The ingredients in Sriracha chile sauce are quite straightforward—just chiles, vinegar, garlic, salt and sugar. So it was a normal aspiration for a Sriracha addict like myself to try making homemade Sriracha, taste-testing the differences between the fresh and fermented versions. More
"Hands-down the best spicy cheese dip." [Photograph: Lonzo Smith] When you have the honor of working at a spicy food magazine and the requisite iron stomach there are products always in need of tasting (I know, your heart really goes out to me). Most are good, some are not and then there are those stellar few that remind you why you signed up for this whole affair. We know a company's onto something when everyone in the office breaks out into a bidding war over the last drizzle scoop of a product. This year the group went nuts for Lonzo's Jalapeño Cheese SpreaDip. I was practically the last one to try it, as it was hidden in the fridge without... More
[Flickr: add1sun] To say we're obsessed with hot sauce at Chile Pepper magazine is putting it mildly. However, it's around this time of year when we gather an insane amount of sauces for our March feature, the "Hot Sauce issue," and become absolutely giddy over the stuff (which could just be from the high of sipping so many). For weeks our lives revolve around creatively tasting and testing the variety. A little dash here, a mega dash there. We've done so much with them. Here's a quick list of 25 things we've found to do with hot sauce. Bonus: Hot Sauce Giveaway If you tell us your favorite way to use hot sauce in the comments, you'll automatically be... More
Between the abundance of college football bowls and NFL games on television right now, who doesn't want to dive into a bag of tasty chips while watching? And what could heighten the salty perfection of chips better than a dash of spice. More
Don't know a spicy food freak? Try our full complement of lists. —Ed. Look no further when you need a spicy gift to jazz up the holidays. These are our favorites from the past year, from zesty food products to cookware and apparel that captures the chilehead pride. Chile Pepper Lights: Help Santa find the way to those cookies with these chile lights to decorate the Christmas tree and show off that spicy spirit. Available online at sunland.com; $14.50 Chile Mouse:A chile pepper in the hand is worth two in the belly with this cute (and comfortable) mouse, compatible with all computers. Available online at mousenvy.com; $30 DualSoaper: As someone who is constantly rushing to the sink to wash my... More
[Photographs: Bill Milne] Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Peppers View the complete recipe here » My weakness for stuffed chiles started as a child living in Arizona with chile rellenos, the fried counterpart to stuffed chiles. When my family and I moved to the South, every Mexican restaurant disappointed me. And, let's face it, my expectations for them were far too high. Most often, the chile relleno would be a canned green chile under a mound of ground beef, both covered in a glop of cheese. I stayed away from stuffed chiles and chiles rellenos just on principal alone. But then there was Kincaid's Burgers in Fort Worth, Texas, that reignited my passion for stuffed chiles in the form of... More
[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... More
How did you develop a spicy tolerance? Through a mentor? By force-feeding yourself jalapenos? More
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... More
"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.... More
