Hot Italian Sausage Sandwich

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By MARIO BATALI   –   ABC.COM

Jalapeno Mustard Adds Spice to this Great Sandwich

ingredients
FOR THE JALAPENO MUSTARD:
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/4 cup brown mustard seeds
  • 2 tablespoons shallots (peeled and minced)
  • 1 jalapeno (minced)
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
FOR THE PICKLED ONIONS:
  • 1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 2 large red onions (peeled and thinly sliced)
FOR THE HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 hot Italian sausage links (butterflied open)
  • 1 head radicchio (quartered lengthwise with root end attached)
  • 4 slices pepper jack cheese
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SANDWICH:
  • 4 hoagie rolls (lightly toasted)
directions
  • For the Jalapeno Mustard: >In a small bowl combine the wine, vinegar, yellow and brown mustard seeds, shallots, jalapeno and salt. Allow to steep overnight. Lightly puree and store in an airtight jar until ready to use.
  • For the Pickled Onions: In a medium sauce pot, combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Add the sliced onions to a large heatproof bowl and pour the hot vinegar mixture over the top. Allow to stand at room temperature until cool. Transfer to a glass jar until ready to use.
  • For the Hot Italian Sausage: Heat a griddle to medium high heat. Toss the sausage links with olive oil and place on the hot griddle, cook until charred. Toss the radicchio with olive oil, salt and pepper and cook until charred, about 3 minutes. Top each sausage link with a piece of cheese and continue cooking until melted. Remove from the griddle and keep warm. Slice the radicchio and set aside.
  • For the Sandwich: Spread the jalapeno mustard on the top and bottom of the toasted rolls, top with a link of sausage followed by the pickled onions and charred radicchio. Serve immediately.
  • Tip: Throw an ice cube on your griddle and cover with a metal bowl to create a steam bath to melt the cheese.
Similar categories: Sandwiches Italian

 

Eat these six foods to add years to your life

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Dreamstime/Francesco Alessi
Tribune News Service – Beans are packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other goodies that benefit you.

You are what you eat, no doubt about it.

An article in the upcoming issue of Consumer Reports on Health says that eating six foods can add both life to your years and years to your life.

How?

By decreasing inflammation, improving gut bacteria and altering the free-radical damage that alters cell functioning. What’s more, the right food can affect some serious conditions that often worsen with age, such as stroke, hypertension, heart disease, cognitive decline and type 2 diabetes.

And don’t think you have to give up certain favorites to live to a ripe old age. Chocolate is one of the six anti-aging powerhouses.

Here’s the list:

Beans: They’re packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other goodies that benefit you. They also help lower levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides.

Chocolate: It doesn’t only taste good, but it can be good for you in limited quantities, especially dark chocolate that has more flavonoids and less sugar than milk chocolate. Flavonoids seem to improve blood-vessel function, which can lower blood pressure and clotting. But, remember, chocolate also contains lots of sugar and saturated fat, not to mention calories.

Hot peppers: They’re good for your heart — if you can tolerate the heat in your mouth. Capsaicin found in peppers improves blood flow and protects against bacteria that have been linked with inflammation and diseases. It also pumps up your metabolism. Green and red chilies and cayenne, jalapeño and tabasco peppers all contain high levels of capsaicin.

Fish: It’s high in inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, which seem to help protect the heart and brain. It’s best to eat 8 ounces a week of sustainably farmed or wild-caught low-mercury fish, such as Atlantic mackerel, Pacific sardines, freshwater (farmed) coho salmon and wild-caught salmon, and sablefish (black cod) from Alaska.

Nuts: These are high in monounsaturated fat content, which helps lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Though nuts are high in calories, with about 160 to 200 calories per ounce, frequent nut eaters weighed less than those who abstained, according to studies.

Whole grains: Reduce your risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, infectious disease and respiratory problems. One or two daily servings are enough to have a benefit. Refined carbs like white bread and white rice do not count.

