While learning to sail in Antigua I fell in love with Caribbean style hot sauce!

I have had a life-long obsession with hot sauce. I love, love, love hot sauce. In college I would make batches of homemade hotsauce and give bottles to my professors as Christmas presents.

When Scott and I went to Antiqua to learn how to sail last year, we stumbled upon “Suzie’s Hotsauce”. This stuff is as good as it gets. It’s light your A** on fire hot, but the flavor is so great you beg for more. After our 5 bottles of sauce ran out from our trip back home, I became obsessed with finding Suzie’s recipe.

Suzie's original hot sauce from Antigua.

This was no easy feat. I played around with many combinations until I finally stumbled on a book called “Hot Licks – Great Recipes for making and cooking with hotsauces” by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. It seems the author had stumbled upon Caribbean hot sauces when she was on a sailboat delivery to the Brittish Virgin islands and her boat had motor trouble and she was stuck in the outlying parts of the Bahamas chain. She then, too, became obsessed with this style sauce.

Jennifer, all I can say is “THANK YOU!” for getting stuck in the Bahamas so you could stay long enough to learn this basic hotsauce recipe to enlighten the rest of the world.

My "Sweet with Heat" version of the recipe above.

This recipe is slightly modified fromt the original, Jennifer Thompson “West Indian Pepper Sauce”.

Ingredients:

1. 1 ripe medium mango or papaya (the smaller version, use only 1/2 if you use the large kind)
2. 1/2  medium yellow onion chopped
3. 2 medium garlic cloves
4. 1 inch piece of ginger root, coarsely chopped
5. 5 scotch bonnet of habanero peppers, de-stemmed
6. 1/2 tsp. turmeric
7. 1 tblsp dry mustard
8. pinch of cumin, pinch of coriander
9. 1/2 tblsp honey
10. 1/2 cup water
11. 1/2 cup cider vinegar
12. 1 tsp sea salt

Puree ingredients # 1-9 in a blender. Transfer this mixture into a bowl.

Next bring the vinger, water and salt to boil in a non reactive saucepan. Pour this mixture over the mango mixture and mix well. Allow to cool before putting in bottles.

Keep the sauce in the refrigerator up to 6 weeks.

Cheers to some “sweet with heat”!

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Bobby Flay doing a demonstration during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival 2010.

Bobby did a seared pink peppercorn encrusted steak with a mango glaze at his demonstration. I especially thought his commentary was funny when he said that most guys think they can grill as their God given talent, even if they only grill about 3 times a year. Must be that “man – fire – eat” instinct. Every party I have ever gone to, I offer to “man the grill” and I get shunned by a guy (I guess they are assuming I don’t know what I am doing) and then they proceed to “grill” the burgers as they repeatedly flip and squeeze the patties to flatten them so they are left dry and overcooked. (A burger only needs to be flipped twice, other than that, leave it alone!) But I digress…

After his demonstration, I ran over to the book signing to get my spot in line as his book signing started in 15 minutes!!

I brought my “Grilling for Life” cookbook for him to sign. I get to the table after being in line about 20 minutes and ask him to make the autograph to “GrillGrrrl.com” He looked at the spelling with a questioning face. “Doesn’t that need an I?” he said. “Nope, I spell it with three ‘R’s, like ‘GRRRRRRR”. “Oh, I see,” he said.. and then I proceed to BRIEFLY tell him about my blog (how could I not?) and he said “that’s a cool concept, I like that”. During this 15 second span in my life, the security lady keeps telling me to hurry up and not stand on the platform, which meant that Bobby was sitting at table about 3 feet above me. I accidentally stepped up twice, I’d been drinking and I didn’t realize I was doing it. I then gave Bobby a copy of a local South Florida book I recently found on “How to Smoke Fish – Florida Cracker Style”. He said thanks and good luck on my blog and it was the next person’s turn. I had my 15 seconds of interaction with the celeb and I was giddy for a good 20 minutes afterwards.

GrillGrrrl gets her cookbook signed by the one and only Bobby Flay.

Rachel Ray was up next and she was doing sliders. It is no wonder everyone loves Rachel Ray, she is so energetic and fun and truly your likable “girl next door”. She did a fried chicken sliders with collard greens and hot sauce! YUM-O!

Rachel Ray makes fried chicken sliders with collard greens.

Scott and I then proceeded to drink, as one does at a Food and Wine festival. This time, we had been doing some festival strategizing and decided that we weren’t going to drink anything and everything, but instead limit ourselves to champagne and sparkling wine. It’s hard to grow tired of champagne.

