Masala Mama Simmer Sauce

Last weeks Fancy Food Show takeover was a lot to eat through. We’re still full from tasting. From the best Regalis stood out. Their display table at the Brooklyn Good Food Show consisted of two small black garbage bags growing rare mushrooms and a live whole king crab. Needless to say it drew a crowd. Speckled between the spectacle was their consumer product line. Caviar, to dried mushrooms to truffles. I opted for the oil tasting as Massimo had sufficiently schooled me on the chemical truffle oil gag. The Regalis guys told me the put the truffle near the oil not in it and let the oil absorb the scent. Skeptical I pressed them about the types of truffles and the process. They said the taste was much less bold than the typical truffle oil because of their process. It resulted in a pungent smelling oil with a very light truffle taste. Impressed, I decided to give them some props for their method and take some home for food combo tasting. Regalis makes an Organic White Truffle Oil as well as a black. You can this and the rest of their line direct from their website.

We’ve written about ‘Nduja, the spicy, spreadable pork salame from Calabria, before. It’s a pig shoulder and belly concoction mixed with various other ingredients depending on the village you’re in. Among them besides spices could be tripe or roasted peppers. Tony gave me the low down and said theirs, aside from being a Chicago version, was spiced for the American market NOT the hot headed southern Italian man. The ‘Nduja Black Label Iberico de Bellot is the Cadillac of spreads. Rich, creamy and just the right spice made me think this could be a winner for our current recipe testing back at my day job offices. Tony slipped me a ‘Nduja bomb and waved me off as if to say, “Go ahead take some a play. Call Chicago when you’re ready.” For you, you’re going to have to order some from his website.

This is what happens when an Indian woman finds a conduit in frozen cream. Thankfully this happened so we can now indulge in Pooja’s Malai Ice Cream flavors. I always explain Indian cuisine as complex because of how much prep goes into building the depth of flavor many Indian dishes so successfully share with our palettes. Taking that same development process and using ice cream base as the delivery vehicle is a brilliant idea. Not to mention the beauty in her packaging design and flavor combinations. Apparently Pooja’s been like this about flavor since she was a kid. When we met, mom was by her side to prove this true. All that said, the flavor descriptions do all the selling themselves. Rose with cinnamon roasted almonds, golden turmeric, orange fennel, of course, masala chai. My personal fav was her lemon cardamom. Two incredibly distinct flavors mixed perfectly. The list is 14 flavors deep. Each one an incredible mashup of distinct flavors. So much for our attempt to ween ourselves off of our ice cream habit.