Tasting Cheetos Flamin' Hot Sweet Carolina Reaper Crunchy Cheetos

As regular readers of this blog know, any time I see a food product claiming habanero or hotter peppers as an ingredient, I have to give it a shot. Ran across these at Walmart yesterday, and of course I had to try them. Now, I'm not really a fan of Cheetos, and I haven't really found much heat in their and Frito-Lay's other Flamin' Hot offerings. But I couldn't resist the Reaper. 

When I opened the bag, the first thing I smelled was.... salt and vinegar! Not real sure why, and I don't know what I expected them to smell like, but it was definitely a bit unexpected. The Cheetos dust was a deep reddish-orange and didn't seem to be present as much as in other flavors of Cheetos - there was very little residue left on my hands. 

The flavor and texture were what you'd expect of crunchy Cheetos. The heat was there, and hit pretty quickly and then built slightly. My first taste was a single Cheeto, and I could still taste a slight residual heat nearly 2 minutes later. It's not overwhelmingly spicy; without looking at the bag and the list of ingredients, I don't think I would have guessed reaper, or really anything other than their standard Flamin' Hot level of heat. 

These Cheetos did give me an idea for some spicy mac & cheese with reaper or ghost pepper cheddar and jack and some of these crushed on top for texture. I can't say that they didn't meet my expectations - the problem is that so many purveyors, especially of snacks and fast food, label things with habanero or ghost pepper or Carolina Reaper but there's no real heat there. I'm not the one doing market research for e.g. Frito-Lay, but I think that if they think there's a market for Carolina Reaper, etc., it's reasonable to assume that people are looking for the deep heat. 

Taste: 6/10 (hey, they're Cheetos.)

Heat: 5/10

Tasting Wang Buldak Udon Korean-Style Stir-Fried Noodles

Image source: TheRamenRater.com

Ran across this one at the Pacific Ocean Marketplace I sometimes shop at. It comes in its own bowl and is marked as "EXTREME SPICY". Inside the bowl were 3 packets: one of what appeared to be fresh, not dried or fried noodles; one marked cooking sauce; and one that was all in Korean but appears to have a mix of seaweed and sesame seeds. Weight of the entire thing is 7.79 oz, but a lot of that is the water weight in the noodles. 

The directions suggest to warm the noodles briefly before cooking, so I did. After that, put the noodles and 1/4 cup water in the bowl, cover loosely with lid, cook for 90 sec (1000w microwave, I went for 75 in my 1100w oven), then add sauce and dried flakes and stir. I followed the directions except the microwave time. 

The first thing that hit me was almost a barbecue sauce smell from the sauce. I took the packet of flakes and poured it all in, not realizing how much was in the packet, so the next thing was a pretty pronounced seaweed aroma. I let it sit for a couple of minutes for all that to mix together and coat the noodles, and then took my first taste. 

Noodles were chewy, a little soft but still pleasant. The taste was definitely seaweed barbecue sauce, which isn't really at the top of my list flavor profile-wise. The heat hit pretty quickly but wasn't overpowering by any stretch. I gave that first bite a solid minute and still had some tingle on my tongue so kudos there! As I continued to eat, the heat continued to build - and introduced some sniffles! Bumping the heat score up to 7/10. 

Nutritional details: 380 calories, 3.5g of fat, and 10g of protein. 2,010 (!!!) mg of sodium. 

Verdict: Pretty good, though way too much seaweed for my palate. At $4.49 or so for the single bowl, I'm not sure I'd do them again, but I'd definitely recommend them. 

Taste: 6/10

Heat: 7/10

Savory Oatmeal

Maybe some of you are already onto this, but it was new to me. Doc says I need to eat healthier, more fiber, etc. Oatmeal is a great thing for that, and I still do my Swiss oatmeal about 1x/month. But one of the reasons I don't do the Swiss oatmeal more regularly is that I find it too sweet - even though the only sweetener in it is a couple of diced up apples or pears. 

So I started thinking about savory oatmeal - specifically, steel-cut oatmeal. It's not that dissimilar from having any other rice or noodle bowl - a little looser, but that's OK, and it tightens up as it sits in the fridge. I generally do heat it up rather than having it chilled like the Swiss oatmeal. 

