Is it a fruit?  I don’t know, but I can tell you it is delicious!  I can’t remember exactly when i first discovered this tasty treat, but I remember seeing their little bright-red faces in a small jar in some specialty shop or another, and I just had to bring them home with me.  Maybe it was the cartoonish logo, or the vibrant colors, but ultimately they sat on my countertop, rinsed and dried, waiting for me to do, well, something with them.  My first instinct when faced with something new and a bit odd is to taste it.  Some folks like to touch, others to smell, but I just pop things into my mouth and damn the consequences!  Lucky for me, these little peppers had nothing but good things to say.

It’s hard to explain their flavor.  They certainly have a bit of pepper-y-ness, but it’s so much more.  It’s a bold, vibrant, somewhat sweet taste with a pleasant heat at the back end that warms without burning.

The next step in my new-food exploration is usually a pairing of some-sort.  I scoured the fridge and right behind a wedge of cheddar was a small tube of fresh goat cheese.  BINGO!  I took a little vanilla sea salt and mixed it into the goat cheese, then proceeded to stuff the little peppers to near bursting with the mixture.  I could barely get the first one done when it somehow jumped off the table into my mouth.  Creamy, sweet, spicy, peppery…I was overjoyed!  These little Peppadew Poppers (as I dubbed them) were awesome.  The entire jar was gone in 20 minutes.

Since then I’ve found tons of uses.  Peppadew Tuna Salad, Creamy Peppadew Mayo sandwich spread, CHeese-Stuffed Peppadew kabobs, Peppadew Beef  Stir-fry, to name just a few.  It’s an incredibly versatile, flavor powerhouse that has become a staple in my kitchen.  If you think this big can is too much, think again.  I open a can, separate out into recycled jars, and use as needed.  I always end up giving a jar or two away to friends who have never tried them (or my mother-in-law when she comes over and raids my fridge), and the response is always a positive one.

Do your homework…shop these online, then come back and buy them from us.  Shop like a Chef, and then PAY LIKE A CHEF!!

There are alot of very easy ways to get your ’smoke on’ at home these  days including electric smokers and propane gas units, but I prefer to do things the old fashioned (read: hard) way!  I just bought my first smoker, a Char-Griller Duo with the optional side firebox attachment.  My feeling is, if you’re going to learn how to do a thing, learn the ‘real’ way first, and then move on to spending much more money on the ’simple’ version.

This weekend I grabbed a 9# Pork Butt and a rack of Baby Back Ribs to give my smoker a trial run, but before I rubbed down that meat, I considered the smoke!  Luckily I had a bag of the Lazzari Apple Wood Chips close at hand.  Much more mellow than hickory or mesquite, I wanted a good smoke but not an overbearing one, and I wanted to leave a little room for error.  The results were more than acceptable, as you can clearly see below.

5 Hours into the Smoke Session

Regardless of how you smoke your meats,  Lazzari Wood Whips will get the job done.  The chips were of various shapes/sizes, and once soaked I threw them both directly on the fire for quicker/heavier smoking, as well as on an offset plate for a slower, steadier smoke.  It was a process, but one I really enjoyed.

Next time….Gonna try my hand at Texas BBQ Brisket.  Mesquite, here I come!