Monday, February 7, 2011

Tabasco Time!


Painting by Kristine Kainer

The food in Buenos Aires is delicious. But it is not spiced. Nary a pepper shaker appears next to the salt shaker on the table. After a few weeks there I could have put a nipple on a bottle of TABASCO® Original Red, because I craved something good and spicy, and that had some flavor from home. Now I travel with a bottle or two so I will never be deprived again.


Have Tabasco, Will Travel - Get it HERE


Tabasco is not just hot sauce. Its vinegar base makes it a flavor enhancer, and just about everything tastes better with it. One day I am going to put it on red velvet cake or on chocolate ice cream, because peppers and chocolate are a match made in heaven.

My favorite Tabasco infusion is in mayonnaise. It's so simple. I just add a few drops to mayo, sometimes home made mayo. And every time I serve it people ooh and ah. Tabasco has a pre-made mayonnaise that's very good too HERE

Mayo infused with Tabasco - Yummy!


So with this weekend being Super Bowl Sunday, I reckon a few bottles of Tabasco will be cracked open. Try it on pizza, in dips, and in mac and cheese. The options are endless! Tabasco is "So Much More Than Hot." It unlocks or enhances the flavor of food so you can get the best of every bite. Check out ten ways to doctor up delivery HERE

How do you use Tabasco? Got any great recipes or tips for us?

Every table in the South has a Tabasco bottle holder - HERE


Tabasco comes from Avery Island, which is 140 miles west of New Orleans. It's a salt dome island, and salt was actually mined there up until the Civil War. In fact Avery Island supplied 22 million pounds of salt to the Confederate army, up until the Union army invaded the island and destroyed everything.


New York Times Magazine's Oliver Schwarne Albright declares,
"Every well-set New Orleans table has an
Adler's silverplated caddy for when company calls." HERE


Avery Island is the home of the McIlhenny family and their employees, who are the only ones allowed to live there. Among other things, the McIlhennys are expert pepper growers, and have been growing them and making Tabasco since 1860.

Avery Island is also a major nature preserve, and a living museum of 450 species of camellias, many of them rare and endangered HERE

Read about the camellias of Avery Island HERE in The New York Times


Spring is just around the corner, and I plan to take a road trip to Avery Island to see it in its first glorious bloom, and to stock up on a few gallons of Tabasco.


This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.


23 comments:

  1. no wonder you are so hot hot hot! love tabasco, and that label is so perfect...great logo.
    pve

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  2. Mike puts Tabasco or some type of hot sauce on everything and even keeps a bottle in his truck for when he's away! For that reason, I can't stand even the smell of it. I DO like it in bloody mary's though!
    xoxo

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  4. I've never actually had tabasco! But.. I want to. haha.. I really like chipotle sauce though.. I wonder if they're similar..?? xxx

    alwaysxbeing.blogspot.com

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  5. I didn't know that tabasco came in all those different varieties. I like spicy too. I'm going to look for the chipolte flavor tomorrow at the grocery store. Didn't know they made that...but of course they do. Tabasco was always on my grandparents table. I love hot and spicy...I don't know why I don't keep it in the house...oh...because I don't cook much. But I know there is a restaurant in town that serves a blackened tabasco ceasar salad that I adore. I even add tabasco to it when I get it. So good....

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  6. Yeah for Tabasco....Happy weekend with much Tabasco for you Valorie ...xv

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  7. I've been to Avery Island -- it is a beautiful place. The camellias are everywhere and are truly spectacular. (We were there in Feb. and they were in bloom -- I bet even more will be out in the spring.)
    There is an amazing Zen garden that you won't want to miss. If I remember correctly, one of the McIlhenny brothers brought back the huge Buddha statue. It is awesome.
    Have fun!

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  8. Great post! I am definitely trying the mayo and with a dash of cumin to taste, it will make a great veggie dip.

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  9. Avery Island is a great spot to visit. Beautiful gardens, try to time it when the wisteria are blooming. I love their mayonaise too, it's great on burgers.

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  10. My parents traveled to Europe a great deal in the 1960's and 1970's - My mom always traveled with the tiny "souvenir"size Tabasco in her purse- After a while she noticed a few places had Tabasco but she kept it in her purse "Just in case"

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  11. my mother in law actually worked on avery island before she got married!!!! they had to wear gloves be cause the peppers would burn their hands.

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  12. I go for Tabasco when I really want heat but for every day it's hot sauce for me on just about everything. Even spaghetti. And yes my chili tomorrow will be hot. Have a great one!

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  13. Luuuv me some Tabasco sauce. My husband is from Louisiana and is a spice fiend. I always thought I didn't like spicy food or hot sauce, but he has opened my eyes to a whole new world of food. Now I cannot get enough of it! I DROWN food in Tobasco sauce (and this other chili garlic sauce I call "cock sauce" because it has a rooster on the bottle). I constantly find myself craving spicy food...it's like crack- the more I have, the more I need! I'm really sad we couldn't get to my fave crawfish joint this year (Steamboat Bill's- Lake Charles)... (sigh). I'll have to try the spicy mayo thing. That sounds good. Now I feel like I need to go hit the bottle of Tums...

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  14. This is so funny. I found one of those silverplated holders at an antique store but I didn't know what it was for. Maybe a pencil holder? That's what I used it for. Then one day I discovered it it was the perfect size for------you guessed it! the Tabasco bottle!
    And here I thought I was soooo clever. I guess I just need to get out more. Maybe someplace warm.....

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  15. I put Tabasco on everything, I adore that red elixir. I was very envious a few months ago as one of my friends had dinner with The McIlhenny's - it took me weeks to come out of my jealous huff

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  16. Tabasco in mayonnaise! I would have never thought but it sounds wonderful. My son loves hot sauce on everything and also spreads mayonnaise on anything with a bun. Wait till I serve mayo with tabasco mixed. He will think I'm a genius!!! Thanks for sharing that tip!

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  17. My great grandmother worked on that farm as well. I love Tabasco sauce. It's the only brand I'll buy.

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  18. My son graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and my son-in-law from the U.S. Naval Academy, and they both practically drink Tabasco sauce. For four years, they ate flavorless food, and adding it was the only way they could eat. I think they couldn't eat a meal without it even now.

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  19. I put tabasco on EVERYTHING!!!

    You're right too, it was a main staple at our Super Bowl Party.

    Thanks for the history on it, I love learning those types of things. I figure some day, I will be a champ on Jeopardy and have to thank all of the blogs I read daily!

    John

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  20. You will think you died and gone to heaven at Avery Island! It is beyond gorgeous! I live about 20/30 minutes from there! Make sure you also visit Jefferson Island and Rip Van Winkle Gardens, too. They aren't far apart. The tabasco plant is fascinating. I couldn't live with out my T on the table. Seriously.

    I may run out there soon myself. Thanks for the reminder.

    Andrea

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  21. I do the mayo thing all the time!! and i especially like to use that mayo on fried shrimps or fish! it´s delicious! and so easy to make.

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