#IFBC : I'm IN!

WooooHooooo! Somebody (thank you FOODISTA!) ponied up the dough for Pickle Freak to attend the the 2011 International Food Blogger Conference this weekend which will be held Fri-Sat-Sun at my favorite hotel, The Hotel Monteleone.

I can't wait to meet all of my fellow bloggers here in NOLA, the new city that I am thankful every single day that I now get to call home. I know that I have been busy checking out all of y'all's blogs and I imagine you'll return the favor. So here's a few things to get you all caught up on Pickle Freak:


1-I've always known I was a Pickle Freak and actually come from a line of Pickle Freaks- the song "Born This Way" should come to mind
2-I'm from Mississippi, lived in New York and then moved to NOLA. There are really amazing pickles in all 3 places.Coincidence?
3-John Besh is the keynote speaker at this year's IFBC. Did you know he makes really awesome pickles?
4-I have a lot of green and pickle themed clothing and wearing costumes is NOLA is perfectly acceptable.
5-If i didn't have a blog about pickles, I'd have one about fried food and a NOLA treat, SnoBalls.

YOU. MUST.HAVE.ONE. Talk to me, I'll set you on the right path (there is only one).


I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Safe travels getting here and welcome to NOLA!

Knock Knock. Who's There?

The International Food Blogger's Conference!

Yeah, it's happening this weekend in NOLA and at the Hotel Monteleone too.
Why, I sip on delicious Brazilian Sparkles and frozen things by the pool there all the time! Wouldn't it be awesome if I could attend?
Maybe if I did I wouldn't title posts things like "Knock Knock. Who's There?"

I need $350 dollars, somebody cough it up.

STUFFED

Do you have a garden bursting with jalapeno peppers and wondering what to do with them? I sure as shit don't, but I'm hoping you will, because I need to make more of THESE! A friend at work was awesome enough to bring me a big bag of peppers from his garden and I brought them home, cracked open my fridge and decided to do this:

I had a few cubes of salsa jack cheese from Whole Foods and a few wrapped pepper jack string cheese things (?) so I washed, split and seeded my peppers and stuffed them with cheese. Next I took a few slices of bacon (I only had turkey bacon) and split each right down the middle into 2 thinner slices and wrapped them around my stuffed peppers.

I popped them into my small toaster over and waited a few minutes and then devoured these beautiful things.

The peppers were nicely roasted, the cheese was all melted and the bacon was crisp. What more could you ask for in a snack? I wish you could grow jalapenos to the size of eggplants so I could make a huge one and eat it for a long time...these things were amazingly delicious and probably the best thing I've ever just up and decided to make. A friend of mine, Mike Walton told me he does the same thing with peppers but with a slightly different technique.

He slices off the tip and top of the pepper and wearing a glove, removes all of the seeds. Then he stuffs the pepper with cream cheese and wraps the whole thing in bacon, using the bacon to cover each open end of the pepper and then roasts.

I don't think there is any variation of this that would not be good?
What's your recipe?

A Jarring Experience

I've been a car-less (not careless) pickler for about 7 years now, so I've had a few adventures in hauling pounds of produce and cases of jars on buses and trains, up narrow staircases and the like. But now that I have my own kitchen and a few awesome friends that always check with me before they go to the grocery store I've been able to really stock up on jugs of vinegar and water and lots of jars. My goal is to always have on hand my basic needs, so if a pickling opportunity strikes, I AM READY.

On my last shopping trip I picked up 2 cases of jars to supplement the 1/2 case of waiting jars I already had tucked away. I'd filled the other half back in June with my 1st NOLA batch of pickles . My usual jar of choice is a Ball Brand wide mouth jar. Sometimes I have silver bands and lids, sometimes gold (don't you wish they came in all sorts of shiny aluminum colors?). But on my last trip to Wal-Mart I decided to try their line of canning jars and so saved about 2 cents on a case of quart jars and a case of pint jars.

The line is called "Mainstays" and they are pretty lovely jars. The main attraction is sort of their lack of one-the jars are totally plain. No logo on the side, just a smooth, clear surface, which is perfect if you want to add a label. And if you do, check these out!

I didn't see a wide mouth jar option so I went with the regular size and I have to admit, for pickling you really have to have a widemouth. I'm usually a pro at packing my jars nice and tight while still making them look pretty, but with these jars it was a struggle even with my pencil thin wrists.

The glass of the jars seemed a little thinner than a Ball jar but maybe that is just my perception since they don't have the added thickness of the logo in relief on the side. I am pleased with them so far and will keep checking back for a wide mouth version. I'll probably but Ball brand again the next time I purchase jars because they are made in America (Mainstays are made in China) and the difference in cost is really not an issue. My goal is to eventually have the perfect number of packed jars and empty jars that are continually being reused and recycled every pickling season so that I really don't need to buy new jars anymore.


Are you obsessed with jars? Do you have a preference when it comes to your jars or will any old jar do?

Brooklyn Brine's 2nd Annual Pickle Eating Contest that I Will Miss