Food Notes: 1/21

Ramen, Beans, Poppers, and more

I’m a pretty big fan of Jalapeño poppers. I’ll admit to even buying the frozen variety with the TGIFriday branding. Cheddar or cream cheese filling, I’ll scorch my mouth on both.

Some time ago, I read about how Jalapeño peppers have been growing milder. They have been intentionally bred for soft palates and commercial uses. I couldn’t help but think about this when I was shopping at the local food bazaar where there were stacks of peppers, bright, and shiny green.

I should probably figure out how to make these things, I said to myself. How hard can they be? Poppers are one of those foods like fish or poached eggs that seem really hard until you do it. So I decided it was time.

One of the key ingredients to homemade poppers is cream cheese. Even a cheddar flavored filling typically starts with the spreadable cheese. It’s been astronomically expensive for the last few years, ever since 2021 when a cyber attack disrupted the supply chain. But C-town had a sale on the little cream cheese boxes and I decided to stock up. We had bagels, and I made poppers.

It turns out this white whale wasn’t even that hard to ride. I had them prepped in about fifteen minutes, and baked in about 20 more. I shredded some horseradish cheddar into the cream cheese, added some garlic powder and onion powder, mashed it all together. The peppers I sliced in half, filled with cheese and then topped with butter-soaked panko. I baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes, rotating the dish to get a more even bake.

The first thing to make clear is these are not the deep fried nuggets that come from the frozen food aisle. I didn’t even try to fry them. They are, in this regard, slightly less satisfying. But the fact that they aren’t an ultra-processed deep fried food, and I baked them myself for twice the price? That’s how you spell good.

The Latest

All The Ramen Are Belong to Us

Jason Diamond discusses his new ramen obsession, which now includes buying up all the different varieties he can come across. So far, he’s up to 26. As an aside, I tried getting into making my own scratch ramen during the pandemic, going as far as buying some delicious broth from the Meat Hook. But only that far. I believe the pint of stock is still frozen in our freezer. Oops.

Beans, Beans, Beans, Good for the Nacho

Bon Appétit looks at 11 cans of refried beans to find out the one that’s best for nachos and more. Interesting tidbit from the article: refried is a mistranslation of frijoles refrito, meaning cooked well, rather than refried. The more you know.

Beans in a Pie? It’s More likely Than You Think

Chicago has a tradition of baking pies with beans, a tradition of black muslims. The desserts aren’t so easy to come by anymore.

Are Food Halls Over?

The South Street Seaport’s Tin Building is losing $100K a day and has empty stalls. Earlier last year, Essex Market’s basement food hall closed up, followed by Gotham West Market. And this year kicked off with the Citizen food hall next to Hudson Yards calling it quits. But its not just New York’s gentrified food courts that are shutting down. Recently, food halls have closed in Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Chicago. Is the golden age of overpriced sliders and bespoke fusion tacos finally coming to an end?

Pasta Trends to Watch For

Margaret Eby looked at the hot new pasta trends of 2025. Apparently bucatini might finally be cooling, which is good because it’s still hard to find.

Saving Armenian Wine

Punch looks at how Armenian Wine is dangerously close to being wiped out.

Moka Pots are Hot, Hot, Hot! No, Really, You’re Going To Burn Yourself.

The latest nostalgia trend is the return of the Moka pot, that Italian post-war invention that gave an entire generation hope.

Recalls of the Week

Eggs, Curry flavored corn puffs, protein bars, Mr. Bing hot sauce.