So far I've done it a Mediterranean take and a Southwestern one. No recipe, really - just added stuff on hand until I liked the results. They worked roughly like this: 

Mediterranean: 

• 2 servings of cooked steel-cut oats
• 1/2 zucchini, diced and lightly sauteed
• 1 cup leftover fajita veg (red and yellow peppers and onion, sauteed)
• 8-10 olives (I used some kalamata and some green), sliced
• 1/2 cup of leftover roast pork
• Zest and juice from one lemon
• About 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp crumbled feta
• Salt & pepper to taste

Mixed the veg & pork into the oats, mixed up the lemon, vinegar, and olive oil and drizzled over the top, topped with feta & salt & pepper

Southwestern:

• 2 servings of cooked steel-cut oats
• 1 cup leftover fajita veg
• 1 15-oz can of black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1/2 cup shredded chicken
• Zest and juice from one lime
• 2-3 tbsp of sharp shredded Cheddar
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced

This one's even easier - put everything into the oatmeal pan and combine. 

Both of these make enough for at least a couple of meals for me. 

Think I might try a barbecue pulled pork next, and thinking about how to get to a Thai or Vietnamese version as well. 

Thanksgiving 2021 - The Vaccinated Edition

 Last year we were all in the throes of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Less than 2 weeks after Thanksgiving 2020, my entire family was diagnosed with COVID. We recovered, thankfully, and didn't infect anyone, even more thankfully. We got our respective vaccinations pretty much as soon as we were able to this year, and the relatives coming over are vaxxed as well. 

Which brings me to this year's menu. Last year's Thanksgiving spread very much reflected 8 months of lockdown, with booze in every dish. This year I'm going to take a bit of a different tack - a Southwestern-flavored meal. Chiles, oregano, cumin, lime, cilantro - these will form the framework for Thanksgiving 2021. 

Roast Turkey with Southwestern Herb Butter. No recipe - just a stick of butter, zest of a lime, a teaspoon or so of finely minced cilantro, half a teaspoon of cumin, and a quarter teaspoon of chipotle or other chili powder (or omit altogether). 

Mole Gravy - recipe (no pic, c'mon, it's gravy)

Southwest Cornbread Stuffing - recipe

Mexican Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes - recipe

Mexican Street Corn Relish - will post the recipe soon, but basically corn, lime juice, cumin, chili powder if desired and to taste, and cilantro. I threw in a can of black beans as well. I usually top with crumbled cotija or feta, but that didn't make the pic. 

New Mexican Hatch Chile Cranberry Sauce - recipe 

Absolute Mexican Cornbread - recipe

Dessert - store-bought pies (pumpkin, apple streusel, cherry) with vanilla ice cream, or margarita sherbet. 

Turkey and cornbread were amazeballs. Cranberry sauce was good but prefer my usual port-based recipe better. Stuffing and mole gravy were not as well-received, though still keeping the gravy for dipping my Thanksgiving Leftover egg rolls in this weekend. 

Margarita Ice Cream Pie

 I've seen a few takes on a margarita-flavored pie. Most of them are based on sweetened condensed milk, so it's more of a lime margarita-flavored curd like you'd have in a lemon meringue pie. The recipe I based mine off of uses ice cream and sherbet, but calls for a graham cracker crust which is just not it. 

My take uses a homemade pretzel crust, held together with butter & sugar, very similar to this one: https://southernboydishes.com/2014/04/25/margarita-ice-cream-pie-a-cookbook-giveaway/ I put a bit more butter in, bake it a bit longer, and I always use a pie dish. The filling is vanilla ice cream and tequila, and lime sherbet and frozen concentrated margarita mix, and a little lime juice, lime zest, and kosher salt. 

Ingredients: 

Crust:

• 4 cups of pretzels or 2 cups of pretzel crumbs
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp sugar

Filling: 

• 3 cups vanilla ice cream
• 1/3 cup frozen margarita mix or limeade concentrate, thawed
• 3 cups lime sherbet
• 2 tbsp tequila + 1 tbsp orange liqueur such as Triple Sec 
• Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tbsp)
• Zest from 1/2 lime
• 1 tbsp kosher salt (I use pink Hawaiian sea salt)
• Lime slices for garnish (optional)
• Whipped cream for garnish (optional)

Directions: 

1. Preheat overn to 350F. If using whole pretzels, place in blender or food processor and blend until fine crumbs. Place the pretzel crumbs, butter, and sugar in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Lightly grease a pie dish or 10" springform pan. Place the pretzel mixture in the dish or pan and spread thoroughly, pressing up the sides firmly. For a pie dish, spread all the way up; for a springform pan, spread 1/2 to 1" up the sides. Place dish or pan in oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, then let cool on wire rack. 

