Sparking Valentine’s Day Passion with HOT Sauce, Chocolate & Port!
My guess this Saturday is Vice President of SouthernAirs Judith Re’. Her and her husband John Morgan are the proprietors of SouthernAirs.com specializing in regional cuisine, culture and the sauce on top. Chocolate and Roses are always good Valentines Day gifts, but snazzy and tasty hot sauce is an even better gift for both of you!
SouthernAirs, the company that celebrates Southern-themed cuisine and culture, released two new hot sauce trios for Valentine’s Day – Hot Boyfriend & Girlfriend with Extra Heat, and Hot Husband & Wife with Extra Heat. The all-natural hot sauce 3-packs are gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, and may have other healthy attributes as well.
“Our hot sauce trios are the ideal couples’ gifts,” said SouthernAirs president John Morgan. “They bring passion to the table all year around.” The SouthernAirs hot sauce 3-packs contain various combinations of cayenne, habanero and serrano peppers with heat levels from mild to extra hot, plus vinegar and spices.
Morgan cited a 2017 University of Vermont medical study that found hot chili pepper consumption is associated with a 13% lower mortality rate, and that the principal hot pepper component capsaicin may defend against heart disease. “If hot sauce is good for your heart, it may be good for love, also,” Morgan said. “SouthernAirs hot sauces aim to be the ideal condiment for those special occasions.”
Company co-founder Judith Re’ described the individual hot sauces:
- HOT WIFE Hot Sauce ®, “named after your favorite gal,” is a Rojo-style red sauce containing cayenne chiles registering 4/10 on our heat scale.
- HOT HUSBAND Hot Sauce ®, which “finishes with a handsome burn,” is a reliable Sriracha-style sauce registering 4/10 on our heat scale.
- HOT GIRLFRIEND Hot Sauce ®, “offering the right amount of sweet and heat in every drop,” is a combination of habaneros and chiles paired with mangos and pineapples. A great addition to margaritas! Registers 4/10 on our heat scale.
- HOT BOYFRIEND Hot Sauce ® “is a lot more than just eye candy,” featuring a trio of smoked jalapeños, cayenne chiles and habaneros that add up to a sizzling 8/10 on our heat scale.
- EXTRA HEAT Hot Sauce, making up the third bottle in each trio, is a garlic serrano sauce with a lime kick, measuring a toasty 7/10 on our heat scale.
SouthernAirs offers a full line of Southern-themed sauces, jams and other condiments, including sweet bourbon glaze, cinnamon pear jam, Carolina barbecue sauce, apple hickory barbecue sauce and FROG jam. Products are available on Amazon, on the SouthernAirs website www.southernairs.com, and at selected stores.
In the second half I hope to be speaking with Andrew Chmielewski who is Disrupting the Candy Industry, One Piece of Toffee at a Time.
I like to think of Dave’s Sweet Tooth as the Microsoft of the candy industry. Whereas Bill Gates and Paul Allen started their business in a garage, Andrew Chmielewski started his, in his parent’s kitchen. From there, both have become masters in their fields.
Dave, as in the company’s namesake, a retired Detroit Fire Fighter had always loved to cook and bake. Feeding the firehouse perfected his skills, and when he started making his toffee, the response was unlike anything he had ever seen. Dave’s son, Andrew, now 31, recognized the perfect storm and decided to take the homemade heavenly treat out of his childhood home and share it with the world!
Andrew’s rise to titan of toffee began in 2011 and includes a calculated web of tireless work, perfectly bizarre flavor combinations, due diligence and continued education in his craft and industry, and trade missions to Beijing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
NV Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port
Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port displays aromas of raisined berry fruit, sugared dates, chocolate, caramel and orange peel. The wine’s rich, lush, grapy flavors also evoke raisin, cocoa, coffee and toffee. This delicious, fortified wine is perfect on its own or as an accompaniment to chocolate, chocolate, chocolate…don’t like chocolate? Try it with Stilton cheese and toasted walnuts. ABV19%
This was one of the top scorers in my WSU Port Class last Monday and a proverbial favorite of mine!