Pimento Grilled Cheese

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Your favorite sandwich, with a Southern twist

BY JAKE COHEN   –   Tasting Table

Photo: Rachel Vanni/Tasting Table

We’re no strangers to a good grilled cheese sandwich. From a bagel grilled cheese to one filled with ricotta and berries, we’ve seen, and happily eaten, it all. But when Sam Talbot opened Pretty Southern in Brooklyn, we fell hard for another grilled cheese. Homemade pimento cheese is stuffed between focaccia (they call their thin version “magic bread”) with tomatoes and pickled jalapeños for a spicy and cheesy sandwich that’s beyond addictive.

We love this pimento cheese on its own, too, so feel free to make a few grilled cheeses and put out the rest with some crudités and crackers. But if you’ve never experienced this Southern staple warmed between two pieces of bread, brace yourself.

To learn more, read “Spread the Love.”

Pimento Grilled Cheese

Recipe adapted from Sam Talbot, Pretty Southern, Brooklyn, NY

Yield: 4 sandwiches

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the Pimento Cheese:

4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, coarsely grated

4 ounces white cheddar, coarsely grated

1 cup drained pimento or roasted red peppers, finely chopped

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons hot sauce

1½ tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ tablespoon lemon juice

¼ yellow onion, finely grated

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Pimento Grilled Cheese:

Four 6-inch focaccia rolls, halved

20 pickled jalapeño slices

2 vine-ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

Pimento cheese

1 stick unsalted butter, divided

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the pimento cheese: In a large bowl, stir all of the pimento cheese ingredients until smooth.

2. Make the grilled cheese: Preheat the oven to 400° and place a wire rack on a sheet pan. Lay out the bottoms of the focaccia rolls on a cutting board and top each with 5 pickled jalapeño slices. Divide the tomato slices among the bottoms, followed by the pimento cheese, then add the tops of the focaccia rolls, and press to close.

3. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Place 2 of the sandwiches in the pan and place a heavy pan on top to weigh them down. Cook until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the sandwiches, add 2 more tablespoons of butter and cook, replacing the pan on top, until the other sides are golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the sandwiches to the prepared sheet pan and repeat this process with the remaining sandwiches and butter.

4. Bake the sandwiches in the oven until the cheese is completely melted, 5 minutes, then cut each in half and serve.

Old-Fashioned, Crunchy, Fermented Garlic-Dill Pickles

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By    –   Gnowgflins

Pickles are one of my favorite ferments!

In this video, you’ll see beautiful fermented Garlic-Dill Pickles. They are so easy to make at home.

And by the way…

These are NOT your regular vinegar pickles you’ll find in the grocery store.

Nope!

Instead, these are fermented with salt. Once pickled, there’s an explosion of vitamins, enzymes, probiotics, beneficial acids, and most importantly… a delicious crunch!

These are so good, and they’re really easy to make!

Here’s the video, and below that is the written out recipe…

By the way, in the video I mentioned this FREE Fermenting Formulas Cheat Sheet — it’s a gift from me to you. Here’s a link to grab it.

