Southwestern Pasta Salad

Southwestern Pasta Salad

I came across this Southwestern Pasta Salad in Taste of Home. This is a vibrant, colorful and hearty pasta salad. I bumped up the flavor, added cracked black pepper, and increased some of the ingredients for a bold and kicked up taste. The original recipe has sliced avocado on top but mine was not ripe, so if you have avocado, slice it and add it just before serving. This dish is perfect for a backyard BBQ and as an accompaniment to chicken or burgers, and for sharing with your family. See the adapted recipe below.

Close-up,  Southwestern Pasta Salad

Southwestern Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1 cup Salsa, Medium

1 cup Lime Juice, Freshly Squeezed

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar

2 teaspoons Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1/2 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper

1 package (16 ounces) Uncooked Cavatappi (or Spiral) Pasta

So yummy!

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2-3 hours

1 1/2 cups Fresh or frozen whole kernel Corn, thawed

1 can (15 ounce) Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, whole or sliced in half

1 can Black Olives, sliced and drained

1 Green Pepper, chopped

1 Red Pepper, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Delish!

Pasta salad perfection

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the salsa, lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic cloves, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt;  set aside.

In a large pot, boil water, add salt and cook pasta according to package directions. 

Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix with a spatula or wooden spoon the pasta, tomatoes, corn, beans, olives, peppers, onion and 1/2 cup cilantro. 

Pour salsa dressing over salad and combine. 

Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours to set. 

Before serving sprinkle the rest of the the cilantro.

For the Southwestern Pasta Salad recipe, visit Taste of Home:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/southwestern-pasta-salad/

Enjoy!

Sophia/Two Frys

Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce

Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade 

Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade is a hotter version of their highly popular Original Wing Sauce. The Original is a rich and buttery smooth tasting wing sauce that truly compliments your wings. This same profile is used for Fire in the Hole yet it is kicked up a few notches with the addition of more hot peppers in the ingredients. Fire in the Hole is fairly hot and spicy, but will not knock ya down. The heat lingers on your tongue for a bit in a most satisfying way. I agree with the website and the fact that the sauce creeps up on you. The Bonfatto's heat scale is 3 Dragon Heat Flames so it is hot and even my wife Sophia enjoyed our Fire in the Hole chicken wings, and she usually goes for more milder sauces.

Wings with Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade

Fire in the Hole is fantastic and it made our wings so flavorful and with each bite the heat was level was ever present and welcoming. If you cannot deal with spicy sauces like Fire in the Hole, then check out the Original instead. I am recommending Fire in the Hole for a more intense heat experience on your wings.

Some of the ingredients in Fire in the Hole are: pepper sauce, unsalted butter, honey, spices and garlic powder. This is my new favorite wing sauce and our family thinks this sauce is spicy and packs a punch that will have you craving more with each bite.

Our wings with Fire in the Hole; spicy and delish

Based in State College, PA Bonfatto's is a sauce company by Letterman Industries that we have loved and supported since first meeting David Letterman many years ago at the former Atlantic City Food Network Food and Wine Festivals. It was at the Grand Market where we first came across Bonfatto's products and we have been hooked since. Bonfatto's also own a restaurant in Pennsylvania. Not only do Bonfatto's make great wing sauces they also offer a wide variety of other BBQ sauces that are really great.

Wings are ready to bake

To make the chicken wings, I pat them dry with a paper towel, and season both sides with coarse salt. Add wings in a large resealable bag and 1 cup of Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade, sealing the bag and making sure the sauce coats all the wings. Adjust the amount of sauce depending on how many wings you are making. I let the sauce marinate in the fridge for a few hours, but if you can do so overnight. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the wings for one hour turning them at the half hour point.

Order some Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade today for both your indoor cooking and outdoor BBQing. With July 4 coming up, here's a perfect excuse to use Fire in the Hole on wings to share with your entire family.

To order Bonfatto's Fire in the Hole Wing Sauce & Marinade and their other fine products visit:
http://www.feeltheflavors.com

-Allen/Two Frys

K POP Sauce

K POP! Sauce with Beef Stir-Fry
Medium Heat Korean Chili Sauce

I discovered K POP! when I was doing research on Korean hot pepper paste. I recently heard Gochujang pepper pastes are good when blended into ketchup. Then I came across K POP! Sauce, not a ketchup but a spicy pepper sauce. I was interested in this type of condiment. K POP! Sauce is a very good sauce to add to your cooking as well as a straight forward condiment.

