New Blog Posts
Dolmalik Chili Pepper – and a Recipe
I recently received some Dolmalik chili peppers from my friend and chili pepper grower, Jim Duffy, of Refining Fire Chiles. What a great pepper. It’s a mild pepper from Turkey, fairly thin walled though not too thin, and is a nice and bright red. The Dolmalik is an heirloom Ancho type pepper with a rich smoky sweet flavor. I wanted my homemade macaroni and cheese to pop with color, and the Dolmalik was an excellent choice for both presentation and flavor.
Too Much Zucchini? Just Add Pesto and Jalapeno Peppers
This is the time of year when your garden is overflowing with fresh vegetables. What a wonderful problem to have. For me, the challenge is zucchini. I enjoy zucchini, but they grown in such abundance that it is difficult to cook them all. Throw in the fact that many friends and family also grow too many and they like to bring them over, we’re forced to get creative with our meals. Not a problem here! Luckily I also have an overabundance of jalapeno peppers on hand, along with fresh basil and a handy pesto recipe.
Shepherds Ramshorn Chili Pepper
The Shepherds Ramshorn (Capsicum annuum) – The Shepherds Ramshorn is a large sweet variety that originated in Spain but now is mainly cultivated in Italy. On the Brix sweet scale, which determines sugar content in fruits and vegetables, it scores higher than the Corno di Toro and Marconi Red varieties. However, it does take longer to mature than those peppers. In the seed tissue it will have a detectable mild heat. This pepper is aproductive pepper plant, especially in cooler shorter summer seasons and it does well in the wet northeast. It is used to make sweet sauces, raw in salads, roasting and stuffing. The Shepherds Ramshorn chile plants can grow between 2 to 3 feet tall.
Sweet Jalapeno Barbecue Sauce
I’m a big fan of barbecue sauce, especially in the summertime. It is one of those types of sauces with a nearly infinite number of variations, with so many levels of heat, sweet, tanginess – a myriad of ingredient options. This recipe incorporates jalapeno peppers for a mild-to-mid-level heat, along with sweet honey and a bit of your favorite bourbon.
The Complete Chile Pepper Book
This month, Timber Press will be releasing a paperback version of The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener’s Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking by pepper experts Dave DeWitt and Paul Bosland. With a fresh new cover and a great new feel, the book is perfect for any chile lover, home chef, or home gardener.
Veal Shanks over Polenta with Sweet Peppers
I’ve been making Osso Buco for a while now and love how easy it is to prepare, but I also love how tender the meat becomes. It will literally fall off the bone. I love that. I’ve been playing with the original Italian recipe, adapting it to my own tastes, even though I love Italian food. It is fun to toy with old traditions, especially when you have a chili pepper arsenal to work with. This version incorporates plenty of chili peppers, along with red chili powder for some kick.
Check out more at our Chili Pepper Madness Blog.
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