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Holy Mole’! CaJohn’s Got Me Enchanted!
Enchantment is a mole inspired sauce and a new addition to CaJohn’s stable of sauces
At this spring’s New York City Hot Sauce Expo, John Hard (aka CaJohn) came up to me and said, Ken, I have a new sauce I want you to try. I think you’re gonna like it! Well, I don’t know if there’s been a creation from CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire that I didn’t like, so it was a safe bet. But I didn’t expect to be enchanted!!!!
Okay, so I’m making a little play on words here. If you’ve looked at the picture, you know I’m referring to Enchantment, a mole’ style sauce and one of CaJohn’s most recent culinary creations! I’ve had this sauce since the week after the show (thanks to Sue Hard, who graciously boxed up and shipped my hot sauce booty for me, since it’s kind of hard to take 40 bottles of sauce and products through as a carry on!) and it has become one of my go to sauces for anything Mexican or Latin, or anything I want to highlight with the flavor or Old Mexico!
If you know CaJohn and Sue, you know they love New Mexico, and they pay homage to their affection in the label write up of the sauce. They reference their enchantment with the state (get it? Nice word play, CaJohn!) and wanted a sauce that created a fusion of North American Indian, Spanish Mission, Mayan, and Chuck Wagon styles in the tradition of the old Mexico Mole Poblano sauce made famous in the mountain city of Puebla, Mexico (there’s some controversy about the origin of mole sauce, but I’ve been to Puebla, and those folks are pretty darn convincing!). A traditional mole sauce has a pile of stuff in it, from various roasted nuts, to dried bread and fruit, and a finishing of dark chocolate, and cooks for hours and hours. This sauce celebrates that richness, but uses a different flavor and ingredient profile.
Enchantment uses several different peppers: New Mexican chile, Ancho, Guajillo, Chile de Arbol, and Pequin. Add in distilled and cider vinegar, garlic, agave nectar, cumin, salt and oregano, and you have a dark, rich, complex sauce that masterfully layers its flavors and it’s oh so subtle heat. This is not a hot sauce to me. It is a finishing sauce for meat, or a base to slow cook and simmer pork, chicken, or beef. And it took my Spanish omelet to a whole new level! If I have any suggestions for CaJohn based on my using it these past few months, is that my batch is really thick and doesn’t always want to easily pour out of its flask style bottle. But that is a small issue, and after all, a mole is supposed to be thick. Another thing I learned while playing with it is that it doesn’t always play well with others, and mixing it with other powders, spices, rubs, etc. could alter the flavor profile enough to mess things up. So for those that like to use multiple sauces, powders, rubs, etc. in your dishes, don’t be surprised if you’re not thrilled with your results. In other words, make your life easy and don’t use anything else- it’s not necessary.
Enchantment adds a new dimension to a Spanish Omelet!
Now I’m sure there are those of you that are much more skilled in the kitchen than yours truly, and can use it with other spices and products, but I appreciated the stupid proofness that Enchantment gave me. And like I said, while it’s not a true mole sauce (CaJohn will be the first to tell you that it’s a mole “inspired” sauce), the deep, earthy tones of the Arbol chile, combined with the mildly acidic guajillo and New Mexican, the sweetness of the ancho (I think they’re sweet, anyway!), and the playful heat of the pequin combine in masterful fashion to provide my taste buds and smell buds (do we even have smell buds? Remind me to look that up!) with a trip to old Mexico!
So Enchantment earns itself a full 4 Fiery Worlds from this author. I enjoyed the cool way it uses so many different peppers so smartly, the simple list of other ingredients that celebrates the flavors without muddying it all up, and the fullness and richness that makes the sauce “mole-like”. Add in a first hand appreciation for John and Sue’s love for New Mexico and I wish I was on a mesa in New Mexico watching a beautiful sunset, chowing down on some slow cooked pork wrapped in a homemade tortilla, smothered in Enchantment! Ahhh….some enchanted evening that would be! And why, Ladies and Gentlemen? Because…….It’s a Fiery World! (Note: At press time, I didn’t see Enchantment listed on Cajohn’s website, so you may need to inquire as to availability)
Yours truly and the “Godfather” at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo
Ricky’s Gone Plain Nuts! Or Has He?! Hahahaha!!!
From Spicy Chipotle Chile to Sweet Chai, these are not your run of the mill snack nuts!
