**Sub-Recipe** Drunken Habanero Kiwi Salsa Wings

Whooooooooo, what can't this salsa do?  Take 2 Cups of the the Drunken Habanero Kiwi Salsa, add 3/4 Cup of dark brown sugar and simmer down to a syrup consistency. Toss a couple pounds of wings in the stuff and they are the best, spiciest wings you've ever had. They are sweet, spicy, multi-dimensional, flavorful, amazingly awesome wings. Enjoy!

Chipotle Guacamole

It seems as though McCormick Chipotle Chile Powder is making it's way into just about everything I make lately. I made some guacamole today and decided to try it out chipotle style and it worked really, really well!

This is super simple so I'm not going to make it more complicated than it is.

Chipotle Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados, pitted, peeled
• 2 Pinches of Salt
• A couple grinds of Black Pepper (about 1/4t)
• 1/4t  of McCormick Chipotle Chile Powder

Method:

1. Roll knife around the avocado. Twist two halves in opposite directions until they separate. One side of the avocado will hold the pit. While CAREFULLY holding the avocado in one hand, snap the knife into the pit. When blade is lodged into pit, horizontally twist the avocado and the pit will come out without losing any of the flesh of the fruit.
2. Spoon out anything that's green that's not skin. and put it in a bowl.
3. Smash the avocado with a fork until soft. Then you can begin to stir until smooth.
4. Add salt, pepper and Chipotle Powder. Stir.
5. Enjoy with your favorite chip! Very, very simple and delicious!

If you don't eat your guacamole right away, make sure you cover your guac right away or it will turn a dark shade of green that will freak you out to the point of not wanting to eat it. Just lay some plastic wrap over the bowl, then press it down directly on top of the dip. It should be touching the dip. Eliminate all air within the bowl and refrigerate. You can avoid the 'Hulk'ing of your guac by adding a little citric acid in the form of fresh lime juice. Keep in mind that this will change the flavor. I don't think it adds anything to this recipe so I leave it out, but if you take out the chipotle powder, and make regular guacamole, it tastes great!

Salsa Therapy (3x Salsa Recipes)

When you're having a semi-bad day and your wife comes come with 6 habaneros, 8 jalapenos and close to 30 vine tomatoes there's only one thing to do. Make salsa! For some reason, salsa is my happy food. There are just so many possibilities and unpredictable elements.  You can make the same recipe of salsa 100 times and get a different salsa each time.  Maybe I get a little too excited about food, but that roulette wheel spins every time you cook--sometimes it's red, sometimes it's black. You just never know!

Today, I was feeling a little fiery, so I chose to make some fiery salsas. Two out of the three I made were spicy--one being rocket hot. The third salsa was for the kids, but was really good and refreshing for anyone! We'll start with the basic salsa and go up the Scoville heat scale.

*NOTE* In all of these recipes, it is assumed that you have a food processor. If you don't, it's fine, but chop things finely and take your time. Definitely allow more time to sit so flavors come together.

Salsa for Everyone

This is the salsa for those who don't like it hot. This salsa goes great on eggs and is great for kids. It's also good for thoughtless snacking. And aside from salt, it's fairly good for you! I use this recipe as a base for experimenting too. Make this salsa and add whatever you want!

Ingredients:

• 6 Vine Tomatoes, topped and quartered
• 3/4 Cup (1 fistfull) of Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup Onion, coarsely chopped
• Juice from 1/2 a Lime
• 2T (big pinch x2) Kosher Salt
• 2t (little pinch x2)Fresh Ground Pepper
• 2t (little pinch x2) Granulated Garlic (Fresh garlic is okay too, but will get stronger with time. Granulated seems to stay way more consistent with time which is good with salsa)

Method:

1. Place tomatoes in food processor and spin 'em until they are the consistencey of restaurant salsa--slightly over-blended but not pureed. Place in a bowl larger than what you think you'll need.
2. Place cilantro, onion and lime juice in food processor at the same time. Pulse until onions are coarsely minced. Place in bowl with tomatoes.
3. Add salt, pepper and garlic. Stir and enjoy with your favorite chips.

