Scoville Saturday Our Daily Dinner

scoville saturday

chuckieb 8 years ago
good morning everyone! did you see the google doodle the other day featuring Wilbur lincoln scoville. (January 22, 1865 – March 10, 1942) was an American pharmacist best known for his creation of the "Scoville Organoleptic Test", now standardized as the Scoville scale.
He devised the test and scale in 1912 while working at the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company to measure pungency, "spiciness" or "heat", of various chili peppers.
i probably never heard of the scoville scale until about 15 years ago when i attended a food seminar day and a guy was cooking up scotch bonnet peppers. prior to that i'd had jalopeno peppers and thought at the time they were 'HOT'. :) the hottest thing my parents ever ate was chili powder and that was kept to a minimum. fun how one's taste buds change and appreciate other flavours. i salute mr. scoville. 'to heat'. :)
today would be a great day to have spicy food as it is -17C/1F.
was really disappointed with my sauerkraut last night. it was a new brand i hadn't tried before that i bought at a Ukrainian deli. it was sweeter ....no sourness. i like sour sauerkraut. i ended up throwing the sauerkraut out and making myself a toasted pork sandwich with onions and mustard. plus my sens lost AGAIN. argh.
today jim and i need to run to the library and costco and the chinese grocery store, jim's friend and his two sons are coming over tomorrow afternoon for a hot tub, hockey game and dinner.
that muffeletta sandwich on the home page is calling my name. i've never had anything like that before.
what did they serve at the italian dinner karen?
wishing everyone a great day!
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pointsevenout 8 years ago said:

Rain then snow then cold then a skunk looking for a place to hole up. Must have a crack in the house somewhere allowing its perfume to enter. No one got any sleep after 1:00am. Not going to get above freezing today. It's going to be a long day before this day turns into a great day, if at that. Febreeze spray bottle in hand today everywhere I go.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

geez points. nasty on the skunk smell. unless it made a direct hit on the house you'd think the breeze would carry the odour away by now. :(

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MissouriFarmWife 8 years ago said:

Second try to post. Grr!

Hi Janet and Pointsevenout.

Isn't rural life great! Ha ha on the skunks. We had an invading battalion of skunks several years ago, when we still had dogs. One would stroll in the barn at inconvenient times - Wayne had to stand quietly one morning while a nosy polecat sauntered past, flipped its tail as if to say "I could if I wanted" and meandered to the back. One decided to vacation on our front porch, to the delight of the dogs when we let them out for their evening run. It dived into a carrier we had left outside, so they avoided a direct hit. Janet, the odor still wafted inside. I sprayed the furniture with Febreze - it worked well. Not so the walls. The musky odor lingered for months, severely restricted our social life - ha ha. So we opted to let the dogs out the back door - this time they took a direct hit. I bathed dogs - sprayed dogs - threw away my tennis shoes (you NEVER get the odor out of them) - had to wash my hair, which developed a faint musky smell even though I was INSIDE when the commotion erupted.

The party was at an Italian Bistro newly opened about 40 miles away. It was sort of a cross between a cocktail party and buffet. The dishes included: meatballs in marinara sauce with some sort of spice I am not familiar with; pork with a cream sauce (yum!); spinach avocado dip and french bread slices; breaded fish with honey mustard sauce); caprese (? SP.) salad on a stick; lettuce salad; tomato halves stuffed with a pasta salad; and an open bar. Wayne won a door prize - a BBQ set shaped like golf clubs - very cool. The host made a joking comment before hand that "these two always win something" (meaning Wayne, I never win anything - ha ha) and of course made a big deal of him getting one the door prizes.

We slept in this morning. Wayne put out corn for the two little deer about 15 minutes ago. They strolled in from the forest and are now munching happily. We think the bigger one may be a buck, his body build is a bit stockier. But, whatever, they are welcome to visit us. I have never seen so many deer -- the bad acorn crop probably had something to do with that, since they are leaving the wooded areas to forage for food.

Have a a nice day. See your late.

