Regarding entertaining on the fly, it’s good to know that even Ina Garten’s philosophy is store-bought ingredients work fine. Home cooks can use them to save time and make cooking easier. Incorporating pantry staples made with local ingredients grown here on the East End? Even better.
Case in point: the unusual peppers sourced, grown, harvested and made into hot sauce, salsa, and pepper flakes by Greg Kessler and Lauren Jarvis of Springs Fireplace. Through patience, attention and love, the duo has mastered the art of growing peppers, including the Tesuque, a bright, fruity, tangy, medium-heat pepper initially from Tesuque Pueblo, just outside Sante Fe, New Mexico.

“We got that seed from the head of their agricultural department, and we started growing it,” recalls Kessler. “It’s a super delicious pepper that we’ve sort of acclimated to the East End of Long Island and it grows here like gangbusters.”
With its myriad of uses, the versatility of the Tesuque hot sauce is not just a classic condiment on eggs; its vinegar base helps to break down proteins and the complex flavor makes a great marinade and sauce for meats, in particular chicken wings.
“I feel the Tesuque is the gateway sauce in introducing our customers to our products,” explains Jarvis, “it’s our everything sauce.”
Now at the peak of harvesting, Kessler and Jarvis are in full swing making their line of homegrown products, and even found a little time recently to host a pop-up at Sagaponack Farm Distillery, where the two like-minded businesses share a love of the land. “The East End has some of the top growing conditions,” says Kessler, “the soil is the best in the nation.”
As the couple continues to travel and bring more exotic peppers into their product line, (including recent treks to Italy and India) their focus on keeping the origins of the peppers as part of their mission statement remains vital. “We’re telling stories from the cultures that we’re finding these peppers,” says Kessler, “and we aim to convince people here to try something new.”
With that newness in mind, try serving these tangy wings to celebrate Día de los Muertos! Paired with a classic margarita, chips and Springs Fireplace Salsa Roja, the celebration will be a bit easier to pull off, thanks partly to the unique “store-bought” help.





Chicken wings with Springs Fireplace Tesuque hot sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken wings
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 to 6 tbsp Springs Fireplace Tesuque hot sauce
- 1 tbsp local honey
- 2 tbsp good quality butter
- chopped scallion and cilantro for garnish
Directions
For the sauce:
- Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium-low heat.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of Springs Fireplace Tesuque hot sauce into a stainless-steel bowl. Add honey and melted butter and mix well. Taste and add more hot sauce if desired. Set aside.
For the wings:
- Wash and pat dry chicken wings with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the wings in a gallon Ziploc bag and add two tablespoons (or enough to coat thoroughly) of Tesuque hot sauce and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Work the sauce into the meat by lightly shaking or massaging the bag to ensure an even coating on all the wings. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (overnight is even better).
- Preheat oven to 400°F, or set your air fryer to 360°F.
- Cook in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or in the air fryer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Baste wings with the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes to create a sticky crispy char.
- Arrange the wings on a festive platter. Garnish with chopped scallion and cilantro — add a bowl of extra sauce for dipping.