We’ve been big into barrel aged things that traditionally have never seen the inside of a barrel. SOSU Barrel Aged Sriracha takes it to the next, next level by applying this trend to a hot sauce. Just when you thought your hot chicken was perfected, along comes this depth in a jar to add yet another layer of complexity to your dinner party wow-pertoire. Secretly we dip carrots straight into the jar when no ones looking for a quick snack.
This is a bunch of Brooklyn guys who decided to reinvent dried pasta. To do so they brought back some rare shapes and even made up a few new ones. They also bucked the flour norm and add some unique flavors to the mix. Mint, ramp, nettles even cocoa find their way into these unique shapes. To boot the guys are awesome. On a recent trip to the market I couldn’t find their zucca (a pumpkin like globe shaped pasta). I gave a call to see where I could find some. After they spent 10 minutes diligently tracking it down, they told me to just pop down to the factory and they’d give me some. You got to love that real Italian hospitality. So, when I heard they has a Sfoglini Pasta of the Month Club, it was an instant join. We opted for the 12-Month plan. You can never have enough pasta on hand.
The equivalent to a mic drop, Sir Kensington’s has just perfected an eggless mayonnaise using aquafaba. “Say whaaaat?” you ask. Yep. They not only perfected an eggless, mayo without using soy but they are using by products from a hummus company to do it. We love bi-product reclaimed goods and process. In short, when you cook chic peas in water the liquid that remains in aquafaba. It has very similar properties to eggs so they thought, “Who’s dumping tons of this aquafaba down the drain daily?” Hummus companies were the obvious, and low cost, answer. Now part of their avocado oil mayo, organic mayo made with sunflower oil and their classic, Sir Kensington’s Fabanaise rounds out the Mayo department not only with a smart recipe but with an innovation waste management solution. It tastes great too.
I met Hansen Shieh in the “new” products aisle at the Fancy Food NYC. He was first in a long line of new vendors and the Earthy. Spicy. Tingly. did it’s job. It drew me right in and had me asking for more. That more was a couple spoonful of Hansen’s truly deep sauces. Incredible flavors on their own, how he can bottle them that way is even more impressive. Typically the jar of sauce looses something from mom’s kitchen to co-packer. Aside from the sauce Hansen knows his stuff, tells a great story and is super gracious. Closing deals is a big part of the show and not being a buyer, I sometimes have trouble focusing purveyors to talk beyond the sale. Not the case with Hansen. Since that talk, we’ve had some Earthy Spicy Tingly in the pantry at all times.
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.
