Steve Melton's Great-Salsa.com

Great-Salsa.com is a labor of love of US Navy Pilot and Wings of Gold recipient Steve Melton.  Let your salsa recipes take flight with recipes ranging from classic salsa, to fruit salsa, to advice on canning.  We have had the privilege to interview Steve Melton on the inspiration behind Great-Salsa.com.  His is a true story of the American dream.

1.  Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Flying has been a passion of mine all my life. My earliest memories include constantly, looking up at the sky at the sound of an airplane flying over head and knowing someday I too would be able to do that myself. Flying through high school in a very small town in Texas, continuing on to earn my US Navy Wings of Gold in November of 1975 and having the great life fortune to be able to earn my living doing something I tremendously enjoy has truly been a true blessing of life.

Today, I continue to fly as the Captain for a major US airline having just transitioned to the Airbus 330 aircraft. What an amazing piece of equipment.

What does this have to do with Salsa?

Well, in addition to flying, I love to cook and you can tell by looking at me I certainly enjoy eating.  I could easily blame this on my Mom, since she started college when I was in the second grade. Her studying for her classes obviously took a lot of her time, so little things like having “cookies” when I got home from school suddenly became a thing of the past.

Complaining about that fact one day, she promptly handed me a cookbook and told me that if I wanted to have any cookies to eat then I could make them, the recipe was in the cookbook.

Wow!

Not only several recipes for “Chocolate Chip Cookies”, but “Peanut Butter Bars“, “Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” and hey take a look at this… How to fry chicken and even pork chops.

Hey Dad, forget those frozen TV dinners! Yes, only two channels, black and white and in the “Fifties” TV dinners where supposed to be a real treat.

Not!

My family soon became my “guinea pigs.” I learned how to cook by reading that family cookbook cover to cover my Mom and Dad would simply smile and always tell me how great everything tasted and of course my sister would argue about who had to wash the dishes, not to mention she thought I made too big of a mess.

Even today I find myself spending time in the cooking section of the bookstores and my wife, Darlene, really enjoys it when I bring home several old cookbooks from my travels and start reading them cover to cover. She knows I will soon be in the kitchen, experimenting with several recipes and creating my own concoctions to place on the table.

Most of the time I hear no complaints!

Fortunately, both my Mom and Dad are still with us, both in their 80’s and whenever I serve up some unusual dish for them to eat, they reward me with genuine smiles as they reach for second helpings and nodding their approval.

2.  What was the inspiration behind creating Great-Salsa.com?

Adversity, “No Flying” hearing those two shocking words from the Doctor sent shivers down the back of my neck. It had been enough dealing with the airline industry being in a tailspin since the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001.

Suddenly, faced with a medical issue which could remove me from the cockpit, I had to face the reality that I needed to provide for my family, if I did not get to go back.

Interestingly enough I came across an article in one of the financial newspapers about people making money on the internet. One of the recommendations was to create a website in a “hobby” area using a step by step guide in similar fashion to using a “flight plan.” 

Hey, I could do that!

Well, as I have already mentioned I love to eat and certainly can hold my own in the kitchen. So the research into the internet began, focusing on “eating” or actually “cooking” and “recipes.” Did you know one of the most searched phrases online is “recipes?” 

My research led the way and great-salsa.com was born.

3.  What can readers find on Great-Salsa.com?

Delicious Ideas to fuel their cooking imagination.

Magic!

Many of my most memorable meals or dishes have been inspired by others. What fun it is to be creative. You can simply take three or four different recipes for the same dish, isn’t it amazing how the same dish can have many different ingredients and way to put it together.

Read through all the recipes, then using your own passion and creativity, start cooking.

What is your taste? How about those of your family? Who likes it hot?

Are you cooking today for the “tenderfoot” that thinks even pudding can be hot? Well, that’s not really fair, because I have been  know to use chilies in a chocolate raspberry sauce that will knock your socks off and everyone was begging for more.

I encourage you to have fun, experiment by using the very traditional and contemporary salsa recipes as a guide, combined with your imagination; this is where the magic begins.

Get ready to enjoy the surprising and delicious homemade salsa creations that you and your family will be slathering on everything. Keep track of your new recipes because one of these days all of your guest will rave about your fantastic creation and demand the recipe.

4.  If you could summarize salsa making into one quote, what would it be?

“Life Is Better With Great Salsa”

I really am not sure where the quote came from, but to me this really says it all. Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce. You can take an average entrée and by simply adding a terrific sauce or salsa transform it into a magical dinning experience.

Just like life itself, by adding the “sauce” the joys, the triumph, the pains and sometimes even the sorrows, then “Life really is better with great salsa.”