Piri Piri Chicken

I researched this sauce and adapted flavors to meet my own taste and the kind of peppers I had available to me.  I really like what I came up with.  I will eventually try it with Thai peppers but for now, I am totally loving this creation.  Piri piri sauce is my new go to hot sauce.  LOVE it!

The one thing that really makes piri piri stand out is the smoked paprika.  You definitely should buy a real good brand.  I am going to be honest here I have used it before and I wasn't all that jazzed about smoked paprika.  I thought it added bitterness and I wasn't exactly sold on its qualities.  But here, in this sauce, it is TOTALLY what makes it.  It is so awesome! I slather it on everything.  

I made some piri piri chicken, which from what I read, is wildly popular all over Mozambique. THe sauce hails from Spain originally.  I honestly think that this sauce will really catch on here and be all over soon enough.  You will hear it everywhere.  

Piri Piri Sauce

12 cherry peppers (any variety will work but the heat will be changed up)
6 cloves of garlic
1 onion
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of Kosher or non-iodine salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 cup of white vinegar

Blend everything together.
Cook one hour with lid on.
Store in glass jars in refrigerator.

Buffalo Style Cauliflower Bites

It is AH-mazing how fast we go through Frank's Red Hot Sauce.  I'm not saying this to be paid for it by the way.  I am saying this because it is the truth.  I have always loved it.  Now my dh and 10 year old daughter go through it like crazy.

In the 80's, I started to sprinkle it on my popcorn as a butter alternative.  I nearly always do that when I eat popcorn.  Its my favorite.  Why not sprinkle on cauliflower says all the pics on Pinterest that I have seen.  Of course! For my other daughter this could be a real boom to her vegetable eating. I am waiting until she gets up to see how that goes... I'll let yah know.

For me, these juicy, Buffalo style cauliflower bites ROCK THE HOUSE.  Swoon! This will be made over and over again in this house I can tell already.

Buffalo Style Cauliflower Bites

1 small head of cauliflower
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt to taste

Heat oven to 400F.  While it is heating, melt butter in microwave and then, mix in Franks Red Hot Sauce and lemon juice.  Stir until combined.  In a bowl combine cauliflower bites with sauce.  Spread on cookie sheet spacing as much as possible.  Place cookie sheet in the middle of the oven, bake 15 minutes, move around on cookie sheet to ensure even roasting.  Sprinkle with salt and place back in the oven for ten to 15 more minutes or so.  You want to make sure it is fork tender before removing.

I sprinkled extra Frank's on mine when I went to eat it.  Yes, it was a very good thing.

Peachy Pepper Sauce

It's even more orange than it looks here.

I made some hot sauce a few years ago.  I never wrote what I did down I just threw somethings into the pot.  Some tomatoes, some hot peppers, some carrots...  It was kind of what I had on hand along with the other usual suspects, alt vinegar etc.  This time I am making something different.  Not sure how it will come out so I am writing it down just in case I love it and want to recreate it.So far I am loving the flavor of this sauce.  My guess is that it will get better over time.

I have this thing with mango hot sauce.  Since mangoes are not exactly plentiful around here I decided to use the closest thing to it- peaches.  If I had some apricots I would throw them in there as well.  But lets just stick with this so far.

A few tips about making hot sauce

1. The more seeds you put in the hotter it will be.  The seed is the heat center of the pepper.
2. Use stainless steel, ceramic or glass for everything it touches. Its pretty caustic, especially when you add in the vinegar.  It will eat away at plastic and aluminum.
3. Do wear gloves, if you don't have them use a sandwich bag or a plastic bag to protect the hand that touches the peppers.  Don't touch your eyes through out this whole process.  If you got an itch, get a clean towel and use that. Just ask me how I know these things...
4. Cover the pot, this will cut down on the amount of heat going into the air.  The hotter your peppers, the more cautious you need to be about this.  It can burn your lungs, eyes, whatever. Respect the heat!

Cherry Peppers

Peachy Pepper Sauce
Makes about 2 quarts.

1/3 cup chopped garlic
8 cups peaches, peeled pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil
18 cherry peppers ( you can go as hot as you like here- I started out with these)
1 cup onion
1/2 cup carrots
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid*, citric acid or the juice of half a lemon

In 1 tablespoon of oil sauté onion, carrots and peppers until translucent.  I covered it once it started to really cook.  Too much fumes. One it gets to the point where the veggies are a bit more tender you can add the water, vinegar, garlic, salt and peaches. Let the mixture cook until everything is super soft.  I simmered it, covered, for about 40 minutes.  Add in the sugar and ascorbic acid. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.  I did not can this because I am not 100% sure that there is enough acid in this. I am guessing there is.  I half of it.  The other half is in my refrigerator.  I am thinking it is going to go pretty fast. 

Why ascorbic acid? Basically all this is- is vitamin C.  It helps to maintain the color, preventing browning, at least for a little while.