I haven't tried all of the hot sauces that Melinda's produces but I love the ones that I have tried.  The reason that I like Melinda's so much is these sauces are fantastic, have a high degree of heat and are available for a few bucks in your local supermarket.  Well, they're available in MY local supermarket anyway.

Every once in awhile I'm guilty of an impulse buy and more often than not, the product is a spicy one.  This time I was in the supermarket and I passed a shelf of hotsauce.  There were a few sauces I hadn't yet tried so I grabbed a bottle of Walkerswood Hot Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce.  It's a relatively inexpensive bottle of hot sauce so I figured I'd give it a spin.

Chile and hot sauce eating videos have become extremely popular over the past few years.  Our friend, Scott Roberts, decided to take on Blair's Ultra Death Hot Sauce on video a few months ago so I figured I'd share it with you fine folks.  While some people resort to eating chile peppers, hot sauce or other spicy foods to put themselves into a world of hurt ala "Jackass" for entertainment purposes, Scott's video is much more informative.  This video says so much more than a written article ever could and Scott has an interesting and entertaining style.

Whenever I do something, I go balls to the walls with it and that rings true for making ice cream.  My thinking is that if I understand it's science, how it's made and what role each ingredient plays I should more easily be able to make my own.  Knowledge allows me to experiment a bit without blowing up the kitchen too badly.  I guess my thirst for knowledge is also partly due to the fact that I'm a huge nerd.  And, not the type with the bandaid on my glasses so much as the type that makes every effort possible to be a walking encyclopedia.

So, exactly what is the science behind ice cream?

I don't know about you but I'm a magazine junky.  Call me strange but I read them backwards the first time round - must be some kind of mental condition.  I also get easily distracted.  What was I talking about?  Oh yeah, the three most important magazines for any chile-head who loves to cook.  Fine Cooking Magazine, Bon Appetit Magazine and last but not least, Chile Pepper Magazine are the ones I'm talking about.  But, why these three specifically?

I'm sure it's fairly obvious as to why Chile Pepper Magazine would be such an important read for a chile-head and I'm sure you have more than a vague idea regarding my reasons for touting the other two as such.  However, I still feel the need to ramble on... plus, I want to share something beyond reasons - a philosophy if you will - regarding why an aspiring home chef should read these three periodicals "periodically" (pun intended).

Famous for its indentations along the edge to alleviate food from sticking while slicing, the Santoku Knife is extremely popular among Calphalon's Katana Series.  Like a chef's knife, the Santoku is an all-purpose Asian-style knife that's designed to cut meat, vegetables and fish.  The definition of Santoku is "three good things", referring to the three main cutting tasks the knife performs: slicing, dicing and mincing.  Made from high-carbon stainless steel, this 7-in. Asian-style cleaver is the perfect choice for the chef at home. And, yes I love this knife.

Dave's Hurtin' Habanero Hot Sauce is without a doubt my usual hot sauce.  What do you mean by usual hot sauce, you ask?  Well, I have an answer for you.  This is my everyday sauce - plain and simple.  This is what I put on my eggs in the morning.  This is the sauce I use when I'm not trying other sauces.  This is the sauce that I "stand by" - at least until I decide I need something with even more heat.

If you've ever eaten homemade ice cream or sorbet then you already know it's no joke and if you've ever tried to make it yourself then you already know it's not as difficult as it might seem especially if you know a few tricks and you have the right equipment.  A little know how and a good ice cream maker goes a long way.

I've heard of people putting a ziploc bag filled with unfrozen ice cream into another bag filled with salt and ice and then they shake the bags until they magically end up with a big bag of ice cream.  I'm sorry but I'm not convinced that it can hold a candle to properly made ice cream from a machine.  A machine provides the consistent speed and temperature that is so crucial to making good ice cream.  Besides, it really doesn't need to be more difficult than making a good ice cream mix and putting it into a machine, does it?