Our Lady of Spain Cava- great bottle and great taste too.

The ones that really stuck out in my mind are 1) “Our Lady of Spain” Cava, offered by Pasternak Imports and 2) The Loire Valley Sparkling and the 3) 071 Prosecco. So here is a great representation of Spanish, French and Italian sparkling wines.

Then we ran into our friends Janice and Shelley. These guys are the biggest foodies I have ever met and have attended all the major events surrounding the show including Emeril’s Bubble Q as well as the Brunch with Paula. Evidently, everyone remotely famous or in the know parties at Emeril’s restaurant after the Friday night event. While we stood there chatting, Janice shows me last night’s pictures with Emeril and the Neelys! They are no joke. We laugh and drink and part ways.

Roasted Duck with Sweet Potato Mash on Cornbread Crostini.

Food highlights of the day from the Grand Tasting Village include Smith and Wollenskys roast beef with horseradish sauce on homemade potato chips, Centerplate’s Duck and sweet-potato mash on cornbread crostini, Buckhead Beefs’ steak, whatever and however it was made, It was awesome. Other booths to note were George’s Stone Crab who offered stone crab at extremely competitive rates and ships anywhere in the domestic US. I also really enjoyed Niki Beach’s Asian Fusion Fish Sticks with Mango chutney.

071's Prosecco is new to the US and is going to be a hit!

By the time I made it out of the book tent (one book on grilling and one on BBQ) Scott was taking a quick nap in the shade nearby on the beach. When you have to take a nap afterwards, that’s a good sign you had a good time.

Hope you enjoy the book Bobby!

Scott takes a brief reprieve outside the festival.

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Chipotle Dark Chocolate Chunk cookies fresh out of the oven! Oh how I love it when the house smells like freshly baked cookies!

I brought these cookies into work last week and my co-workers were surprised at how much they liked them as they were initially skeptical due of the addition of chipotle. The chipotle pepper flakes adds a nice warmth to the overall heartiness of this rich cookie. I used (3) 85% lindt dark chocolate bars and added dried cherries for a fruity finish. The dark chocolate and cherries complement each other and I guarantee you will make numerous trips back to the kitchen for seconds after these come out of the oven.

First things first, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 c. stick butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 c. all purpose flour (not self rising)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2- 3/4 c. dried cherries
• 3 large dark chocolate bars (85% cocoa)= approximately 12 ounces, chopped into small pieces (will equal roughly 2 cups)
• pinch cinammon
• 1-2 dried chipotle peppers, chopped fine (amount depends on if you like hear or not, use one for less heat)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix sugars, butter and egg in large bowl. Next, stir in the flour, salt and baking soda. Then add in the chocolate and cherries. The batter will be very stiff!!
3. Drop dough by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool- the center of the cookie will still be soft when you take the pan out of the oven!

The only thing missing here is a large glass of milk.

Enjoy!!! These cookies will knock your socks off!!

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Italian Sausage Skewers brought to you by GrillGrrrl.

This is a SUPER easy dish. Just collect your favorite vegetables for kabobs and then select your favorite type of sausage. You can serve these with rice or pasta.

Ingredients as used in this recipe (you can do your own variation- get creative!):

• red and green peppers
• zucchini
• onions
• tomatoes
• other great additions: pineapple, mushrooms, cut up eggplant- the sky is the limit!
• EXTRA HOT Italian sausage, cut into bitsized pieces with the casing left in tact to keep the sausage together.

Preheat grill to 350 or medium/medium high. If you are using bamboo skewers soak them in water beforehand for 10 minutes (or more) so they do not burn on the grill. Cook the skewers for about 15 minutes on each side or until meat is slightly charred and vegetables begin to slightly wither. Throw some bread or texas toast (my personal favorite) on the top rack of the grill (bread basket area) so that it can warm and bake while you grill your skewers.

Serve immediately with rice/pasta and bread. Throw in some fresh herbs for a little pizazz if you have any. These are great for an outdoor BBQ as they are more exciting than your average wiener. For a great spin on italian, these are wonderful on top of some pasta tossed in an olive-oil balsalmic dressing.

Enjoy your Italian Sausage as you speak in your best Jersey Shore accent!

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For some, grilling and barbecuing IS an addiction.