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Cosmicmother 8 years ago said:

Good morning :)
Funny about our taste buds, my parents were the same way with heat! I started trying hot sauces with a foodie friend of mine when we were food runners. She would put hot sauce in her ketchup when she had fries, and we'd order spicy Caesar cocktails. I was able to handle a lot more heat after awhile. Now, not so much lol ;) I am eyeballing that muffelatta sandwich too! Probably my most favorite sandwich ever! I use to work in a small Italian bistro, and would live off of it! I never attempted it at home though, I use to be able to order it at an Italian deli near my house in Nanaimo. I know at Aldo's he used an olive tapenade for the sauce, I'd probably buy the store bought tapenade. Funny because I don't like olives, but love olive tapenade! I'm weird, I know ;) Capicola is hard to find here too, I like it on pizza and there isn't one pizza place around here that uses it. It's a spicy ham, but regular ham is no substitute. Could you maybe add more vinegar to the sauerkraut? I guess you threw it now though, too bad it was sweet!

Yikes on the skunk Points! I guess he's looking for somewhere warm. Hopefully you can get rid of him soon!

That's funny Karen, I have only ever seen skunks when I've lived in cities! I think they learned to raid peoples garbage cans, and eat off the streets or something. We have so many coyotes out here in the sticks, maybe that's why we don't see them? Yum on the Italian food! Perhaps the spice was some ground fennel? Certain regions in Italy use fennel while others just use basil. I love fennel seeds, use it in all my Italian sauces and meatballs. :) Awesome on the door prize win!.

I'm not too sure whats for dinner yet. I have some ground chicken to use up. Might make meatballs or soup, can't decide yet. Just a relaxing day here today, taking care of Sophia. Have a great day everyone! :)

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

goodness on a battalion of skunks karen. lol. i can picture that!! :) wow on the skunk smwll lingering on the walls for that long. wow. that sound like a wonderful feast you had and how fun wayne won a prize!
hi shona! i'll probably just use store bought tapenade as well....at least the first time...but that recipe did look fairly easy to make your own. it goes without saying there's no way i'd add the cauliflower though. :) we can buy capicolla here. i may check at costco as sometimes they have some nice cold cut assortments packaged. jim too suggested adding some vinegar to the sauerkraut but i was grumbly and irritated so didn't try. :) hope sophia feels better soon. i used ground chicken in that italian wedding soup i made yesterday. it was lovely. i wrote up my review in imi.
just had a lovely skype call with benjamin. goodness i miss him. :)
not sure what to have for dinner myself. perhaps a roast chicken.

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MissouriFarmWife 8 years ago said:

I have not seen Capicola here, Shona. I don't mind a little heat but am not a fan of super spicy foods. If it isn't TOO hot I would like to try some. Wayne would try it on pizza, I think. He has learned to like medium spice Bulgogi so maybe there is hope. Glad you could chat with Benjamin, Janet. I will have to try the Italian wedding soup.

Janet, it was the year of the skunks. I would drive home from work and either: a.) slam on the breaks because a skunk or two was crossing our lane in front of me, b.)sit in my truck for a half hour while one played with one of our barn cats on the front porch, or c.) scrub dogs after another encounter. Life in the Ozarks is never dull.

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Cosmicmother 8 years ago said:

Karen, you usually buy Capicola mild or hot. The hot can be intense, and is very red in colour. The mild almost has no heat to me. Sometimes you can find medium. It almost has a pastrami feel it to it, but not the brined taste. I love it!

Janet, I was eyeing up that Italian wedding soup but don't have the mini pasta or greens. Pete and the kids voted for spaghetti and meat balls. But I only have whole wheat rotini, so I'll make a meat sauce instead! Glad you had a nice chat with Benjamin :)

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mommyluvs2cook 8 years ago said:

Hi all! I didn't see the thing on Google Janet, but I have heard of the Scoville scale. I have some ghost pepper seasoning from Trader Joe's and it is HOOOOTTT! I do one little grind into something and it is plenty, if it goes into something I'm cooking, the whole house fills with the smell and everyone's eyes will start watering, no matter what room your in. LOL!! I don't use it often :) Ugh, that's weird about the sauerkraut, sweet and not sour??! Have fun in the hot tub!

Sorry about the skunk Points, that doesn't sound like fun :(

What a spread at the party Karen, everything sounds delish!!

