OK, this is not restaurant-related, but it is good food, and it is local. We found a fantastic hot sauce this weekend at Whole Foods: African Rhino Peri-Peri hot pepper sauce, from Kalahari Pepper Company right here in Vestavia Hills. The peri-peri comes from the Kalahari desert and is Africa's hottest pepper, according to the company.

The sauce comes in mild, hot, and extra-hot. We got the mild and so far have enjoyed it on eggs, tortilla chips and chicken. I think it would make an awesome sauce for Buffalo wings. The ingredients are roasted tomatoes, water, onion, cider vinegar, lemon juice, canola oil, peri-peri chili peppers, roasted garlic, sugar, salt, and spices. You can get it at While Foods or The Fresh Market at a number of hot-sauce mail order web sites, such as www.hotsauce.com, www.hotsauceworld.com, and www.itsallaboutbbq.com.

According to Wikipedia, the peri-peri, also known as the piri-piri or peli-peli, is the name used in the ex-Portuguese colony of Mozambique to describe the African bird's-eye chili (which also has the nickname of African devil or African red devil). Some varieties of birdseye measure up to 175,000 Scoville Heat Units. (In comparison, a bell pepper has a Scoville rating of zero, and habaneros range from 100,000-350,000 Jalapenos run about 2,400-8,000, serranos 10,000-23,000, cayenne 30,000-50,000.)

The Lee Brothers - Matt and Ted - will visit The Alabama Booksmith in Homewood tomorrow (Thursday, December 13) at 5 p.m. and sign copies of their book, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners. The cookbook won the James Beard Award, and the brothers are featured in this month's Southern Living magazine. Southern author Pat Conroy (and a cookbook author himself) says, "The Lee Bros. have written the classic Southern cookbook. They write with flair, brilliance, and hilarious commentary on the recipes, customs, and eccentricities of the South they celebrate with such passion. Their recipes are so good that I believe cookbook writers like the Lee Bros. may turn Southern cooking into an actual cuisine."

After the signing event at the Alabama Booksmith, they're making guest appearances at Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega, and Hot and Hot Fish Club, which will feature recipes from the book on the evening's menu.

As a special treat, the Booksmith will be serving The Lee Brothers' World Famous Boiled Peanuts during the signing. For more information, call 870-4242.

Add a new tradition to your holidays and benefit the area's Hispanic population by ordering tamales this week from the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama.

Tamales are a holiday tradition among Mexican families that has been adopted by many non-Hispanics in the Southwest. Because tamales are a time-consuming, assembly-line task, the whole family often gets involved. Many families make them on Christmas Eve, and swap different varieties with friends and neighbors. But thanks to HICA, you can enjoy authentic tamales this holiday without all the work.

HICA's fifth annual holiday tamale sale is going on through this Friday, Dec. 14. HICA uses the money to teach English to Hispanics in the area, to help victims of domestic violence, as well as mental health counseling.

You can order by phone or online, and pick up the tamales Dec. 19 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the HICA office at 260 West Valley Ave. in Homewood. You get a half dozen for $12 or a dozen for $20 with your choice of chicken, pork, or pepper fillings. You can freeze them for later use. To order, go to www.hispanicinterest.org or call 942-5505.

Just in time for the holidays, the folks over at Birminghammenus.com are offering an online one gift certificate that is good at more than 25 BirminghamMenus.com restaurants. Participating restaurants include 26, 5 Points Grill, Bernie's on Main, Ciao and Cafe Ciao, Cafe Dupont, Cantina, Classic Joe's, Cobb Lane, Daniel George, Franklin's Homewood Gourmet, Icon, John's City Diner, Klingler's, La Dama, La Dolce Vita, Little Savannah, Local, Mudtown, Nabeel's, Nonna's, Ocean, Prairie Fire Grille, Sol y Luna, The Fish Market Downtown, Tria Market, and V. Richard's.

BirminghamMenus.com group certificates can be purchased for any denomination from $10 to $150. Just visit www.birminghammenus.com and click on "Group Certificates". Once you choose your denomination and make your purchase, you can login to your account to print your certificate, track your purchases, and even e-mail your certificate to a friend.

This is a great way to support locally owned restaurants and a perfect holiday gift for anyone who enjoys eating out.

This Christmas, why not give a fellow food- or wine-lover a gift with a local twist? Here are a few ideas:

• Blackjack Gardens greenhouse tomatoes. For the first time, these popular local tomatoes will be packaged for giving or for mailing as holiday gifts. www.blackjacktomatoes.com or 836-2933 (ask for Mary Jo Byrd or Sandy Hager).
• Morgan Creek Vineyards has its new Vulcan Red wine available in a gift package that includes a bottle of the wine, a Vulcan wine stopper, two wine glasses with Morgan Creek etchings in a handsome box. You can buy the wine at most stores in the area; the gift package is available at the winery in Harpersville. Call 966-1421.
• Ozan Winery in Calera is offering 15 percent off specials during December, and offers two- and three-bottle boxed wine gifts. If you can't get to the winery before Christmas, they can ship to Alabama residents -- e-mail shipping@ozanwine.com. Call 668-6926.
  
