Yin-Yang Grilled Beets

I decided to call this grilled beets recipe "yin-yang" because of the sharply contrasting colors of the two different types of beets I used: Common purple-red beets and rarer, golden-yellow beets. Because the purple beets will stain EVERYTHING a deep pink or fuchsia, you should marinate and cook them separately from the golden beets if you want to preserve the sunny yellow color of the latter.

Instead of peeling the beets, I scrubbed and trimmed them. But feel free to peel them if you prefer. If you only have one type of beet, you can still make this recipe, using either one or both marinades. Likewise, you can also choose to use only one flavor of marinade for all of the beets. You can also increase the quantity of the marinade ingredients if you've got more beets than I had on hand--I had only a half-bunch of each type, left over from two large bunches from which I had already roasted some beets the day before. Don't forget to save and/or cook the beet greens, because they are flavorful and nutritiously rich (just search my blog for "beet greens" if you need a recipe for them).

Unfortunately, my photo above doesn't do justice to the visual attractiveness of these grilled beets, and I also failed miserably at plating them in a classic yin-yang shape. As regular readers of this blog no doubt have noticed, photography and plating are not my strengths.... So, if you make this recipe and are able to plate and photograph it nicely, please do feel free to share your results (and your feedback on the recipe) either as a comment here or on the Carolina Sauce Facebook page.

Ingredients
For Purple Beets
3 or 4 medium purple beets, washed, trimmed & quartered

Marinating beets

1/2 large shallot, peeled & quartered
1/3 cup raspberry vinegar
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary, lightly crushed
Kosher salt & ground pepper to taste

For Golden Beets
3 or 4 medium golden beets, washed, trimmed & quartered
1/2 large shallot, peeled & quartered
1/3 cup orange juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Kosher salt & ground pepper to taste

Prepare each type of beets separately as follows:  Combine all ingredients in a resealable plastic bag (purple and golden beets in separate bags), seal and shake to combine & evenly coat the beets with marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight (if for longer than an hour, marinate in the refrigerator).

To grill each type of beets separately:  For each bag of marinated beets, cut a large square of aluminum foil and curl the edges up to create a "bowl" shape. Carefully pour each set of beets (with marinade) into its own foil "bowl." Fold up the sides of each "bowl" to create a foil pouch, making sure the edges are tightly-folded to prevent any leaking. Place each pouch, fold-side-up, on your hot grill and grill until tender and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. When done, open each pouch and spoon onto serving plate.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

"Pain is Good" Wing Sauces are Now in Stock!

Pain is Good Honey Habanero Wing Sauce

Continuing with our wing sauce theme, the two newest arrivals at the Carolina Sauce Company are delightfully different--and devilishly delicious--takes on the traditional Buffalo wing sauce. Both come from the same creative folks who make the Pain is Good hot sauces, with the famous "screaming face" labels. Consistent with that brand's image, both of the new wing sauces bear the Pain is Good name and a screaming face on the label. But more importantly, consistent with their commitment to making hot sauces and zesty products that actually taste good (instead of being just about the heat), these two new Pain is Good wing sauces are packed with palate-pleasing flavors, along with just the right amount of heat to live up to the Pain is Good name.

The first new sauce is Pain is Good Honey Habanero Screamin' Wing Sauce, a blissful marriage of sweet honey and fiery habanero peppers in a tangy, tomato-enriched base. This HOT wing sauce is firmly rooted in its Buffalo style origins, with solid red pepper hot sauce sass, but the addition of tropical habanero peppers ratchet up the heat considerably and add that subtle citrus brightness that habaneros are famous (and prized) for. The sweetness from honey and brown sugar has a mellow depth that brings everything together and smooths out any sharpness without turning this sauce too sweet, the way that corn syrup or regular white sugar would do. And because this wing sauce includes a bit of olive oil and canola oil among the ingredients, it will seal in the juices and flavor of your wings and cling to them, too--plus you'll be able to enjoy Honey Habanero Wing Sauce as a marinade, basting or grilling sauce as well. It's especially good with pork chops, shrimp, vegetable kabobs, and, of course, chicken on the grill. Feel free to enjoy it at the table to add oomph to stir-fry, Chinese or Mexican dishes, rice & beans, and on Buffalo shrimp or batter-fried veggies.

Sweet Caribbean Jerk Wing Sauce

Our second new arrival is Pain is Good Sweet Caribbean Jerk Screamin' Wing Sauce. Gentler on the heat scale but bursting with even more intriguing flavors, this one-of-a-kind wing sauce is inspired by Jamaica's exotic jerk seasonings and spices. Unlike true Jamaican jerks, however, Sweet Caribbean Jerk Wing Sauce skips the incendiary scotch bonnet peppers and instead turns to tamer cayenne peppers for a mildly spicy heat that will allow you to eat all the wings you want without burning out.  Ketchup and brown sugar add rich but not overpowering sweetness, while the jerk spices and Worcestershire sauce balance things out with plenty of savory flavor notes. And once again, there's a bit of canola and olive oil in this recipe, allowing you to expand your culinary horizons by letting this sauce double as a cooking, marinating, grilling or table sauce on everything from meats and chicken to seafood and vegetables.

Both new flavors of Pain is Good Wing Sauce are made with all-natural ingredients and have no preservatives, and they're currently on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

July Newsletter Coupon Sale Ends Soon...

Flickr photo by Jinx!

Time is running out on our July Newsletter Coupon Sale! If you're in the market for some zesty sauces or seasonings, need a hot sauce gift for someone special, or some BBQ tools or grilling accessories to get you through the summer, look no further than the Carolina Sauce Company. We have everything you need, at rock-bottom prices and with attentive customer service.

