Paige’s Kitchen: Cowboy Candy
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – The search for a versatile snack that will keep your guests going back for seconds is over. Say giddy up to cowboy/cowgirl candy.
It’s the sweet side of jalapenos that you probably don’t know about. You can use this recipe with your favorite soft cheese and crackers, a drink garnish for a Bloody Mary or margarita or a sandwich topper. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
- 1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
- 1/4 tsp. Celery seeds
- 1 1/2 lbs. jalapeño chiles (about 25 to 30), stems removed, unseeded, and sliced crosswise 1/4-in. thick (wear protective gloves and be careful not to touch your face)
Instructions
Make syrup:
- In a large saucepan, bring sugar, vinegar, mustard seeds, garlic, and celery seeds to a boil over high heat. (make sure the pan is large)
- Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Watch the saucepan as ingredients may boil over.
- Add jalapeños, and bring to a simmer over medium-high.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until jalapeños darken and shrivel, 4 to 6 minutes.
Add to jars:
- Transfer jalapeños to a clean 1-quart canning jar or 2 (1-pint) canning jars using a slotted spoon;
Chef concocts perfect recipe for new business venture
Chef Elias Herruzo Puerto knows his way around the kitchen, as he spent his entire life watching his father and paternal grandmother cook many Spanish dishes in his hometown of Madrid. As an adult, he enjoys replicating many of those dishes in the United States — and is intent on introducing Americans to the proper way to make paella.
Puerto recently started Paellita Bueni, a catering business in which she cooks paella on location so customers can experience fresh the authentic Spanish dish. He said people tend to drown out the flavors of real paella by adding too many fancy ingredients.
As he states on his website, his work and philosophy is this: “I believe that we eat not only with our stomachs but with our eyes as well. However, there’s a fine line between making a paella visually stimulating while also making sure it doesn’t take away from the flavour. With traditional paellas from Spain, less is always more. My No. 1 focus is to always make sure the paella is explosive with flavor, and to do this we cannot put all kinds of decorative items over it.
“The ingredients themselves lend to a beautiful color combination that is