Fermented Garlic-Dill Pickles

These pickles are fermented with salt for an explosion of vitamins, enzymes, probiotics, beneficial acids, and most importantly… a delicious crunch!
Makes 1 gallon pickles in this 1-gallon stoneware crock from Ohio Stoneware.
Author: Wardee Harmon
Recipe type: Cultured, Snacks
Ingredients
  • pickling cucumbers (or thin-skinned Mediterranean cucumbers) — enough to fill the crock (I needed a few dozen) and as fresh as possible
  • ½ gallon good water (filtered if municipal water)
  • 6 tablespoons unrefined sea salt
  • 12 peeled garlic cloves (optional, for flavor)
  • 4 teaspoons dill seed (optional, for flavor)
  • 1 teaspoon black tea leaves (or a few fresh grape or oak leaves)
Instructions
  1. Submerge cucumbers in cold water for 10 to 30 minutes to crisp them up.
  2. Meanwhile, make the brine by combining the water and sea salt.
  3. Stir well to dissolve the salt.
  4. Cut the ends off each cucumber.
  5. Start packing the crock with cucumbers.
  6. Every so often, sprinkle in some dill seeds, a few cloves of garlic, and some black tea. If you’d prefer, omit the dill seeds and garlic and add celery seed or peppercorns, etc. instead.
  7. Keep packing the cucumbers, stopping to sprinkle more of the other ingredients along the way.
  8. When the crock is full to within 3 to 4 inches of the top, stop adding ingredients.
  9. Pour the brine over all of it so the cucumbers are submerged.
  10. Place the stone weights on top — they will make sure the cucumbers stay below the surface of the brine.
  11. Add the lid of the crock.
  12. Now leave the cucumbers to ferment at room temperature for 3 to 7 days. (Shorter if temps are warmer; longer if cooler. In the video, it was winter and the house was cooler so I fermented these 4 to 5 days.)
  13. When they are done, remove the lid and plates/weights. It is completely normal to see bubbles at the top and also for the brine to get cloudy.
  14. Taste your pickles! They should be crunchy and salty. They may not be fully pickled through the entire cucumber but that’s okay. They’ll continue to “pickle” in cold storage.
  15. Transfer to a gallon sized glass jar and store in the fridge. You can eat them right away or let them age longer in the fridge. Enjoy!

More About The 1-Gallon Stoneware Crock

I used the 1-gallon stoneware crock kit from Ohio Stoneware in this demo.

Hands down, it’s one of my favorite kitchen tools. We ferment in it all the time — sauerkraut (video demo and recipe here), pickles, kimchi, and more.

I highly recommend it!

Thank you to Ohio Stoneware for providing it and for being such a wonderful supporter of fermented foods. ????

Humane Society of the TC Pet of the Week: Jalapeno

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Humane Society of the Treasure Coast, YourNews contributor

Jalapeno the Hamster
(Photo: HSTC)

PALM CITY — Here at HSTC we adopt out more than just dogs, cats, and rabbits!

Meet Jalapeno the spicy robo hamster. He views his role in a new home as purely ornamental and not very “hands-on.” He is not a snuggly hamster and does not appreciate human interaction. Jalapeno is, however, extremely adorable and performs many hamster antics for his owner’s viewing pleasure.

This pet and many more are available for adoption through the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast. Locations to adopt are the HSTC Main Shelter at 4100 S.W. Leighton Farm Ave. in Palm City, the HSTC Thrift Store Central at 2585 S.E. Federal Highway in Stuart, and the HSTC Thrift Store North at 1099 N.W. 21st St. in Stuart. Normal adoption hours are Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. View the pets currently available for adoption at www.hstc1.org. Give us a call at 772-223-8822 if you have any questions.

HOLY JALAPENOS! Inaugural 901 Popper Throwdown turns up heat

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, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Seth Agranov loves to fill a jalapeno pepper with just about anything (one of his favorite is a Jack Pirtle’s steak sandwich), wrap it in bacon and throw it on the grill. Then take a picture of it, post it on Facebook and do a little chest thumping about how it turned out.

“I always post my pictures,” Agranov said. “Then a friend started posting his pictures, and it became sort of a ‘my popper is bigger than your popper’ kind of thing.”

So they decided to invite a few folks over and have a culinary cage fight.

“We thought we’d just do it in one of our backyards, and then I realized my wife wouldn’t want people running through the house, coming in to use the restroom or what not, and he said the same thing,” Agranov said.

The sky is the limit when it comes to stuffing jalapeno peppers. (Photo: Photo courtesy Best Memphis Burger)

Luckily, Agranov knows a thing or two about festivals — he’s the co-founder and lead organizer of Best Memphis Burger Festival — and was able to pull one together with his BMBF buddies. They wanted a small venue with beer, so they ended up at High Cotton Brewing Co., where they’re hosting the inaugural 901 Popper Throwdown from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

To keep it all above-board, Agranov isn’t competing, though the Best Memphis Burger tent will be at the festival, giving away samples of burgers, hot dogs and poppers, all for donations that will go to the Best Memphis Burger Festival beneficiary, Memphis Paws.

