Entries tagged with 'Chile Pepper magazine'
Page 1 of 2
[Flickr: House Of Sims] Chili Recipes Beef and Dark Beer Chili Hot Dog Chili White Chicken Chili Carne con Chile Barack Obama's Chili Three-Bean Chocolate Chili Black Bean Chili with Eggplant When winter looms and it's time for those one-pot meals, nothing hits the comfort factor like a big bowl of chili. There's the endless debate over beans—should chili should include them or not?—but I say to each their own. I'm more interested in what secret ingredients you add to your chili for that unique wow factor. Some months ago, I interviewed Todd Larrabee, who found a club with a long-standing (25 years!) Super Bowl tradition of chili cookoffs. The secret ingredient of this year's winner was grape jam...
Continue reading »
How did you develop a spicy tolerance? Through a mentor? By force-feeding yourself jalapenos?
Continue reading »
On Wednesdays, Andrea Lynn, senior editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with Serious Heat. [Flickr: Fiona Watson] When others find out your world is spent submerged in hot and spicy food, there are questions galore. One of the most popular revolves around the best thing I've ever tasted. Of course, the answer constantly changes. But recently I've been craving spicy chocolate. Start with the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of chocolate and add a tinge, or even a flame of heat, and you've got perfection. We searched for the best spicy chocolates, munching through bars that crunched and burned. I personally can't get enough of Chuao Firecracker—a smoky chocolate that pops in your mouth like tiny fireworks. It's a revelation for the...
Continue reading »
"My sinuses cleared up pronto, which made the slight pain worth it." [Flickr: alancleaver_2000] Between the trigger of allergies and start of flu season, people go to great lengths to relieve their sinuses during fall. Take my childhood friend, Elizabeth. When we were younger, black pepper was too spicy for her. Though her palate has since become stronger, she's still on the low end when it comes to heat tolerance. [Flickr: ArielAmanda] So I was surprised when she told me how successful cayenne tea was in helping her allergies. "I read in Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford that cayenne pepper will alleviate congestion, so I figured it would be easiest to use in a tea," she said....
Continue reading »
What to do when you don't have the right chile. You know the drill. You've clipped or printed out a recipe that's supposed to be tonight's dinner. Except, the grocery store betrays you—not having those few essential items you need. As an editor at Chile Pepper magazine, for me that usually means a certain chile necessary to test or develop a recipe. For example, in certain regions, some chiles like cayenne are impossible to find fresh. The key to finding an adequate chile replacement is knowing its heat level, sweetness, and smokiness. We pooled our resources to come up with a substitution guide for whole chiles. While it focuses on whole fresh or dried chiles, you can always use a...
Continue reading »
Note: On Wednesdays, Andrea Lynn, senior editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with Serious Heat, with additional writing by Lillian Cho. [Photograph: Bill Milne] Think a lone jar of Dijon or squeeze-bottle of yellow in your fridge covers all your mustard needs for the Labor Day grilling holiday? Well, we were under that assumption too until we went on a quest to find the best spicy mustards around. From orange to white, smooth to chunky, mild to weepingly hot, each mustard we sampled was so original that by the time we had reached the end of the taste-test, we were mustard maniacs. These are our top favorites. But we're still open to opinion. What are your favorite mustards that...
Continue reading »
Note: On Wednesdays, Andrea Lynn, senior editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with Serious Heat. [iStockphoto: Juanmonino] Come on now, let's be adventurous. Why fill that pepper grinder with just black peppercorns when you can spice it up with a variety of options. Penzy's offers a great selection of mixed peppercorn blends. But how do you know the difference? Here's a breakdown: Black Peppercorns Grinding black peppercorns create a strong flavor, aroma and heat. Harvested before the berry is fully ripe, they are boiled briefly and then dried by machine or by sunlight (which causes the wrinkly skin). Most generic black pepper sold in grocery stores contains Brazilian black pepper that isn't as pungent as other varieties. Tellicherry Peppercorns...
Continue reading »
Note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by to drop some Serious Heat. I just returned from a trip to Morocco with an extra bag packed with spices--ras el hanout, dried ginger root, long peppercorns--the options were seemingly limitless. While I lugged my spices around Morocco, a friend on the trip said she would just keep ordering all hers from Penzey's. Fair enough—Penzey's does produce first-rate spices. My supply of spices comes from a few different locales. In New York, my go-to source for spice is Kalustyan's. Whenever I'm in Atlanta, I make sure to hit up the DeKalb Farmer's Market. And when I'm in Alabama, I steal some chile powder from my mother. She...
Continue reading »
Editor's note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by to drop some Serious Heat. Photograph by Arthur Cohen While some need the pep of an afternoon cup of joe, I used to have a midday addiction to Atomic Fireballs. But inside that hard red candy there's a fleeting cinnamon heat that disappears into blandness sooner than I'd like. What's a way better choice? Spicy lollipops speckled with chiles, which contain a continual explosion of sugary fire. Don't make the mistake of newbies, who sometimes underestimate the power of these candies. According to Kathy Mitchell, accounts manager for the Grover, California-based Hotlix, "When we're at trade shows with the lollipops, some people try them and then...
Continue reading »
Editor's note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by to drop some Serious Heat. What do you do with your leftover salsa? At Chile Pepper magazine, we are inundated with salsas. Not that we're complaining! From silky green tomatillo salsas to those spiked with booze, we try them all. This generally results in an abundance of half-used salsa jars in the fridge. With all this excess salsa, we've come up with a few creative ways to use it over the years. Try the suggestions below next time there's a salsa jar lurking in the fridge. Also, let us know how you use salsa. 1. Mix with mayo or ketchup; use as a dip for french...
Continue reading »
