Endless Ice Cream: I’ll Take a Waiver with That

No offense to unsightly and my magnitude of sweet loving friends…but I really just don’t like ice cream that much. It hurts my teeth, it gives me a headache from all the sugar, and I feel like vomiting after I eat it every time (lactard). I’m not saying I don’t enjoy it once in awhile, but normally, not what I go for.

HOWEVER. A few weeks ago when I walked by this ice cream shop in Rehoboth Beach, DE while waiting to sober up from lunch at Dogfish Head so I could drive home, I spotted something interesting. Not only does this unsuspecting ice cream place have some weirdly named flavors, but in order to eat Ghost Pepper ice cream, you have to sign a waiver. I’ve had savory ice cream and spicy ice cream before but…waiver worthy? I read the Ghost Pepper ice cream description:

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Endless Road Trip Seattle: Curry to Thai for

I’ve saved the best for last. The best thing I miss about Seattle, the best restaurant memories from my years of college in the University District, the best Thai food I’ve ever had. Yes, I’m that passionate about it. Thai Tom is my favorite restaurant in Seattle even though it’s a cash-only hole-in-the-wall with hit-or-miss service, multiple health department warnings, an undeniably intense spice level, legions of whiny Yelp detractors, and often a long wait on the dirty sidewalk of the Ave.

It’s fine, I’ll call out all those detriments. I challenge you to take one bite of Thai Tom’s curry and disagree with my ardent assessment of their amazing food. After your wait, after cramming into a wobbly wooden table or a crowded corner spot in front of the open-kitchen wok, after agonizing over which dish to order off their hand-painted wooden panel menus, after hungrily watching the sweaty chefs pouring piping-hot, incredibly fresh sauces over snowy balls of rice in glass troughs and praying that order is yours… once you’re endured that, the first bite (and every subsequent bite) is worth enduring the Thai Tom process. The food is heaven.

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Homemade Hot Sauce

Freelance writer Alicia Ranch-Traille joins ES to talk hot sauce. Very hot sauce.

You don’t quite know what makes yourself tick. As a kid, you played mad scientist with the solvents and cleansers beneath the kitchen sink. As a teenage vandal, you really got something out of chemistry class: a temporary record down at the police station. In college, you jumped out of a plane because the sky would win if you didn’t, and you once made a resume that listed only your bodily scars. As an adult, you’re either the dude who sets his head on fire at a bar and makes the national news, or you’re someone for whom ingesting the world’s hottest sauces and peppers is an extracurricular pursuit.

Or maybe both. It’s a fine line.  There’s a way out of this hole, man. It’s time to bottle and sell your pain. You need to make your own hot sauce.

Hot Sauce: A Truly Hot Commodity

Hot sauce isn’t just for men, of course. It’s just that guys have built a whole subculture around it, a close cousin of the microbrew movement. Americans love hot sauce, and the fact that it’s one of the top-10 growth industries in the U.S. right now proves it. By 2017, according to an IBISWorld report, hot sauce is expected to be a $1.3 billion industry, and the movement is already well underway. Just take a look at all the chilihead resources that have popped up in recent years. Austin has a store devoted just to hot sauce. You can get lost in the Hot Sauce Blog for hours, and certain people are obsessed with Sriracha.

What this means for the home chili pepper enthusiast is simple. There’s a market for that thing you love, and you should consider getting in. Unfortunately, chiliheads—being reckless and impulsive by nature—tend to be both rule-averse and unsystematic. That’s no way to learn cooking. “Trial and error” doesn’t mean throwing a bunch of stuff together at random, you know. You can’t see your variables that way. It’s not scientific.

Getting Started

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Gridiron Grub: Southern Seven-Layer Dip

The beginning of fall is always bittersweet for me, because I love summer with all my heart. The silver lining to this new season, though, is that fall equals the return of football, which equals daydrinking, snacking, and of course, tailgating!