I got an email a while back from the fine folks at Ricky’s Lucky Nuts in Durango, Colorado, telling me how great their new line of snack nuts were and would I try them and give some feedback. Well, I’ve been accused before of being just a little nuts, so of course I said yes! After all, when you offer a Chilehead snacks with cool names like Thai Red Curry and Spicy Chile Chipotle (they even spelled Chile right!!!), there’s no way you can refuse! Right?! Right! I can tell you right here and now, folks – Ricky ain’t nuts and he ain’t plain, neither!!
I received 5 individual serving bags, and not your run of the mill honey roasted, jalapeno, plain roasted, etc etc etc! I got cool flavors! Hip flavors! Flavors that would make the “new” Colorado snack world proud (I’m guessing their snack food industry is working overtime these days!) I’m talkin’ munchie worthy!! In addition to the Spicy Chile Chipotle and the Thai Red Curry, I also got Black Pepper and Sea Salt, Sweet Chai, and Real Coffee. Real Coffee?! Really?! Who does a coffee peanut?! Well, evidently, Ricky does, and he does ‘em up proud, too!!
The Real Coffee were my favorites, as they had an espresso type earthiness to them, and just enough sweet to take the bitter edge off and merge the coffee with the nut in beautiful fashion. The bag smelled good, and I didn’t get a dusty coating all over my fingers! Is there a cutesy slogan for flavor that stays where it plays – oh wait – that’s kinda catchy! Hmmmm…….. Back to the nuts – the coating seems like it’s baked on so it doesn’t come off, and that was true with all the flavors. Score one for Ricky, unless you’re the kind of person who likes that whole “let me lick my orange cheese curl stained fingers” vibe!!! And I’m sure there are several in Colorado- especially these days!!!! So how about the other flavors?
Well, the Thai Red Curry I ate by itself and put in a stir fry along with my fav asian style hot sauce, and it was just rich enough in flavor to highlight the dish, accent the other flavors, and make me feel like I was hanging out in Bangkok! I also did the same with the Sweet Chai ! As you can see in the pic, my shrimp stir fry was awesome with that smooth but slightly off Chai note. It made an interesting flavor addition to my standard asian influences. Unlike the Red Curry used in another stir fry, where I kept my flavor additions to a minimum, I didn’t hold back while using the Chai, and it really stepped up and balanced the dish exquisitely! And it made for a tasty stand alone snack- subtle Chai tones surrounded by the nuttiness of an obviously high quality, lovingly roasted peanut. Well played, Ricky!
From a fun and simple label to gourmet level snacking inside, these babies have it all!
The Spicy Chile Chipotle was only slightly spicy, but then again, I have a pretty big tolerance. But I liked the subtleness as I woofed down the whole bag! And the whole bag did leave a nice spicy zing in the back of my throat! The Black Pepper and Sea Salt were a good snack, and also mixed in a fresh spinach, tomato, olive, and mozzarella salad. Gave a nice texture, complimented the flavors without interrupting my love affair with balsamic vinegar and EVOO, and made the salad more fun! Cause I’m sorry, but salads are booooring!!! I’ve never had black pepper in a snack nut before, and it is such a natural fit! And the sea salt was very very smooth.
All in all, I give Ricky’s Lucky Nuts 4 Fiery Worlds! Their label is fun and has good “viewability” in a store shelf or on an end cap rack by the register! Go to their website, order you some, sit back and enjoy!!! Whether used to highlight a dish, or to snarf for a snack during those munchie attacks, you won’t be sorry! And that’s because, Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s a Fiery World!!!
Who Said the British Don’t Make Westerns! “The Good, The Bad, & The Spicy”!!
I got an email this morning from a Chillihead from the UK! Notice the different spelling from our Chilehead! I just think that is majorly cool! Shows how far reaching the community of hot sauce and spicy food lovers really is, while still being a family, of sorts! So this is a link to an article from Appliance City in the village of Bunny, just outside Nottingham, England. How many U.S. appliance stores post articles about super hot “chillies”?!
The Good, The Bad, & The Spicy is a fun piece giving you a little education on some of the world’s hottest “chillies”, including the Carolina Reaper, Various 7-Pot varieties, Moruga Scorpion and more! So if you think that folks across the pond just eat fish and chips and Scotch Eggs, and nothing with any spice or fun flavors, think again! I’ve reviewed some British hot sauces for I Love it Spicy, and man oh man, can they turn on the heat!!!! I think Clint Eastwood would be proud!
