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Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
Now, perhaps a reason to stray from beef.
Serious Eats Original Video: Save the Honeybees
Just wanted to echo the comments of several others in this post. Thanks for a video that is very well done! We help small honey producers and bottlers bring their honey to market via the Internet, so we have a vested interest in resolving CCD and obviously they do.
We are fortunate in that so far, CCD has not affected honey bees in the Florida panhandle where the rare Tupelo honey is produced (according to an article from USA today - http://www.armadillopeppers.com/about-honey-bees.html).
The bees and beekeepers play a vital role for us. Thanks to them and again, the team that put this video together.
The best hot sauce
At any point in time, I probably have 10 to 15 different bottles of hot sauce open. I am not one of those "how hot can I eat" people, but I do appreciate different levels of heat and flavor. Perhaps we are spoiled here in Florida, but the best hot sauce for eggs - scrambled or fried - is a Datil Pepper Hot Sauce. It's also great on wild rice. Datil Pepper Sauces come in mild and hot. They are slightly less hot than a Habanero, but with a sweeter, fruitier taste. A lot of my friends who are not hot sauce eaters like the Datil Pepper Sauce after tasting.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Grilling: Sausage-Stuffed Apples
I just found this recipe and it sounds great. Coincidentally, I ordered some apple wood for my smoker just two weeks ag. Must be destiny to make this one. Thanks.
Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
Now, perhaps a reason to stray from beef.
Serious Eats Original Video: Save the Honeybees
Just wanted to echo the comments of several others in this post. Thanks for a video that is very well done! We help small honey producers and bottlers bring their honey to market via the Internet, so we have a vested interest in resolving CCD and obviously they do.
We are fortunate in that so far, CCD has not affected honey bees in the Florida panhandle where the rare Tupelo honey is produced (according to an article from USA today - http://www.armadillopeppers.com/about-honey-bees.html).
The bees and beekeepers play a vital role for us. Thanks to them and again, the team that put this video together.
The best hot sauce
At any point in time, I probably have 10 to 15 different bottles of hot sauce open. I am not one of those "how hot can I eat" people, but I do appreciate different levels of heat and flavor. Perhaps we are spoiled here in Florida, but the best hot sauce for eggs - scrambled or fried - is a Datil Pepper Hot Sauce. It's also great on wild rice. Datil Pepper Sauces come in mild and hot. They are slightly less hot than a Habanero, but with a sweeter, fruitier taste. A lot of my friends who are not hot sauce eaters like the Datil Pepper Sauce after tasting.
Not Worth the Trouble?
Pineapple - It takes some time and effort to prepare a pineapple, so I buy them ready to eat.
Melon - I buy the mixed melon already prepared. We never eat 2 to 3 whole melons before they go bad.
Cook the Book: 'Seven Fires'
Everywhere I read this days or when watching food shows on TV it is "chimichurri".
Grilling: Barbecue Beans
I made this recipe yesterday. Instead of using the water used to soak the beans, I used 2 cups beef bouillon, 1 cup water and 1/4 cup rum. Beans turned-out great. Actually, just the beans can be a meal.
Indian Chicken Wings
For me, wings are simply a staple of enjoying life. I love Indian food and this sounds great. The challenge is where to find chaat masala. Suggestions?
Grilling: Barbecue Beans
I usually make my own rum baked beans when smoking ribs. This recipe sounds great and will try it this weekend when firing up the smoker. Any suggestions on how to reduce the cooking time to 4.5 hours?
Cook the Book: 'Modern Spice'
Indian all the way! One of my Indian friend's wife sends me samosas. I have some more friends originally from India that now live in SJ, CA. Every time I visit we eat at some great Indian restaurants. In 2007 I had the good fortune of visiting Bangalore. Food was excellent.
Summer BBQ - How to deal with something tactfully
With an email request like that, I would bring along some good BBQ Sauce in case the host's sauce is not very good.
Grilling: Barbecue Chicken
I use the same method and this works well with me. I like to grill several pieces of chicken with a couple of different sauces. This way you can experience a couple of flavors. The trick is to remember which pieces have which sauce.
Favorite BBQ Recipes
I live in Florida and grill out year around. And, as Pete clarified, I recently started learning to BBQ. I am looking forward to perfecting/improving my BBQ techniques.
I picked up a book a couple of years ago called "Get Grilling" from the Foot Network. This is a book written by the team on the Food Network that supported Emeril. I suggest you pick this up if you are looking for interesting and different types of food to grill.
In the book they show you how to grill everything from Halloumi Cheese, Scallion and Mint Flatbread to Duck Salad to more traditional items.
Bacon Flavored Vodka
Frankly, I think bacon is like chocolate. Put it on anything and it makes "anything" taste better!
What is your favorite ice cream novelty?
Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Apricot and Habanero Jelly. It has replaced my long time favorite of chocolate.
How Spicy Do You Like Your Food?
Like huneybumper, I like spice, but I don't eat raw scotch bonnets. However, I have found over the years that I tend to add dried peppers and pepper sauce to more and more foods.
