Hot Sauce Taste Test

I did a taste test of the Hot Ones Last Dab sauces this morning. Hot Ones sells them through an online store called Heatonist out of Brooklyn, NY. I have the Moruga Scorpion (left) and the Carolina Reaper (right) versions. I also have their Feiry Chipotle and it’s exceptional. I boiled up some eggs in my usual 7 minute way that leaves the yolk runny but warm. Each got a small dab of the sauce and then was topped with salt, crushed cardamom seads, radish, and chopped spring onions.

At an advertised 2,000,000+ scovile units (as a rule I don’t believe the accuracy of those numbers) it’s an understatement to call them hot. Torture might be more like it. But, the folks at Hot Ones seem to care about flavor as much as heat and these were actually quite flavorful. Both varieties use the same base recipe of distilled vinegar, ginger root, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and dried mustard giving the opportunity to taste the difference in the peppers. The Scorpion pepper had the distinct vinegar flavor that often comes from sauces that about heat not flavor which was a little disappointing. The Reaper on the other had is nicely balanced and has the distinct pepper sweetness and flavor that you might expect from a bell pepper. Oh and pain, they both had pain.

As sauces I give them: 

• Reaper 9.5/10
• Scorpion 7.2/10

Salad Bite

Killed it this afternoon with a midnight inspiration. While laying awake I was pondering my first salad course and came up with the above. A salad bite consisting of: butter lettuce (though endive would be good too), topped with cucumber, onion, red bell pepper, cauliflower, mushroom, fennel frond, and grated parmesan. The dressing was a drizzle of lemon and lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. A dressing that has been serving us tastilly for about a week now.    

Needs some work but - 8.9/10

Duck Egg amuse-gueule

Had some inspiration on Friday and decided to chase it. Duck egg soft boiled at 8min and sliced in half. Garnish is salt, pepper, radish, yellow bell pepper, purple cabbage, fennel frond, sliced basil, and crispy bacon. It’s tempting to call it breakfast in a bite but it was so much more than that.

8.7/10

Short Ribs Steaks

Got a little inspiration from this Bon Appétit video about short ribs with a garlic pepper sauce. He did it in a pan rather than the grill and I would have as well but we don't have the ventilation to do it indoors. Out on the grill I had to contend with a Minnesota Spring/Winter (if you live here you understand) so I had to keep the lid on while cooking. Turning every minute (Blumenthal method) or so goes against my normal rules but in the end it was super tasty.

We threw the broccolini on after the meat was done and gave it a quick grill over high heat. Final touch was the oiled sourdough (homemade) toasted over the coals.

8/10 

English Bacon on Toasted Bread

Butter toasted bread with English bacon, celery greens, sliced radishes, pepper, and pumpkin seeds.