Right now, all of our products are on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store, and if you use our special July Newsletter coupon code you'll save an additional 5% off our already-reduced prices.

If you've signed up for our free monthly Newsletter, you should have received the email with the coupon code earlier this month. If you don't currently receive our Newsletter, you can read the July issue (and find the coupon code) here. And if you want to receive future monthly Newsletters with discount coupons, great recipes, and product reviews, simply sign up here. It's FREE and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Our July Coupon sale ends at midnight EDT on Tuesday, July 31st, so don't delay if you want to cash in on this sizzling summer special.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: We've had some brand-new products arrive since we sent out the July newsletter, so if you already placed a coupon order earlier this month but would like to order some of these new sauce, you can go ahead and re-use the coupon! Just make sure you place your order before time runs out....

Wing Time Buffalo Wing Sauces are Now Available!

Wing Time Hot (original) Wing Sauce

Since 1994, the good folks at Wing Time have been making award-winning, authentic Buffalo style wing sauces using the finest all-natural ingredients and the traditional recipe born in Buffalo, New York. Full of tangy flavor and with a buttery mouth feel, Wing Time wing sauces are preferred by chicken wing lovers all around the country--and now these superior wing sauces are available at the Carolina Sauces online store!

Wing Time sauces come in five different styles, four of which are classic cayenne-vinegar-butter sauces in varying heat levels, and one which is uniquely different.

The original Wing Time recipe is their Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce, a hot and spicy blend of cayenne pepper hot sauce with fiery red chiles in a tangy, buttery base that's enriched with tomatoes. If you prefer a tamer heat level, there's Wing Time Medium Buffalo Wing Sauce, which delivers all of the same rich flavor but half the heat of the Original (the same cayenne pepper hot sauce is used, but the red chiles are omitted). And if you're a wimp when it comes to peppery heat, or simply prefer wing sauces that aren't hot, you'll be quite pleased with Wing Time Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce, which still has that trademark tangy Buffalo flavor (it's made with cayenne pepper sauce, after all) but with the gentlest touch of spice that's mellowed by the addition of parmesan cheese. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Wing Time Super Hot Wing Sauce, which takes the already-hot Original recipe and ratchets up the heat with a healthy handful (or more) of habanero peppers. This one is for serious fiery-foods fanatics and anyone else who prefers extremely hot or "suicide" wings. But don't worry, the Super Hot version still tastes great because it's made from the same base recipe and it doesn't add pepper extract, so you don't get any "off" flavors or chemical aftertaste as with other ultra-hot sauces.

Wing Time Garlic Parmesan Sauce

In addition to these traditional Buffalo style sauces, there's Wing Time Garlic Parmesan Wing Sauce, an inspired twist on the classic recipe with plenty of pungent fresh garlic to please the garlic-lover, and added richness from real parmesan cheese. The heat level is about a medium, making this a well-balanced sauce with just the right amount of peppery spice and palate-pleasing layers of flavor. Be warned, however: This sauce is addictively good and you'll be licking it off your fingers, dipping veggies or fries in it, and possibly even licking it off the plate. One taste, and you'll instantly understand why it's the most popular variety of the Wing Time wing sauces.

All Wing Time Buffalo Wing Sauces are low-sodium and all-natural, have no preservatives, no MSG, no added sugar, and they're gluten-free, too. In addition to tasting great with chicken wings, they're excellent with other cuts of chicken, plus as a marinade, grilling sauce or dipping sauce for pork, shrimp (especially Buffalo shrimp of course), beef, kabobs and ribs. You can also enjoy them on baked potatoes, with sausage, on vegetarian dishes like stir-fry or baked tofu, and more. All five varieties are on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Lemony Jalapeno Guacamole

This spicy guacamole is made with fresh lemon juice and zest to give it a refreshing citrus tang. The lemon also helps delay the ugly browning that happens to fresh, natural guacamole after it's out for a few minutes. The jalapeno adds a touch of peppery heat, and the onion provides savory flavor along with a pleasant contrast in color and texture. You can control how spicy to make the guac by how much jalapeno you use.

Enjoy my lemony jalapeno guacamole with tortilla chips, on nachos, in wraps and sandwiches, and any other way you'd normally eat guacamole. The recipe below makes approximately two servings, but you can multiply the ingredient quantities to make a larger amount.

Ingredients
1 large ripe avocado
1 Tbs diced red onion
1 Tbs diced fresh jalapeno
1 Tbs freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp freshly-grated lemon zest, plus a little more for garnish (a few long, curly slivers of lemon peel also make for a nice garnish)
Salt to taste

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and scoop out the pulp into a bowl. Add lemon juice and zest, then mash to desired consistency. Add jalapeno and onion, stir to thoroughly combine. Serve, garnished with lemon zest or peel if desired.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you like the flavor and heat of jalapeno peppers, you'll love Texas Longhorn Jalapeno Dip, made with fresh jalapenos and other all-natural ingredients. It's fabulous on burgers, hot dogs, nachos, Tex-Mex foods, egg dishes and more.

Two New Wing Sauces: Jolokia Wing Sauce & Jim Beam Bourbon Wing Sauce

Naga Jolokia Wing Sauce

We're in the process of adding some brand-new products to the offerings at the Carolina Sauces online store, and our main focus is wing sauces! If you're not a big fan of Buffalo wings, however, don't despair--we're also looking at adding a few new barbecue sauces as well as some unusually delicious new hot sauces which won't be as silly-hot as the bunch we most recently introduced.