“There’s no admission fee, so the donations and sales of T-shirts and so on are how we’ll make money,” he said.

Brandie Elliott is a member of Pirates of the Grillibbean, the team that won grand champion of the 2014 BMBF. She and her team have been furiously testing popper recipes and will pick the best two for the judges and cook up a few more to have on hand for folks to try.

“That’s our favorite part of any festival,” she said. “We love feeding people at the tent and raising money.”

No one is giving away their secrets — this is a competition, after all — but Elliott said it’s a good bet that at least one of their poppers will be sweet.

Bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers. (Photo: Photo courtesy Best Memphis Burger)

“We have tried everything,” she said. “We’ve stuffed them with everything from ribs to sweet things, and we like the dessert poppers.”

But she admits poppers are not her area of expertise.

“We’re stepping out of the box a little because this is not exactly one of our staples,” she said.

Still, chances are she’s better prepared than her competitor Chris Taylor of MemPops.

“Eh, I have four or five working ideas right now,” he said. “We’ll play around with them on Friday and pick the two we like the best. I can tell you that whatever we end up with, we’re going with fried.

“I entered because I love a good cooking contest, like having a few beers and hanging out with my friends and being outside on what is going to be a beautiful day.”

The name of his team? MemPoppers, of course. The MemPops Airstream will be there to help block off the designated area and to sell its cold treats.

“We’ll even come up with a specialty MemPop, probably a jalepeno-pineapple,” he said.

But just because he doesn’t have a specific recipe ready doesn’t mean that Taylor isn’t ready. He was part of a team that won twice at the Southern Hot Wing Festival.

Agranov wants to keep the competitors to a reasonable number and just hit 15 with the recent addition of Jimmy Sinh, better known as Sushi Jimmi. He’s not taking any more teams, but if you’re just itching to compete, you can always enter the japaleno pepper eating contest. There are 12 gallons of pickled jalapenos, courtesy of La Michoacana, waiting on folks with asbestos tongues and an iron gut.

It’s $10 to enter (or $12.50 if you want to go to reserve your spot online). The prize is $100 — and a year of bragging rights.

Grilled Bacon-wrapped Poppers

Ingredients

6 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

12 slices bacon

Directions

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Spread cream cheese to fill jalapeno halves. Wrap with bacon. Secure with a toothpick. Place on the grill, and cook until bacon is crispy.

Source: allrecipes.com

Roasted Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients

12 large jalapeno peppers

2 ounces feta cheese

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 ounces shredded smoked pepper Jack cheese, or other hot pepper cheese, or extra-sharp Cheddar

A small handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped

2 tablespoons grated onion

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut 1/3 of each pepper off lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place on a baking sheet. If peppers do not sit flat on the baking sheet, slice a thin piece off the bottom of the pepper so it will not roll around.

Mash the feta, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cilantro, and onion together and stuff the peppers with the mixture. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is brown at the edges and bubbly.

Source: foodnetwork.com

Jalepeno Poppers

Ingredients

12 fresh jalapeños

3 ounces coarsely grated Cheddar (1 cup)

3 ounces coarsely grated Monterey Jack (1 cup)

1 teaspoon hot sauce

3 large eggs

1 cup plain fine dry bread crumbs

2 teaspoons dried oregano

About 4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

Cut a lengthwise slit from stem to bottom of each pepper. Make a crosswise incision at stem end, forming a T. Pry open enough to hold back long cuts (to expose ribs and seeds), then devein and seed using tip of a paring knife and kitchen shears.

Stir together cheeses, hot sauce, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Fill chiles with cheese mixture, pressing seams closed after filling, so that cheese is compacted and pepper retains its shape.

Lightly beat eggs in a small shallow bowl. Stir together bread crumbs, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in another shallow bowl.