Beef Stir-Fry with K POP! Sauce

We made beef stir-fry (recipe below) with K POP! and it came out fantastic and the flavors really popped. There was no need to add other sauces or spices, except for seasoning the veggies, and beef strips with a little salt and pepper. K POP! has all the flavor you need to create a stellar stir-fry dish. I also tried K POP! on pork fried rice and pork steamed dumplings takeout from a local Chinese restaurant.

The sauce accompanied both our homemade stir fry and the takeout foods perfectly. K POP! Sauce has a medium heat level and a bit of sweetness culminating in a warm, vibrant, and tasty sauce that was so satisfying.

Jasmine Rice

K POP! Foods is based in Southern California and recently released Seaweed Snacks. The flavor profile of K POP! Sauce comes from ingredients such as: Gochujang hot pepper paste, hot pepper powder, soy seasoning, garlic juice, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and more... The ingredients blend into a thick but textured sauce.

Pick up some K POP! Sauce online to add to your pantry and try cooking and topping your foods with it for a sweet-heat flavor burst, Korean style. This is the best new Asian sauce I have come across in years so check K POP! out.

Steamed Veggies

Beef Stir-Fry with K POP! Sauce
Ingredients
1-2 cups Jasmine Rice

1 bag Frozen Chinese Stir Fry Vegetable Blend

1 pound Beef Round Strips

Coarse Salt

Himalayan Pink Salt

Cracked Black Pepper

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tablespoon lukewarm Water

1/2 - 1 cup K POP! Sauce

Beef strips simmering in K POP! Sauce

Directions
Set your rice cooker to the cook setting with desired amount of jasmine rice, water, and season lightly with Himalayan Pink Salt.

Season stir fry veggies with salt and pepper, and steam just until al dente.

Season beef strips with salt and pepper.

Add steamed Veggies and with tongs combine 

In a skillet on medium-high heat, add the extra virgin olive oil, water, and beef strips.

Cook for about 5-6 minutes.

After three minutes, add desired amount of K POP! Sauce and with tongs, stir together.

Using tongs, combine and serve

Add the steamed veggies to skillet and stir together.

Serve the beef stir-fry with jasmine rice.

For further information, visit:
http://www.kpopfoods.com

-Allen/Two Frys

L.B.I. Love Potion

L.B.I. Love Potion World Famous Hot Sauce

Love Potion on stuffed clams

Adding Love Potion to the stuffed clams

World Famous Hot Sauce has a great line of sauces, rubs, and mustard. Love Potion is an A+ sauce and one of my new local favorite Habanero Pepper based hot sauce. Distilled vinegar, and a dried vegetable blend that includes carrots, onions, and garlic are part of the ingredients. These spices enhance the aged Red Habanero Peppers. Love Potion is a medium heat level Habanero sauce that is spicy but should be good for all spicy lovers. It is hot enough for Chiliheads yet not too intense for casual hot sauce users.

Love Potion

Love Potion

The World Famous line has an ocean type theme and the sauce is great for seafood and rice dishes and I recommend Love Potion for all foods. We had L.B.I. Love Potion on oven baked stuffed clams and they were outstanding. Love Potion is a great table sauce made in NYC. I would order more than one at a time as it will be devoured quickly around your house.

Close-up of stuffed clam with Love Potion

Love Potion

I also added Love Potion to my Bacon Pepperoni Pizza; so good!

To order L.B.I. Love Potion and other World Famous Hot Sauce products, visit:

https://www.facebook.com/World-Famous-Hot-Sauce-LLC-556630547716101/

To contact World Famous Hot Sauce, e-mail:
WorldFamousHS@gmail.com

-Allen/Two Frys

Men Pa'w La Bomba

Men Pa'w Gourmet Hot Sauce La Bomba

La Bomba gave our red beans a great kick and intense flavor

The new Men Pa'w Gourmet Hot Sauce La Bomba is a real treat for the taste buds. It is an excellent addition to Caribbean, Dominican, and other island type dishes. The sauce has a great kick in the heat department. The ingredients of spices, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Habanero Peppers, and Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Peppers) combined deliver a hot yet smooth heat for your foods.

La Bomba in our red beans; so yummy!

La Bomba was a great addition to red beans we made and I also added it to rice. The sauce really kicked up the flavor in our beans and complimented the rice perfectly, rounding out our dinner with the right amount of heat and intense flavor. Being a red sauce, La Bomba is also a great condiment as well as a sauce versatile enough to cook with to boost up the flavor profile of any dish. 