Our first two new wing sauces are both made in the Buffalo style, but are radically different in that one is EXTREMELY hot (it's made using the world's hottest chili, the ghost pepper aka naga jolokia or bhut jolokia pepper), and the other is SUPREMELY flavorful (it's made with a splash of real Kentucky bourbon whiskey).

Jolokia 10 Wing Sauce gets is name from the fearsome jolokia pepper and from its resulting 10-out-of-10 extreme heat level. If you enjoy eating "suicide wings" and other super-hot Buffalo wings, this is the ultra-hot wing sauce for you. What makes this naga jolokia wing sauce different from others is that it comes by its heat naturally, without the artificial enhancement (and accompanying off-flavors) of pepper extracts. Instead, it relies on a blend of super-hot chile peppers including the ghost pepper, Red Savina habaneros, chile caribe, cayenne peppers (a must for a Buffalo style sauce) and a hefty dose of black pepper to boot. The mouthfeel is appropriately rich and the savory flavor is well-balanced due to the tomato-butter base. In short, Jolokia 10 Wing Sauce actually tastes good and makes you want to have more, notwithstanding its extreme heat. In addition to its obvious use on chicken wings, it's an excellent choice for making other Buffalo-style dishes such as Buffalo shrimp, or even as a tangy-fiery-savory dipping sauce for anything from mozzarella sticks to French fries. Just make sure you have a big glass of milk or water--or a side of blue cheese dip or ranch dressing--to quench the flames.

Jim Beam Bourbon Wing Sauce

For folks who are much more interested in palate-pleasing layers of flavor than in tongue-searing levels of painful heat, we now carry Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon Wing Sauce, a Buffalo wing connoisseur's dream of a sauce. The smooth buttery body of this wing sauce is the perfect delivery vehicle of the deep, rich and mellow flavor produced by the addition of Jim Beam bourbon to the traditional Buffalo wing sauce base. There's enough tang to be true to form, and a respectable medium level of peppery heat, too, making this an elegant and yet manly choice for dressing your chicken wings. But don't limit it just to wings: In addition to complementing Buffalo shrimp, you can enjoy Jim Beam Wing Sauce with grilled chicken or shrimp, too.

Both of these wing sauces and other new products are currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: Want to make Buffalo wings on your grill? Cook them perfectly, avoid flare-ups and make cleanup easier when you use the WingRack!

Bavarian-Style Savoy Cabbage & Collards with Horseradish

Cabbage is a common side dish in Germany, and not just as sauerkraut. Especially in summer months, when fresh cabbage is in abundance, it is often served sauteed in butter and lightly seasoned or cooked in a creamy sauce with horseradish, on its own or in combination with kale or another leafy green. And Germans enjoy many different varieties of cabbage, too, in addition to the compact heads of green and red cabbage that are most common here.

The following Bavarian style recipe features savoy cabbage in combination with collard greens (kale would likely be used in Germany instead of collards). I've lightened the dish by using chicken stock and milk instead of butter and cream. The horseradish and cayenne pepper, both used in German cuisine, add a mildly spicy bite without overpowering the dish.  Nutmeg also is frequently used to season vegetables in Germany.  Feel free to adjust the amounts of these seasonings to suit your taste. If you wish, you can add some cooked crumbled bacon for a heartier dish, or finish with a pat of butter before serving. Serve as a side for roast beef or pork, steak, pork chops or grilled chicken.

Ingredients

Buy Tracklement Horseradish & Cream

1 small head of savoy cabbage (approx. 1 1/4 lb or around 500-600g)
1 bunch collard greens (approx. 12 oz or around 400-500g)
Large pot of salted water for boiling
1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1/3 cup milk (you can use lowfat)
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs creamed horseradish sauce
1 to 2 dashes ground nutmeg (to taste)
Pinch ground cayenne (to taste)
Optional: Crumbled cooked bacon, butter

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. As the water heats, rinse the collards thoroughly and strip the leaves from the stems (you can discard the stems). Core the savoy cabbage, wash the leaves and cut out any thick veins from the larger leaves. When the water is boiling, plunge the cabbage and collard leaves in and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain into a colander and rinse the leaves in cold running water until cool enough to handle. Squeeze out excess water and coarsely chop.

Combine the stock, milk and cornstarch in a small lidded jar, cover tightly and shake vigorously until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Pour into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring, to thicken. Add the cabbage and collards, horseradish, nutmeg and cayenne, and stir to thoroughly combine. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently. Note: This dish won't be swimming in a creamy sauce; rather, the sauce serves to coat the cabbage and collards. If desired, stir in some crumbled cooked bacon or finish with a pat of butter on top. Makes approx. 6 servings.


Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you enjoy the sharp flavor and sinus-clearing power of wasabi or horseradish, make sure to try Blair's Heat Wasabi Green Tea Sauce, a creamy and exotic blend of Asian wasabi and green tea with Southwestern jalapenos and tomatillos for an intriguingly pleasing array of flavors that enhance everything from fish and seafood to chicken and pork.

Two New Sauces: Jim Beam Steak Sauce & Bourbon Marinade

Jim Beam Steak Sauce

Previously available only as part of our popular Jim Beam Sauces Gift Box, we are pleased to announce that Jim Beam Bourbon Steak Sauce and Jim Beam Bourbon Marinade are now available individually at the Carolina Sauces online store!