2. In medium bowl, stir vanilla ice cream enough to soften. Stir in margarita mix and place in freezer just to firm up slightly. 

3. In another medium bowl, stir lime sherbet enough to soften. Stir in tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and lime zest.  

4. Remove vanilla ice cream from freezer. Working quickly, drop spoonfuls from each bowl randomly into the prepared crust. Once all of both mixtures is in the crust, use a spoon to gently marble and level the mixtures. Sprinkle kosher salt evenly over the ice cream mixture. Cover prepared pie with foil or plastic wrap and return pie to freezer and freeze until firm, 4 hours. 

5. To serve, remove from freezer and let stand about 15 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges. Garnish with lime slices or whipped cream if desired. Return any uneaten pie to freezer. 

Spanish Rice

 Another recipe that I *hated* as a child because onions, peppers, and tomatoes - and that I *love* as an adult. Forget where I first found this recipe but I've significantly updated it over the years so I'm comfortable claiming this version. 

Not at all healthy but man is it amazing. If you wanted to do this as a side dish, you could skip the ground beef and the cheese.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 lb bacon, diced
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (8 oz) El Pato spicy tomato sauce or other tomato sauce if preferred
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce (e.g. Heinz chili sauce)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper (to taste)
• 8 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions: 

1. In heavy skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain and set aside. Drain most of the bacon grease from the skillet, but leave enough to cook with. 

2. Add ground beef to skillet and cook until browned. Remove from skillet and drain and rinse, then set aside. 

3. Add chopped onion and bell pepper, and cook until vegetables are tender, 3-4 minutes. 

4. In a large pot, add the ground beef, vegetables, and all remaining ingredients except the bacon and cheese. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer over low to medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until liquid is mostly absorbed and rice is tender. Check about halfway through and, if needed, add another 1/4 cup of water. 

5. Preheat oven to 350. Move the Spanish rice mixture into a 15 x 10 baking dish or casserole dish. Top with the cooked bacon and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Notes: 

1. You could substitute 1-1.5 cups of mirapoix mix for the onion and bell pepper. 

2. I like mine a little more spicy so I usually add about 1 tsp each of chipotle chili and chili powder or cayenne powder. 

Tasting Blue Diamond Almonds Extremes - Ghost Pepper

Interesting new addition to spicy snacking. Blue Diamond has added a line of "XTREMES" almonds to their offerings, in three flavors: cayenne, ghost pepper, and Carolina Reaper. I decided to try the middle-of-the-road offering, ghost pepper. 

Packaging: The lid features the phrase, "There's no crying in snacking". The word "XTREMES" is written in orange flames, and there's a 4-flame scale below it with 3 of the flames marked and the word HOTTER. The rest of the labeling is pretty standard. 

Ingredients: Almonds are #1 of course, then ghost pepper seasoning, then vegetable oil. I looked a little more deeply at the seasoning mix and it's salt, sugar, maltodextrin, tomato powder, Hatch chile powder as only the fourth listed ingredient, garlic powder, onion powder, jalapeno pepper, some other food coloring and preservative additives, "spices", "natural flavor", 2 kinds of oil, and finally, as the second to last ingredient just before paprika extract, ghost chile powder. 

Taste: It's almonds. There is a smoky sweetness to the powdery seasoning. The heat starts very slowly and gradually builds slightly. It lingers for about 30 seconds before fading. The flavor is pleasant, but not particularly spicy and certainly not as hot as the ghost pepper name and label would lead me to expect. 

Heat level: 3/10

Verdict: Good but not great; I think I paid around $3 for them, which is not terrible but I think I prefer some of their other flavors like wasabi soy. I will try and review the other two as well but I don't have high hopes for heat, even from the Reaper flavored ones.