As a Southern Girl, I have grown up eating Bar-B-Que. Until I moved out of the South, it never really occurred to me that this food was not something that everyone in the US ate on a regular basis. These days, BBQ has caught on all over the country and you can find decent BBQ joints in places like NYC! When I refer to BBQ, I am referring to the Pork kind, though Spare ribs and brisket fall into the BBQ category as well. Growing up, I was accustomed to “Lexington Style” NC BBQ sauce which is a Vinegar and tomato based tangy sauce. There is an invisible line drawn in the middle of the state that divides the sauces- Western NC and the Piedmont region do the Lexington Style sauce. Eastern style sauce is a purely vinegar based sauce with no tomatos included. This sauce usually consists of cider vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. It is pungent! Local South Floridian’s can find Eastern NC Style sauce at our own Dixie Pig. Go to SC and find a mustard based sauce. Texas does “Brisket”, which is in another category all to itself. Memphis style sauce is a sweet, tangy tomato based sauce. BBQ joints all over are usually a mixture of these type sauces though I believe most fall under the Memphis style category…

Pork Ribs on the Green Egg- true perfection!!

My father is an avid griller and BBQ-er and we are going to “Memphis in May” this year which hosts the truly infamous “World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest” on May 13th-15th. This is the END-ALL-BE-ALL of BBQ competitions. We plan to travel in an entourage of a few of his good ol’ boy friends who are “good eaters”.

The competition is divided into different pork categories: Whole hog, pork shoulder and ribs. There is no gas allowed- only wood and charcoal. For the newbies, there is the “Patio Porkers” category for those wanting to whet there Championship appetite. I see myself competing there in the future, just to get a feeling for the competition. I have not grown up in a BBQ team or with a PitMaster but that should not deter us from trying one day!

Basting your ribs regularly will make them extra juicy!

My father, also known as “Tropical Storm Eddie” for reasons I won’t disclose, have decided that we are going to go this year and see what we can learn. He is a wonderful griller and has his own green egg, the “Cadillac” of Grills/Smokers. He has been working on his own dry rub recipe and wants to get ideas. I believe he has aspirations of one day entering the “Ribs” category. We shall see! I’m coming prepared with my elastic waistband pants, plenty of beer and a good appetite. Looking forward to some good eating and learning some new coleslaw recipes!!

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Jalapeno Poppers made with jalapenos, cream cheese and bacon

Even people who don’t like spicy food have tried these at my house and have gone back for seconds. I wouldn’t classify this recipe as “healthy” yet it is healthier than traditional jalapeno poppers that have been put in a fryer! Whenever Scott and I make these, even if it is only the two of us, there are never any leftovers. They are that good!!

All you need for these poppers are:

1) jalapenos

2) cream cheese or neaufchatel cheese

3) one pack of bacon

Because you need a way to “suspend” the poppers on a rack to let the bacon cook and have the fat cook off, I actually take one of the racks out of my oven and put it on top of a 9″ X 13″ pan that is covered with tin foil (cuts down on the mess!). So, remember to take the rack out before you:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Now, prepare the peppers. Cut the stem off the peppers and with a knife, scrape all of the chilis and inside portion out of the inside of the peppers. (Leaving the seeds will make them even hotter, which is okay, but you need room inside to stuff your cream cheese.) For the really large peppers, chop them in half.

Now stuff the peppers with cream cheese. For the peppers you have cut in half, you will need to wrap the bacon around the top and bottom of the pepper so that the cream cheese cannot fall out. The peppers will be suspended in the oven so that the bacon can cook down… For the peppers that have only been cut where the stem was removed, simply stuff with cream cheese and the bacon only has to cover the top. You will cut each piece of bacon in halves of thirds to be the right size for the peppers. If the peppers you use are REALLY big, this will vary… If you do not cut the large peppers in half, they will be HOTTER. This makes the pepper to cheese to bacon ratio off and makes the experience much hotter, which is not a bad thing. I am just warning you!

Arrange your poppers on your oven rack over a baking pan lined in foil.

After stuffing the pepper with cream cheese, then wrapping it with bacon in the right way so that the cheese can’t fall out of the bottom, you will then secure it with a toothpick or a skewer that has been cut in half. This is what will suspend the poppers on the over rack so they cook evenly.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until bacon is beginning to get crispy and the cream cheese is bubbling.

THESE ARE EVERYONES FAVORITES!!! You can prepare these in advance and then pop them in someone’s oven if you are going to a friends house. ENJOY!!!

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Pulled Pork Sliders with coleslaw and red stripe beer.

Buy a pork tenderloin from the grocery store – this will usually equate to being about 3 lbs or so, and when you take it out of the package it is actually 2 pices of meat. So, if each piece is sold separately, it will be about 1.5 lbs each.