Even if you normally don't eat your steak with sauce, chances are that you will be impressed with the rich and smooth, deep dark flavors of Jim Beam Steak Sauce, a sophisticated and masculine sauce that will complement, not overshadow, the natural flavors of steak and other meat. The earthy sweetness comes from raisins and just the right amount of sugar, while the jalapenos supply a spark of peppery heat without turning this into a hot steak sauce. Tomatoes, vinegar, onion and garlic provide a savory tang, while a splash of Kentucky bourbon brings together all of these different flavor notes into a well-blended, confident and mellow whole. Not only does this steak sauce bring out the best in any steak, it will also enhance burgers, pork, roasts, venison and other game. Add some to your meatloaf or sloppy Joes recipe for a new dimension in deliciousness.

Jim Beam Marinade

Another excellent choice for the meat lover is Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon Marinade, which will not only tenderize meat but will also keep it juicy and moist regardless of whether you grill it, roast it, broil it or bake it. The Worcestershire and soy sauces deliver layers of complex flavors while the sesame oil and seeds provide a richness and body that many thinner, lesser marinades woefully lack. And the bourbon brings subtle hints of wood, vanilla and spice for incomparable depth. Big and bold enough to stand up to grass-fed beef, wild boar, venison, elk and other hearty meats, Jim Beam Marinade also plays nicely with chicken, duck, pheasant and other poultry or fowl. Be adventurous and try it on shrimp, swordfish, portobello mushrooms, grilled summer squash and more.

Both of these Jim Beam sauces are currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company, along with other extraordinary steak sauces and hard-to-find marinades.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

How to Make Fresh Fig BBQ Sauce

Grilled chicken with homemade fig BBQ sauce

Fresh figs were in abundance last week at our local market, so I decided to try to make a barbecue sauce using figs. A couple of years ago, at Carolina Sauce Company we used to sell a rich and robust all-natural fig BBQ sauce from Israel, which, sadly, is no longer on the market, so I had an idea of the flavor I wanted to achieve. The following recipe is what I came up with. It is indeed rich and robust, almost voluptuous, with an earthy, subtly sweet flavor that whispers of figs without screaming "FIGS" or otherwise distracting you from your meal. The texture is thick and substantial, meaning that you can use it at the table as a dipping sauce in addition to slathering it during the final few minutes of grilling as a finishing sauce. If you prefer a sweeter flavor, I suggest substituting Grade B or Dark Grade A maple syrup or honey for the blackstrap molasses. And if you want a spicier sauce--this one was about a medium when freshly made, and toned down to a mild heat when cooked on food--you can substitute one habanero or scotch bonnet pepper for the two jalapenos, or use one jalapeno and one hotter pepper such as serrano or Thai chile.

I used this fig BBQ sauce to marinate and grill chicken, and the chicken turned out juicy and tender with a nice slightly-caramelized coating.  The sauce's deep, complex flavor should also complement ribs, pork chops, venison and other game, and probably also portobello mushrooms and veggie burgers.

My recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce, which is enough to marinate and cook 2 1/2 lbs of chicken and have some sauce left over for dipping or for future use.  Any unused sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, and the flavor of my leftover unused sauce developed and mellowed nicely overnight.

If you decide to make my fig BBQ sauce, please leave a comment to let me know what you think and how you used it.

Ingredients

Flickr photo by Gudlyf

2 Tbs Olive Oil (preferably not extra virgin)
2 large shallots, diced (approx. 3/4 cup)
1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced (approx. 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup red wine (I used merlot)
3 Tbs unsulfured blackstrap molasses
2 Tbs low-sodium Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
8 fresh figs, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 large jalapeno peppers, seeded & diced (approx. 1/3 cup)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper, garlic, salt, black pepper, cinnamon and cloves; cook while stirring for 2 or 3 minutes until fully combined and the pepper softens. Stir in the wine, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, orange juice and tomato sauce; bring to a gentle simmer while stirring. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat. Allow to cool for a few minutes while you place the figs and jalapenos in a blender or food processor. Pour in the sauce and process until smooth.  Makes approximately 3 cups of sauce.

To use with chicken or any type of meat, place the chicken or meat in a resealable plastic bag or lidded non-metal container, pour in enough sauce to completely coat, seal or cover and shake to combine. Marinate for at least 1 hour in refrigerator. Store unused sauce in a tightly sealed container (preferably a glass jar) in refrigerator for up to a week.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Fire & Ice: Magma & Frostbite Hot Sauces Now Available!

Buy Magma Hot Sauce

Two of our newest hot sauces at the Carolina Sauces online store look really cool and burn really hot. I like to call this pair "Fire & Ice," and together they make a memorable gift for a fiery-foods fan, hot sauce collector, or anyone who claims they've never had a hot sauce that was too hot.

First, the "Fire," which is Magma Hot Sauce. Inspired by the Lava Lamp, this fascinating hot sauce consists of a clear base liquid on which is suspended a pool of pure, bright-orange capsaiacin extract, the oily substance that's responsible for the burning sensation produced by hot peppers. When the bottle sits undisturbed, this fiery oil floats at the top in a thin, barely visible layer. Tilt or turn over the bottle, however, and Magma comes to life as the extract floats up, down and through the clear base liquid, much like the colored "bubbles" that ooze in a lava lamp (see photo on left). As you can imagine, a bottle of Magma Hot Sauce can provide endless hours of amusement in the right person's hands, without even opening the bottle. But if you actually want to eat this hot sauce, make sure you shake it vigorously until the extract is fully blended into the base and the sauce becomes a uniform light orange color. You can then use it, a drop at a time (it is VERY hot, due to the pepper extract), to add fiery heat to any served food or recipe. The nice thing about using Magma as a hot sauce (rather than merely as a toy) is that it is flavor-neutral, adding only heat without altering or masking the natural flavors of your food.