• Local barbecue sauces, salad dressings and marinades are available at a number of area stores, including Ollie's, Mike Wilson's Saw Sauce, George's Old Time Barbecue Sauce, Mr. P's, Demitri's, Dale's Seasoning, John's Slaw dressing, Sneaky Pete's hot dog sauce, Daddy-Natty's Barbecue Sauce, Big Bob Gibson's white barbecue sauce, etc. Put together a gift box of several.
• Susan Wimberly's new line of dinnerware is embellished with drawings of more than a dozen Birmingham landmarks, from Sloss Furnaces and Rickwood Field to the Alabama Theatre and the Civil Rights Institute. They are available at Harmony Landing in Homewood; Smith Variety in Mountain Brook and Homewood; Lamb's Ears in Cahaba Heights; Annabelle's in Vestavia Hills; an Swoozie's at The Summit. A Christmas ornament features the Birmingham skyline, and the collection also includes tea towels. 
• Gift cards for cooking classes at Viva The Chef, available for adults or children. www.vivathechef.com, 205-967-VIVA.
• Hot and Hot Fish Club offers its signature pottery, signature coffee, as well as hats and T-shirts, available for ordering online. Signature gift pack is pictured here.
  
• O'Henry's Coffee offers shopping for its locally roasted coffees as well as gift packages online at www.ohenryscoffees.com.
• And, of course, don't forget about the option of giving someone a gift certificate to a local restaurant they'd enjoy. Just because the restaurant doesn't advertise this option (Hot and Hot offers them online) doesn't mean they won't be happy to sell you one.
  

Leeds-based Higher Ground Roasters has been named Micro Roaster of the Year by Roast magazine.

"We just got tired of drinking bad coffee," Alex Varner, co-owner of Higher Ground, told writer Rivers Janssen, who notes in the article in the November/December issue that "Higher Ground is one of a growing number of specialty coffee micro-roasters in the Southeast that are directly confronting the region's commercial coffee roots. It's no easy task in an area that lacks an established specialty coffee tradition, one where many consumers still list flavored coffees as their coffees of choice. Higher Ground has done so, moreover, while committing to a sustainable business model in all aspects, from purchasing renewable energy to donating 1 percent of all gross sales to environmental and educational nonprofits to selling only certified fair-trade, organic and shade-grown coffees. In short, Higher Ground has taken a road rarely traveled in Alabama -- and done so quite successfully."

Varner and co-owners Josh Kelly and Glenn Smith founded Higher Ground in 2002. It's mission: "to purchase the best coffee available anywhere, to roast it to perfection, and to make it available fresh, to anyone." Higher Ground's coffee lineup now includes coffees from single origins like Guatemala, East Timor, Bolivia, Mexico, Sumatra, Ethiopia and Peru, along with a number of blends affiliated with local non-profits, such as the Alabama Environmental Council, the Alabama Rivers Alliance and the Jones Valley Urban Farm. They do not have a retail location, but their coffee is available in local supermarkets such as Publix and Tria Market, and you can buy directly from Higher Ground through their website.

Gourmet magazine contributing editor John T. Edge (who is also director of the Southern Foodways Alliance) blogged this week in Gourmet's "ChopTalk" about Alabama's own Wickles Pickles. "Wickles, made by the Sims family in Dadeville, Alabama, are, despite their coined-by-a-lapsed-sorority-girl moniker, arrestingly great. A little sweet. A little hot. With a whiff of cider vinegar. And top notes of dill and garlic."

Wickles were recently voted the Best Hot Pickles by Rachael Ray's magazine and they're leading the voting for best overall pickle at Rachaelraymag.com. Back in 2003, Southern Living wrote about the 78-year-old secret family recipe, "they are packed in a sugary cider vinegar with spicy peppers and garlic for just the right balance - a little heat with a little sweet."

I've never actually had Wickles myself, but they sound great. Does anyone know who might carry them in Birmingham? Otherwise, I'm going to have to order some from their web site.

Check out this blog post from Gourmet magazine about Southern cheesemakers. John T. Edge notes that typically, when Southerns have talked about cheese, "we have been more likely to talk pimento cheese ... But that was then. This is now."

He praises the cheese from two Southern operations: Sweetgrass Dairy, in Georgia (goat cheese pictured, left), and John Folse's Bittersweet Plantation, in Gonzales, Louisiana.

Closer to home, I found two notable cheesemakers in Alabama: Sweet Home Farm, in Baldwin County, has been singled out on Emeril's blog, on Cheesebyhand.com, and in the Stockman Grass Farmer magazine.

A Southern cheesemaker success story is Fromagerie Belle Chevre in Elkmont, Ala. The business and their award-winning goat cheeses have been written up in publications ranging from Food & Wine and Gourmet through Vogue and Business Week. Their cheeses can be found at upscale stores such as Whole Foods and Dean & Deluca, or through their web site.

It's much easier to find good cheese in Birmingham than it used to be. A number of restaurants now offer cheese plates, and V. Richard's, Tria Market and Whole Foods all have wonderful cheese counters. The selection at Whole Foods is larger, but if you go to V. Richard's or Tria you can sample the cheese you're interested in before you buy.