Q What are your favorite supermarket brands of canned tomatoes for making pasta sauce? We read about the Miracolo di San Gennaro, but are reluctant to pay for its shipping every time we want a "simple pasta sauce." The article mentioned you had a favorite other than above mentioned so we'd love to hear what it is.
A Just to fill everyone in, the Miracolo di San Gennaro is an artisan canner of true San Marzano tomatoes (grown within the legally designated micro-climate of the San Marzano area outside Naples). They grow some of the best-tasting San Marzano's I've had, but they're available only through mail order and are breathtakingly expensive.
In repeated tastings of whole canned tomatoes, my top three are America's Muir Glen Organic Whole Peeled Tomatoes, Hunt's 100 percent Natural Whole Tomatoes and Italy's Bella Terra From Racconto, Organic San Marzano Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes, in that order of preference. So pick your price point; I think you'll approve of all three.
Hot as Hades
Q Disaster is nigh! The first pot of fall chili is as hot as Hades. My usual chili heat comes from mild ground ancho (from the supermarket). You go on and on about farmers markets so I bought these fresh tiny, gorgeous chiles there. Because they were small, four or five went into the pot. The chili's like eating fire. I hate to throw out food. Is there anything I can do?
A For this one, I hit the books, specifically "On Food and Cooking" by food scientist Harold McGee. He says rough textures diminish the impact of the chile's heat. So you could serve it with rough tortilla chips.
Another solution is to dilute the chile's impact by doubling the recipe. That is, add more of all the ingredients except the chile.
One last tip that you've already surmised: The smaller the chile, the hotter the chile, so more is never a good idea. Just in case you're up for trying yet another chili recipe, this uses one of those little fire buds.
Lynne Rossetto Kasper hosts "The Splendid Table" radio show from American Public Media and is the coauthor of "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions." To reach her, see www.splendidtable.org.