La Bomba

The vinegar in the ingredients used is Apple Cider adding a nice zing, and is a pleasant accompaniment to the 3 peppers and spices. I look forward to using La Bomba on platanos (tostones) with garlic and on pork chops. This is the fifth product I have used from Cutler Bay, FL based Men Pa'w Gourmet Products.

La Bomba is great on rice!

La Bomba is another recommended sauce by Two Frys from our friend Carline at Men P'aw. Men Pa'w offer great island flavors you do not want to miss out on.

To order La Bomba and other fine Men P'aw Gourmet Hot Sauces, please visit:
https://menpawhotsauce.com/

-Allen/Two Frys

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

This is the second recipe I baked for a Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck at work earlier this week. The recipe is a crinkle cookie but since I did not add powdered sugar (just not a fan of it), I just call them Ginger Cookies. I love the spice this cookie has from the ginger spice. The molasses and dark brown sugar are what gives the cookie a deep brown color, and it is moist, and chewy. It also has the right amount of cinnamon and is not overpowering. See recipe below.

Tasty Gingerbread Cookies

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies

Ingredients
3 cups King Arthur All-Purpose Flour

3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed

1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

1 tablespoon Ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened and cut into cubes

3/4 cup Molasses

2 tablespoons Milk

24 Pumpkin Shaped Sprinkles (optional, I use Wilton)

Gingerbread Cookies

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside.

Using a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.

Add molasses and milk, and mix until incorporated; about 30 seconds.

Turn mixer to low speed, and gradually add flour mixture until combined.

Once dough has formed, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1/2 hour or chill in fridge for 1 hour.

This dough is very sticky from the molasses so it requires chilling.

Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, form and place dough balls on baking sheets spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set and slightly browned around the edges.

Wait 3 minutes and if desired press a pumpkin shaped sprinkle into the center of the cookie (do this while the cookie is warm if not it will not stick), and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

The Ginger Crinkle Cookies recipe is from, If You Give A Blonde A Kitchen:
https://www.ifyougiveablondeakitchen.com/2015/12/04/gingerbread-crinkle-cookies/

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

I came across a recipe for Spiced Apple Cut-Out Cookies from the blog, Semi Sweet Designs (link below) and really wanted to give it a try. I recently bought Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Mix and purchased Apple Butter to complete the ingredients for this recipe. The only ingredient I added was a little salt. I feel salt is essential to offset the sweet taste of sugar cookies in general, and bring out the flavor. I made the cookies using an apple and various leaf cutters (see here). The results were great! The cookies are soft and chewy, and have a warm Apple Cider flavor. These cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and tangy all in one cookie. It goes splendidly with a cup of coffee or your favorite tea. I really recommend you try it. See recipe and directions below.

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies (Depending on cutter size)

Ingredients
3 cups King Arthur All Purpose Flour

½ tsp Baking Powder

3 packets Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Mix

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

½ cup Light Brown Sugar

½ cup Granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened and cut into 8 pieces

1 Large Egg

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 tablespoons Apple Butter

2 essential ingredients Alpine Spiced Apple Cider and Apple Butter

Directions
Whisk together flour and salt; set aside.

Cream butter and sugars in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.

Add egg, vanilla extract, baking powder, apple cider packets, and apple butter and mix until incorporated; about 1 minute.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture and incorporate.

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Cut in half and roll dough into 2 balls, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled my dough for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Cut out shapes.

Apple Cider Sugar Cookies just taken out of the oven

Place onto cookies sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 7-12 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. My cookies baked in 11 minutes. Oven temps vary so check the cookies at the 7 minute mark.

Make sure cookie sheets cool in between baking. I place them in the freezer for a few minutes and then place cut-out dough on cold cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20 minutes. This is important. Do not use hot cookie sheets or the cookies will spread and lose their shape.

Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies with cookie spatula to cooling racks to complete cooling; about 1 hour.

Decorate once the cookies are cool to the touch.

I used Red, Green and Brown sanding sugars on half of the apple cookies for variation.

Royal Icing
Ingredients
4 Egg Whites

4 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract

1-3 teaspoons Water

Apple cutter and an Apple cookie

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar, set aside.

In a bowl, add egg whites.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice.

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.
Add vanilla extract and mix for 5-10 seconds.

