Note: Just in case you don’t fully read through this post and come to conclusions, what I’m about to talk about has nothing to do with cuisine in Argentina.

One market that I frequent had a huge crate of ripe red jalapeños and, when I saw them, I instantly knew some sort of chipotle experiment needed to go down. The smoker still needs some modifications for heat control so attempting to fully dry peppers is just not a great option at this time. I did, however, want to see if I could at least cheat and get close to recreating that famous chipotle taste. Few hours in the smoker might just do that, I thought.

Each jalapeño received one slice down the side to allow the smoke to seep in while the smoker fired up to 140º F (60º C). The temperature bounced around a bit during the whole ordeal but that was expected. At four hours, the peppers were nicely wrinkled, with a decent amount of moisture, and for me that looked good enough. The skins refused to come off but I scraped away the seeds. What next? Hand blender with a little apple cider vinegar. Wow, really thick. A little more vinegar. Whoa, this is starting to look like sriracha sauce. Taste? Not chipotle, kind of close though, but more along the lines of pureed roasted red peppers with hints of fresh jalapeño. Oh, and LOTS of smoky flavor. Tabasco-level spiciness. After I added some salt and a clove of garlic, it was actually starting to lean toward sriracha but with an added smoky flavor. I added a good amount of vinegar but you could hardly tell it was there. Done!

Overall this chili paste is outstanding. Even after a two days, I’m amazed at how well it continues to hold itself together–meaning no separation. Next time I might add a little more garlic to raise the pungency level but I am quite pleased with it as is. Works wonders as a dipping sauce for meats.

Well the week is almost over–heh, like time exists when you work at home–and I wasted part of today thinking that I should at least get something up to keep the growth of this site moving along. I think trees grow faster….but anyway, guess what? I’m going to shove another un-sponsored product in your face.

The SaltShaker Spanish - English - Spanish Food & Wine Dictionary

Written by Dan Perlman, chef, writer, restaurateur, wine sipper sommelier, and budding cheese maker. You can check out his site SaltShaker if you want. Great info on wining and dining in Buenos Aires.

Contains around 5,000 entries, including local idiomatic expressions. That’s one 316 page and 9 x 6 x 0.8 inch food translating filled paperback. Perfect size to toss in your good-sized handbag or backpack while traveling–or you could just stay at home and learn something new. Might come in handy when you are at that off the beaten path of a restaurant offering the recommended chef’s special of criadillas with no English translations. Vice versa if Spanish is your first language.

Now, at this time I can’t personally vouch for this book because, well, I haven’t read it yet. There used to be a scaled down version on his site a while back that was excellent. I will, however, get a copy when I go to the U.S. later this year. With how the postal service works here, that’ll be a much quicker option. (Yeah that’s right Correo Argentino, Aduana, or whoever, I still haven’t forgotten those instances where air mail took 6 months to arrive!!!) So, when I do get the book, I’ll toss up a review-not that my reviews are worth anything. A quick search on Amazon-not that they are the authority but damn near close- shows that this is the only book of its kind or at least one that is super easily available.

So instead of bothering me with your e-mails asking for translations just buy the book! Just kidding, you can still e-mail me, but seriously, this book would be a great thing to have on hand.

Disclaimer: Dan did not ask, pay, beg, or whatever for this promo. Nor, if the chance arose, would I accept a free copy. I’ll just go dine at Casa Saltshaker one day and remind him of this post when the check arrives.

Nothing major, but if anyone was dying with anticipation to see a photo of a piece of quebracho wood I wrote about, you can view it here.

Also, I was able to acquire some of Beagle’s India Pale Ale and added a review on the post here. These guys must be boosting their production or finally decided to hit the market on the OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND outside of a bar or two. La Anonima, a major supermarket chain, had about 150 bottles of India Pale Ale on a display.

I thought the only other beer they produced was fuerte-something but instead found “IPA”. Maybe they discontinued fuerte or never even had it or maybe they still do, I don’t know. Need to ask. I’ll probably head over to Ushuaia later this week or next. If the roads are fine and if Cerro Castor has good snow. If not, what the heck, I’ll probably head over anyway.