As always, you can enjoy your salsa right away but waiting at least a few hours will greatly benefit the flavors. I usually stick it in the fridge overnight and eat it on some eggs in the morning to see how it turned out.

Smokey Double Jalapeno Salsa

Ingredients:

• 8 Vine Tomatoes, topped and quartered
• 1 Cup (big fistfull) of Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup Onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 Large Jalapenos (3 if you like it extra hot)
• Juice from 1/2 a Lime
• 2T White Vinegar
• 2T (big pinch x2) Kosher Salt or Smoked Salt (available online or at many markets)
• 2t (little pinch x2)Fresh Ground Pepper
• 2t (little pinch x2) Granulated Garlic (Fresh garlic is okay too, but will get stronger with time. Granulated seems to stay way more consistent with time which is good with salsa)
• 1.5t of McCormick Chipotle Chile Pepper

Method:

1. Place tomatoes in food processor and spin 'em until they are the consistencey of restaurant salsa--slightly over-blended but not pureed. Place in a bowl larger than what you think you'll need.
2. Place cilantro, onion and lime juice in food processor at the same time. Pulse until onions are coarsely minced. Place in bowl with tomatoes.
3. Place jalapenos and vinegar in processor and spin until coarsely minced. Add to bowl.
4. Add salt, pepper, garlic and chipotle chile powder. Stir and enjoy with your favorite chips.

As always, you can enjoy your salsa right away but waiting at least a few hours will greatly benefit the flavors. Overnight is better.

Drunken Habanero-Kiwi Salsa

I wanted a salsa that would knock me on my butt but still be good enough to eat an entire bowl. I used my limited knowledge of chemistry and applied it as much as I could. The goal is spicy on many levels. First there is the flavor of the habanero, then the heat of the habanero. But there is a lot of scorching heat that can still be drawn from the habanero when mixed with alcohol. Thus the tequila. There is also a nice flavor that is brought out with raw sugar. Thus the raw sugar. Then there are the ultra fruity notes of the habanero that are brought out with tropical fruits like mango and kiwi. Thus the kiwi. I like to use ultra-ripe kiwis (almost to a fault). They are fragrant and musty. The tequila helps insure that they won't go bad within a day of storage. If for any reason the salsa feels tingly (like carbonation on your tongue, discard it--or just use less-ripe kiwis. I like heat but only when flavor comes along for the ride.

Ingredients:

• 8 Vine Tomatoes, topped and quartered
• 1 Cup (big fistfull) of Cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 Habaneros (red, orange or yellow. doesn't matter)
• 2-3 Kiwi Fruits
• Juice from 1/2 a Lime
• 1.5 Shots of Tequila (any kind will do but Patron would be a waste of tequila and Jose Cuervo would be a waste of salsa, so shoot in between).
• 1 Shots of Triple Sec
• 1/8 Cup of Sugar in the Raw (regular sugar works too, but lacks a deep, rounded flavor)
• 2T White Vinegar
• 2T (big pinch x2) Kosher Salt

Method:

1. Place tomatoes in food processor and spin 'em until they are the consistencey of restaurant salsa--slightly over-blended but not pureed. Place in a bowl larger than what you think you'll need.
2. Place cilantro, kiwis, lime juice in food processor at the same time. Pulse until onions are coarsely minced. Place in bowl with tomatoes.
3. Place habaneros, tequila, triple sec and vinegar in processor and spin until coarsely minced. Add to bowl.
4. Add salt and sugar. Stir and enjoy with your favorite chips.

As always, you can enjoy your salsa right away but waiting at least a few hours will greatly benefit the flavors. Overnight is better. Sweet salsas never present themselves well immediately. An overnight sit will bring the flavors together and allow the flavors to progress on your palate. From a flavorful start to a spicy roller coaster then finish with a sweet spice.

