Hot Stuff

During a recent round of Pantry Patrol, I came across this pre-packaged mix that I must have bought on a trip to Scottsdale once-upon-a-time – in fact, I'm pretty sure the price tag was from this place. When the purchase was made, however, I'm not so sure. Had to be a couple years at least, but since there was no expiration on the package and it sounded pretty tasty, I thought I'd put it into the rotation of something to make sooner than later. (In the meantime, I did manage to throw out some envelopes of hardened taco and chili seasoning since I typically make my own these days – gotta watch the sodium – and since I couldn't imagine they would dissolve as designed) – oh, and they had expiration dates (dates that put them in a pantry three apartments ago).

The package of Habanero Rosemary Aioli said it would be good as a topping for pork, which isn't my favorite (but which I'm trying to learn to like), so having it smothered in an aioli seemed like a really good idea. So after whipping it with mayo and olive oil and letting the flavors meld overnight, I served it at dinner with my in-laws on Oliver's birthday, along with seared and roasted pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and green salad.

Nobody argued with the review of it being HOT! I mean, I should have known that being "southwestern" it would be more habanero than rosemary, but I really liked it actually – in small doses, to be sure. It helped me with my pork aversion and was also pretty tasty on the mashed potatoes. And it's been good on other things, too. Eric liked it on pork sandwiches he made with the leftovers. And I whipped up a batch of deviled eggs, using the leftover aioli to give 'em a nice kick. I can't imagine taking the package's recommendation to serve it as a dip for vegetables, though – you would literally burn your mouth if you scooped a carrot in that stuff as if it was a spinach dip.

We even still have some of the aioli left – it just made so darn much. Do you think it's still good? I kinda figured if I kept it refrigerated, it would be fine for a few weeks at least, but I also don't find myself reaching for it lately either.

Anyway, please let this hot and happy tale inspire all you cooks out there to play a round of Pantry Patrol and allow yourself to succumb to just one ingredient. Let it carry you into a full meal – with leftovers to boot. Next up for me is a jar of chow-chow that my mother brought me from Gatlinburg. Hmm... how to make it into a meal? Or better question: What is it?

Should you be interested in trying this habanero and rosemary spice mix yourself, a little Googling found the original source to be a restaurant (that happens to have an online store): http://www.dineterracotta.com/food_products.php

Served: 1/8/2010