Gunther's Gourmet Fiery Peri-Peri Dark Cherry Salsa

My husband...he's a thoughtful fella.  Always thinking of me and he knows me so well.  One of the things he knows best about me, is my love for all things hot.  He was in Roanoke, VA working and was in proximity of Wine Gourmet, a wine/beer specialty shop that boasts the slogan "where the savvy shop for wine and beer".  If you happen to be in the area, they are located at 3524 Electric Rd, Roanoke, VA .  After looking through the shop he asks of the salsas 'which one is the hottest' and the sales rep lead him to a jar of Gunther's Gourmet Fiery Peri-Peri Dark Cherry Salsa.  SOLD.  When he brought it home to me, not being familiar with this 'peri-peri' and seeing the word 'cherry' had me curious.  So I did some homework.

The Peri-Peri Pepper is also known as bird's eye, African devil, or African red devil.  The exotic Peri-Peri is Africa's hottest pepper.  Piri-Piri (aka Peri-Peri or Pili-Pili in some parts of Africa-confused yet?) sauce is known as a staple in Portuguese cooking.  Piri piri's rank on the Scoville scale is 175,000.

Gunther’s Gourmet Groceries, LLC is owned and operated by two brothers Nick and Mike Lampros who were born and raised in Roanoke, VA.  Mike, the youngest brother, attended the Culinary Institute of America, from which he graduated in 1991. There website brags of their fine ability to avoid artificial ingredients, preservatives, trans fats, and high levels of sodium and cholesterol.  So.  There's Nick and Mike...whose last name is Lampros...so who the heck is Gunther you ask?  He was man’s best friend, Chef Mike’s dog, a brindle boxer. Because of him and the company's belief in community service, a portion of Gunther’s profits will be donated to the SPCA. 

According to their website, in 2013, a Fiery Food Challenge sponsored by Chili Pepper Magazine was held and this salsa took first place in the category Salsa - Fruit (Hot/X Hot) and 2nd place in the Salsa - Exotic Blend category. 

So now.  Time to taste.  I grabbed a bag of tortilla chips and popped open the jar.  I absolutely love the pulpy texture of this salsa, much like that of a Mexican restaurant style.  My preference is to have it this way vs. a chunkier salsa.  It has a deep red hue that screams the use of fresh, all natural ingredients.  The first bite is rich and full of flavor hitting me hard with acid and heat.  The fiery burn stays with you after the swallow, in your throat and down into your chest, resting there with a gratifying heat sensation like leftover embers in a campfire.  It has that crisp, fresh taste of being homemade salsa, as if your own abuela made this in her kitchen.  Both before and after the heat comes and goes, you get the hints of the red bell pepper and garlic.  While I loved trying it in it's purest form, I've already pictured me having this as a dipping sauce for shrimp cocktail while sipping a cool, refreshing glass of Riesling. 

If you would like to try for yourself, find a store near you OR order from their website: http://www.gunthersgourmet.net/
                                                                                

Chesters Flamin Hot Popcorn

I love snacks.  Mostly salty snacks.  Potato chips, popcorn, nachos, pretzels, peanuts...any and all of it.  I have a Pinterest board dedicated to my love of all things snackalicious. http://www.pinterest.com/rockinrobyn78/they-call-me-snack-queen/.  Anything that is mindless eating is on my radar, something I can nosh on while I let the light of the television wash over me.  Spicy snacks?  Even better. 

I recently spotted Chesters Flamin Hot Popcorn on one of those end aisles the grocery stores do to get your attention for certain products.  Given that I am already a Cheetos fan as well as Flamin Hot Cheetos, I grabbed a bag of the hot popcorn. 

I sat down to catch up on my DVR and poured a bowl of Chesters.  The color alone should have you prepping for the heat that's coming. A deep red hue like the planet Mars.  I ate one popped kernel to get a taste of it first.  I let it linger on my palate and when I swallowed there was that slap of intense heat and got a little choke out of me.  It's got a great, intense flavor and heat.  It won't necessarily having you running for water from the get go, but after eating a few at a time, you'll definitely have to have your drink handy.  If you're heat junky like me, that aspect will have you addicted.  It's hard to stop eating them once you get in and get that need for heat.  Make sure to only eat a little bit because ya know...the next day and all...don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. 

Happy munching.

JB's Best Ghost Pepper BBQ Sauce

Some like it hot and I am some!  I put hot sauce or another form of hot spice in almost everything I make and/or eat.  It's a sickness.  I have a need for the heat.  Tabasco is one of my most popular uses but I have a collection of hot sauces and I will try any and all at least once. I like to visit this store called The Pepper Palace when I'm in Gatlinburg, TN.  It's a heat lovers DREAM in there.  Walls and walls filled with hot sauces, salsas and other heat inspired condiments.  BUT, my most recent discovery was during a shopping excursion to TJ Maxx.  I was perusing the cool kitchen aisles and happened upon three bottles of BBQ sauce.  JB's Best.   http://jbsauces.com/  One bottle was  Honey Mustard, one Sweet & Smoky and the other, may as well have had my name on it.  Ghost Pepper BBQ sauce.  I started to lick my lips and imagine what it might taste like.  This company is based out of OH makes all of their products themselves, using locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible.  That includes a local brewery, Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery which supplies microbrews that JB's uses in their BBQ sauces. 

In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the Ghost Pepper was the world's hottest chili pepper, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.  It has since been dethroned by the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion.  Regardless of that fact, this sauce has all the kick you could possibly need and THEN SOME.  This JB's Ghost Pepper BBQ Sauce contains habanero powder, ghost chile powder, black pepper and the bottle cautions you that this product is dangerously hot.  I will concur that it is INDEED.  I usually do some sort of lamaze breathing after eating some of it.  The flavor is so good and rich, not just hot.  I enjoyed many a serving with chicken tenders OR mixed in with ketchup to give french fries a kick.  So if you like it hot, check out JB's Best Ghost Pepper BBQ Sauce either from your local grocery or go order online!