Congrats to Meredith E and Wendy W, both winners of Lucy Burdette's A DELICIOUS DECEPTION.
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Congratulations to Diana D, winner of the Around the Kitchen Table Giveaway of 10 Books by our MLK authors!
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Congratulations to Carol Sullivan, winner of Framed and Frosted by Kim Davis!
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Congratulations to Luis, winner of A Case for the Ladies by Maddie Day!
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Congratulations to Bobbi Marshall, winner of Darci Hannah's MURDER AT THE CAMPFIRE COOKOUT!
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Congratulations to Sue Leis and Debra , winners of More Than Sorrow by Vicki Delany.
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Congratulations to Lynn Carlson, taking a trip to Montana on the page with Death al Dente by Leslie Budewitz!
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Congratulations to Amanda McCullough, winnder of Charred by G.P. Gottlieb.
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Congratulations to Kristie Bird, winner of Holly Danver'sLie in the Tide. And congratulations to Kay Garrett, winner of Darci Hannah'sA Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle.
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Congratulations to Autumn Trapani , winner of 4 book package— When It's Time for Leaving, Blood Ties and Deadly Lies, Diet of Death, and Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories by Ang Pompano!
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Congratulations to Kelly L., winner of our June Around the Kitchen Table 9-book giveaway with titles from Valerie Burns, Leslie Budewitz, Lucy Burdette, Cleo Coyle, Kim Davis, Maddie Day, Darci Hannah, Molly MacRae, and Ang Pompano!
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Congratulations to Sally Baker, the winner of Lucy Burdette’s two Key West mysteries, A Clue in the Crumbs and A Poisonous Palate.
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Congratulations to Dianne Casey, winner of Essentials of Death by Kim Davis!
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You can search our blog archive by ingredient or key words. Simply type your search term into the "Search This Blog" window above. For example: Chicken, Chocolate, Cookies, Potatoes, Appetizers, Desserts, Dinner, Side Dishes, etc...
LUCY BURDETTE: I am completely addicted to these candied jalapeños from the Backyard Food Company. I stockpile them in case they stop making them. I especially love them on top of melted cheese on bagels, with maybe a handful of sprouts tossed on top. The left over pickling juice is also delicious on beets and other steamed vegetables. So this year I decided it would be fun to try growing those hot peppers specifically to make this dish. This was my first foray...
Ingredients
8 ounces fresh jalapeño peppers 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/8 teaspoon celery seed 1/8 teaspoon turmeric 1 tablespoon mustard seed
Wash the peppers, cut off the ends and slice into rounds. Be very careful doing this, you might want to use gloves. And definitely don’t touch your eyes after you've handled the little buggers!Heat the remaining ingredients in a stainless steel pan and let them simmer for five minutes. Scrape the sliced jalapeños into the sugar-vinegar mixture and simmer for another five minutes. Carefully ladle the peppers into a clean glass jar, and pour the pickling mixture over top. This only makes one pint of pickles, so I did not bother to do the hot water bath canning routine. That means I do have to keep these in the refrigerator. The first pepper I sampled out of the jar was hot hot hot. But supposedly they cool off the longer they sit in your fridge. I'll keep you posted!
Store-bought or homemade? My decision: Why do I have to choose? I will make this recipe when it's garden season and buy the jars from the Backyard Food Company when it isn't. Lucy Burdette's 8th Key West mystery, DEATH ON THE MENU, is now in bookstores everywhere! Read more on Lucy's website, or Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter...
Yes, I know. It sounds more like the hook for an infomercial than the summation of a respected medical study, but...
Last week, the BMJ (British Medical Journal) released the findings from a huge study suggesting the humble chili pepper and its many varieties may do more than spice up your life—it may actually prolong it.
To watch a fun, little 2-minute CBC News
video on the findings, click the arrow in the window below....
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If you do not see the video above, click here to view it.
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According to the study, eating spicy foods once or twice a week appeared to lower the risk of mortality by 10%, when compared with those who ate spicy foods less often or not at all. Those who consumed spicy foods six or seven days a week appeared to fare even better, with a 14% lower risk of mortality.
