"ChilePeppers" news and stories

Photo: nicisme, Flickr.

As delicate a fruit as it appears photographed above, the red chili is a fiery ingredient that adds heaps of heat with just a few potent morsels. Domesticated thousands of years ago in South-of-the-Border cooking, the chili is now starting to make an appearance in sweet dishes and drinks in trendy restaurants and bars across the country.

In some of our favorite examples, Mario Batali's Osteria Mozza serves a tequila cocktail with smoked salt and candied chili; the Food Network created a Habanero Lime Cheesecake; and Ice Cream Ireland has posted a recipe for Candied Chili Peppers. We think the pepper is an exciting ingredient for everything from the infusion of spirits to adding kick to salsas, dressings, desserts, etc. Leave us comments letting us know where -- and in what dishes -- you've encountered them!

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On Saturdays, when you enter the bright colored 17th-century colonial town of San Angel, a suburb of Mexico City, there is an outdoor crafts market in the Plaza San Jacinto. Not only can you find a large selection of handicrafts, but you will also see vendors selling rich sweet candied fruits and fresh fruits with chili seasonings. The highlight of any culinary trip to San Angel is the enclosed food market just around the corner from the square.

Upon entering this market, you'll notice the aroma of fresh tacos and the smell of salty pork rinds being fried and seasoned with chili pepper. Taquerias and butchers border the market. The middle is full of poultry stands, produce vendors, and incredible vendors of chilies and moles.

I highly suggest checking out Don Felix for all things related to chilies and moles. If you speak and understand Spanish, I encourage you to talk with Felix about his different products. I purchased two different kinds of chili peppers: arbol and ancho. He explained that chilies arboles are hotter while the ancho are more mild. Finally, he explained how to prepare them in making salsas and other Mexican dishes. His mole almendrado was extremely delicious cooked with chicken. Check out the gallery below and see the market for yourself.

Way back last October I had the distinct privilege of attending a taping of Iron Chef America with my fellow blogger, Jonathan. The challenger that day in Kitchen Stadium was cowboy chef, Tim Love. This was well before Chef Love was ridden out of Manhattan on a rail out after a wave of negative reviews of his restaurant, Lonesome Dove. Frank Bruni slammed the New York City outpost of Chef Love's much acclaimed restaurant in Fort Worth. The Brunster didn't even dole out any stars. He was reduced to a kindergarten sort of rating system, citing the Dove as "satisfactory."

In the interest of fairness, I must admit that I never ate any of the dishes such as "bony, dry antelope ribs," which caused my man Frank such dismay. I did, however, get to sample the Prairie Butter, which caused the Village Voice's Sietsema to wax rhapsodic. After what seemed like an eternity watching the taping, this signature appetizer proved quite the pick-me-up when Jonathan and I chowed down on it afterwards at Lonesome Dove. The jalapeño margarita and ice-cold shot of Tuaca, and Italian liqueur flavored with vanilla and citrus, also helped shake off the fatigue and the remnants of a raging hangover. I'm not quite sure what Tuaca has to do with cowboy cuisine, but Love seems to like it quite a bit. And just what is Prairie Butter? Well let's just say that any cowboy who gets city folk to belly up to the bar and chow down on split buffalo femurs and the gloriously greasy marrow therein can't be all bad.

But enough of the trials and tribulations of the New York City restaurant scene, as they say in Kitchen Stadium, "Allez cuisine!" By now you're probably wondering why this is being written so far after the actual battle took place. Two reasons: It just aired last week, and more important, due to ICA's strict privacy restrictions no one can reveal the secret ingredient or winner of the battle until after the episode airs. So if you haven't seen Morimoto vs. Love, I advise you not to read the jump.

The other day I decided to crack open this can of tuna, which has been in my cupboard for a couple of months. I love spicy food, so I figured I'd give California Delight Chipotle Tuna a try. I think the reason I held off on eating it for so long is the confusing packaging. California Delight is kosher and is made in Thailand. In case you're wondering it's imported by a Los Angeles company.

About the only resemblance it bears to Thai food is its incendiary heat and psychedelic red color. Even though it's called chipotle tuna, it contains none of the smoked peppers. The finely chopped light meat tuna is however hot as hell thanks to the two whole chiles and tons of seeds. At first I tried to eat it straight out of the can, which was not the best idea. But even when it was mixed with microwave rice it still emitted a steady heat and left me with a pleasant flush.

I've just discovered fd's flickr tools (you should, too) and I keep coming across great examples of their use. Like this great photo of a heart-shaped string of hot chile peppers created and uploaded by Gill Seyfang. And perfect for Valentine's Day! Now, what to do with all my conversation heart photos... surely I can come up with something clever. Got any suggestions for a good slogan?

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