Click here and enjoy some worldly adventures of a spicy life! Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s a Fiery World!!!
Cast Away But Not Forgotten…Sweet Heat Gourmet – The Lost Sauces!!!
Sweet Heat’s Lineup-Almost gone but not Forgotten!!!
I think everyone knows the Tom Hanks’ movie Cast Away! You know….Fed Ex guy in the plane crash who is on a small island for 5 years hanging out with some volleyball named Wilson! Everyone thought he was lost forever, but NO! He turns up, not really any worse for wear, and resumes his life. Well……..I have a kinda sorta similar story about Sweet Heat Gourmet, Michelle Mierwald’s State College, Pennsylvania’s work of love, who sent me sauces to review a looooong time ago. How long ago, you ask? Well, I ain’t sayin’, but it’s been a while! Not Tom and Wilson’s 5 years, mind you, but long enough. There’s a genuine back-story that comes with the delay – but that’s no excuse, and I am dutifully ashamed and embarrassed, and publically ask forgiveness. So here’s where I attempt to make amends!
Right after I received a generous sampling of her creations, I used them, abused them, played with them, made notes about them, enjoyed them, and never finished my formal review of them! Kinda like when, in Cast Away, packages never made it to their final destination…except one, at the end of the movie! Just like this post! (I know it’s a stretch, folks, but work with me a little, okay?!)
Sweet Heat has a great lineup of products. I thought it was especially cool that she sources some of her local ingredients in her online product descriptions, much like Tom gave credit to his ol’ straw headed buddy Wilson! So what was in those lost packages? What’s Sweet and what’s the Heat in the Gourmet?
Pineapple Ghost-my personal favorite!
I received the following: Honey Jalapeno BBQ Sauce, Habanero Peach Hot Sauce, Pineapple & Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce, and Moruga Scorpion Hot Sauce. I have a little left of all of them (testimony that I was saving some for the formal write-up), and they all still have a great fresh flavor and complex profile. Not a bad sauce in the lot! I found my notes, and here’s where it gets eerily similar to Cast Away…..just like Mr. Hanks was creative, ingenious, practical, and opportunistic with the ingredients he had to work with, so goes Ms. Mierwald and Sweet Heat Gourmet!
A Jalapeno BBQ sauce with nice heat!
The Honey Jalapeno BBQ Sauce is fresh, and actually packs a little heat which is unusual for a jalapeno sauce. It has just enough soy and Worcestershire to give it some pop without being salty, a wonderful use of the pepper which you can feel and taste, and a spice compliment that worked well with pork, beef, and chicken.
The Habanero Peach played the cumin and ginger card nicely, creating a unique flavor profile to accompany the peaches and habs, a pleasant medium heat, and the black pepper created a nice earthiness that I really enjoyed. Think fish, veggie medleys, and a Sunday brunch frittata! The Pineapple & Ghost Pepper made a mean salad dressing, with that slow crawling, back palate bhut jolokia burn (but not too much!), and totally faked me out with the raisins, which added a fullness to the flavor profile! I really liked that one…a lot! And the Moruga Scorpion sauce was no-nonsense, front end hot! But not mind numbing hot…just a nice hot! A polite hot! A Tom Hanks nice guy, but tough as all get out to survive 5 years on a deserted island hot! I’m not a big scorpion pepper fan, as I find it a little harsh, but Sweet Heat blends the scorpion with other unnamed red peppers, tomato, a little sugar, and spices to create a Scorpion sauce I could use in chili, spaghetti, meat loaf, and on chicken. I’m sure it has veggie uses if you think about it. After all, Tom tied a raft up with VHS magnetic tape, for goodness sakes!
2nd Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo March 29&30, 2014
Short and Sweet – these are great products! They all get 4 Fiery Worlds, except for the Pineapple Ghost, which earns itself 4 1\2 Fiery Worlds!!!! After being lost in the back of my frig, my Sweet Heat Gourmet sauces are still very much present and accounted for! So go to their website and order some today! Or catch Sweet Heat March 29 and 30, 2014 at the NYC Hot Sauce Expo! Why, you ask? Because, It’s a Fiery World!
It's a Fiery World 