A Very Good Hot Sauce

How often can you say good "hot sauce" after you've left the McIlhenny plantation on Avery Island? Most of the new "gourmet" hot sauces want to grab your attention (and test your intelligence) with names like "Set Your Balls on Fire" or "Flaming Commie Sikorskies from Hell" and they boast more Scoville units than Alaska has people. Okay maybe that's not such a big boast. Sarah Palin can probably

throw a bottle across the Bering Straits to curious Russians. They won't like the Sikorskies from Hell joke though.

Chipotle? In my opinion this is the most misused ingredient since balsamic vinegar. Thanks again, Bobby Flay.

So I'm happy to say I found a really nice one when I was having breakfast at Maggie's in Paso. Pepper Plant, made in Gilroy, CA. It has a very nice balance of heat to flavor. Great with my potatoes. There should be some real flavor in there besides that of spent nuclear rods. Pepper Plant, made with Jalapenos, delivers the flavor and just the right amount of heat.

Later that day I went out to search for it and actually found it on the shelf at Albertson's. It might be hard to find outside of Central California, but you can buy it directly from the producer on line.