Christmas time is a time to reflect on family and the loved ones in your life.  We both feel so blessed to have a great support with our friends and family and the best customers any shop could ask for. We wish you all a warm and joyous holiday with your loved ones and hope everyone takes time to step back, look at the current events of the world and think about what is most important. Not just for us as individuals, but for the greater good of everyone.  We are all different, all unique and have different ideas about things.  But if we work together, sharing ideas and working for the good of everyone, we can affect change.  We are blessed to live in a great country. Our friends from around the world have shared such great memories with us we just wanted to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season, no matter what holiday you celebrate or if you don't celebrate at all.  Wishing you all a very happy season of love, kindness, patience and understanding.  Next, it's on to 2013. Let's make it the best one yet!       ~~Eddie & Genie~~

IT'S NOT TO LATE FOR YOUR FAVORITE CHILIHEAD

Just a quick reminder it's not too late for the Hot Sauce of the Month Club for Christmas giving. It goes out next week to ensure everyone gets this month's special selection hand picked by Ed himself. It's a goodie!  You can opt for a 1 month, 3 month, 6 month or 12 month subscription which includes shipping throughout the US.  Each month the recipient receives 2 bottles (and sometimes we vary it up with  rubs or special seasonings) and recipe ideas. You also get signed up for our quarterly newsletter which is sent out electronically 4 times a year full of news from the island, recipe ideas, new products, health info. and whatever we feel our customers might be interested in. Check out the pricing details at www.sanjuanhotshop.com.  We are having an issue with the Postal Service which we use for the shipping so if you get a wierd message like we don't ship to your area, e-mail us. I guarantee, we ship there!

Wishing you all a wonderful, bright, warm, joyous and healthy Christmas holiday and bright shiny New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS,

Eddie & Genie Williams

www.sanjuanhotshop.com

Simple Christmas Ideas

Happy Post Thanksgiving Everyone, 

We have to share this wonderful picture of Deco (pronounced dee koh) from Kurt and Peggy Long who live on Brown Island and are frequent friends who visit the shop.  Occasionally they allow us to "doggie sit" while they run to the market and Deco is such a great dog we had to share this.  This was after a long day of shopping and a boat ride home.  We love Deco!

Home At Last!

Hopefully by now the turkey and stuffing has settled as we're getting back into daily life. This weekend at the shop was full of wonderful happy customers who were kind enough to stop in and taste some of our treats. We have Ghost Fudge (Yep, Genie's mother's dark fudge recipe but I've added a twist with the Ghost Pepper in it) and lots of new sauces in the shop. We got the Christmas decorations up and are now on to Christmas. We have had a lot of interest in our Custom Label program which allows you to put your own custom picture on a label and the caption of your choice. 1 label at a time or by the case (case discounts available on 12 or more bottles).  We work with you via e-mail to get the perfect label and we can offer approx. 15 different sauces of all heat levels. From very mild to extremely wild. It's lot of fun. We even have a couple of customers who are putting their family picture on a custom label and combining their Christmas Card as their present sent out to their friends and family. Inexpensive and personalized. And don't forget about the Hot Sauce of the Month Club. Each month you get 2  premium sauces (or we sometimes include a rub or seasoning) and recipe ideas. You also get signed up to receive our quarterly newsletter full of info. from the island, recipe ideas, health benefits and other info. we think our Chiliheads might be interested in. All prices include shipping anywhere in the United States. Check out the website at http://www.sanjuanhotshop.com for details. We can even include a special holiday flyer in the box for whatever occasion it may be. Christmas, birthday, anniversary, reunion or whatever! 

As we move into the hectic gift buying, errand running, Christmas card writing, cooking, office parties, family gatherings, gift wrapping, cookie baking, crazy time of year, please take time to slow down and make sure the ones you love the most know it.   One of the things we miss the most is having the kids in the house, sharing our daily happenings and the dinner table and watching our favorite holiday movies together snuggled by the fire. Although our family has grown with 5 kids and 7 grandkids, this is the time of year when we all cannot get together under one roof to share the joys of their company.  If you are lucky enough to have your family close, cherish it. 

Wishing you all a joyous and healthy holiday season and we look forward to seeing some of our favorite Chiliheads in the shop this holiday season.

Beer Can Thanksgiving Turkey on the BBQ???

OK, we're finally going to post this because so many of our customers have requested it. Next Thursday, Ed will be getting the propane BBQ ready for his famous, and most requested, beer can turkey on the grill.  Depending on the amount of people we have coming over we may end up doing 2 turkeys. A 10-12 lb. turkey works the best. Set the grates on the lowest level and preheat the grill to 350 degrees.  In the meantime prepare the turkey as you normally would by cleaning the gizzards out.