With mixer speed on low, slowly add sifted sugar and beat on low until smooth.

If needed, you may add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. I used a flood icing consistency for this recipe.

Watch the Joy of Baking (link at the end) video for both Flooding Consistency and Piping Consistency Royal Icing. If you prefer a recipe using Meringue Powder, it is also available at this link.

Separate the icing in plastic containers with lids.

I use AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste Food Color Super Red, Green, and Chocolate Brown. Use 1-2 drops at a time until you reach the color desired.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

Transfer the icing immediately into squeeze bottles.

If the royal icing hardens due to exposure to air, use a spray bottle and spitz a little bit of water, and shake well holding the tip with your finger.

Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie. Be careful doing this since you do not want to make the icing to end up watery and break up.

Outline and then fill each one by sections. I did the apple body first and then waited 1/2 hour and did the leaf and then the stem.

Use a cookie stick or paintbrush to reach the edges, and use tip of cookie stick or a toothpick to pop any air bubbles in the icing.

Let cookies dry overnight. This is essential so the icing does not stick together when you stack them or place in cookie tins or gift bags.

If you are baking and it is humid, allow more time for the cookies to dry.

For the Spiced Apple Cut-Out Cookies visit Semi Sweet Designs:
https://semisweetdesigns.com/2017/07/11/spiced-apple-cut-cookies/

For the Royal Icing Recipe and Video Tutorial, visit Joy of Baking:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html

-Enjoy!

Sophia/Two Frys

Chile Pepper Festival

Chile Pepper Festival 2017
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Sunday, October 1, 2017

This year, the 25th Annual Chile Pepper Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was on a day with perfect outdoor event weather. It was nice and sunny with mostly clear skies. This is one of our favorite annual events and always a fun one to cover, and our fourth time doing so. We always find great products, meet new people and have good times at the Chile Pepper Festival.

Crowd of people at the Chile Pepper Festival

We made the trek out to Brooklyn for the festival. The event was as always a wonderful one set amongst the beautiful Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The music featured a great mix of World Music including Mariachi, Indian Bhangra, Brazilian, Cajun, and Afro-Cuban. The bands performed throughout the day on the big stage.

Stage for band performances

The festival layout was well done in the Cherry Blossom Esplanade in a kind of rectangular shape and did not curve around the fountain end of the esplanade like last year. This worked out real well with the Sahadi's Souk tent at the end of the booths. The booths were all busy with many visitors doing tastings and buying products from the vendors. There was a balanced mix of vendors in several Chile related categories such as Hot Sauce, Chile-Chocolates, Condiments, Pickles & Such, and Hi-Scoville Spicy Sweets. 

Allen

Sophia

We missed seeing some vendors not there this year, and hope they return in future festivals. We made new connections and tried some wonderful "new to us" products. We purchased some items for our pantry for future cooking and reviewing on the blog, and came home with a few bags of goodies. Things we purchased were hot sauces, BBQ sauce, spicy chocolates, cookies, and a baseball cap from Kitchen Garden Farm Sriracha.

Cool selection of books at the Community Bookstore

Vendors had an impressive amount of locally made products. Many of the vendors this year are local to the NYC area, NJ, Pennsylvania, and a few other east coast areas. Allen enjoyed seeing and tasting products from several of the newer local companies. Allen sampled hot sauces, salsas, spreads, and various spicy condiments. Sophia bought spicy chocolates, and enjoyed a decadent brownie from The Chocolate Room. By mid-day, the booths were very busy and a few had long lines but they went fast.

Allen

This is a really great place to have an event and there is seating via benches in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden grounds when you need to take a rest and then continue on tasting and shopping. Several of the vendors were also selling fresh picked Chile Peppers. We saw a lot of people purchasing fresh peppers from mild to super hot like Ghost and Scorpion Peppers to make sauces perhaps or to spice up their homemade dishes. All the vendors (as always) were very friendly and had a good time explaining their product profiles and heat level to the patrons. It was great to see about 6 or 7 hot sauce companies that were new to the festival vending. Here are the vendors we visited and photographed.

Stuff Sophia bought

Hot Sauce Sorcery

Spicy Samples Feel the Burn!

Black Irish Hot Sauce
Black Irish Hot Sauce had a great booth featuring their line of flask bottled hot sauces. Black Irish were sampling their main sauces Jalapeño Hot Sauce with Tequila Flavors, Habanero Sauce with Spiced Rum, and Black Irish Red Sauce with Irish Whiskey flavors. All the sauces taste great and feature impressive flavor profiles. Black Irish Hot Sauce offer quality based sauces that can accompany different kinds of meats, seafood, veggies, or used as a condiment.

