hot

Long Hot Peppers

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Uplifting Aromas: Long Hot Peppers! Aren’t they pretty? I picked up these twisted green chiles at a Mexican Farmers Market. Their skin is smooth and waxy in a conical shape that promises a mildly sweet flavor. The owner wanted me to try them, so he basically gathered up a handful and put them in my market basket. “You’ll see”, he said. “Taste them and come back for more.” These versatile peppers are so much milder than jalapeños, which make them a delicious addition to garden salads, homemade salsas, sandwich toppers, as pizza and pasta partners. Chop or slice, roast or pickle them…..as long as you give them a chance.

LONG HOT PEPPERS

Ingredients:

1 pound long hot green peppers

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

Instructions:

Only prepare the quantity you wish to use for a specific meal. Wash and pat dry the green peppers. Remove the stems; discard. Slice or chop each pepper, placing the pieces in a bowl. Whisk together olive oil, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Pour over the peppers. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes before using. Savor the crunch! Store unused long hot peppers in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.

Hot Sauce Tex-Mex Dip

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Clean Eating: Hot Sauce Tex-Mex Dip! Nothing screams “party” like a flavorful Mexican dip loaded with cheese, beans, chorizo, and chips. This do-ahead recipe is perfect for advance planners. Pull it all together and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready, simply allow it to stand at room temperature half an hour before you need to bake it. Add 10 minutes to the time it is covered in the oven for melting the ooey gooey cheese. If you’re going to make this Tex-Mex Dip, may as well get lost in the tug-of-war between chili lime seasoning and garlicky hot sauce. It’s everything you love. Just add cocktails.

HOT SAUCE TEX-MEX DIP

Ingredients:

4-ounces cream cheese, room temperature

15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained, and divided

3/4 tablespoon fresh lime juice, divided

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 cup chorizo, cooked and crumbled

2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons red pepper, finely chopped

1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix

4 ounces Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded and divided

1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons pickled jalapeño, diced

Tortilla chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. In a food processor, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup black-eyed peas, 1 teaspoon lime juice, hot sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon sea salt. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir remaining black-eyed peas, chorizo, scallions, red pepper, taco seasoning mix, and 1/2 cup Mexican Cheese Blend into the cream cheese mixture. Mix thoroughly. Spread into the bottom of a lightly greased deep dish pie plate. Sprinkle with remaining Mexican Cheese Blend. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 15 minutes longer until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir together in a bowl chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, olive oil, diced jalapeño, remaining lime juice, and remaining sea salt. Using a slotted spoon, top dip with tomato mixture. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Kielbasa Hot Dogs

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Bright Ideas: Kielbasa Hot Dogs! If you like to try something a little different than ordinary hot dogs, choose a beef sausage link that focuses more on natural flavorings like garlic, woodsmoke, cloves, or pimento. Personally, I lean more toward nitrate-free labeling, which means the preservatives are natural rather than chemically added. Every little bit helps, because sometimes eating a grilled hot dog just makes the world a happier place.

KIELBASA HOT DOGS

Ingredients:

13-ounce package of 4 kielbasa smoked sausage links, fully cooked

4 brioche split-top brioche hot dog buns

1/2 sweet onion, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

1/4 cup yellow mustard

Instructions:

Preheat gas grill to 400°. Arrange smoked sausage links directly on the grill grates. Close lid. The total cooking time should be approximately 12 minutes. After 3 minutes, using tongs rotate each sausage link a quarter turn. Close lid. After 3 more minutes, rotate another quarter turn. Repeat until all sides have been slightly charred. It helps to keep the sausage links from touching as they cook; this allows the heat to sear the skins evenly. When finished transfer to a platter and serve with chopped onion, sweet pickle relish, and yellow mustard.

Rosati’s Pizza in Estero, Florida

Dining Outside the Home: Rosati’s Pizza in Estero, Florida! You learn a lot about a business by talking to the owners. Perhaps that is why I sometimes visit a restaurant in the off hours of the day. You are more apt to find the owners working face-to-face with customers. Rosati’s Pizza is owned and operated by a family who not only strives for perfection, but also cares about the people who walk through their door. When they expanded their business in Estero for dine-in service, Covid hit with a vengeance and caused them to shift to delivery and carry-out service only. That takes a chunk out of overhead, which translates to selling a boatload of pizza. Yet, they endured. And thrived because they do things the old-fashioned way: like sourcing local ingredients, fresh mozzarella, and homemade crusts. Their story goes all the way back to the first pizzerias in Chicago; Italian roots to the core. So proud, they live by the motto, “We don’t cut corners, just slices of pizza.” Dine in, smell the aromas, chat with the staff, and over-order so you have extra servings for leftovers. Don’t forget to add a jar of the Hot Giardiniera. It is ah-mazing!

Hoosier Hot Dish

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Country Casual Cravings: Hoosier Hot Dish! When I moved to Indiana over 30 years ago, it didn’t take me long to hear the term “Hoosier”. I knew it was a nickname for the State’s residents. But, honestly, I wondered how it originated. I had no idea it came into popularity over 200 years ago. The story that was told to me went something like this. Along the Ohio River, in the hills of southern Indiana, settlers lived and worked around the riverfront. As boatmen passed by on barges taking corn to New Orleans, the countrymen would call out, “Who’s Yere?” to assure they were friend, not foe. It happened so often, in time those workers became known as people of the “Hooshier” State. My experience in hearing about this one-pot meal for the first time was just as funny. A coworker said she was making Hoosier Hot Dish for supper. When I asked her for the recipe, she laughed and told me there wasn’t one. She said you just throw everything in a pot on the stove and eat it when it’s done. I narrowed it down a little bit more for you. Go figure.

