Test Kitchen | Noé José Cupcakes

 

I eat a lot of sweet corn muffins. It's my lazy-broad dessert because I usually have eggs, milk, a can of corn, and Jiffy mix. Lately, I've been thinking they'd be great with a little bit a Mexican chocolate frosting. (I also drink a lot of Abuelita hot chocolate - the source of my inspiration.) I bought some boxed whipping cream from Trader Joe's I wanted to test out and thought it was the perfect time to try to make these cupcakes. I googled 'holy molé cupcakes' just to prove to myself how creative I am, but some guys in Chicago already beat me to the Mexican cupcake punch. I'll call my version Noé José cupcakes for copyright infringement purposes, although I did independently develop the same tasty idea.

Trippin | Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia might be the mutton capital of the world. I ate a ton of mutton while I was there. A ton! Mongolian cooking in a lot different from Chinese cooking and I'm glad I got to try it all. I love Chinese food in the States. It was going to be my first time in China and I didn't want to burst my food bubble, so I was a little reluctant to go. (Thank G-d, I didn't read this article by David Sedaris before I went.) 

Booze | Bushmills Single Malt Whiskey (10 Years)

We are whiskey drinkers. We drink cheap whiskey because I like whiskey cocktails and the Old Man has two taste buds, so there's no point of wasting money on the good stuff. We got this bottle of Bushmills as a gift and the Old Man loved it. He doesn't have much of a discerning palate, so I don't know how much faith I put in his review. However, the gift giver is a whiskey connoisseur and highly recommended it. It was too potent for me, so I only had one glass out of the entire bottle. And I think even that put a strand of hair on my chest.

Recipe | Pozole Blanco

I love soups and I especially love broth-based soups. Pozole blanco is high on my list. The Old Man calls it soup salad because it's a refreshing soup depending on the quantity of veggies you add. I love pork, but I don't really do pata, cabeza, lengua, or ojo from any animal, so this recipe is just with pork shoulder. However, I've heard that 'head' is the secret to the taste of pozole blanco, so feel free to add traditional pork products as desired.

Must Have | Matouk's Hot Sauces

The one thing Trinidad got right - hot sauce! We are devotees of Matouk's. We pour it on everything. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's better than even Marie Sharp's. (Sorry Belize.) The Hot Pepper sauce is simple - scotch bonnet peppers. The Calypso Sauce is mustard based and goes great with cheesy scrambled eggs. There are a variety of other flavors, but these two are on heavy rotation here. If you like hot and spicy, give Matouk's a try. You won't be disappointed.