"Cayenne" news and stories

Curry powder is actually a mix of spices -- most of which you may have at home.

Driving through Nashville yesterday, I stopped at my favorite fried chicken joint, famous for its cayenne-laden, demonically spicy "hot chicken." Having had the "medium" and "hot" before, this time I went for the "x-tra hot."

The woman behind the counter looked me up and down and said "mmm hmm."

That should have been a warning.

Now I love spicy food. Love it. Drown my scrambled eggs in Valentina hot sauce, eat the extra jalapeños out of my friends' enchiladas, order my lamb vindaloo "as hot as possible. Seriously, as hot as possible."

But this chicken darn near killed me.

Biting into its crispy, cayenne-orange skin, a mushroom cloud exploded in my sinus cavity, my lips went numb, my feet began to sweat. I stuffed my mouth full of white bread and Diet Coke to stifle the battery acid burn on my tongue and gums and prayed I wouldn't pass out. Seriously, I can't believe that chicken isn't regulated by the government as a chemical weapon. When the pain finally subsided and I could move, I slunk back to the counter and ordered a "mild."

The woman behind the counter laughed.

Next time, I'll order the regular "hot."

So I was wondering: what's the hottest dish you've ever tasted? And what are your favorite remedies to cool the heat in your mouth (I've tried milk, bananas and bread in the past)?

The last thing to add to Slow Cooker Chili before you turn the dial and set it on its long slow journey to chili awesomeness is seasoning. Like any slow cooked dish, using fresh herbs to season is a waste of fresh herbs. Stick with dried herbs and spices, which have more concentrated flavor.

I will be frank with you. If I am making chili during the week when I am busy with life, then I resort to store-bought chili powder along with an extra hit of ground cumin. I realize that there could be all kinds of strange and unusual ingredients that have been ground into that bottle of chili powder, but I don't mind being ignorant to them for the sake of convenience. If I'm making chili on a lazy weekend afternoon, then I add dried spices individually. If you're ambitious, you can grind the spices yourself and make your own chili powder to use in the future. Chili powders include, but are not limited to: ground chili, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.

Seasoning the Chili:
Add ½ c chili powder to the beef, vegetables (and beans if you added them) in the crock pot. I like heat in my chili, so I throw in some additional cayenne pepper (about 2-3 additional Tbsp) as well as cumin (additional 1 tsp) for a smokier flavor. Add salt and pepper to taste, though salt is something you can always add when you serve it.

Not only is this the perfect Halloween goodie for anyone who prefers something a little more adventurious than a candy bar, but it would make a great addition to a scary movie marathon or Fear Factor-themed dinner, based on the names of the sauces alone. Haunted Hot Sauce combined "flesh-eating zombies with spicy food products" to produce a line of spicy sauces with names like "Flesh Feast and "Ghoul Drool." To further add to the appeal, each sauce is packed in its own cedar coffin! Their full line includes:

• Fleshfeast - Medium/Hot with cayenne peppers, garlic and other spices
• Return of Fleshfeast - Hot with cayenne peppers, garlic, coarse ground black pepper and other spices
• Revenge of Fleshfeast - Very Hot with cayenne peppers, garlic, coarse ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and other spices
• Ghoul Drool - Medium/Hot with jalapeno peppers, garlic and other spices

[via boing boing]

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Gather 'round, men, for the spicy food cook-off. You don't want to miss this one; it could save your life.

Capsaicin, the chemical in hot peppers (particularly cayenne and habenero) that makes them hot, literally stops prostate cancer cells in their tracks. Really. They actually commit suicide (apoptosis), leading to an eighty percent reduction in the size of the tumors compared with the mice spared from the hot stuff.

This is great news, but not really a surprise that the cancer cells commit suicide when exposed to the capsaicin. After all, haven't there been times you've wanted to kill yourself when eating those nuclear-hot buffalo wings or that seven-alarm chili? Makes perfect sense to me.

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