Buy Frostbite Hot Sauce

The "Ice" in this diabolical duo is Frostbite Hot Sauce, billed as the world's first white hot sauce. Eerily milky-white and almost pearlescent, this hot sauce is aptly named as to its appearance. But just like its namesake, Frostbite Hot Sauce will produce a painful burn if you're not careful. In fact, its heat level has been rated in the 500,000 to 600,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Unit) range, putting it squarely in the "ultra-hot" or "extreme hot sauce" category. This should come as no surprise when you consider the ingredients: Nothing but vinegar, pepper extract and salt. In addition to its unique color (or lack thereof), Frostbite stands apart from other extracts or extract-spiked hot sauces in that it is water-soluble, meaning that it will incorporate completely into any food or beverage without leaving any oily residue that can separate or float to the top. This quality, along with its being flavorless and colorless, makes Frostbite ideal for blending into beverages like lemonade, sodas, cocktails, juices and other drinks. And of course you can also use it in recipes and at the table--just be sure to go gently at first so as to not experience a fiery "brain freeze."

These and other ultra-hot hot sauces are on sale now at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you'd like to save some money and get BOTH Magma and Frostbite or send them to someone as a gift, then you'll want our Frostbite & Magma Hot Sauces Gift Set.

Curried Cauliflower with Onions & Almonds

Greg threw together this simple, Indian-inspired vegetarian dish the other night, using some of the marvelously fragrant and flavorful curry powder he had purchased in India and a gorgeous head of organic cauliflower I purchased at Whole Foods.

While it is true that many cooks in India grind and combine different spices each time they make a dish that we here would categorize as "curry," it's also not unusual for some to buy pre-mixed curry blends to save time and effort. The commercial curry powders we've gotten in India are far superior in freshness and flavor than the mass-produced, "dumbed-down" American supermarket versions.

If you live in a city which has an Indian grocery or market, you might be able to find a bottle of high-quality curry powder there along with some ghee (clarified butter)--but even if all you have is McCormick's and vegetable oil this cauliflower will still taste quite good. The dish will only be as spicy as the curry powder you use. If you want a hotter, spicier flavor, simply throw in some diced fresh jalapeno or other hot pepper of your choice when you add the garlic.

Ingredients

Buy curry powder

1 large head of cauliflower, rinsed, trimmed & broken into florets
2 Tbs ghee or vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs pureed ginger*
1 Tbs curry powder
1 Tbs sliced almonds
Salt to taste

Combine the ghee or oil, ginger and curry powder in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When the ghee has melted (or the oil is hot), stir in the onion & garlic and saute until just softened. Add the cauliflower and stir to coat all the florets. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until the cauliflower is tender, stirring occasionally. As it cooks, the cauliflower will release a little liquid which should keep everything moist. If it starts getting too dry, add a tablespoon or so of water. When the cauliflower is tender, stir in the almonds, taste and season with salt as desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings as a side dish.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Want to Bottle & Sell Your Sauce? Read This.

Flickr photo by spin spin

We regularly receive emails from people asking how to go about bottling and selling their family BBQ sauce recipe, special seasoning blend or secret sauce that friends keep raving about. Because the Carolina Sauce Company is merely an online retailer and not a manufacturer or bottler, this isn't something we can do for folks. But we can point budding sauce entrepreneurs in the right direction by suggesting a few websites, organizations and resources that can be of help, especially if you live in North Carolina.

But first, a bit of a reality check: You're more likely to be struck by lightning than to strike it rich as a sauce mogul. In fact, most brand-new specialty-foods (including sauces) manufacturers get out of the business--voluntarily or involuntarily--within in two to three years of starting their business. Don't believe me?  Just read "So You Want to be a Sauce Mogul" and the two later posts under the "sauce mogul" label to get a feel for what a new sauce maker is up against. No, we're not trying to discourage anyone but rather to encourage you to keep expectations reasonable and to understand the challenges that will lie ahead.

If you're still reading, and still interested in making your dream of bottling and selling your own sauce a reality, here are some places where you'll find boatloads of practical, useful information.

First, NC State University's Entrepreneur Initiative for Food website discusses a variety of essential topics including the nuts and bolts of how to start your food business, nutritional testing and labeling of products, state and federal resources, workshops and events. Even if you're in another state, it's worth reading through these materials and then checking with your local state university or community college to see if they offer similar resources and programs near you.

Likewise, the NC Department of Agriculture's food business page covers the laws and regulations that may apply to your business, and provides links to additional government and private resources. If you are not based in NC, simply check with your own state's agriculture department to see what they offer. And don't forget your local cooperative extension office, too.

While some first-time specialty-foods manufacturers insist on handling the actual production and bottling themselves, it can be cumbersome and/or impractical to get your home kitchen inspected and properly certified (permitted) for commercial production, especially if you have small children or pets. Unless you have access to a restaurant kitchen or shared-use community kitchen (usually rented by the hour) and already know how to safely process your recipe so that the product is shelf-stable (won't spoil or get anyone sick), your best bet is to find a local contract bottler, i.e., a "co-packer." Many small manufacturers here in NC use Bobbees Bottling in Lousiburg, NC as their copacker. If you're not in NC, it's still worth looking through their website to give you an idea of what to expect from copackers in your area.

In terms of shared-use or community kitchens that you can rent by the hour or the day (you bring your own ingredients & packaging), the premier facility in NC is Blue Ridge Food Ventures, located just outside of Asheville. In the Piedmont or central NC region, there's the Piedmont Food & Ag Processing Center in Hillsborough and The Cookery in Durham. And just outside Wilmington in the eastern part of NC you'll find Eastern Carolina Food Ventures, which is part of James Sprunt Community College. There are several other similar facilities in North Carolina, and I bet your state will have some, too. Just do an internet search for "shared-use kitchen" or "incubator kitchen" and the name of your state.