Roasted Pepper & Tomato Soup

It's a cold, rainy day here in Germany--perfect day for soup. It would be so easy to pop open a can of a popular brand's tomato soup and serve. But as simple as the name 'Tomato Soup' sounds, according to a popular international brand, it means many, many things (and additives). Take a look!

Now look at the ingredients of this tomato soup. See the difference? Only real, whole ingredients. You could even go one step further and go completely organic on this soup. It would make it even better!

Ingredients: Roasting Stage

• 25 Roma/Plum Tomatoes, Topped (they will boil down to a reasonable amount of soup)
• 1/2 Large, White Onion, Chopped
• 1/ea Red, Green, Yellow Bell Pepper, Quartered
• Olive Oil, enough to drizzle over your vegetables before you roast them
• Kosher Salt, enough to sprinkle over the top of your vegetables
• Fresh Ground Pepper, enough to sprinkle over the top of your vegetables
• Granulated Garlic Powder, enough to sprinkle over the top of your vegetables

Method: Roasting Stage

Baby Euro Oven

1. Preheat oven broiler to about 350 degrees.
2. Cut the tops off of all tomatoes and line them up in a glass baking dish. Don't worry if you have to pack them in there, it won't matter.
3. Cut the tops off of all peppers, remove all seeds then quarter them
4. Cut onion into very beefy chunks
5. Line up all onions and peppers in a glass baking dish. If you can get them in the same dish as your  tomatoes, awesome! But you'll probably have to prepare them in a separate dish.
6. Drizzle olive oil on top of all vegetables. Follow that up with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
7. Insert into oven for an undetermined amount of time. You will leave the veggies in there until they are done. You will know they are done when the edges of some tomatoes are black, some tops are completely black, the skin of the peppers are blackened and onion tips are blackened and curled.
8. When veggies reach this doneness, remove them from the oven and immediately dump veggies and all liquids rendered into the thickest bottomed soup pot you have. Now moving on to the second set of ingredients.

This is about when I pulled mine out. Roasted, but not burnt!

Ingredients: Stovetop Stage

Everyone in the pool! This is pre pureeing.

• All ingredients from the roasting stage
• 1.5 Tablespoons of Kosher Salt/Smoked Salt (either will work, but smoked salt blasts this recipe to another level)
• 2 teaspoons of McCormack Chipotle Seasoning (if you don't have this, it's no big deal, replace with 1/2t of cayenne pepper or just move on)
• 2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon each of Thyme, Oregano, Terragon
• Juice from 1/4 Lemon
• 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes

Method: Stovetop Stage

1. In a small sauce pot boil 2 cups of water and 4 beef bouillon cubes.
2. All of your ingredients will be in the pot at this point--obliterate them. I am lucky enough to have a emulsion blender (wand blender). But if you don't have one, a food processor will work, a blender will work better. But BE CAREFUL! These ingredients are hot. They will splatter no matter what blender you use. Blend them until the mixture is completely pureed.
3. Add all seasonings into large pot with pureed vegetables. If you are sensitive to salt, hold it out and add it to taste. Same with the spicy ingredients. This is your food, make it how you like it!
4. Add juice from the 1/4 lemon (this will enhance flavor without adding more salt. Don't worry, you will not taste the lemon).
5. Slowly add the beef stock from step 1. You want the soup to be soupy, not pasty. Add stock until the soup is heartily soupy. Clear as mud? I think so.
6. Let simmer at low heat for about 30 Minutes to an hour. It's not necessary, but the flavors really meld together. 

Don't be alarmed if the color of your soup more closely resembles your mental image of carrot soup. That stereotypical color of tomato soup comes from the popular brand we talked about earlier. If you want to know why their brand is that color, look at the ingredients again. It's all chemical/processing.

Enjoy this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches or just by itself. It's awesome wither way. Enjoy!