Habañero HOT Sauce

We’ve been (well, Sean’s been) buying habañeros from Two R’s Farm at the Boulder Farmers’ Market every week since they opened for the season in April. They’re a buck a piece and, though I don’t reach for them while cooking, Sean can’t get enough of them and uses little slivers in almost everything.

After my hiccup reflex from über-spicy, I do agree that they’re great peppers. Sean describes them as an intensely hot pepper with a tropical mango/pineapple undertone that, when coaxed out, make for a very flavorful HOT sauce.

So, we picked up six.

Sean cooked five carrots, four cloves of garlic, and one large onion (all from the market) in olive until they were soft.

Next, he added the six habañeros, two medium sized tomatoes, 1/2 cup lime juice (freshly squeezed, of course), 1/4  cup white distilled vinegar, 1/4 cup water (or more as needed while blending), and honey to taste (he used approximately 1/4 cup of local Uncle Pete’s Honey).

And then… wait for it…

The Vitamix. The. Vitamix. The best decision I’ve ever made, besides dating Sean, was buying a Vitamix.

Sean pureed everything- peppers, tomatoes, lime juice, vinegar, honey, carrots, onion, and garlic until it was smooth and then poured it back into a pot to simmer for another five minutes.

He let it cool as we ate the dinner he had been preparing for us while making the hot sauce. Then, he filled some small jars and preserved them in a hot water bath.

There was a little left over, so we put it in the fridge, and I must say- by the next day I found this sauce to be really good. Don’t get me wrong- it’s hot as hell. But, as Sean says, it has an earthy sweetness from the carrots and a nicely balanced flavor you get from the sautéed veggies. It exudes a touch of tropical flavor in an incredibly hot sauce that’s toned down by the other ingredients, including a touch of local honey.

A little goes a long way, so, I think we’re all set on hot sauce here for a while.

Private Dining with Sean Smith and A Bolder Table

In case you haven’t heard through the grapevine, A Bolder Table has teamed up with Sean Smith, a chef at Boulder’s esteemed OAK at Fourteenth, and will be hosting monthly vegetarian dinner parties at my downtown Boulder loft. Once a month, we will be inviting six guests to join us for a unique dining experience. January 28, 2013, was our first.

Sean decided to give our first dinner an around-the-world theme, and treated all of his menu planning, prep, cooking, and plating as if he were working in a restaurant. That essentially means we had one of the best “home cooked” meals ever.

Our guests arrived by 7:30. There are rules guests must follow if they’re invited to one of our parties, and rule number one is you must arrive between 7:15-7:30. Dinner service starts shortly after 7:30 and late arrivals are not allowed because they interrupt the chef’s flow. The second rule is you must participate in social media (facebook, twitter, instagram, etc.) at least twice during the dinner. The third rule is the easiest to follow: Have fun.

And fun was definitely had by all. Sean invited his friends Lorraine, her fiance Jesse, and their friend Brian, visiting from NY. I invited Matt, who’s not on social media so I think he broke one of the rules, Anne, and Tim. Together we made eight.

Our first course was Caponata and Bruscetta, which was, like every course, absolutely delicious.

As soon as Sean told the table what we were about to eat, we all realized we weren’t just at some fun, cool dinner party. We were dining in a private dining room with a professional chef who had put a lot of thought, energy, and love into a four course meal.

…and the wine was flowing…

Our second course was Coconut Curry Soup. Savory Spice Shop’s medium yellow curry was the secret ingredient in this course and, if I’m remembering correctly, the table was pretty silent while spooning this into our mouths.

The third course was a cornmeal crusted red hot marinated tofu (which had been frozen, thawed, and pressed), creamy blue cheese polenta, and braised greens.

…and that wine kept being consumed… and stories… oh, man, the stories…

If I were just focusing on the meal, I’d say, “Finally, Sean served dessert.” Or something like that. But this dining experience was so much greater than a group seated around a table eating fantastic food. This was a group who hadn’t all known each other before but all eight of us came together in a way that forges friendships. Every one of us was so genuinely enjoying each other’s company that our final course, an Earl Grey Pot de Creme, was just the end of the dining part of the evening before heading upstairs into my loft with a few more bottles of wine. And remember… what happens in my loft, stays in my loft, so that part of the story is left for you, dear reader, to imagine.

Sean and I will be holding monthly dinner soirees for the coolest cats in Boulder, and I’ll be sharing photos from our events to tantalize your taste buds. Please email me at megan@localtabletours.com if you’d like a recipe for any of his courses.