having said that.... I'm still addicted to this oil. I may have to drizzle it on toast tomorrow - there are only so many chickens I want to eat in 48 hrs.

I'm with you on the picante addiction, so I think you need to go out and get the star anise and dry out some orange peel for a few days and try again, it'll make a huge difference in the aromatics.

For something really special, try the same blend in vodka instead of oil! ;)

Jim

my goodness, Jim, didn't realize you were lurking around here ;)

What good timing - I have more vodka than I have use for and was even considering cooking with the stuff.

We're going to the Asian market tomorrow to get enough ingredients to try out a couple of batches. I will make sure not to get dundicuts and to get star anise.

I'll let you know how my batches turn out. I can't wait to see how it turns out with the tongue and tripe. I need to get a thermometer to make sure I don't cause a fire...

don't forget the sichuan "peppercorns" if you can get them....

Now I want noodles with the red oil sauce. argh. No doubt I'll dream of it.

* * *

On another note, any thoughts on a good use for dried crushed peppermint? I have a bag of it and I'm not making a dent. So far, been using it mostly mixed with rooibos....

Komi,

I haven't even been lurking recently, I've been almost entirely absent, but it's good to be back!

You can also mix the peppermint in green tea, that's how they serve it in Morocco, I've heard.

Jim

Actually, the peppermint is used directly as tea in morrocco...not necessarily mixed with tea leaves but used as an herbal tea....

Golly...with dundicuts and roibos...I'm really lost....although that seems to be altogether too common lately.

Komi, did you get my last email to you????? Or are you not using the google product?

Argh. I believe I did, because I remember thinking "a fellow rat"! I shall dig it up and respond... I've been generally sh tty with email recently...

red oil on kale.. mmmmmmm......

I need ways to use a cup of crushed mint leaves at a time, please. Amazing (still) how potent the stuff is - a teaspoon goes a long long way.

A CUP? Good golly miss molly! Maybe you should take up smoking it! Where did you come by such massive amounts? Mint in pasta salads, mint in rice with lamb....but really, that won't do a cup at a time....

somehow managed to end up with ONE POUND of the stuff. Never-ending.....

Hmm, that makes me think twice about ordering 4 lbs of the sichuan pepper thingies. If it takes forever to use up 1 lb of mint, it'll take me years to use up 4 lbs of the sichuan peppercorns.

You have caused me more decisions...

You could probably dust your rooms with the mint. Then they'd be fresh, flaky, and like a candycane, all at once. Maybe some of those meringue cookies. You could probably fill those with peppermint.

Sichuan peppercorns are quite a bit heavier so I think you might be ok. Besides, all that numminess - how could you go wrong?

Yum, just got the sichuan peppercorns today and oh yum. They make your lips and tongue tingle.

Tomorrow, I think the oil making shall begin! I'm excited.

How did you taste them? neat? or sprinkled on something?

Hope the oil making goes well. I'm still a bit addicted to it.

I just chewed them up. Pretty tasty.

The first round of oilmaking happened yesterday. There was a small amount of burnage, and I think it requires more than 'low' heat for the spice-simmering part.

Today, I'm going to try getting the oil to around 200F for the 30 minutes. For the hot, hot, hot, part, I think it'll come off of the heat around 320F, because oil doesn't seem to cool off fast enough to keep it from burning, once it hits close.

The burned stuff was pretty darned good, even though it wasn't as fragrant as I'd like. It's excellent on popcorn...

I ended up putting the oil in the oven for the simmer part. For the hot stage, I took it up to 350 and got the feel that it could have gone higher. Nice sizzle after that, although it almost boiled over.

Considering re-simmering the batch I have now with some more fragrant things. Then strain, and the take up to 350 once more.... hmmm...

Either I'm used to it or it's lost some heat :(

Tongue and tripe has been tried!

The original recipe wasn't as fragrant as we liked, so I about tripled the ingredients and added about 1/4 of crushed red pepper flakes. I think it needs more orange than the tripled amount, but it was damned good.

I took your advice and did the 350 for the hot stage, and it was much better and more interesting to watch. I think the crushed red added a lot of extra heat.

Stacy

hmmm. I'd say the tongue and tripe part of it is quite impressive.

So what kind of chili peppers did you use?

Did you add anything to the oil to make the sauce?

I also used crushed red peppers, but I still recommend against dundicut.

We used some dried arbole peppers, which were the first thing we found. No sauce, just the oil. I also found out that leaving the oil on the peppers for a week makes it ridiculously spicy. Any recommendations of fresh peppers or would the dried ones be better? Can't think of any reason for or against either one.

The tongue and tripe part of it was impressive...especially after I sliced off the end of my thumb. Sharpening a knife after having it dull for a long time can be dangerous.

ouch. Are you exaggerating or did you really slice?

The recipes I've seen say that if you start with fresh peppers, you should fry them first because the heat and flavour are better. I would think, also, that if you were to start with fresh peppers, there's just that much more water you have to get out of the oil. You'd have to add them earlier in the process to do so - adding them at the end would make the mix spoil faster.

I'm partially exagerrating, but I lost a nice chunk of thumb. I'd say about 1/8".

Basically, it sounds like dried is better or, at least, more convenient. Interesting. I'll have to try out some other pictures.