Here is just a little habanero hot sauce recipe to whet your appetite! The recipe for the mini-crawfish pies may or may not appear in the future, but the hot sauce is good on pretty much anything!

If you know me, you know I’m kind of fanatical about spicy food. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had particularly sensitive Capsaicin receptors in my mouth. When I was about 5 or so years old, my whole family was out in my grandfather’s garden and my dad picked a jalapeno pepper. I can’t remember the exact details, because I was FIVE, but he got me to taste the jalapeno in front of my mom and sister. Of course, knowing they couldn’t handle much spice I played it off like it wasn’t the least bit spicy. Apparently I did a good enough job because they both took a bite of the pepper then ran to the kitchen to find something to cool their mouthes off! Ah, the good times of inflicting spice pain on other people. I still like to do it, although I don’t hide the fact that it’s going to be spicy; I’m mush less cruel now than I was when I was five.

Note: This hot sauce needs to sit in the fridge for about 2 weeks for the flavors to develop so be patient.

Recipes in this post:

• Spicy Habanero Hot Sauce

Related posts:

1. Holiday Recipe: Cheesy Chile, Fennel & Potato Gratin

When I’m under the weather, very few things appeal to me more than some good ol’ comfort food. You know, the kind of indulgent food that you grew up eating that really warms the soul. Having been sick all last week and still in recovery mode this week, I decided that only meatloaf would make me feel better! My meatloaf was mixed with sauteed fennel, red peppers, onions & garlic and fresh herbs then topped with a spicy chipotle glaze then served with buttery mashed potatoes.

Growing up, my dad was always the cook in the family. My mom baked for Christmas and occasionally other holidays but never cooked. Let’s amend that – still never cooks. To this day, I believe she might use her oven as excess storage space rather than a cooking appliance and I would put money on there being canned goods in the cupboards that I purchased when I was in high school! The one savory dish that my mom would make throughout my childhood was her meatloaf, which I absolutely loved. It was just a basic ketchup topped, well-seasoned ground beef meatloaf, but my god, I loved it! (And loved the meatloaf sandwiches on white bread w/ yellow mustard that followed.) Now, while my version of meatloaf isn’t exactly what my mom used to make, I still think of her and her version whenever I go to make one. And yes, I still use a ketchup based topping!

This one’s for you mom! For always being there for us and providing for us whether we were under-the-weather or just under-your-skin, if not in the kitchen, then in every other aspect of our lives. We wouldn’t have grown up into the kickass people we are (imho) without you playing such a fundamental role in our lives! I love you!

(p.s. mom – if you actually read this, the next time we talk use the code phrase “Adrian Paul likes pretty pink puppies”)

Recipes in this post:

• Spicy Chipotle Glazed Meatloaf

Related posts:

1. Spicy Chipotle Chocolate Cake
2. Hearty Red Wine Braised Short-Rib Beef Stew
3. The Ultimate Corned Beef Sandwich

As some of you may know, I’m not what one would call a chocoholic. Not even close. I mean, I like chocolate and from time to time I enjoy eating a bite here and there, but generally I never crave chocolate. What I do crave is SPICY. Give me anything spicy and I am one happy hommie. It was my love of spice that inspired this particular recipe and, omg, was it ever a good idea! We’re eating super moist & spicy chipotle chocolate cake with a nutella cream cheese frosting. The frosting on this cake is the perfect soothing creamy element needed to round out such a spicy dessert.

Recipes in this post:

• Spicy Chipotle Chocolate Cake

Related posts:

1. Fudgy Earl Grey Chocolate Cake
2. Killer Peanut Butter Mousse Brownie Pie
3. Cinnamon Apple Pecan Crumb Bars

Whenever the weather turns chilly and the sniffles start appearing around our household, it’s a clear sign soup is in order. On this occasion, we ate thai chicken soup made with a slowly simmered homemade chicken stock packed full of veggies, chicken, kaffir leaves, peppers, and other spices. The soup was finished by shredding the chicken and simmering the stock with sliced onions, panang curry paste, and coconut milk, then serving it over basmati rice. Sliced green onions, jalapenos, and cilantro leaves were served on the side to add freshness and a little extra kick to the meal.

