Spicy - - Page 6

by JR Moreau

Everyone Likes It Hot

Editors’ Note: Please welcome new ES contributor JR Moreau. The talented blogger behind Not So Literal is branching out to share his eating experiences with us.

This past summer I moved to Boulder, Colorado, home of the Colorado University Buffs (Buffaloes). This is destiny because I do in fact love all things Buffalo. Buffalo meat is tasty, Buffalo sauce is yummy, and Buffalo, New York is… kinda cool.

But as I sat and contemplated the awesomeness of anything prefixed by the word “Buffalo” I suddenly felt sad. I felt remorseful that I could enjoy home-made hot wings made out of chicken and other carnivorous materials and my vegan and vegetarian friends couldn’t share the experience. So I slept on it, ate hot wings at restaurants with friends, drank beers and put as much of my spare brainpower into how I could create an imitation hot-wing experience that would do justice to what I love about hot wings. It came to me on a mountaintop, in the middle of a thunderstorm, with Beethoven’s 9th blaring….

by Borracho

Gridiron Grub: Peach Bourbon Wonton with Gorgonzola Mornay Sauce

If you saw the first post in our Gridiron Grub series, you know that I am a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. If the fact that I am writing about football food once a week doesn’t turn you off, the fact that I am an Eagles fan might.

Philadelphia sports fans get a pretty bad rap and only some of it is deserved. We’ve been accused of throwing snowballs at Santa, cheering when opposing players get hurt, throwing batteries on the field and earlier this year, there was coverage of this disgusting incident. Particularly well known is Section 700 of the old Veteran’s Stadium. It was home to a group of especially rowdy and inebriated fans.

I have had a difficult time getting excited about this year’s team considering we traded one of the most respectable guys in the league and are now starting the infamous Ron Mexico. Because of this, I have been reminiscing about some of the great times I have had with friends at games through the years.

This week’s recipe I put together as a testament to the 700 Section and all the other fans out there like me. Fiery and sweet; fun and a little boozy.

in Cheese / Recipe 0 comments

by Borracho

Friday Fuck Up: Taking the Red Eye

They look so delicious, right? But every chili pepper has a dark side. So far I have only written a few blogs for ES so I am filled with pride and a little shame that I can already add this post to the long legacy of Friday Fuck Ups.

After my initial post for ES, I have been enthused with trying out some new ideas and so I thought I would make a few dishes this weekend (which will be posted in the near future): poblano and chorizo risotto, tilapia tacos, homemade tortillas and a few salsas you’ve already heard about. I picked up all my ingredients including jalapeno, poblano and chipotle peppers. I only needed a dozen jalapenos so I roasted them on the grill and decided that I should be fine just using my bare hands to scrape out the seeds….

in Personal 9 comments

by gansie

The Second Life of Corn Chowder

I don’t know why I had such a limited view of corn usage. Corn = grilled corn on the cob. That’s all. But then I let it pop and brown in hot oil and butter and threw it in with kale and roasted tomatoes for a salad.

I bought another four ears but did not have a plan of attack. And then I saw a corn chowder recipe over at Macheesmo. I never made corn chowder before, and I’m pretty sure I hadn’t followed a recipe all summer, so as the unofficial end of warmth approached last week, I fell in line and replicated a proper summer soup.

With the leftovers, however, I refused to simply reheat. Instead, I recreated a hotter, fattier soup and a slightly soggy frittata.

Corn Chowder Frittata

I think I botched this up, as I rushed to the broiler instead of letting the egg cook longer in the oven. I whipped one egg with hot sauce, salt and pepper. Then poured that over corn chowder leftovers, stirred it together and put the entire mixture into a pre-heated, buttered cast iron pan. Then I added sliced tomato to the top, with more salt and pepper and then slid it under the broiler. And waited and waited and waited. The mixture browned nicely on the top, but remained slightly soggy in the middle. I think cooking this in the oven for 15-20 minutes and then finishing in the oven, with a late addition of crumbled feta on top, would have worked better.

in Veggie 4 comments

by gansie

A Consummated Love Affair: Eggs and Potato Chips

Without a doubt potato chips are my favorite snack food. Cheese (extremely sharp cheddar) is next and a combination of a plate of Herr’s Ripples with cheddar, spicy mustard and a pickle is my ultimate combo. With all this love, however, I’ve never incorporated chips into my cooking. (Though I always wanted to try Herr’s Potato Chip Cookie.)

This was until I saw DC food writer Monica Bhide tweet about chips in an Indian-spiced egg dish. Holy Crap! How have I never thought of combining my two favorite things to eat. Finally! My love for salty crunch and creamy egg can be together at last! And because I now work from home full time I decided to try this out last week for lunch.

Egg Over Green Chili Potato Chips

Because I cooked this on the fly I didn’t have all of Monica’s set ingredients, which you can check out at her site. Here’s how I handled the situation.

in Eggs / Featured / Recipe / Veggie 6 comments

by gansie

Cheese in the Far East

Even though I’ve been home from Japan and Korea for about a month, I’m still seeing different friends for the first time and telling travel stories. I’m often asked what my favorite meal was or what country’s food I liked better or what was the craziest thing I ate. Often I mention the one instance 80 and I tasted cheese in the Far East as one of our best dishes.

We were shopping and strolling in the area near Seoul Women’s University. It was drizzling. Kinda chilly. Comfort was in need. It became our ritual to walk in, sit down and then leave restaurants if we couldn’t maneuver the menu or waitstaff. Because sometimes even hand gestures get lost in translation.

My co-worker Sherry told me about her sister’s views on Korean food while she lived in the country. The sister wasn’t fond of Korean food but enjoyed the country’s take on Italian food. 80 and I really did, for the most part, dine on each country’s cuisine. But at this moment, with seventy-five percent of our trip past, we needed something a tinge familiar. We needed cheese.

We walked into an Italian restaurant but then quickly left. We couldn’t communicate and weren’t up for the long batter of guesses. We snuck out. And instead we found college grub. Fusion college grub.

This place would fucking kill in the US. Huge bowls of hot rice, options of kimchi, veggies, chicken, whatever, then topped with melted mozzarella. Stir together with metal chopsticks. Awesomeness. Spicy, gooey, stomach-coating. Perfect drunk or hungover food. Plus, this place serves a side cup of broth to start. God I miss broth at every meal.

(PS–I hated Korean chopsticks: metal and thin. Hard to hold, become slippery easily. )

in Food Travel 8 comments

by BS

Is It 5 Yet? Happy Cinco de Mayo

Yay for holidays with little actual significance and much boozy celebrating!

If you’re still looking for ideas on how to celebrate Mexican St. Patrick’s Day, don’t forget Britannia’s spicy/drunky jalapeno cucumber margarita.

in Drinks / Holiday 0 comments