Outfit your pantry with Red Weapons
In a perfect world, Handy & Hot is a pop-up bakeshop that makes cakes, pies, breads and really whatever suits our fancy to celebrate holidays and special occasions. Not to state the obvious, but things are far from perfect right now. So for now, Handy & Hot is not a cake or a pie you open up and gobble in minutes, but instead, my favorite flavor heroes that will help you Make It Taste Good in your own kitchen — sneak peeks of my new cookbook coming out this fall.
If you take a gander into my home refrigerator or my restaurant walk-in any time of year, you’ll always find a batch of Red Weapons at the ready to add a bright, refreshing, slightly spicy edge to food in need of a pick-me-up. Basically firm tomatoes bathed in a brine and swimming with lots of jalapenos, aromatics and warm spices, these are like Louisiana hot sauce, Mexican pico de gallo, Indian chutney and Southern style refrigerator pickles got together and offered up a part of themselves to make something indispensable. For years at the restaurant, we called them spicy tomatoes, but because they’re the thing I turn to most to fix boring stuff, elevate dull stuff or offer heavy foods some levity, I decided they needed a more fitting name and spicy tomatoes were reborn Red Weapons to better suggests their covert power and clutch service.
By the way, Red Weapons and their condiment friends like Little Green Dress and Community Organizer are so integral to the way I cook, I’ve written a whole book about them. Pre-order This Will Make It Taste Good from your favorite bookseller, out in October.
What Comes In Your Package
One 32oz. jar of Red Weapons plus 10 one-liner “recipes” for how to use your new flavor hero to throw meals together in a snap.
What You Need To Know
Red Weapons are in a jar, but they are not canned. They are packed with vinegar, oil and a little sugar, so they will keep at room temperature for more than a week, but I suggest when they arrive, store them in your fridge. They’ll keep there for up to six months. If you haven’t used them long before that something is terribly wrong.
When Red Weapons are cold from the fridge you’ll see the orange-tinged olive oil separates from the rest of the goods rising to the top. If you’d like you can scoop that oil off and use it all on its own. It’s packed with the flavor of everything else in the jar and is a great finishing oil to drizzle on top on finished dishes for sheen and added umph. Otherwise, let your Red Weapons come to room temperature and stir it all up before using.
The tomatoes themselves are in large pieces for pickling purposes, but you will almost always roughly chop them and stir together with the chunky brine before using.
If you get to the bottom of your jar and have used all the tomatoes but have brine and oil leftover, don’t waste it. It’s valuable and delicious in vinaigrettes, sauces and makes a welcome drizzle for grilled vegetables or meats.