I love the idea of putting hot sauce into ketchup Shona, I may try that! Good luck figuring out dinner, meatballs and soup both sound good to me, how about meatball soup? :)

Sooooo Michael got the promotion, so he is now a Supervisor, woohoo! He starts Monday and now he will be on days M-T, so no more night shifts, which we are both happy about. We went out to dinner last night to celebrate with the kids called Maggianos http://www.maggianos.com/ We did Marcos meal for two, which IMO is a fantastic deal. You basically get an appy, 2 meals, dessert AND 2 meals to take home for $40! For the app we got bruschetta. For the meals I got the I lighter baked ziti, and for home the lighter fettucini alfredo. Michael got the 4 cheese ravioli and for the take home the Taylor street baked ziti. Dessert was the chocolate zuccato cake. EVERYTHING was delicious!! Michael's ravioli was my favorite, that pesto sauce was amazing, and the cake, was HUGE, between the 4 of us we only ate half! Brought the rest home :)

Tried to sign Caiden up for T-ball but I didn't realize they needed his birth certificate, ugh, but luckily there is sign ups again on Wednesday night, so I'll just go back up there then. Bri is at a girl scout event down town and will be there all day. Not too sure what it's about, it's some design work shop, so I can't wait to hear the details when she gets home. Michael went up to Softball tryouts with the coach so they can choose who they want for the rest of the team. Dinner tonight is what we were going to have last night, beef stew, which is perfect for our cold weather. Have a great day everyone!

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Cosmicmother 8 years ago said:

Congrats on Michael's promotion!! Woohoo, no more night shifts! Wow, that restaurant sounds amazing!! I'm drooling! What an awesome deal too. We're having leftover beef stew for lunch. :)

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notyourmomma 8 years ago said:

My fierce dogs are afraid of the wind. They refused to go outside. And when the wind whistles in the fireplace flue, they run to me and sit there panting. Charlie climbed into bed this morning and tried to curl up around my head. Wimpy dog and everyone thinks he is going to hurt them. Maybe if he licked you too hard.

Eww, on the skunks. The door is distinctive and long lasting. Thank goodness for Febreeze. I definitely would sit in my car to avoid a hit. Phew.

Yeah on the promotion and no more nights, Michelle. How nice for the family. Nice deal on your suppers. A real bargain.

Karen, yummy food buffet and congrats on winning the door prize. Any naughty kitty high jinks today?

Janet, good luck on the errands. I wish I had a Chinese store to shop in, out of fish sauce and Thai red Chile's. Interesting how the Scoville scale evolved. You know I like it hot. Actually going to try my hand at making habanero carrot hot sauce, similar to the one at Urban Comfort.

Shona, my FRED hated spicy and he would complain about the heat level all the time. His mom rarely used pepper in her cooking. I hope everyone starts to feel better. Meat sauce and penne sounds comforting.

I don't understand a sweet sauerkraut. Yucky.

Muffaletta sandwiches with olive salad are delicious. I have used hot ham instead of capicolla when I couldn't find the real deal. The vinegar olive juice that soaks into the bread is the best part of the sandwich. Perfect for a Super bowl party.

Olivia says they have opened the Skyway bridge and they are on their way to Chumlees. I think it is windier now than when they closed it originally. They are driving over in a Lincoln Towncar, which makes me feel better than driving in a Toyota Echo.

I do believe that I need a sweater. It is 60 in the house. I will not turn on the heat. Sweaters and socks are the rule.

I miss Fred.

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MissouriFarmWife 8 years ago said:

Hi Shona . I will keep an eye out for capicoli ... maybe a trip to Springfield is in order.

Michelle, so happy to hear of Michaels promotion, yippee on no more nights. Our daughter worked eleven p.m. to seven and was exhausted, can't imagine having to work the swing shift. Marcos sounds like a fun place to eat.

Tina, so cute your big scaredy cat dogs quaking in fear of the wind. It must be the high pitch sounds that get to them. Although curled around my head would not rate high on my list of favorite things....LOL. I remember you posted about Charlie looking like a pit bull but don't remember what breed you said he was,

The kittens have been semi well behaved today. Mauser is, and A.C. was, on the chair, sitting next to me. A.C. was hogging the throw so I couldn't pull it over my cold feet, but he got mad when she tromped across him, and left. She is now hogging my lap but I still can't grab the throw because she is demanding to be lying on it instead of next to it.
Tyrannical little beasts. Trouble was on the floor soaking up the warmth from the stove, but then leaped on my lap for a quick pat, and strolled off to greener pastures. Mel is asleep on the couch...he has not been acting his old self lately, will try worming him before another vet trip.

