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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Monday, March 21, 2005

Cacahuetes Oaxaquenos   My quest for the perfect hot nuts did not begin with Doug Clark (an obscure reference that shouldn’t have to be). Planters made this wonderful hot peanut simply named “Heat,” but then they just disappeared from supermarket shelves – though I understand they are still available in many interstate gas stations, somewhere between the Nabs and Ginseng extract, in little 50-cent plastic bags. With a reliable source unavailable, I did what any self-respecting junkie would do. I tried to make my own.   The first recipe was posted here a while back and, while not bad, it had some flaws. The various chile powders never dissolved completely and when you stir-roasted them in the wok the powders would cake up, leaving little stripes of gummy chile on the dry roasted peanuts. Not an aesthetic triumph. So I decided to try using a hot sauce, experimenting with Texas Pete because, well, it’s cheap. It’s also not hot enough. The second part of that experiment was the “Buffalo Nuts” part. Melt a stick of butter and bubble it with a cup of hot sauce, similar to the procedure for coating Buffalo Wings. Too wet! It took 30 minutes of wok-stirring to get the moisture out, twice the acceptable amount, and then the roasting had to be completed in a warm (225ºF oven), draining on paper towels. Then the peanuts weren’t hot enough.   This time I used Frank’s Hot Sauce. Still relatively cheap and a classic accompaniment for pork rinds. I used only a half stick of butter and 12-ounce bottle of Frank’s plus a half-cup of Tabasco. Halved the butter and doubled the more potent hot sauces.  Instead of throwing the peanuts into the sauce, I cooked it down for a while over medium heat, reducing it to 50%. Easier to do that when you don’t have to keep stirring peanuts with it. Over medium high heat and nearly constant stirring, it took the proper 15 minutes to thoroughly coat the nuts.   Then back to the warm oven, resting a couple of layers thick in a roasting pan with a double layer of paper towels. 30 minutes. Repeat twice with fresh paper towel each time. Without the additional roasting the peanuts will will a little soggy and chewy, not crunchy as peanuts are meant to be. These are as close to perfect as I can make and I’m sticking with the “brand name” Buffalo Nuts.     10:11:15 PM    comment []

The sourdough saga continues…   The instructions for days 5 through 9 say the following:   Mixture may appear separated, with liquid rising to the top. If mold forms, remove it, then stir in 1 cup flour and 1 cup water.   I initially read the second sentence to mean that you stir in flour and water only if mold forms – this appearing to be a typical “If…then.” My programming past forced me to read it no other way. My instincts with sourdough led me to believe differently.   Yes, the mixture did separate, with a yellowish liquid on top. This is normal for sourdough. However it quit working too. My sourdough is hungry and, like Audrey, it must be fed whether or not mold forms. Last night I stirred in 1 cup water and 1 cup flour, but tonight it seemed a little thin so I just stirred in the flour.   On day 10 (that will be Wednesday here in North Carolina), “triple feeding begins” and for the next 5 days there is an accelerated feeding schedule that begins with throwing away all but two cups of the mixture! First feeding is 1 ¼ cup flour and 1 cup water. 6 hours later it’s 2 ½ cups flour and 2 cups water. 6 more hours and you double those amounts again – to 5 cups flour and 4 cups water! Then, next day, you throw away all but two cups of the mixture and start again. Who wrote this procedure? Pillsbury?     9:40:19 PM    comment []

Crux of the Biscuit Hurrah UserLand! My apostrophes are back! Read about it here.   4:55:36 PM    comment []