HOOSIER HOT DISH

Ingredients:

1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

15-ounce can cut green beans, with liquid

1 pound potatoes, quartered, skin on

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/2” chunks

Instructions:

Warm olive oil on medium-low setting in the bottom of a stock pot. Add sliced onions, seasoned salt, garlic and herbed seasoning. Sauté 20 minutes until onions are a light brown. Add green beans with liquid, quartered potatoes, and smoked sausage chunks. Cover and Cook 30-40 minutes over medium heat or until potatoes are fork tender. Hot Dish will thicken. Add 1/2 cup water, if necessary, to keep things from boiling dry or scorching. Serve with cornbread.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Front-Runner Favs: Jamaican Jerk Chicken! I admit, I tend to take the path of least resistance. By the time I decided I was making this dish for dinner, all I had on hand was frozen chicken. Solution: Slow-cooker to the rescue. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my crockpot? Honestly, some days I’d be lost without it. Not only is the chicken tender and moist, but the citrusy-sweet-spicy glaze made it a perfect accompaniment for steamed sticky rice. Win! Win!

JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks

12 ounces nonalcoholic beer

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 cup puréed Habanero peppers

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons allspice

2 teaspoons thyme

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons natural honey

2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying

Instructions:

Place frozen chicken in crockpot. In a measuring cup add nonalcoholic beer, orange juice, lime juice, and Habanero purée. Stir to combine. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cinnamon, allspice, thyme, and garlic powder. Add soy sauce, agave nectar, kosher salt, and olive oil. Pour over meat. Cover and cook 4 hours on High setting. After chicken is cooked, using a tongs, carefully transfer meat to a platter. Chicken will be very tender. Transfer drippings to a heatproof bowl. Add red pepper flakes and honey. Mix well. On the stovetop, heat an iron skillet on medium-high. Add olive oil. Transfer the chicken to the skillet. Add half the marinade to the skillet. Cook until the skin is crispy and deep brown or charred in places. Turn chicken over and repeat, adding more marinade. Reduce heat and simmer the sauce to thicken, about 5 minutes longer. Brush over the chicken as it thickens.

Jumping Chicken Noodle Bowl

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Sunshine Eats: Jumping Chicken Noodle Bowl! I love it when I can go to the kitchen and use ingredients I already have on hand. The “make ahead” Vietnamese Dipping Sauce* (nuoc cham) is a multi-purpose staple that livens up Asian cuisine nicely. By making supper a noodle bowl with prepackaged veggies and spicy chicken, the blend of flavors quickly satisfy hunger pangs while providing comfort at the same time.

JUMPING CHICKEN NOODLE BOWL

Ingredients:

8 ounces boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup soybean sauce

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 bunch broccoli florets, cooked and drained

1 cup blend of shredded cabbage and carrots

1 green onion, chopped

1/3 cup cashew pieces

1 cup Vietnamese Dipping Sauce*

Instructions:

Heat a skillet over medium temperature. Add olive oil and chicken strips, single layer. Cook 3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Reduce heat to low. Add soybean sauce and red pepper flakes. Cook 10 minutes longer until meat is tender and liquid is absorbed. Arrange chicken strips, rice noodles, broccoli florets, and cabbage-carrot blend in a shallow bowl. Top with chopped green onions and cashew pieces. Cover with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce*, to taste. Serve immediately.

*Make your own Vietnamese Dipping Sauce by clicking on the following link.

https://snapshotsincursive.com/2017/04/17

Hot Sauce Tex-Mex Dip

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Clean Eating: Hot Sauce Tex-Mex Dip! Nothing screams “party” like a flavorful Mexican dip loaded with cheese, beans, chorizo, and chips. This do-ahead recipe is perfect for advance planners. Pull it all together and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready, simply allow it to stand at room temperature half an hour before you need to bake it. Add 10 minutes to the time it is covered in the oven for melting the ooey gooey cheese. If you’re going to make this Tex-Mex Dip, may as well get lost in the tug-of-war between chili lime seasoning and garlicky hot sauce. It’s everything you love. Just add cocktails.

HOT SAUCE TEX-MEX DIP

Ingredients:

4-ounces cream cheese, room temperature

15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained, and divided

3/4 tablespoon fresh lime juice, divided

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 cup chorizo, cooked and crumbled

2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons red pepper, finely chopped

1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix

4 ounces Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded and divided

1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons pickled jalapeño, diced

Tortilla chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. In a food processor, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup black-eyed peas, 1 teaspoon lime juice, hot sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon sea salt. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir remaining black-eyed peas, chorizo, scallions, red pepper, taco seasoning mix, and 1/2 cup Mexican Cheese Blend into the cream cheese mixture. Mix thoroughly. Spread into the bottom of a lightly greased deep dish pie plate. Sprinkle with remaining Mexican Cheese Blend. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 15 minutes longer until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir together in a bowl chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, olive oil, diced jalapeño, remaining lime juice, and remaining sea salt. Using a slotted spoon, top dip with tomato mixture. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Hattie B’s Chicken in Nashville, Tennessee

Dining Outside the Home: Hattie B’s Chicken in Nashville, Tennessee! Chicken places can be a dime a dozen in the South, but Hot Spicy Chicken is a bird of a different color. Hattie B’s is a mom and pop food joint that rolls off the tongue with a southern drawl. Ask anyone on the street and they’ll point you in the direction for fried chicken at its best in Nashville. Five heat levels from no heat crispy chicken to eye-bulging habanero spicy are offered, so be prepared to eat your words. You’re going to need the coleslaw, pickles, and beans to tone things down long enough to finish the basket you ordered. For an explosion of flavor worth bragging about, head over to Hattie B’s. It’s something to crow about.