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mbelisle 8 years ago said:

Wow sounds like some nasty winter weather this weekend for a lot of people but up in the prairies it is warm! Weird year for weather. We got to Skype with my parents and with Laura today and they are just around the freezing mark but with nasty wind as well. We aren't too prone to chinooks in Regina so it must be coming up from somewhere else.
Tina, we used to go to Lord Chumlees Fish and Chips in BC, I wonder if that is the same as the Chumlees you are talking about or just a coincidence of names? They had excellent fish and chips as I recall, but it has been closed now for a few years.
Yesterday was a disturbing day of news from home with the school shooting in La Loche. So much of the work I had been doing before I left was with MLTC and the Northern Lights School Division and the school is really the heart of the community. Words can't even begin to express it. My prayers are with everyone touched by the tragedy.
It was a late supper yesterday, cooked at about 9 pm. The temperature got to 45C which is apparently 113F yesterday so we ended up sleeping for a couple of hours instead of cooking. I made Sweet And Sour Cashew Chicken and it turned out very well so I guess it will be another to be repeated at some point in the future. Today will be cooking a chicken to make chicken enchiladas and then chicken and wild rice soup.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

again yikes on the skunk activity karen. nice on the kitties absorbing heat from the stove....luxury!
nice on the meat sauce shona.
wow on the ghost pepper seasoning making everyone's eyes water michelle. that's hilarious! thw sauerkraut wasn't 'really' sweet. mild i guess would be the better descriptor.wow! big congrats to michael on his promotion! that's excellent and no more nights is a much deserved bonus! good for him! nice on the celebratory dinner at maggione's . your meal sounded awesome!
habenero carrot hot sauce sounds crazy good tina. wish i could be your taste tester! :) gentle hugs. i miss hearing fred stories. i remember when you used to have to hide treats behind things he'd never look at. :) was it the dish soap? :)
lovely you got a skype call in with laura and your parents michelle b. that was heart wrenching news about the school shooting. :( all your meals sound lovely. ugh on that heat though. you must have air conditioning.

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notyourmomma 8 years ago said:

Oh Michelle, how sad about the shooting. Wow on your temps, I would nap too. I have chicken pieces baking for use in a few dishes.

I had Charlie's DNA tested because of his unfortunate coloring (brown with white chest) and size. He has a barrel chest with long legs. He doesn't look like any bull terrier I've seen, however my neighbors aren't as convinced. His DNA said he is 90 % Labrador, a bit of Great Dane and some Vizsla/hound mix. I met both his mom and dad. She was pure black lab and dad was pure chocolate fur. Both of them much smaller than Charlie. They were fifty lbs. max. He is a very solid 80#. He has lost some weight because Fred isn't here to feed him milk bones.

After I said missed Fred, I found pennies on the floor.

My friends have been befriended by a copper tabby. They just had to put their tuxedo kitty down. He had cancer. Both say they aren't ready for the new cat, but I think the cat knows what they need.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

Roast Chicken With Balsamic Gravy
for dinner with baked potatoes and beets.
hot tub was lovely. nice to get the fresh air. getting in and out was a little tricky but i did it. :)
have to ask how much it costs to get a dog's dna tested? nice in the copper tabby love.

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notyourmomma 8 years ago said:

Chumlees is named after the owner. He calls himself a nasty jerk and worse. He is former Marine, a devoted biker and he makes the best wings ever. 12 different sauces that you can Mix and match. His burgers are hand pattied fresh to order. They are delicious.

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mbelisle 8 years ago said:

Chumlees does sound excellent Tina. I think you are right about the cat knowing - hope it all works out for them.

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notyourmomma 8 years ago said:

$79.00 for the DNA test. I had Molly tested too. She is a kaleidoscope of hound but a little more Vizsla than the rest at 40%.

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notyourmomma 8 years ago said:

Ancestry does a human test for $99. I thought might do it someday since I was adopted.

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chuckieb 8 years ago said:

ancestry is really pushing the dna testing but i'd rather buy 3+ month's more of my subscription than paying that for a dna test. i can see how it'd be fun info for you tina!
anyone watching 'finding your roots"? LOVE that show!

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