Must have something right in the Islands

Apparently the people of the islands have something good going for them. Last summer my wife and I took a rather impromptu trip to the island of St. John in the USVI. This more private and less frequented island in the chain was a hot-bed for some amazing foods. None of the restaurants on this tiny little island disappointed. But more important than coming back with a tan, I also returned with a few bottles of another hot sauce I have since fallen in love with and search for to this day. Sitting at breakfast one morning I asked for hot sauce and was brought the standard bottle of Tobasco (yawn) but then the waiter (a local from St. Thomas) asked if I really liked it hot and handed me a bottle of “Miss Anna’s”. This locally made sauce (yellow in color) did not disappoint one bit. If you ever run across a bottle of this…buy it!! It’s magnificent and great on just about everything. Cool and mild to begin with but quickly hits your taste-buds. Not for the faint of heart. The taste and heat both linger in your mouth and are truly something great. My recommendations don’t do it justice. But ‘buyer beware’, they also produce a mild jar (still good but not hot) and it looks suspiciously similar so make sure you’re getting the good stuff.

Take a look...

So this is a little different and I'm not going to lie, but a little bit of promotion here. If you're looking for a little bit of a respite away from just the hot and spicy aspect of cooking, I recommend checking out a friend of mine's blog...The Husband's Kitchen. It's got some pretty good recipes and some information which is worth reading. It is what it says it is...a look into a husband's kitchen and his forays into the culinary world. You can find the link on the side of my page or here it is...bookmark and check back frequently. http://husbandskitchen.blogspot.com/

A Hot Sauce Haven

My goal here is never to blatantly promote anything of anything else, but there is one place that every hot sauce lover should know about. Situated in the mountains in the lovely downtown of Park City, Utah is a little shop that is 100% dedicated to hot sauces of every kind. “It’s F’n Hot” truly does hot sauces justice. The owners are beyond friendly and would love to sit and talk to you and hear your feed back, recommend sauces and even sample a good deal of them before you buy them (all of which I had the pleasure of doing). For those who can’t make it into the mountains just north of Salt Lake City, they do have a decent website at www.itsfnhot.com I’d highly recommend checking it out, especially the store. When we were there temperatures were below 0 degrees but I had to be the only person walking around sweating.

A little bit of Island heat

There are very many topics on my mind right now and so many I can write about (and plan to), but I figured why not start with the one that’s most recent. My wife and I have just returned from our honeymoon in Antigua and what would a trip to the Caribbean be without sampling the local cuisine. The local beer, Wadadli, leaves little to be desired but that’s not what my purpose was to begin with. I want to introduce you to a new friend known as “Susie’s Hot Sauce”. There are many varieties, flavors and variations, but “the Original” is great in its own right. Made locally on the island it really gives a good showing as a hot sauce. You can find it at just about every restaurant on the island (almost like a national product) as well as just about every store you enter. It’s got some kick and tingle the tongue about it so use it sparingly. It’s great on meat (especially coupled with some Jerk Chicken) and even great on eggs. I’d highly recommend trying it if you’re fortunate enough to get your hands on it, although it is rare to find away from the island.

Starting out

I’m not a food-critic or chef or really have any sort of credentials. But I am a foodie living in New York (the food capital of the world) and a connoisseur more specifically of spices and really anything “hot”. While I haven’t had everything out there, I do spend my time exploring my pallet and attempting broaden my horizon’s as I uncover the good, bad and the ugly of “hot” food. First let me lay this out from the get-go. I am not here to find the hottest food imaginable or to try everything known as “suicidal” or “inferno”. I just want to share my findings throughout my travels of anything on the topic of hot sauces or intense spices or really jut anything related to it. I do feel that each sauce has its intended goal and when applied right, can enhance both food and the enjoyment of it. So here are my findings and my journey through the excitement of food…