Travels in the South

Oh boy, has daddy got a good one today for you my friends.  For obvious reasons, I’m going to let daddy explain his choice to you – snorts with piggy laughter.

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Thank you Bacon – now you scoot along and be a good piggy.  You certainly do not need to see this.

Hello friends – Look at this burger!  Can you say in the famous words of Bacon, “Oh my piggy heavens?!” 

On a recent outing with the wife, I came across the burger.  The menu called it The Boss.  I nicknamed it The Caveman.  It was *almost* too much for even me to handle… but I did. 

The pictures don’t do it justice – it is HUGE! 

Are you asking yourself what is in this creation?  There is a hamburger patty on the bottom, topped by smoked brisket, tender rib meat, jalapeno cheddar smoked sausage, bacon and cheddar. 

 

I could barely wrap my hands around this burger.  And once I did get my hands around it, I wouldn’t dare put it down because it would fall apart on me.  And that my friends would be horrible. 

So I picked it up and dug in.  This burger was so piled with goodies inside that they kept falling out and onto my tray. 

And see those french fries on my plate.  I’m sure they would have been good but I had no room left to enjoy them. 

And if the sandwich was that big, do you think I could wrap my mouth around it?  Barely – that is the word – barely!

And it was good until the last bite!

 

Travels in the South

For obvious reasons today – snorts/oinks/coughs – I’m giving todays Travels in the South edition over to mom.  TAKE IT AWAY MOM!

Bacon – You might want to cover your ears and eyes for today’s edition.

Friends – we have found a really unique sandwich at our local Sonny’s Barbeque Restaurant.  What is it you ask?  They call this The Smokin’ Gun.  Look at that deliciousness.  Here is what is in it:  Jalapeno cheddar hot links, chopped brisket, banana peppers and red onions topped with a sweet mustard sauce on a bun.  It’s really not that hot – mom/dad both loved it for it’s uniqueness and taste.  And of course for obvious reasons we can’t eat it at home.  But it is way yummy!

If you have a Sonny’s Barbeque Restaurant in your area, you may want to check it out.

 

 

Fear of Heat

Let’s talk about something that is really scary – the fear of heat.  Do you think you can withstand this fear?  Let’s see when i tell you what I’ve found.

First up – the Jalapeño.   I’m sure you have heard of this lovely creature.  On the heat scale, it’s three out of four peppers being hot.  It’s origin is Mexico and these days they are grown everywhere.  You can find them in cheese dips, wrapped with bacon and stuffed with cream cheese, in salsa, in chili – it’s unlimited.  Most peeps can withstand the heat on this one… most.

Then we move up to the fierce red Habanero.  The Habanero is a variety of chili pepper.  On the heat scale, it’s five out of five peppers being exceptionally hot.  A ripe Habanero is bright red where a unripened Habanero is green.  So you see, they color as they mature into their full potential.  They can also come in different colors – look for the beautiful orange.  The Habanero comes from the Amazonas region and from there spread throughout Mexico.

Whereas you might enter a contest to be dared to eat a Jalapeño and survive the contest, you might want to think twice about a contest eating a Habanero.  Mom has said once that she believes the Habanero was made by the devil himself because he thought all other peppers were ‘tame’.

I’m sure you have heard about these two famous peppers.  But let’s go deeper my friends.  Are you ready for the fear?  How about wrapping your lips around a Ghost Pepper?  Maybe your lips shouldn’t touch this pepper.  The Ghost Pepper originates in India.  On the heat scale, the Ghost Pepper is also five peppers out of five peppers being exceptionally hot.  In 2007, the Guinness World Records certified that the Ghost Pepper was the world’s hottest chili pepper – 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.  Can you wrap your lips around that?

And you probably thought I could stop right there with the fear of heat in peppers.   But I can’t.  I found one more for you to fear.  Are you shaking yet?  Let me introduce you to the hottest pepper these days – The Carolina Reaper Pepper.  Okay it’s called the Reaper – does that not tell you anything? You are certain for death eating this bad boy – fear it!  The Reaper is officially  the world’s hottest pepper by the Guinness World Records.  It is a cross between a Pakastani Naga pepper and a Red Habanero.  Can you just feel the heat over your lips, down your throat to the deep pits of your stomach?

Is today’s post scary enough for you my friends or do I need to start making some brownies for you… of course with these peppers?  Happy eats my friends.

 

Shopping Around the World

My friend Fozzie and I have scheduled a group posting today of Shopping Around the World.   We thought it would be interesting to see the differences between different countries all over.Here are our prices for the following from our area – Georgia USA.

 Items to price this month:

• Milk.  Mom usually buys 1/2 gallon store brand which lately has been on sale for $1.00
• Tomatoes.  Mom loves Roma tomatoes.  They are small but meaty.  She bought some for the dinner at $1.29 a pound – that was about 4 tomatoes.
• Canned Product.  Black beans.  How could you possibly go wrong with black beans – especially when you can buy store brand for a $1.00 a can.  Mom bought two cans for the meal.
• Homemade Dish.  Jalapeno Cornbread with Black Beans 🙂 yum – see below
• Random Item of your choice.  Jalapeno.  Mom bought one very large one and it only cost $0.69 the day she was at the market.

 Okay my friends.  Mommy went easy – really easy on this month’s Shopping Around the World – go mom!  She was able to combine all of her prices and items into the Homemade Dish – which is one of our favorites here at the Hotel Thompson.

Jalapeno Cornbread made with with a diced up Jalapeno (according to taste how much you throw in), cup of milk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 cup of cornmeal and shredded cheddar cheese.  We have a small iron skillet that will serve four slices of cornbread.  Mix ingredients, except for shredded cheddar cheese, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  When done turn over skillet onto a plate and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Black Beans with tomatoes, diced Jalapeno’s and diced red onions. So easy here – snorts.  Open store bought black beans and heat over the stove on medium heat.  Add a little chicken broth (or whatever broth you have on hand), diced Jalapenos (to taste for heat) and diced tomatoes.  When bubbles, turn down to low and stir.

When bread is ready, spoon black beans into bowl and top with more diced tomatoes.  Mom even added some cilantro into the mix this date.  A meal made for a king and queen.  Filling and hot for a cold rainy night that we seem to be having a LOT of lately.  Happy eats my friends.

Oh… and this entire meal when you break it down ends up to be around less than $6.00 for two people.

I hope you had fun my friends with this month’s edition of Shopping Around the World.  Hope to see you shopping soon!