the family that owns the restaurant.  He then took me behind the scenes and literally gave me a cook's tour of the kitchen, including the custom made smoker that uses Texas brown oak for flavor and the walk-in where the local meat is stored chilled, not frozen.

     That was the first highlight of my day.  The second was driving to the top of 10,678 ft. Sandia Crest Mountain where the air is definitely rare.



High Noon in Old Town

     I made my way to Old Town in Albuquerque soon after arriving.  With the 2 hour time difference I was hungry, not having eaten lunch.  But it was still too early to have dinner being only 4pm.  Wandering around the historic area I came upon an interesting old pueblo style building.  Constructed in 1785 it had a storied history, being a gambling casino, a brothel and apartments, among other things.  The first recorded sale of the prooperty was in 1850 when a territorial deed was granted to Quereva Griego De Chavez who purchased it from Jose Delores Chavez.  And along the way a Spanish furniture maker occupied the space to both build and sell his work.  It has been inhabited by the likes of a nun and a mystical presence from the spirit world in a white dress.

     But most recently it has served as a restaurant and saloon.  It was in 1975 that it was renovated by the Villa family.  They named it High Noon and created an interesting menu that includes beef, poultry, seafood and wild game.  Being too late for lunch and too early for dinner, I scanned the bar menu and decided to order two appetizers:  the red chile beef bites and the truffle fries.  The sirloin tips were very tender with just a hint of heat, a gentle introduction to Southwest cuisine.  And the fries were of the shoe string variety perfectly cooked and served with a redoulent sauce.  There were so many of them that it was nearly impossible to eat them all before they cooled to room temperature.  It was just the right amount of food to sustain me for the remainder of the evening as I explored Old Town.

     On my way back to my hotel room I picked up something from Subway for a late night east coast dinner.

Putting out the Fire

     I've been home now for about a week and that's how long it has taken for my digestive tract to return to normal after sampling some of the hot stuff at the Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show in Albuquerque.  And I was careful to avoid the real nasty stuff with names like Death Nectar and Molten.  All chile peppers contain an ingredient called capsaicin measured on the Scoville scale.  And while it provides flavor and spiciness to foods, it can also cause an uncomfortable burning sensation.  It can severely affect both the skin and the body's mucous membranes.  It's the prime ingredient in pepper spray and if you've ever gotten too close to it you know how debilitating it can be.

     The pain can be excruciating, and while it doesn't actually physically burn, it imparts the sensation of heat, thanks to the capsaicinoid compound that is a very strong alkaline oil.  It works by binding itself to the body's pain receptors.

     So how do you put out the pain?  Many folk remedies abound.  Some work, and others do not.  Rinse your mouth with sugar water or vegetable oil, brush your teeth with white toothpaste, down a shot of whiskey, take a dose of Pepto Bismal:  just a few bits of advice people will give.  When I mentioned to the car rental agent at the airport why I was in town, she recommended a preventative swig of honey to coat my mouth, throat and insides.  Others say the cure is to eat a cucumber, a banana, chocolate, an apple or a raw carrot.  Combining the hot food with rice, bread, potatoes or something salty has also been advocated, as has drinking tomato juice or a mouthful of ketchup.  Suck on a lemon or lime.

     To get an authoritative answer I went to About.com and discovered that since capsaicin is an alkaline the only effective way to counteract it is with something acidic.  Don't think battery acid but rather something on the low end of the pH scale, like lemonade, orange juice or milk.  The protein casein in milk products (cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream and ice cream) acts as a natural detergent that breaks up the heat inducing capsaicin.  And the higher the fat content in the milk product the more effective the result.  "In other words, sour cream or ice cream will help you more than skim milk."

     And to a lesser effect combining starchy carbohydrates will also reduce the burn by providing a physical barrier between the mouth and the alkaline oil.  Water is pretty much ineffectual.  It neither dissolves nor dilutes but in reality spreads the burn along the route.  Alcohol doesn't work well either.  While it may dissolve the offending oil it doesn't neutralize it, but like water spreads it around.  The only way it relieves the pain is when an individual drinks him/herself into oblivion and sufficiently dulls the pain receptors.  But then you have another problem to deal with later.