For example, I recently discovered a great combination of wild rice with Datil Pepper sauce. The Datil is less hot than the Habanero and has a sweeter taste. I don't care for any other hot sauce except Datil on wild rice. I usually use a hot sauce and sometimes two or three different types with each meal.
And now that you can buy Curry Ketchup, I find myself even eating ketchup with some meats (never was a big fan before).
Amelia Island/Jax/ St. Augustine recommendations?
Some of my recommendations are below. I don't have any affiliations with any of these places, but they are good.
St. Augustine:
* Conch House - this is my favorite. It is casual and on the water. There are Tiki Huts outside and sometimes (depending on how crowded) one is available for you to dine under. There is a band outside on the pier during the afternoon sometimes on the weekends. Their website is http://www.conch-house.com/
* Scarlet O'Hare's in St Augustine is very casual. Inside or outside deck eating. Their website is http://www.scarlettoharas.net/
* Caps on the Water - another fun place. Website is http://www.capsonthewater.com/
Jax Beach
* Giovanni's - this is a very nice place, pricey; great for a very nice date. There is a piano player upstairs. I can't say enough about this place if you want something nice. Their website is http://www.giovannirestaurant.com/
* Crab Cake Factory - I have not eaten at this one, but a very good friend of mine says that it is great. Website is http://www.crabcakefactoryjax.com/
Jacksonville (San Marco)
* Bistro X - this is another favorite of mine. Not as casual as the beach restaurants. Similar to Giovanni's in attire and price. Website is http://www.bistrox.com/
Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island
* The Surf (I think is the name). I have eaten there 3 or 4 times. Very casual. Huge deck to dine or have drinks. It is right on Fletcher Ave there in Fernandina.
Enjoy Your Stay!
Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
I found a tag on the shelf at one supermarket (Hannaford - I checked at 2, only one even carries it) where the Marmite should be, but they were out.
The guy at Price Chopper said, "WHO?!" when I told him what I was looking for.
At $5 for a little jar, and only 1/4 teaspoon for the whole pound of turkey, would it make a huge difference if I subbed an additional 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce?
Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
@skinnyfatty
Look at the response in the original post.
Seriously Meaty Turkey Burgers
Dang hoss, that is some masterly technique there. Not to get off topic but could you explain a little bit more about your eggplant roasting method? Why wrap it in foil?
The best hot sauce
DL Jardine's Texas Champagne has an amazing flavor. I've been using it nearly everyday since I was 12 years old.
The best hot sauce
This is a matter of personal taste, like mustard, or anything else, obviously.
I like Crystal. Cajun Chef green is good, too. Tabasco is too hot for me, sometimes.
My everyday, go-to commercial/supermarket hot sauce is Frank's Original Red Hot. It goes great on everything, even vanilla ice cream!
The best hot sauce
@ wimpy - I agree. I had Texas Pete's in little packets accompanying some BBQ in NC and it was goooood. So sad I can't find it in the Chicago area.
Other than that, I like me some Tapatio. So much that a large bottle of it made its way into my suitcase for a long term assignment I had in India. Bring my own hot sauce to southern India? Hells yea.
The best hot sauce
I love Texas Pete's Hotter Hot Sauce...great flavor and a decent burn for the heat lover...
Not Worth the Trouble?
Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, or paying enough attention, but I have never seen pre-chopped onions, potatoes, and garlic.
I admit to being guilty of buying bagged salad from time to time, and every time I swear I'll never do it again. That "bagged taste" can't be washed away no matter how hard you try. It's normally when I'm grilling and making so many other sides, that I run out of time and space to prepare a proper salad. I hold my head in shame. Especially when I pour my own homemade dressings over it.
Not Worth the Trouble?
I can't find a reason to cop to the added value/higher price of precut, prewash, pre chopped anything.
I saw in the market that they were selling plastic cups with four slices of apples in each. Four slices. I cannot imagine the extenuating circumstance that would make you need to buy four slices of apple in a plastic cup. If you're that lazy to cut an apple, eat it whole.
The only thing I can think of that we buy that's been sliced for us is winter melon or maybe half of a kabocha squash or something. And that's only because its more prudent just to buy what the family can eat before it rots rather than a whole gourd (whole winter melons are the size of car engines).
Just an idea for mangos. What I usually do is slice off the rounded sides, leaving the flattish pit surrounded by flesh in the middle.
The sides can be scored then flipped inside out and the cubes will pop right out of the skin with a little coaxing.
The middle is tougher. You can either just go to town gnawing on it and make a glorious mess or you can slice open the skin and peel it all off in one piece. Then take your knife and start carving off slices around the pit until there's little fruit clinging to the seed.
Not Worth the Trouble?
pre peeled garlic cloves. I not only use them, I hide the jar in shame.
Not Worth the Trouble?
Like most of you, I have never rendered a pumpkin from scratch--and the state of pumpkins (mostly jack-o-lantern types) I see don't make me feel motivated to do so.
However, I know one thing I will never do, and when I say never I mean never is this: compost.