Buy Jump Up & Kiss Me Hot Sauce

Finally, here is an excellent article by a successful sauce entrepreneur who launched Jump Up and Kiss Me Hot Sauce several years ago: "How to Bottle and Sell your Own Sauce." You may find her story inspirational and motivational.

I hope the information here helps you on your journey towards becoming a sauce entrepreneur. Please feel free to share this post with anyone who might find it useful, and leave a comment with any questions or to share your own personal experience as a specialty-foods small business.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Quick & Easy Confetti Quinoa

Quinoa is an easy to make, protein-packed, lower-carbohydrate alternative to rice. Quinoa is also gluten-free. Its mild, subtly nutty flavor readily complements virtually any savory dish, and also works nicely as a hot breakfast cereal--simply stir in some brown sugar honey or maple syrup, fresh or dried fruits, nuts, a splash of milk, or anything else you'd normally add to hot oatmeal.

If you can find pre-washed quinoa, it will save you the time and hassle of having to rinse the quinoa before cooking (quinoa has a natural "soapy" coating that's washed off by rinsing). Otherwise, you'll need a very fine strainer or a colander lined with a non-terry kitchen towel to rinse the quinoa under running water prior to use.

"confetti" (diced) veggies

I call this dish "confetti quinoa" because of the colorful, finely-diced vegetables. It is similar to rice pilaf and the recipe is more of a "guideline" than a formal recipe because you can use whatever diced, sauteed vegetables you prefer--I happened to use orange bell pepper, red onion, and zucchini. You could also substitute any type of broth or even plain water for the chicken stock, and season with your favorite herbs and spices. The entire recipe takes only 20 minutes using pre-rinsed quinoa.

Ingredients

Buy pre-washed quinoa

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and ready to cook
1 1/3 cup chicken or other broth
1/2 to 3/4 cup diced vegetables, e.g., onion, summer squash, pepper, celery, carrot, etc.
1 Tbs olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Opt: your choice of dried or chopped fresh herbs for garnish/seasoning

Combine the quinoa and broth in a small pot or saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. While the quinoa is cooking, dice the vegetables and then saute the olive oil until softened. After the quinoa has cooked for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover, stir in the sauteed vegetables, season to taste with salt, pepper and  any other desired seasonings. Serve hot.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Carolina Sauce Newsletter: Sizzling Summer Savings & Zesty Recipe

Sizzling New Sauces & July Coupon Sale!

The summer heat is sizzling, and so are some of the newest arrivals at the Carolina Sauce Company. Keep reading to find out what's new, then use coupon code Heatwave2012 at checkout to save 5% off your product total at the Carolina Sauces online store, good through July 31, 2012--and yes, these savings are in addition to our already-reduced sale prices! Whether you're searching for tongue-tingling hot sauces, or craving finger-lickin' good BBQ sauces, or stocking up on zesty condiments like mustard & ketchup or salsa & relish, we have what you need at rock-bottom prices. Our newest products include:

NEW Gift Boxes & Gift Packs:

* "Fiery Fruits" Gift Box with Maui Pepper Company Hot Sauces, which is sure to please fans of sweet & spicy tropical hot sauces. Comes with a full-size bottle each of Mango Meltdown Hot Sauce (medium-hot), Xtreme Heat Mango Meltdown (hot), Apple Sass Hot Sauce (medium), and Maui Pepper Berry Mangolo Mango Hot Sauce (hot).

* Melinda's Hot Sauce 3-Pack Gift Box, featuring three of Melinda's most popular classic Caribbean-style habanero hot sauces: The original Melinda's Habanero Pepper Sauce, her Extra Hot Habanero Sauce, and her scorching XXXtra Hot Habanero Hot Sauce, all made with 100% natural ingredients for pure habanero flavor and fire. This was one of our best-selling Father's Day gifts!

*Mad Dog .357 Hot Sauce Gift Box: This one's for serious fiery-foods fanatics who prefer extreme heat, and it's also a cool gift for for shooters and gun enthusiasts. Comes with a full-size bottle each of the following Mad Dog .357 ultra-hot sauces: The new Ghost Pepper (featuring the jolokia aka ghost pepper, rated the world's hottest); the original Mad Dog .357 (with 357,000 SHU of heat); the Collector's Edition with golden bullet keychain (rated at 600,000 SHU); and the Silver Collector's Edition with silver bullet keychain (750,000 SHU) with a mini tasting spoon hidden in a secret compartment inside the bullet.

NEW Hot Sauces

* Magma Hot Sauce: Looks like a lava lamp, and burns like lava from an active volcano! A generous dollop of pure pepper extract is suspended in the clear liquid sauce base for the lava-lamp effect. Shake well to blend, then enjoy by the drop on anything you want to ignite.

* Frostbite Hot Sauce is the world's first white hot sauce and delivers an icy-hot burn. Because it dissolves colorlessly in water, it's ideal for spicing up cocktails, lemonade, soda and other beverages, as well as clear broths, soups, and more.

* Ghost Pepper Hot Sauces: We have several new ones, including The Ghost (a Caribbean style hot sauce that blends jolokia peppers with papaya and passionfruit in a traditional savory carrot-lime juice base with a dash of garlic & onion); Green Ghost Hot Sauce (jalapenos provide the eerie green color plus their own distinctive heat when blended with jolokias, habaneros and a splash of pepper extract); Da Bomb Ghost Pepper (a surprisingly edible ultra-hot blend of ghost peppers, habanero & mango without the addition of extract so there's no odd aftertaste); and Lethal Ingestion Jolokia Hot Sauce (bottled to look like a hazardous industrial chemical, this unique combination of fatalii peppers, red savina chiles and ghost peppers delivers intriguing peppery flavor and a spectrum of heat levels).

