Note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, senior editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with some Serious Heat. This week, she joined forces with travel writer Kate Mulcrone to discover the mystery of a Moroccan spice blend. Photograph from WordRidden on Flickr With the start of summer, the hunt at the local farmers' markets begin for my seasonal chile addiction--pimientos de Padron. In season from mid-June through September, what makes this crinkly, small green chile pepper originally from Spain so magical? It's playing Russian roulette with your food. While a majority of the chiles are mild, there will be about 1 out of 10 that will deliver a pow to your taste buds. Quickly cooked in olive oil and brushed with... More

"Ask as politely as you want, but Morocco's famous hospitality does not extend to revealing the spices or proportions contained in this legendary spice blend." Note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with some Serious Heat. This week, she joined forces with travel writer Kate Mulcrone to discover the mystery of a Moroccan spice blend. Sifting through unground ras el hanout. Forget the baffling, labyrinthine streets of the medinas in Marrakech and Fes—the true mystery of Morocco is found in the pantry. Right next to jars of cinnamon, cumin, and dried ginger you might find ras el hanout, a blend of anywhere from ten to 100 spices that is the carefully guarded secret behind... More

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... More

Bloody Marys are one of those things that, like cilantro, inspire pure love or massive hatred. At Chile Pepper, we're split right down the middle. Personally, I think a Bloody Mary must include a strong hit of horseradish, celery salt, a sprinkle of lemon zest and, of course, a celery stalk. What's a must-have for you? As alcohol folklore goes, it was the sophisticated palates of New Yorkers who thought the Bloody Mary was bland when it debuted at the St. Regis Hotel's King Cole Bar in Manhattan in 1934. An American bartender, Fernand "Pete" Petiot, who had mixed equal parts of tomato juice and vodka while working at Harry's New York Bar in Paris during the 1920s, created... More

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... More

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... More

Editor's note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by to drop some Serious Heat. Photograph from TooFarNorth on Flickr When the fiery power of a chile catches you by surprise, calming the scorching pain is a necessity. The key to extinguishing the fire is understanding the chile and its heat. Science experts David Joachim and Andrew Schloss explained this in a recent article we did in Chile Pepper. According to the duo, hot and sweet peppers are members of the same botanical family, Capsicum, but sweet peppers have a recessive gene that prevents them from producing capsaicin. This spicy compound is produced by a chile pepper's placenta, the white internal membrane or "core" that holds... More

Editor's note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, associate editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by to drop some serious heat. Even the biggest food snobs among us love ketchup. When I was in culinary school, a chef/instructor scoffed at the need for a ketchup recipe in our homework binder. "How can you improve on Heinz?" he asked. Well, we've discovered one way--add the power of chiles. While Heinz makes their own spicy ketchup spiked with Tabasco, we prefer these chile-ketchup concoctions, all highlighted in the March issue of Chile Pepper. Scott S. Clinton Dixie Delight reigns as a thick, robust ketchup-flavored hot sauce that will bring a little love to meatloaf. Melinda's offers a whole lot of ketchup craziness these days:... More

Editor's note: Each week, Gretchen VanEsselstyn of Chile Pepper magazine drops by to drop some Serious Heat. Here at Chile Pepper magazine, masochism is alive and well. For our annual March "Hot Sauce" issue, we tasted a few hundred hot sauces from makers large and small over a four-week period. We categorized them, wrote up notes, took some photos, and assembled the info into a giant buying guide. And then we checked in with our gastroenterologists. This year, we took a journey through the alphabet, from A for Asian and African sauces through Z for ZestFest, with stops along the way for categories like Chipotle, Dessert, Garlic, Jerk, Mustard, Texas, and, of course, XXX. I is for Ideas, and the... More

Editor's note: Spicy thrill-seekers have been getting their fix from Chile Pepper magazine for more than 20 years. Editors Gretchen VanEsselstyn and Andrea Lynn, plus a team of intrepid tasters, testers, writers, and photographers, put together the bimonthly print magazine, temporarily paralyzing their taste buds by working through the newest hot sauces, salsas, and more. And now you'll reap the benefits, as they'll be sharing thoughts and observations from the fiery food world with Serious Eats readers. Check out their posts for the hottest products, recipes, events, and news around. In case you missed the first part of Your Spicy Food To-Do List, here's a quick primer: Every year in Fort Worth, Texas, culinary professionals and hot food aficionados gather... More