A: t, you know how when you first start to feel sick, for some reason your body just screams for chicken soup?
T: yeah.
A: well, that’s the exact reason we got to eat this particular soup! last week my immune system just didn’t want to battle any germs. But a nice healthy dose of spicy thai chicken soup sure did the trick….
T: yeah i’m seriously glad you didn’t get sick… that always sucks. getting sick is for the birds.
A: no joke. and inevitably if i get sick, you’re gonna get sick. so, yay for brothy chicken soup!
T: i don’t know if it is inevitable that i would get sick if you got sick. I do eat a diet exceptionally rich in pork fat.
A: hmm… i didn’t know pork fat was a known immune booster…
T: neither did I, but I’ve been eating carnitas for lunch everyday, and I haven’t gotten sick in ages. There might just be something to be said for fatty pork!
A: alright! from this day forth, i shall eat nothing but fatty pork… (in order to keep my immune system up, of course)
T: it takes more than fatty pork to stay really healthy, though… throw in some sour cream and french fries and fatty beef. You’ll be good.
A: yowsers. i don’t know if my immune system is quite ready for this diet! i’m gonna have to slowly ween myself on to this one. i’ll start with eating some bacon tomorrow! i can definately handle this diet.
T: of course chicken soup is another way to stay healthy. I have a question about this particular soup… what makes it a thai soup, and how authentic do you imagine it to be?
A: well, being a white-bred american, i don’t really imagine it’s too authentically thai. but what makes it thai in my mind is the broth… which has quite a strong flavor of kaffir leaves. it also has coconut milk and panang curry paste in the soup… and yes. the panang curry paste is imported. (god i love the 99Ranch)!
T: well i thought the soup was quite tasty. I love the brothy yet milkiness that you get from using the coconut milk. Plus, I love stirring in fresh jalapenos. That makes it a choose your own adventure. I give it a 4.4/5. Super good, probably has some evolving left before it hits the ultimate level though. Whatcha think?
A: i agree, the first time i make something like this is always a learning experience. the outcome always lets me know what i could do better next time. in this case, i would actually have liked to add more panang curry paste (although i didn’t have more). all the fresh add-ins really do make the dish. it’s very similar to Pho in that respect. but there’s nothing like fresh cilantro, green onions and jalapenos. I give the soup a 4.25/5, for pretty much the same reasons. It was definately tasty, but there’s certainly room to grow!
T: you said something about Pho… what is pho, ho?
A: well, bi-atch, Pho is a yummy beef brothy vietnamese soup that is served with similar add-ins on the side, you know, cilantro, jalapenos, etc…
T: sounds like fun times. You know what else is fun times?
A: eh?
T: Burgers. Didn’t you say a while back that you were definately making burgers in the next 2 weeks? I think it’s been longer than 2 weeks… so.. umm… how do i say this.. umm… when are you making some damn burgers woman?
A: if you had let me get a word in, i would have told you that i bought everything to make burgers last weekend (when b came into town), but we just haven’t had time to make them. then i was planning on making them TOMORROW… but now we’ve a brunch date! the burgers are coming… i swear it!
T: to all the guys out there… do you see what I’ve done here? I demanded burgers while making her feel guilty for not making them sooner, and now she’s promising to make some soon.
A: listen here, butt-munch. if you send out any more messages like that, telling men to treat there significant other like that, there ain’t never gonna be no damn burger… you hear me, son?!?
T: I was concerned until you winked. Now I know that you’ll make the burgers no matter what. There’s another lesson for you guys out there.
slapp
T: and don’t worry about being slapped. It’s kind of fun.
A: well, i never!!!
T: ok, ok, ok… i would never ever promote being mean or demanding of your significant other. Although being slapped is still kind of fun.

Related posts:

1. Virginia-Style Brunswick Stew
2. Super Easy Sriracha-Peach Chicken Wings
3. Sweet & Spicy Asian Bourbon Chicken