My friend Jim M has a special section of his pantry just for his hot sauces. Chef Kerry Simon has “Hot Sauce of the Week” and a complete BAR full of them for his “Fix Your Own Bloody Mary Bar”. There is a store in Park City called It’s F-in Hot that sells, you guessed it, hot sauce. What is our fascination with the spicy stuff? There are people out there who seek out the spiciest things they can find and aren’t happy unless they are sweating while they are eating. Ghost Pepper anyone? How about a Habenero?
While Americans are proud of their Spicy Food Prowess, the Thai have it locked up. Apparently Thai is the hottest cuisine out there with more peppers eaten per capita than anywhere else on the globe. That’s something to think about when you consider Ethiopoan, the Latin culture group and all the other Asian food that is quite spicy in its own right. Here is a little factoid, when you go into a Thai restaurant, you are frequently asked on a scale of one to ten, how hot you would like it. If you are not Asian, there is one scale, and another if you are. If you like it REALLY spicy, tell them “Thai 10”. I am not sure if this works in ALL parts of the country, but in Vegas it is a little known rule in the Thai restaurants we patronize.
I frequently joke that Hubby John has an asbestos throat because he over-seasons everything (except in the salt category) and he can take some seriously HOT stuff. The hottest wings he has ever had are at Quaker Steak and Lube in Ohio. As for me, I like my heat to ADD something TO the food, not BE the food. I personally consider heat an added bonus to something wonderful to finish it off, but it shouldn’t be the only thing I taste. So basically, I use Hot Sauce as a condiment and it is used just as judiciously as salad dressing or mayo. Of course my preferred brand is Texas Pete, but I do have a few others that I really like as well (Scorned Woman comes to mind).
We all know about savory foods with heat – chicken, burgers, eggs, ribs, etc. But let’s talk about the OTHER side of hot. Although it may seem a completely disparate pairing, there is something special about sweet and spicy together. We all remember Atomic Fireballs and Cinnamon Red Hots don’t we? One of my all time favorite combinations is chocolate with anything spicy. The Aztecs mixed chocolate with cayenne (or something like it) and the Mexican culture combines chocolate with cinnamon, and mango with chili powder. There is something incredibly sexy, dangerous and thrilling about eating sweet and spicy food. A special party for your taste buds where all of the triggers are hit. While I am often loath to eat hot food just because it is spicy, I am intrigued and drawn to eat spicy desserts. Woe is me, they are few and far between. (Moment of truth – Chocolate covered crystallized ginger makes an excellent gift for me in case you were wondering.) And while we are on the topic of sweet/spicy, what about Ginger? Oh my! Mixed with garlic it takes on one aspect and mixed with sugar a completely different. Ginger snaps, ginger beer, gingerbread and the aforementioned chocolate covered ginger….my mouth is watering.
Some spicy things are definitely seasonal – like mango with chili, and ginger beer in the summer. But for me, most of the spicy stuff tastes best when it is cold outside. Texas Chili with no beans on a cool night is a blessing. Gingerbread is a winter comfort as is Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon.
I have been trying to get my favorite cupcake bakery (Retro Bakery) to make me a Mexican Chocolate or Aztec Chocolate cupcake. On the one hand, it’s really good that Kari doesn’t do it. They are right around the corner from my house and I would be there more often than I am now. On the other hand, I really don’t enjoy making desserts and it would be nice to have something to hit my sweet/spicy trigger whenever I wanted. So for now I keep Vosges chocolates on hand and they make a fabulous variety of sweet/spicy chocolate items. Also worth trying is the Mo’s Chocolate bar. Chocolate and bacon anyone? And before you roll your eyes, yes it really does work!
Enjoy these pics from Sister Nancy’s week long Birthday Celebration here in Vegas and a snap of a few of my hot sauces in my pantry.
This week’s Food Memories are dim sum at Ping Pang Pong and sushi at Island Sushi at the newly renovated Plaza with Nancy and friends, a superb dinner at RM Seafood to celebrate Nancy and Gretch’s birthdays where Top Chef Master Rick Moonen came out to visit and sign books for our crowd and a little cocktail party with snacks for some friends to welcome Nancy and out of town friends to Vegas.
Until next week, go out and make your own Food Memories!
Sister Nancy and I