* Pure Poison is only for those who've built up a tolerance to extreme hot sauces, or have on hand an antidote (I recommend a glass of cold milk). If habanero hot sauces usually aren't hot enough for you, this habanero sauce will change your mind thanks to the addition of capsaicin extract to magnify and prolong the burn but without masking that trademark habanero flavor.

* Spontaneous Combustion Hot Sauce comes in an eye-catching box and will have you bursting into flames if you use too much. Similar in heat to the original Dave's Insanity Sauce, the difference is that this one tastes like a traditional Caribbean habanero hot sauce (unlike Dave's Insanity) but with FAR more heat than a traditional sauce.

* Z Nothing Beyond Hot Sauce: Don't be intimidated by the name--while Z is indeed supremely hot, it rewards your courage with an enticing tropical flavor from guava, passion fruit, banana, papaya and pineapple in a savory West Indian-style mustard-vinegar-habanero-tomato base.

* New Mad Dog Hot Sauces: All of the hot sauces featured in our new Mad Dog .357 Gift Box are also available individually, namely Mad Dog Ghost Pepper Sauce (a unique blend of jolokias with peri peri peppers & habaneros), Collector's Edition .357 packing 600,000 SHUs of fiery heat and available with a golden bullet keychain or, if you prefer, with a miniature gun keychain; and the hottest of the bunch, the Silver Collector's Edition which a blistering 750,000 SHU of heat and a bullet keychain that hides a tasting spoon in a secret compartment.

BACK IN STOCK: Il Primo Peppers!

After being MIA due to manufacturing difficulties, we're pleased to announce that Il Primo Giardiniera (a mix of hot & mild peppers and other marinated vegetables) and Il Primo Sport Peppers are both back in stock! These famous Italian condiments from Chicago are the perfect complement to everything from hamburgers to subs (aka heroes, grinders, hoagies) and other sandwiches, sausages to salads, scrambled eggs to relish trays... and don't even think of serving a Chicago hot dog without heaping on the Sport Peppers! Both are on sale, too--and don't forget to use our Heatwave2012 coupon to save an extra 5% off!

You can see ALL our newest products on our New Products Page.

July Recipe: Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Roasting peppers, Flickr photo by Tropic~7

Here's our take on a recipe from the folks at Maui Pepper Company. You can roast the peppers on your grill or under the broiler, or quickly cook them in your microwave oven. Substitute orange bell peppers and toss in a minced scotch bonnet pepper or orange habanero for a fiery-hot, bright-orange dip. It's devilishly delicious with raw veggies, crackers, chips or pita wedges!

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8oz package of Neufchatel or lite cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup lowfat or fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1/2 to 1 Tbs (to taste) Maui Pepper Mango Meltdown or other similar hot sauce

Halve peppers lengthwise, remove core & seeds, then roast/cook on grill (cut side up), under broiler (cut side down), or in the microwave (cut side down in shallow dish with 1 Tbs water, cover with plastic wrap leaving 1 vented corner, microwave until tender: 8-10 mins). When peppers are cool enough to handle, remove as much skin as you can (rub off if grilled/broiled, or use a spoon to scoop out the flesh if microwaved). Place pepper flesh in blender or food processor with remaining ingredients, process until smooth. Transfer to serving bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

"Like" Us on Facebook & You Could Win FREE Sauce!

Want to win FREE sauces and seasonings? Then play the Crock Pot Game on August 1st on the Carolina Sauce Company Facebook page!  We post a new game on our Facebook page on the 1st of each month. Simply follow the rules and post your answer on our page, and we'll select a winner each month to receive a free product, gift certificate, or other zesty prize. The next Crock Pot Game will be posted on August 1st, so make sure to "Like" us on Facebook in order to play.  Our Facebook page is also the place to find additional coupons, special offers and private sales--simply click on the "Coupons" tab (with the green dollar sign) to access the current offers.  We want to hear from you, too, so please leave us a comment on our Facebook page, and feel free to share your food photos, recipes, BBQ/food blog, and other zesty stuff.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Heartbreaking Dawns Mango-Habanero Hot Sauce

Voluptuously juicy, sweet mangoes and vibrantly fiery-hot habanero peppers are a powerful, passionate pairing of tropical flavor and heat. Heartbreaking Dawn's Habanero-Mango Hot Sauce brings together this dynamic duo in a classic Caribbean-style hot sauce that will please chileheads and gourmands alike.

Made using the finest all-natural ingredients, Heartbreaking Dawn's Mango-Habanero Sauce relies solely on the natural sweetness of mangoes instead of sugar or syrup to smooth out any harsh tartness from the vinegar and lime juice. In addition to supplying plenty of peppery heat, the ripe red habanero peppers bring their own unique bright flavor notes while savory ingredients like carrots, garlic and celery provide a sturdy food-friendly base that keeps this sauce from being too fruity or sweet. And because the heat level is a tolerable medium-hot, you'll be able to enjoy the flavors in this sauce and of your food without risking your taste-buds from too much heat.

Enjoy this versatile habanero-mango hot sauce at the table on any food that would benefit from a splash of tropical heat, including grilled or roast meats, poultry or seafood, savory vegetable or rice dishes, and even stir-fry recipes and Caribbean beans. It's also excellent in recipes for stews and even chili.

Heartbreaking Dawns Mango Habanero Hot Sauce is on sale now at the Carolina Sauces website.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  Make sure to check out the other fabulously flavorful, fiercely fiery and fancifully-labeled hot sauces from Heartbreaking Dawn.