I throw very little food away, but the idea of having a rotting heap of stuff in my kitchen or even in my yard, however well-contained--no, I have enough trouble keeping things clean as it is!
Not Worth the Trouble?
I've yet to see any, so I would bet there's a fortune to be made in pomegranate kernels (?)
Not Worth the Trouble?
As my friend once told me "there's no short cut to coolness" in other words some things just take time. For me, never made phyllo dough or pumpkin puree from scratch.
Not Worth the Trouble?
Favas, bah. Not worth doing at home. I enjoy them in restaurants, though.
Not Worth the Trouble?
Potato chips....so many good varieties out there now.
Not Worth the Trouble?
I used to hate cutting melons, mangoes, pineapple, etc. but somehow don't seem to mind it very much anymore. The reason might be threefold. 1) Supermarkets charge A FORTUNE for ready to eat cut up fruit; 2) I suspect supermarkets are using "less than pristine" fruit for those pre-cut offerings that are not name branded and 3) I have more time on my hands these days and don't mind what might be perceived as a drudgery.
I do buy pre-washed spinach - but I generally wash it again using my salad spinner to dry it.
Put me down for canned pumpkin as well. Not pumpkin pie filling but cooked pumpkin puree.
Artichokes are just one of those things that I know are a time investment and I'm aware of this when I put them in my cart. Most of my artie purchases are sale-driven.
I will never buy pre-cut mire poix because there are compromises in product flavor and texture when they are cut that small and sit in the containers. When I know I need a load of mirepoix, I do it myself a day or two before the cooking flurry begins but I store it in ziplock bags in the fridge. I know how it got there and I know what those veggies looked like before I cut them.
Not Worth the Trouble?
There's a secret I learned about how to cut acorn squash: microwave it for around 1-2 minutes first to soften it. The knife just slides through! And in Japan, they eat spinach with the root stub still attached, so the stems with the leaves are all attached. But they cut a cross up through the root and dunks the whole thing in a tub of water for washing, and lift the spinach up, leaving sand at the bottom of the tub. Then, in salted boiling water, blanch the stem ends first and then submerging the leaves until wilted. Results are a beautiful green. The pinkish-redish root-side ends are a little sweet are favored over the leaves by some.
Not Worth the Trouble?
This might be off topic, but I really like those mandarin orange slices in a can. I do buy whole mandarin oranges too - but the ones in the can are so yummy.
Also, while I always make cake from scratch, I usually use frosting that comes out of a plastic container. I know it only takes minutes to whip up frosting from scratch, but if I have the option, I will use the stuff out of the can every time. It must be a habit I picked up from my mother.
Not Worth the Trouble?
Have to agree with the spinach, especially if I just need a little bit. I'll buy a tong-full from bulk. But when the bunches are just too cheap to pass up, a good trick I learned was to toss it all into a big bowl and let it soak in water. Most of the awful grit sinks to the bottom and then you can rinse the leaves like normal.
I made pumpkin puree from scratch once and the result just wasn't different enough to warrant repeating.
I know this isn't a fruit or veggie, but what about phyllo dough? I was just wondering if anyone ever makes that straight from scratch. So many delicate layers!
Not Worth the Trouble?
The premade salad comment makes me think of the commercials that brag about how the salads are made fresh, rather than pre-made and in containers. Which, if you think about it, doesn't make much sense at all in terms of freshness, as long as drippy ingredients aren't mixed in. I mean, the lettuce is either in some big bin or it's in little containers, but it's the same age. It's not like they're going out back to cut the lettuce for you, fresh, vs. lettuce that has been in a plastic clamshell since this morning.
The benefit to the made-on-the-spot salad would be that you could specify which ingredients to leave out, if that was your preference.
I do buy canned pumpkin on the rare occasions I need it. Mostly because that pie pumpkins are rare compared to carving pumpkins, which don't taste as good. More often, though, I just use butternut squash instead of the pumpkin, since those are easy enough to find.
Not Worth the Trouble?
i buy canned pumpkin and frozen spinach. it's just not worth it for me to process a stupid pumpkin.
Cook the Book: 'Seven Fires'
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LetThemEatQueso
barbarawr
z911empire
Hurdler4eva
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Winners have been notified by email and also appear on on our Contest Winners page.
Not Worth the Trouble?
When pressed for time, I will buy the prepackaged mirepoix. The large globe artichokes are a pain to prep but wonderful when stuffed and cooked...there is no way getting around doing those...I think my limit for prepping those would be 6...
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About ArmadilloPepper
Website: http://blog.armadillopepper.com
Location: Fleming Island, FL
About: We run a blog and a website with Gourmet Foods and Sauces from the Southeastern U.S. We specialize in hard-to-find boutique items with incredible flavors. Visit our food blog at http://blog.armadillopepper.com or our store at www.armadillopepper.com
Favorite foods: Seafood
Last bite on earth: BBQ Ribs, Grilled Shrimp and Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Pepper Jelly
I just found this recipe and it sounds great. Coincidentally, I ordered some apple wood for my smoker just two weeks ag. Must be destiny to make this one. Thanks.