I love tailgating. Lounging outside in the sun, downing beer, and chowing down on indulgent snacks? Hell yeah. Now that I’m a Texas transplant, I have fully committed to the southern tailgate lifestyle, and I am here to tell you it is way more intense than anything I experienced in Washington. Here in Austin, a city with no pro sports teams, college football reigns supreme. It doesn’t matter if you attended UT or not, on game days you proudly sport all the burnt orange you can muster and hook ’em horns with the best of ’em. My boyfriend, Rob, is a born-and-raised Austinite and a huuuuge Longhorns supporter with a reserved tailgate spot and season tickets to all the games, so I knew it was important to make a strong “I’m committed to this, y’all!” statement among the other fans at my first UT tailgate.

Mulling over all the traditional choices got a bit tedious. Chips, queso, pulled pork, chili, salsa… I couldn’t make up my mind and didn’t want to just settle for one of those cliché (albeit delicious, don’t get me wrong!) choices. Suddenly it dawned one me: why not combine all my favorite fatty football foods in one epic dish?! If people can do that with Mexican food, why couldn’t I do that with Southern food?! And thus, the Southern Seven-Layer Dip was born.

Southern Seven-Layer Dip

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Endless Road Trip Seattle: Now That’s a Spicy Cocktail

I’m kind of fickle when it comes to spicy stuff. Sometimes I love it (5-star Thai curries, chipotle peppers, Cholula on my scrambled eggs) and sometimes it’s just too much for me (stirfry drenched in red chili paste, jalapeños on my nachos, super hot BBQ sauce). Where do I draw the line and why? Who knows? I like what I like, and that’s that.

Here’s something spicy that I really like: the spicy tequila cocktails at Poquito’s. I’ve written about this hip and delicious restaurant/bar before, back when I lived in Seattle, and they keep finding ways to make me happy. One particular thing I keep coming back to is the La Fiona: their boozy, fruity, and yep — very spicy — cocktail concoction made of passionfruit puréehabañero-infused tequila, and agave nectar, complete with a chipotle-sugar rim.

While it’s offered as a cocktail, I usually order the La Fiona as a shot (left). And then I don’t even shoot it, but gingerly sip. Why? Well, as the menu warns us, this drink is “Extra spicy! Order at your own risk!” and they aren’t kidding. Sometimes I like to do a little one-two punch and get my La Fiona shot alongside another milder drink such as their delicious Fresa margarita made with strawberry-infused tequila (right).

I’ll be the first to admit that Seattle isn’t exactly known for its Mexican scene, but I promise a visit to the Poquitos bar can change that. Mouth-burningly spicy, tropical and tangy thanks to the passionfruit, and a bit smoky and sweet thanks to its rim, the La Fiona is a complex party of flavors in your mouth (and liver). Pair it with some of Poquitos’ incredibly fresh, made-to-order guacamole and crispy tortilla chips, or perhaps their luxurious ceviche, and enjoy.

Poquitos / 1000 E. Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122 / 11:30a-2:30a

Also on The Endless Road Trip: Seattle
1. The Most Powerful, Brouwerful Hour
2. Clucking Great Fried Chicken
3. Porky Passion at Paseo
4. Hipster Hangover Brunch

Endless Ice Cream: Hot Pepper!

This is an ice cream I created specifically to adorn brownies. Even more specifically, the Ancho Chile Brownies found in Robb Walsh’s Texas Eats, our most recent cookbook club pick. The ice cream is sweet and mellow at the start, and then swiftly kicks your throat’s balls with a spiciness that lingers only for a few seconds, keeping your spoon digging for more. It played perfectly with the brownies, but any chocolate pairing would work well.

Hot Pepper Ice Cream

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Cocktail O’Clock: Never Wake a Sleeping Dragon

 

It’s Friday. It’s been a long week. It’s ten billion degrees out.

Yep, it’s damn well time for Cocktail O’Clock. A nice, strong, spicy Cocktail O’Clock. Here’s a guest recipe from mixologist Hal Wolin of A Muddled Thought.

Never Wake a Sleeping Dragon

2 oz Ron Abuelo 12-year-old rum
1/2 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
1/2 oz Scotch (preferably 10 year old)
2 dashes Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub
2 Dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir gently and strain into coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with half a habanero pepper.

More creative drink ideas in Endless Cocktails.

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