     About those folk remedies?  Yes, tomato juice and ketchup work, as does milk.  And so does sucking on a lemon or lime wedge.  But keep in mind that foods containing capsaicin will inevitably burn you twice.

What's in a Name?

     I enjoy individuals who take their craft seriously, whatever it may be, but do not take themselves too seriously.  That was very apparent at the Fiery Foods and BBQ Show in Albuquerque.   As I read through the Exhibitors Guide "Burn!" listing participants and Scovie Award winners I was amused by some of the company names.  Here is a list of just a few:

Albukirky Seasonings                                        Golden Toad
CaJohn's                                                              Grumpy's
Deano's Jalapenos                                              Horsetooth Hotsauce
Dragon's Breath Sauce                                      Hellfire
Filipino Phil's Nuclear Chipotle Sauce             Rib Rangers
Frog Bone Cajun Sauces                                    Scorpion Gourmet Hot Sauce
Sauce Goddess                                                    Yoder Smokers (from Kansas, no less!)

For many, it's not merely a living, it's a lifestyle.  Consider the following:

      Exhibitors were present from 39 of our 50 nifty United States, as well as 6 foreign countries that included: United Kingdom, Austria, Canada, Ecuador, Australia, and St. Lucia.  And if you think that hot stuff is just a southwestern phenomenon, think again.  The respected and venerable Cabot Creamery Cooperative from Montpelier in the Green Mountain State took home honors for their Hot Buffalo Wing, and Horseradish Cheddar as well as their Pepper Jack Cheese.

It's how hot?

     As I mentioned yesterday some of the spicy offerings at the Fiery Foods Festival are sadistically hot.  Each year there is a competition at the festival to judge both flavor and heat.  Awards, called Scovies, were given in several categories, in honor of the originator of the Scoville heat index, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville who devised the scale in 1912.  While not extremely accurate it was the first of its kind to measure the amount of capsaicin present in peppers.  Today a more precise index of heat is the HPLC, or High Performance Liquid Chromatography.

     This year some of those winning the coveted award included:

Barbecue Sauce:  Smacker's Smack Me Hard Hot Smackin' Sauce
Condiments: Citrus Habanero Olive Oil
Fresh Salsa: Garden Fresh Gourmet: Five Pepper Salsa
Specialty Chile Hot Sauce: Palo Alto Fire Fighters Habanero Pepper Sauce
Precooked Packaged Meats: Panty Raid
Wing Sauce: Razbanero  
And the Grand Prize Winner: Lusty Monk Original Sin Mustard
                                

     But I'm wondering if there was a category for this entry:



Hot Stuff!

     I just returned from the Fiery Foods Festival in Albuquerque.  It was an interesting mix of serious culinary creativity and carnival side show.  While most of the exhibitors were local, I also met people from Georgia, Michigan, Missouri and Colorado who were there to sell their wares.  I even met a man on the plane who befriended me and gave me an insider's understanding of the convention.  Tim MacDonald was flying out to help staff the booth for Garden Fresh chips and salsa, a company his brother-in-law owns and operates in Michigan.



     There was also another Tim that I got to know.  It was his last name that initially caught my eye.  Tim Ziegler's ancestors arrived in Philadelphia three centuries earlier and migrated west.  That's how he eventually ended up in Denver.  Chef Tim knows spices and is the Culinary Master of a extensive line of proprietary blends that he has developed for restaurants and other food professionals.  He also has a nifty handle bar moustache, too.

     Many of the exhibitors were also the owners who left lucrative careers for the love and lure of heat.  Some enjoy the science of it all, others just get a kick out of seeing people sweat.  I saw men drenched in sweat and women with tears in their eyes.  Would you accept something to eat from a person who looks like this?