Black Irish Hot Sauce

Black Irish Hot Sauce

The Bronx Hot Sauce

The Bronx Hot Sauce from our home borough had a great booth set up and were sampling and selling their signature The Bronx Greenmarket Hot Sauce - Green (and also in Red) and the newer, Queens 7 Greenmarket Hot Sauce. The peppers used in the sauces are grown in several Bronx Community gardens.

The Bronx Hot Sauce Queens version

The Bronx  Hot Sauce

Hell's Kitchen Hot Sauce

Hell's Kitchen had a huge lineup this year. We purchased a bottle of the Cinnamon Ghost Punch, and BBQ Sauce, and got a bottle of their Pepper Pastry Sauce made with fresh blueberries, maple syrup and fiery super hot chile peppers. Hell's Kitchen is based in NYC in the West Side of Manhattan and run by Chef Ron Menin. Ron's 6 hot sauces are recommended, versatile, unique and tasty.

Hell's Kitchen Hot Sauce

Hell's Kitchen Hot Sauce

Karma Sauce

Karma Sauce had a very impressive lineup of various and diverse hot sauces and condiments. All Karma Sauces are made with fresh Chile peppers and the flavors reflect that. Karma Sauce has a farm and grows most of their produce for the sauces, especially hot peppers. Most of the healthy ingredients are sourced from within 50 miles of their operation. Karma Sauces are made by hand in the Finger Lake region of New York.

Karma Sauce

Karma Sauce

Karma Sauce

Kitchen Garden Farm Sriracha

It was our first time sampling the goods from Kitchen Garden Farm. The 3 Sriracha sauces were really good, hot, and flavorful. Allen was impressed and purchased both a bottle of the Sriracha in a squeeze bottle, and a baseball cap with the company logo. Very fresh and homegrown farm peppers are used in the making of their products. The products are Certified Organic, farmer made and have no preservatives. These handcrafted products are made in Sunderland, MA. They also make two fire roasted salsas. Great stuff!

Kitchen Garden Farm

Kitchen Garden Farm

Kitchen Garden Farm

Pepplish Provisions

I had read about Queens, NY based Pepplish Provisions on Facebook. I was then pleased to read they were a vendor at the Chile Pepper Festival. We went to their booth and were approached by the proprietor Tim Fraczak. Tim was conversing with the hot sauce tasters at his booth. He explained to Allen the flavor profiles of the 3 available sauces. Pepplish Provisions trio of hot sauces will be reviewed in the near future. The sauces sampled had a very good combination of both flavor and heat. The sauces are Blueberry Basil Shallot, Peach Agave Garlic, and Apple Cilantro Lime.

Pepplish Provisions

Pepplish Provisions

Queen Majesty Hot Sauce

Queen Majesty's booth was setup with their impressive sauces: Queen Majesty Jalapeño Tequila & Lime Hot Sauce, Queen Majesty Scotch Bonnet & Ginger Hot Sauce, and Queen Majesty Red Habanero & Black Coffee Hot Sauce. They were busy doing tastings and selling their sauces all of which we have purchased and cooked with. We are fans of the quality products they make. Erica AKA Queen Majesty handcrafts her sauces, and they are all natural, 100% vegan, gluten free, do not have sugar or unnatural preservatives.

Queen Majesty Hot Sauce

Queen Majesty Hot Sauce

Shaquandas's Hot Pepper Sauce

Shaquanda's had a well decorated booth showcasing the Hot Pepper Sauce they make. Allen did a tasting and found the sauce very flavorful with just the right amount of heat. The sauce uses fresh Scotch Bonnet Peppers, horseradish, ginger, and onions. Shaquanda's is based in Brooklyn, NY and offer a great tasting local sauce to use both in your cooking and a dipping/condiment sauce.

Shaquanda's Hot Pepper Sauce

Shaquanda's Hot Pepper Sauce

Silly Chilly Hot Sauce

Based in NJ and founded and operated by Sufia H, Silly Chilly Hot Sauces are made from peppers locally sourced in NY and NJ. Silly Chilly had their sauces available for tasting and buying. Silly Chilly offer 3 sauces: Serrano and Chipotle, Fresh Mango and Sweet Peppers, and Super Duper Hot Habanero. They also make a tangy condiment called Mango Achar. It was great seeing another local sauce company at this festival.

