[CH] Ragin' Cayennes
YYZkid@aol.com
Wed, 2 Sep 1998 19:05:43 EDT
Howdy gang!
Well, the long, hot, dry weather of the Northeast has blessed me with a small
crop of tongue-torturing cayennes. I picked a few small ones last week to use
for a batch of vinegar-based hot sauce but nothing would have prepared me for
what that little red guy had in mind for me.
I popped one into my mouth, chewed it up and proceeded to depart Long Island
vertically on a round-trip flight for one to Pluto! I've never tasted a
cayenne that potent! It brought me to my knees like no other pepper had
before. I mean, I have respect for the habs so I wouldn't go around eating
them by the handful, but this little peon cayenne? Has anyone ever heard of
this?
I made some kung-pao tonight and found it necessary to use only two of those
lil' demons in my recipe to really scorch it up. I sauteed them in some chile
oil on low heat, chopped them up and served them on the side with a little of
the sweet kung-pao sauce mixed in. My wife only needed about a quarter
teaspoon to send her in search of some cold milk, but I went in for about two
teaspoons myself. I'm absolutely in love with that wonderful flavor a cayenne
gets when it's charred in hot oil. The nice, mellow, woodsy flavor really
complements the meal.
BTW, anyone coming to the PA State Chili Cookoff? I'll be competing in the
"salsa" category with my own "Bill's Exorcism Salsa." It's on labor day
weekend, so e-mail me if you're going.
Enough rambling for now, time to grab a brew and crank some Rush.
Bill
"Hold the flame 'till the dream ignites"