Ingredients:

• 1 10-12 lb. turkey thawed (or fresh) 
• 1 Fosters Lager (large can) 
• 1/2 lb. butter
• seasoning of your choice (Slap 'ya Mamma cajun seasoning is our favorite, but you can do any dry rub you like or make your own with a little garlic powder or salt, pepper and favorite spices) 

That's it for the ingredients. Open the Fosters Lager and pour out (yeah, right) approx 1/3 of the can. There is nothing that says you can't start drinkin' here. Shove the beer can up the large orifice of the bird.  Melt butter with your favorite seasoning or rub and thoroughly baste or rub down the bird. Be sure to get under the skin and let it drizzle down the bird.  Once grill has consistent heat at 350 degrees, place your bird can up (which will serve as the holder too!) on the end of the grill turning off the burner directly under the bird.  (If doing 2 birds, you will need a 3 burner bbq lighting the middle burner only during cooking) This way it doesn't burn the outside before the inside is done. Basting generously through the cooking process let cook approx. 15 minutes per lb. We have found for a 10 to 12 lb. bird cooking times are 2-3 hours.  CAREFULLY remove bird from grill and let stand 20 minutes before trying to remove the beer can. Place bird on platter and carve. We typically do this with whole chickens and it is the moistest bird ever.  All the hops in the beer help to baste the bird from the inside and it doesn't taste like beer at all.  Leftovers are moist too! For those who prefer to use a soda can, Dr. Pepper works well too. You just need to find the large can for a turkey. For chickens, regular 12 oz. cans are fine. A lot of people don't like the idea of not stuffing the actual bird but we find it is just fine to do the stuffing on the side baked in the oven.  It doesn't get the stuffing greasy.  

So there you have it. On Thanksgiving day no matter what the weather brings, we'll be cooking the bird on the bar-be-que.  Wishing you all a warm and joyous Thanksgiving holiday with the people you love the most.

Happy Fall Everyone.

Hope this finds our favorite Chiliheads enjoying the slower season and getting back into the routines of everyday life. If you're like us, once the weather turns, it's time for comfy foods.  Check out the following recipes and get the kids involved in making dinner that they will also enjoy. Of course that means everyone in the family gets involved. We used to make it our focus with all 5 kids in the house to try and sit down to dinner together as often as possible.  Of course with school activities, sports and other busy "life" stuff, dinner isn't always possible together.  Just make it a goal to do it as often as possible. When they grow up and have families of their own, they will look back on it and make it a tradition with their kids.

Keep it simple so you keep their interests. It can be as simple as cheesy quesadillas with black beans inside topped with homemade guacamole or salsa and sour cream and of course your favorite hot sauce. Guacamole is super easy. Just keep it simple. Some mashed up avacado's some lemon juice, garlic power (or salt) and fresh tomato's or pico de gallo salsa add a wonderful flavor. Easy cleanup and leftovers can be hauled to school or work the next day. 

Meat & Gravy over rice is filling and satisfying as well as a family favorite.  You can use ground beef or ground turkey.  The only difference is that with ground beef, I add beef stock and with turkey I use cream of chicken soup as the gravy.  In a skillet saute onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Add meat and chop as you brown until cooked through.  Add either beef stock or cream of chicken soup (dilute with water to make gravy) I add a few tbsp. of habanero flakes (habby flakes of course available at the hot shop)  or you can add a little cayenne pepper to taste. A little black pepper adds a nice flavor as well.  While mixture is simmering I have brown rice cooking slowly (rice cookers work great but if you don't have one, a heavy duty saucepan works but allow enough cooking time (about 45 minutes) We prefer brown rice for flavor and nutrition. Forget the instant rice stuff.  I don't have a picture of this one but the kids call and ask mom for the recipe quite frequently.

There are so many simple ideas to get kids involved and cook healthy meals that it's really fun once you get into it. Do you know how many ways there are to cook grilled cheese sandwiches?  One of our customers makes the traditional grilled cheese sandwich but he adds bacon hot sauce! Who'd a thunk it?  More family friendly recipes to come. 

Update coming soon!

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know we're super busy and just haven't been able to keep up with the blog posts this summer. We'll get an update out soon but wanted to also let you know that we do have the new Trinidad Moruga Scorpion sauce "Maruga Madness" and a salsa made with the new certified hottest chili in the world. Oh yeah, just have to tease you with a new product one of our favorite producers is concocting for us. It's called Eye of the dragon and all we can say is Habanero pepper, stuffed with a green olive, stuffed with garlic! Oh yeah. More to come soon.

Eddie & Genie

"I'm Not A Jerk" Sauce from the Z & Z Honey Co.

Just had to share this recipe with you.  Last year Sam and Tina McCanless came up with a Jerk Sauce marinade that, in our opinion and obviously our customers agreed, was the greatest chicken and steak marinade.  They've gone back into the kitchen and came up with "I'm Not A Jerk" Caribbean Rum Infused Marinade that Ed did chicken with last night and it was fantastic.  With some fresh veggies and orzo pasta on the side to soak up the extra juice it's fantastic.  So easy too! In a zip lock bag marinate your chicken or steak in the sauce overnight or throw it in the bag before you head off to work in the morning. You can bake it in the oven or crisp it up on the grill. So easy and your family will think they've got the best chef ever right in their own house. 

We will post more about the new products we are bringing in this season as we gear up for another busy season her on the island.  Oh yeah, just a quick note. Joseph Long from Heavenly Heat in Tacoma makes fantastic products and if you haven't checked out the Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce, drop by for a taste test and also take their Tequila Lime Jalapeno hot sauce for a test drive. Wonderful flavors and more to come from them this season too! If you haven't checked out our newest and hottest sauce for sampling, check out Heavenly Heat's "Meet Your Maker". Wow! 5 million SHU.