Here’s your ingredient list:

• 3 lbs pork tenderloin (see notes above)
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tblsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 tblsp. brown sugar
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tblsp. smoked paprika
• water or yeast rolls ( a pack of 6 or more)

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees and start making your vinegar sauce.

Make your sauce:

Bring 1 cup cider vinegar, 2/3 cup water and red pepper flakes to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes. While simmering, add the brown sugar.

Meanwhile, rub the pork in olive oil, grated sea salt, fresh ground pepper and smoked paprika. (Just grate the S/P) on top of the meat and add the tablespoon of paprika all over…)

Once the oven has preheated, put your pork in a casserole dish and cover with 1/4 of the sauce. (remember to save about 1/8 of the sauce to serve at the end if you want). Cook with a cover on- this will help steam the meat with the sauce and it will also cook more quickly.

Every 30 minutes, baste the pork in the sauce and add a little more sauce every time. Flip the pork every so often so it gets basted in the juices adequately on both sides.

You will be keeping an eye on the pork as you will be basting quite often over the cooking period. Once the pork starts looking shriveled and water logged, test it out with a fork. If you can easily pull the pork off with a fork so that it shreds, it is most likely done. If you can do this throughout the meat you are ready to go and pull it out of the oven. If it seems to be taking too long, You can push the oven temperature up to 300 degrees.

Once ready, shred the meat and pour the remaining sauce in and mix throughout. As the pork will already be quite vinegary, I don’t serve it with more vinegar based sauce.

While the pork is baked and basted in a vinegar based sauce, it is tangy for some so I reserve the sauce for those who want to try it and also put out my favorite store bought sauce- Stubbs. Stubbs spicy chipotle BBQ sauce is my favorite.

I serve with my chipotle cilantro coleslaw on water buns. A great addition is tater tots or sweet potato fries. For the sake of easiness, the sweet potato fries can be bought frozen and heated up are always good and usually turn out better for me than making them from scratch!!

Your friends will love this dish and it is great when you have people over because it will make a lot of food and the leftovers are even better the second day!!

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Lobster mac n' cheese with arugula

This recipe is enjoyable due to it’s simple yet complex nature; lobster mac and cheese is a pure comfort food with a little luxury thrown in. Ladies, if you make this meal for significant other, he will fall in love with you. Men, make this meal for your ladies and expect to get lucky. The final product is so divine you will grunt in satisfaction not once, but multiple times while consuming.

A consolation prize of sorts, I was admittedly acting a little crazy the week I chose to make this little piece of heaven for my fiance. I believe my stars were out of alignment or my biorhythms were quite off, but whatever the reason, I needed a redeeming dish that said “I’m sorry. Please forgive me for acting a little crazy lately.”

Let the Moaning begin:

ingredients:

• sea salt
• olive oil
• 1 lb .elbow macaroni
• 1 quart milk
• 1 stick butter (if reading out loud, say this in a Southern accent in honor of her buttery goodness- Paula)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flower
• 4 cups ***gruyere cheese
• 2 cups extra sharp cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (more is always better!!)
• 1 1/2 lbs. cooked lobster meat (approximately 2 medium tails, 3 small tails), sliced into small pieces- (toss in 1/4 teaspoon old bay if you have it- this is optional)
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cook your pasta according to directions, about 6-8 minutes.

This dish is simple but is does create a lot of dishes. All in all, you will need 1)  a small saucepan for heating the milk, 2) a large pot for boiling the pasta, 3) a saute pan to cook the lobster, and 4) another medium sized pot for the cheese/mixture – the final pot used for putting everything together.

While the pasta cooks, heat the milk in a small saucepan on medium/low and DO NOT LET BOIL. In a large POT, melt 6 tablespoons (all but 2 tblsp. of the stick) and add the flour (essentially, you willl make a roux and then add milk). Stir with a whisk while cooking over LOW heat, slowly adding the milk and whisking at the same time until the mixture thickens and you have poured in all the milk. Heat another medium saute pan and drizzle with olive oil. Saute lobster in olive oil while the separate pots of cheese and pasta cook according to directions.

Take the rouxoff the burner and add the cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir gently to remove the lumps, then add the pasta and lobster and stir into a uniform mixture. Transfer into a casserole baking dish. You can also divide into 6-8 individual casserole/gratin dishes.

Melt the remaining 2 tblsp of butter and add the panko bread crumbs. Once toasted, add to the casserole dish (es). Bake for 35 minutes or until the casserole has browned and begins bubbling!

As Julia would say : “Bon Apetit!”

Lobster mac n' cheese is much more fun with fish pot holders.

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