The study has encouraged the medical community to do more research into these findings and into the benefits of hot peppers.
Why Heat May Help Your Health
One component in chili peppers, capsaicin, reduces inflammation in the body, which is believed to help prevent many diseases, including cancer. Spicy foods also raise the heart rate, which improves circulation and brain function. Other studies have shown that hot red chili peppers release endorphins in our bodies, which make us feel good.
Today I'm sharing a recipe that will make your taste buds feel good, too...
Honey-Glazed Garlic Chicken with Jalapeños Marc and I inhale this dish when we make it. It's fast, easy, full of very healthful ingredients, and delivers delectable flavor. It also uses the most common chili pepper in America, the humble jalapeno.
Fresh chili peppers gave the best results in the cited longevity study, and we love slicing up fresh jalapenos for salsa, burgers, and sandwiches.
The good news is the milder hot peppers deliver the health benefits mentioned above, so you don't have to eat anything as hot as, say... the Carolina Reaper (pictured below),which currently holds the world's hottest pepper title from the Guinness Book of World Records.
Cleo Coyle's Honey-Glazed Garlic Chicken with Jalapeños
This is a one-skillet stovetop dinner with a quick marinating process and a fast final glaze that's fantastic. The heat of the jalapenos is nicely controlled by the honey, which brings the spice level to a very pleasant warmth—as opposed to a call-the-fire-department barn burner. The cumin lends an earthy flavor, and the lemon juice brings a nice brightness to the balance. May you eat it with joy and in good health!
2 Jalapeno chili peppers, chopped and divided*
10 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil, plus 2 Tablespoons
6 chicken thighs, skin on
1 teaspoon coarsely ground sea salt (or kosher salt)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup honey (any kind will work, but we suggest a raw local honey)
*Note: When working with jalapenos or any hot pepper, take care not to touch your eyes or you’ll feel the burn. Wash hands after handling. Also, make sure you discard all of the seeds and the white pulp, which is where the less pleasant heat hides. Step 1 - Make the Fast Marinade: Cut 1 of your 2 jalapenos in half, remove the seeds and chop the flesh. Place the chopped jalapenos in a re-sealable plastic bag. Wash hands well. Mince 5 of your 10 garlic cloves. Place the minced garlic in the bag and measure in the cumin, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and lemon juice. Shake the bag well to blend.
Step 2 - Chicken in the Bag: Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Salt and pepper both sides and place the pieces in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and gently shake it, upside down and back and forth, manipulating the chicken inside to make sure the pieces are well coated. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
Step 3 - Brown the Chicken: Place your ¼ cup of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet, heat on stovetop at medium-high. When the oil is very hot, place the thighs skin side down and cook for 8 minutes, or until the skin is browned. Flip the thighs over and reduce the heat to medium until the thighs are cooked through, this will take about 20-25 minutes. (Do not cover the pan at any time.)
Step 4 - Glaze and finish: While the chicken cooks, mince the remaining 5 cloves of your garlic, and chop the final jalapeno (after removing the seeds). Mix these in a small bowl with your 1/3 cup of honey and thin this glazing mixture slightly with 1 or 2 tablespoons of chicken pan drippings. When the thighs are ready, turn the heat back up to medium-high and pour the honey-garlic-jalapeno glazing mixture over the chicken. Cook 5-7 minutes more, uncovered, until the mixture reduces to a savory sauce, and...
Did you know dairy is the only substance that neutralizes a chili burn?
If your mouth is on fire, don't reach for water, reach for milk or yogurt or ice cream. And, of course, a sour cream dollop is a delightful addition to
many highly spicy meals.
Q. Why does dairy soothe a pepper burn? Will coconut milk, nut milks, or soy milk work?
A. Chemically speaking, capsaicin in peppers binds with lipoprotein receptors on the tongue, which causes the pepper burn. Drinking water does not help because capsaicin doesn’t dissolve in water. The most effective cure is mammal's milk because it contains casein, a substance which acts on capsaicin the same way soap cuts grease. But it must be mammal’s milk because coconut milk, other nut milks, and soy milk do not contain casein.
