It had been a while since I had gotten any Atomic Horseradish - the delectable and extremely pungent concoction that I first had about 20 years ago. We like it on steaks and I have a great recipe for horseradish encrusted salmon. It's great to stick in mashed potatoes and bloody mary's, too.
When I've ordered it in the past from a couple different places, I've had it shipped when it sits somewhere over the weekend. Because Atomic Horseradish is so strong, they say you can only have it out of refrigeration for up to 72 hours. There's been times when I've ordered it and it's been five to six days before it's gotten here. It loses a lot of it's "zip" when it's kept out of the cold.
We were down to the last couple of jars of a twelve pack I bought about a year ago and what we had left of the horseradish had lost it's zip. I ordered some from Cosmic Chile from Montana over the weekend a week ago, just to make sure that it could be sent out on Monday and be here within three days. It didn't get here until Friday. But, thankfully, it has been cold enough between here and Montana so the horseradish wasn't out of the cold all that much.
I decided to get a couple of New York strips for dinner on Friday night. With it, I made up a side of mashed red potatoes with garlic, cream cheese, chives and horseradish. Very easy to make. (Cube and boil about four or five small red potatoes for 20 minutes; drain the water and put the potatoes into a mixing bowl. Then add a quarter stick of butter; 4 oz. of cream cheese; two or three cloves of garlic - chopped; two to three tablespoons of chopped chives; and a heaping tablespoon of ground horseradish. Or if you have Atomic Horseradish, an even teaspoon. I'm serious - it's that strong when it's fresh! And then mash 'em all together. Serves two very easily.)
I cooked the steaks on the Weber grill, and made up the potatoes. Cindy got home from working out and we had a bottle of the Chateau Thomas Pinot Noir (a very surprisingly good wine, by the way). We got the steaks on the plate along with the garlic/horseradish mashed potatoes and dug in.
From the first whiff of the Atomic Horseradish, I knew it was overly fresh. And the first bite of my steak with a dollop of Atomic Horseradish on it confirmed it.
I literally lost my breath. My nasal passages instantly cleared. I was pounding on the table from the over zealous taste sensation I was experiencing. It was the real stuff. I don't know why I put myself through the pain, but Atomic Horseradish is absolutely the strongest - and best tasting - horseradish I've ever experienced in my life.
As I said, I put a heaping tablespoon of Atomic Horseradish in with the potatoes. It was too much. You couldn't taste the garlic, couldn't taste the chives, couldn't tell if there was cream cheese in with the potatoes. It's that strong when it's fresh. Cindy even thought it was too overpowering.
All of the sudden, I'm afraid to eat the stuff. But once I know what to be weary of, I'll be fine. The initial "hit" took us both by surprise.
Atomic Horseradish is not for the meek. Those who are not used to overpowering horseradish should take only very small amounts of the stuff when it's fresh. I'm telling you, there is nothing like it any where. If anyone says, "Oh, it can't be that hot." Well, it is. And I have convinced and converted a lot of horseradish lovers to Atomic Horseradish over the past few years.
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