Dip peppers in egg, letting excess drip off, then coat with bread crumbs, transferring to a work surface. Repeat coating with egg and crumbs to form a second layer.

Heat 2 inches oil to 325 degrees in a medium saucepan. Fry peppers in 3 batches, stirring occasionally, until golden brown all over, 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to several layers of paper towels to drain. Return oil to temperature between batches.

Source: epicurious.com

901 Popper Throwdown

1-6 p.m. Saturday, March 25, at High Cotton Brewing Co. 598 Monroe. Free admission. 901popperthrowdown.com

What a dill! Pickle Parade draws thousands to downtown Mansfield

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BY NICHOLAS SAKELARIS   –   Special to the Star-Telegam

Pickles were plentiful during Saturday’s Pickle Parade & Palooza in Mansfield. Joyce Marshall jlmarshall@star-telegram.com

MANSFIELD

The spring festival season got off to a green start Saturday with the St. Paddy’s Pickle Parade & Palooza in downtown Mansfield.

There were Elvis-wannabes on minibikes, a parade of pets and live music galore, including from Grammy-award winners Asleep at the Wheel.

But mostly there were pickles: Pickle queens, people dressed as pickles, pickle balloons and giant (fake) pickles.

The sixth annual event drew thousands of visitors to a downtown that’s just started rediscovering itself in the last few years. More local businesses are opening shop and thriving as Mansfield revitalizes Main Street.

Organizers anticipated 35,000 to 45,000 visitors throughout the course of the day-long event.

This year’s theme, “Need more Kowbell,” focused on Mansfield’s long-gone Kowbell Rodeo & Arena, which had weekly rodeo events for decades before being torn down in 2004.

Allison Gilmore sat along Main Street to watch the parade with her parents. Her husband, owner of the Level 5 Design Group, rode on the float representing LOT Downtown, a Mansfield music venue that Level 5 designed and built. The LOT has been an integral part of downtown’s revitalization.

“We’ve been coming about four years,” said Gilmore, a Mansfield resident. “It supports the town. It’s a fun family gathering.”

The parade had nearly 100 floats, including one representing Best Maid Pickles, the inspiration for Mansfield becoming the official Pickle Capital of Texas.

Emily Christy, marketing manager for Best Maid Pickles, and her team had a steady line of people coming to buy pickles from their booth. For another dollar, customers could earn a chance to spin the wheel to win more cool pickle swag (who knew?). Proceeds from the spin went to the North Texas Make a Wish Foundation.

“It’s been a real treat. We’ve been part of Mansfield since 1926,” Christy said. “We love coming out to see all these crazy pickle people.”

Jessie Wente, director of development for Make a Wish North Texas, said this is the second year they’ve partnered with Best Maid Pickles at the festival.

“There’s actually a wish kid riding in the pickle car. His wish is to go to Disney World.” Wente said. “They’re donating money for a good cause.”

Tasty with a kick: Baked rice with jalapeño cheese

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If you are not afraid of some spice in your food, try this tasty baked rice with jalapeño cheese recipe.

JOL Staff   –   JOL

Photo Credit: Yehuda Solomon

Tnuva USA is sharing a nice recipe that your whole family will love. This recipe makes six servings and will take you only about 20 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

A little bit of olive oil for greasing the pan

2 cups (300 grams) cool or cold cooked rice

4 large eggs

1 carton of Tnuva’s Creamy Soft Cheese 9%

100 grams of Tnuva’s Kashkaval Chunk, roughly grated

½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped

½ tsp. of dried jalapeño flakes or chili flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

200 grams small champignon mushrooms

Directions:

1. Grease 6 ovenproof containers of approximately 250 ml. each with olive oil. Place the containers on a large baking tray and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. In a large bowl, mix the cooked rice with the eggs. Add the carton of creamy soft cheese, ¾ of the Kashkaval and the cilantro. Then, sprinkle with the chili flakes, salt and pepper and mix well.