~ Cleo Coyle
New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries
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LUCY BURDETTE: First things first--congrats to Daryl Wood Gerber and Peg Cochran for their new books this week--can't wait to dig into those!
Readers of this blog may not realize what goes on behind the scenes in this blog--maybe it's like sausage-making, right? Better not to know too much:). But my pals at Mystery Lovers Kitchen had a funny chat online last week--we thought you'd like hearing a little of it...the wacky minds of mystery-writing foodies. We're always thinking of you! SHEILA: I'm still taking pix for
this Friday's post. Do we all just take pix at every meal?
I took a picture of my drink at a restaurant last night.
Weird.
MARY JANE aka VICTORIA: Pix all the time! Not even the vegetables have any privacy, Sheila.
LUCY: Definitely no privacy for YOUR vegetables MJ! My husband gets alarmed if
I don't take pix--he thinks the meal will surely be sub-par:)
KRISTA: LOL. I take pics of other things, too. Snowy limbs, flowers, birds, funny stuff I see. You just never know what you’re going to need.
MARY JANE: Right now there are guys trimming branches around our Hydro lines (as electric lines are called up here in Ontario.) I'm taking pictures. They are waving--probably dangerous. Not sure how to make this into a blog unless it's I'm Sure Glad I Have My Job. SHEILA: Did you take them snacks? How about a post on what linemen eat?
Okay, back to the business of recipes. I'm a few months late with this cornbread recipe--you could have used it last fall when you were making your stuffed pumpkins and cornbread-sausage Thanksgiving stuffing! But after the winter most of the country has had, I decided to jazz it up with a go-away winter zippiness that comes from mangos and jalapenos. We've had some fabulous mango bread from our local bakery, Cole's Peace in Key West, and I thought, why not cornbread?
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup cornmeal 3/4 cup flour 1 and 1/2 Tbsp baking powder 1 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs 1 and 1/2 cups milk, plus 1 Tbsp white vinegar 3-4 Tbsp butter 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped 1/2 ripe mango, chopped Mix the dry ingredients. Add the vinegar to the milk and wait a bit for it to thicken. (I've given up buying buttermilk, as I wasted too much of it.) Beat the eggs into the milk, add this to the dry mixture and stir until combined. Then stir in the mango and pepper. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Drop the butter into the 8x8 inch pan you will use to bake, and melt it by popping the pan into the oven for a few minutes. Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes until slightly brown. Serve hot, with more butter if desired. (We found we didn't need it.)
It was wonderful with chili, but I bet it would be delicious with eggs or all by itself as a mid-afternoon snack. Heated up with a little honey slathered on?
Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries. MURDER WITH GANACHE is in stores now! Follow Lucy on Facebook, or Twitter, or Pinterest! She loves it when you pin her stuff:)
PS I should warn you all that I'm taking a two-day class in iPhonography--that
is how to take better photos with my iphone. Snapseed, Hipstamatic,
Dynamic Light, Image Blender...oh my poor brain is spinning...See what you think about this piece of mango cornbread, compared to the one above...I'm going to try some things out on you, and hopefully the photos will get better, not worse!
You can search our blog archive by the drop-down menu above or the "Search This Blog" window below. Simply type your search term into the window. For example: Chicken, Chocolate, Cookies, Potatoes, Appetizers, Dinner, Desserts, Side Dishes, etc...
Heat the remaining ingredients in a stainless steel pan and let them simmer for five minutes. Scrape the sliced jalapeños into the sugar-vinegar mixture and simmer for another five minutes. Carefully ladle the peppers into a clean glass jar, and pour the pickling mixture over top.
This only makes one pint of pickles, so I did not bother to do the hot water bath canning routine. That means I do have to keep these in the refrigerator. The first pepper I sampled out of the jar was hot hot hot. But supposedly they cool off the longer they sit in your fridge. I'll keep you posted!