Silly Chilly Hot Sauce

Silly Chilly Hot Sauce

Silly Chilly Hot Sauce

Torchbearer Sauces

PA based Torchbearer Sauces had a huge booth with all their hot sauces and condiments. We are fans of their products and some of our faves are the "Oh My Garlic" Sauce and the Extra Extra Hot "Zombie Apocalypse" Hot Sauce. Torchbearer are a regular vendor at the Chile Pepper Festival and it was great seeing them again. In addition to the Hot Sauces, be sure to try Torchbearer BBQ Sauces. Torchbearer Sauces are made from a great crew of folks.

Torchbearer Sauces

Torchbearer Sauces

Torchbearer Sauces

Here are some other vendors we checked out and enjoyed tastings from:

Alex's Ugly Hot Sauce

Bacchanal Sauce

Redhead Hot Sauce

Combustible Condiments

Combustible Condiments

Brooklyn Delhi

Brooklyn Delhi offer Indian condiments and are best known for Achaar (pronounced ah-char; 'pickled' in Hindi) in a variety of flavors. Achaar is made from vegetables & fruits, aromatic spices and chili peppers and is diverse to compliment many of your favorite dishes.

Brooklyn Delhi

Brooklyn Delhi

City Saucery

Brooklyn based City Saucery offer products that are handcrafted in small batches. Their All-Purpose Tomato Sauce comes in three flavors: Spicy Nonna's Calabrian, Vegan Nonna's Amatriciana, and Nonnna's Leafy Greens. City Saucery have a nice selection of Preserved Tomatoes and offer a Meatless Salami Spread Tomato 'nduja made with Habanero peppers.

City Saucery

City Saucery

Jacky's Jams & Jellies

Based in New Jersey, Jacky's Jams & Jellies offer a large variety of pepper jams and jellies that are available in all heat levels from mild to spicy.

Jacky's Jams & Jellies

Mama Margarita's Salsa

NYC based Mama Margarita's was sharing plates of chips with the 3 different salsas they make. They are some of the best salsas I have had at the festival both this year and last. They made a good impression on me. The salsas are authentic Mexican, taste very fresh, and are packed with flavor. They are great for topping foods as well as dipping into tortilla chips and are highly recommended.

Mama Margarita's Salsa

Mama Margarita's Salsa

NY Chup

Bronx based NY Chup offers one of my favorite condiments. I was thrilled when I saw NY Chup at the Chile Pepper Festival. NY Chup is a small batch company and offer the following kinds of ketchup: Bacon, Cilantro Lime, Spicy Habanero, and Bronx Masala. Get some!

NY Chup

NY Chup

NY Chup

Pierre's Spicy Peanut Butter

Pierre's make different flavors of spicy peanut butter that are palate pleasers. Pierre's also offer almond butter and the peanut butters feature a great blend of flavor and heat. Their products are recommended and it was great meeting Pierre himself and do a tasting.

Pierre's Spicy Peanut Butter

Vital Eats

Vital Eats from Saratoga Springs, NY had a nice selection of sauces, dips, and ketchups at their booth. It was great to meet them and this was their first time at the Chile Pepper Festival. We will be cooking with the Green Sriracha Verde they make called Zombie Blood, and Big Hot Apple/Habanero Apple Hot Sauce. These are healthy sauces and are low sodium, vegan, gluten and soy free, and Non GMO.

Vital Eats

Vita Eats

Vital Eats

Chile Chocolate Debauchery

Chocolate Debauchery

The Chocolate Room
Based in Brookyln, The Chocolate Room were selling their Dark Hot Chocolate, The Classic Hot Cocoa and Spiced Hot Chocolate. They were selling brownies and other fine products. I loved the brownie I bought from them. It was so rich, and decadent.

The Chocolate Room

Hernan Mexican Mole

Hernan were offering samples and selling their Hernan Mole Pipian: A Mexican Classic and Hernan Mole Poblano. Their booth was very busy when I stopped by.

Hernan Mexican Mole

Hernan Mexican Mole

JoMart Chocolates

JoMart Chocolates are always a favorite of mine. This year, I bought their Dark Chocolate Bar. JoMart had many chocolate delights for sale: various chocolate bars, Allstars - pure chocolate stars in different flavors. Many other chocolate themed desserts were available.