3. Chop the champignon mushrooms into thick slices. Save the middle slice from each mushroom for the garnish and then roughly dice the rest of the slices and mix into the rice bowl.

4. Divide the mixture among the greased fireproof containers. Place three slices of mushroom on top of the rice in each container and then sprinkle the remaining Kashkaval on top, along with a few more chili flakes. Bake in the center of the oven for about 25-30 min until the rice has browned and its center is stable. Serve hot.

For more delicious Tnuva recipes, click here

 

CHICAGO HOT DOG INFUSED WHISKEY NOW EXISTS

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Produced by / @nickolaushines   –   Vinepair

Flavor infused alcohol has been all the rage for years now. Just look at what’s been done to the vodka market — no matter how much people make fun of it, moreflavors keep on coming out. Now, it’s whiskey’s turn for a disgusting flavor punch: Chicago hot dog infused whiskey.

The contraption was made by Adam Seger, the executive bartender for iPic Theaters (yes, that iPic, the one that is hoping cocktails will save the theater industry). Bon Appétit writer Alyse Whitney described her first impression of hearing about the drink as thinking it sounded like “meat tea,” or, “the dirty water form the bottom of a hot dog cart.”

Apparently that’s not what it is. Chicago dog infused whiskey is composed of the following: Templeton Rye, boiled Vienna Beef hot dogs, Colman’s mustard powder, raw white onion, sweet pickle relish, dill pickle spears, sliced tomatoes, sport peppers, celery salt, and poppy seeds (for the bun). Everything is put into a Japanese tea and coffee maker, runs it through for about three minutes, and violà: Chicago-dog whiskey.

The whiskey turns a bright, unhealthy, sweet pickle relish green. According to Whitney, it tastes like mustard, celery salt, pickle, and a little bit of sweet tomato. Thankfully, there is no meat flavor. Think specialty pickleback using the pickle juice from that sketchy guy who makes homemade pickles in the basement.

Maybe this is a lesson in not judging a drink by it’s name. Or maybe it’s an abomination. Either way, you can’t say that you don’t want to try it (or watch someone else try it).

What’s the Story? Exploring the peppermint stick and pickle snack from the Chicago South Side

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By Nick Kindelsperger   –   Contact Reporter   –   Chicago Tribune

To make the pickle and peppermint stick snack, take a chomp of (or slice) one end of the pickle, stab the middle with the peppermint stick until it goes almost all the way to the bottom, and then eat. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)

John T. Edge, food historian and director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, wrote in an email that he believes pickles and peppermint sticks are “somewhat common in the Mississippi Delta, which was the fount for much Chicago immigration.” Though he’s “not sure this transfer is explicitly Delta to Chicago,” he said it was definitely spread through the African-American community.

I quickly found that the snack dates to at least 1983. That’s when Vernon Garrett, an obscure blues musician, recorded a raunchy song called “Dill Pickle & Peppermint Stick” for ICA Recording Group. From what little I could find about Garrett, he was born in Omaha, Neb., in 1933, and moved to California later. I tried valiantly to track him down, contacting various blues enthusiasts, but I couldn’t even confirm whether he was still living or not.

Eventually, I was able to confirm that the history of the peppermint-stick pickle stretches back even further. Adrian Miller, a food historian and author of “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time,” believes the combo dates to at least 1940. “I spoke to a lot of elderly people, and they said they did that as a kid,” he said. “I can’t tell you if it was around earlier than that.”

Miller actually ran across the combo while researching Kool-Aid pickles, which are made by soaking pickles in Kool-Aid mix. He was quick to add that peppermint sticks are just the beginning of the pickle and candy combo. You can use Jolly Ranchers or FireBalls, he says — “basically any candy.”

As John T. Edge put it, “From Kool-Aid pickles to peppermint-stick pickles, these foods are great examples of youthful ingenuity and experimentation.”

This story is the first in our “What’s the Story?” series, in which we answer your biggest questions about Chicago food and drink. Have a question? Ask it in the “What’s the Story?” box below.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @nickdk