Savory Garlic-Pepper Greens

Whether you use spinach, collard greens, kale, chard, turnip greens, beet greens, mustard greens or any other greens or mixture of them, this healthy recipe will add zesty flavor without the fat of traditional recipes that call for fatback, ham, oil or other such ingredients. The photo shows beet greens that have been cooked according to this recipe. The amounts listed below are very flexible and can be adjusted as needed or desired based on what you have on hand and your taste preferences.

Ingredients
Approx. 1 lb dark leafy greens of your choice, washed and trimmed of tough stems
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (not broth), preferably homemade
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt to taste
Cider vinegar, lemon juice or hot sauce, to taste (I recommend a basic vinegar pepper sauce like Tabasco, Texas Pete, or Gator Hammock Gator Sauce. If you want a splash of bacon flavor without the fat or calories of bacon, then use Bacon Hot Sauce.)

Buy Bacon Hot Sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the greens and cook until they begin to soften and turn bright green (about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on type and quantity of greens). Drain the greens into a colander and rinse with very cold water until cool to the touch. Set aside to drain off as much water as possible.

While the greens drain, combine the stock and garlic in a large, deep saute pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until the stock is reduced by half.  While the stock and garlic simmer, squeeze out any excess water from the greens and coarsely chop. Once the stock mixture is reduced, add the greens and red pepper, stir well to combine, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let the greens cook to desired tenderness, stirring occasionally (this could take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on type and quantity of greens). Uncover, taste for balance, and season to taste with salt and your choice of vinegar, lemon juice or hot sauce.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Z Nothing Beyond Hot Sauce

Buy Z Nothing Beyond Hot Sauce

Are you tired of the same old one-trick-pony of a habanero hot sauce? Are you ready to wake up your taste buds and fire up your mouth with a remarkably hot AND memorably flavorful habanero hot sauce? Then try Z Nothing Beyond Hot Sauce, one of our newest products at the Carolina Sauces online store!

Sure, there may be hotter sauces on the market, but if flavor matters to you as much as a searing burn, then Z is for you. As far as extract-enhanced super-hot hot sauces go, this is one of the best-tasting ones you can buy. It's made using a traditional Caribbean style vinegar-mustard base, and there's a good amount of pepper extract added to intensify and prolong the habanero heat, but the bothersome "chemical" aftertaste found in many ultra-hots is absent. Instead, this sauce delivers a savory-fruity tropical flavor thanks to its inspired blend of papaya, guava, banana, pineapple and passion fruit.

Splash Z Nothing Beyond on any savory dish that needs a burst of sunny flavor and a wallop of peppery fire.  Your mouth will sing with joy, and this might very well become your new favorite super-hot habanero hot sauce.

Z Nothing Beyond Hot Sauce is currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

New Hot Sauces with Deadly Names

Spontaneous Combustion Hot Sauce

Here at the Carolina Sauce Company, we're not really into "gimmicky" products (and as a matter of principle we don't offer any "adults only" sauces with obscene names or labels).

But once in a while a hot sauce comes along with the sort of name or label that leaps out at us as a no-brainer to add as a new product at the Carolina Sauces store.  Other times, we get requests from customers and hot sauce fans regarding bizarre or outlandish products, and after some research we add them to our online offerings.

The following new extreme hot sauces fall under those descriptions, and all but the most hardened chiliheads will agree that their deadly heat levels live up to their frightening names.

Spontaneous Combustion Hot Sauce is a shockingly hot habanero hot sauce that will burn you to a crisp if you're not careful.  As if fresh habanero peppers weren't hot enough by themselves, the makers of this hot sauce ratchet up the heat by adding a good amount of capsicum extract. The extract also ensures that the relentless burn will linger on and on and on, and actually grow in perceived intensity with every additional bite. The attention-grabbing packaging and name make this hot sauce a logical gift choice for the person who swears that habaneros aren't hot enough. And the classic straightforward hot sauce base ensures that every drop will deliver fire-breathing habanero flavor and heat.

Lethal Ingestion Hot Sauce

We recently featured Lethal Ingestion Hot Sauce in a previous post describing several new ghost pepper hot sauces now available from our website. Rather than repeating my description of this surprisingly edible ultra-hot sauce that's made from Fatalii peppers, red savina habanero peppers and ghost peppers (also called naga or bhut jolokia chiles), I'll simply mention it here for its rather clever name and design. The label and packaging connote toxic industrial chemicals or dangerous laboratory substances, neither of which should ever be ingest, and thus add to the attractiveness of this ultra-hot sauce to collectors and fiery-foods enthusiasts (and possibly also to mad scientists).

Pure Poison Hot Sauce

Finally, Pure Poison Hot Sauce forgoes subtlety in its name and label, instead appealing to the daredevil diner and others with cast-iron stomachs and intestinal fortitude. But this extreme habanero hot sauce is not merely a gimmick to be dismissed offhand. Instead of using the cheapest and least interesting ingredients, the makers of Pure Poison thoughtfully chose to use red wine vinegar, orange juice and garlic as the other primary ingredients (habanero peppers are the main ingredient, and a dash of pepper extract was added to magnify the heat). As a result, both the name AND the flavor of this hot sauce will have you doing a double-take.

Do you have a favorite hot sauce with an outrageous (but not x-rated!) name or label? Or is there a crazy or lethal-sounding sauce you'd like to see us carry? If so, please leave a comment to let us know--and remember, only "family friendly" products, please (if you wouldn't want your kids to see it, we're not interested).

Zestfully yours,
Gloria