JoMart Chocolates

JoMart Chocolates

Laurie & Sons

I am a big fan of Laurie & Sons. This year, I purchased their Pepper cookie sandwiches with a spicy chocolate ganache in the center. The cookies came in a pretty box and the spice was just right. Based in East Harlem, Laurie & Sons are known for their toffee products which come in a variety of flavors.

Laurie & Sons

Laurie & Sons

Laurie & Sons

Little Bird Chocolates

Long Island confectioner Little Bird Chocolates offer some really great products. They have Fire Bites Candied Jalapenos covered in Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate, Hot & Sweet Nuts, and Fire Powder - finely ground candied Jalapenos.

Little Bird Chocolates

Little Bird Chocolates

Raaka Chocolate

Raaka make their chocolate in Red Hook, Brooklyn and offer a diverse line of chocolate products. I bought 3 Raaka Chocolate Bars: Coconut Milk from the Dominican Republic, Hibiscus Cinnamon, and Green Tea Crunch and I loved them all!

Raaka Chocolate

Whimsy & Spice

Founded in Brooklyn, Whimsy & Spice offer cookies, biscotti, marshmallows, brownies, and hot chocolate mixes in Earl Grey, Spice Chile and Classic. Whimsy & Spice combine spice with sweet in their products and I am a big fan of this company. I bought Honey Lavender Shortbread Cookies, and Coconut Five Spice White Chocolate Cookies. Both kinds of cookies had a balanced flavor profile and were delectable.

Whimsy & Spice

Whimsy & Spice

Whimsy & Spice

Hi-Scoville Sweets

Hi-Scoville Sweets

Bushwick Kitchen
Bushwick Kitchen offer honey, maple syrup and sriracha. Bees Knees Honey is available in Spicy, Meyer Lemon, and Salted. Three Knees Maple in available in Spicy, Gingerbread, and Coffee and Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha is sure to satisfy your spicy taste buds.

Bushwick Kitchen

Bushwick Kitchen

Mike's Hot Honey

Brooklyn's own Mike's Hot Honey is a Chile pepper based infused honey which is versatile for savory and sweet food and desserts. Mike's Hot Honey is available in 3 sizes: a mini jar, 12 oz. bottle and 24 oz. chef's bottle.

Mike's Hot Honey

There were several ice cream companies to satisfy ice cream aficionados: Culture: An American Yogurt Company, La Newyorkina who also had Mexican brownies and ice cream toppings for sale, and Oddfellow's Ice Cream Co.

Culture: An American Yogurt Company

La Newyorkina Mexican Brownies

Oddfellow's Ice Cream Co.

Piquant Pickles & Such

Piquant Pickles & Such

Rick's Picks
Rick's Picks offer a great selection of pickles and other goodies. Rick's pickle line is offered in tangy, sour, spicy and smoky: The People's Pickle, Classic Sours, Hotties, Smokra. Rick's Mean Beans (Green Beans), Rick's Pha Beets, Rick's Handy Corn, and Rick's With Relish.

Rick's Picks

Zia Green Chile Company

Zia Green Chile Company did a demo on roasting chiles and it was fun to watch. Zia's Hatch Chiles are manufactured in New Mexico. The product line offered is Hatch Red Chile Sweet & Mild, Hatch Green Chile Medium and Hot, and Hatch Chile Pasta with Sfoglini.

Zia Green Chile Company

Zia Green Chile Company, doing a demonstration

Zia Green Chile Company

Zia Green Chile Company

For Horseradish lovers, there were a number of selections by Holy Schmitt's Homemade Horseradish. Kimchi fans got their fix with Mama O's Premium Kimchi and Mother In Law's Kimchi.

Holy Schmitt's Homemade Horseradish

7 Hot Flavors available for Holy Schmitt's Homemade Horseradish

Mama O's Premium Kimchi

Mama O's Premium Kimchi

Mother In Law's Kimchi

Mother In Law's Kimchi

North Brooklyn Farms had several vegetables and peppers for sale as well as lovely tote bags.

North Brooklyn Farms

Brooklyn based Sahadi's Souk had the same large tent area as last year offering a fine selection of spices, spicy candy, nuts, spreads, granola, and other snacks.

Sahadi's Souk

Sahadi's Souk

Sahadi's Souk

Sahadi's Souk

Allen at Sahadi's Souk

Here are other vendors we checked out:

Calcutta Kitchens

Calcutta Kitchens

Nafi's Sauce

-Allen and Sophia/Two Frys