1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes (121 page)

2.
While the berries are marinating, whip the heavy cream with a wire whisk in a medium bowl. As the cream starts to form peaks, add the granulated sugar and the remaining chopped mint. To serve, spoon the strawberries into a bowl with a little of the marinade, and top with a dollop of the hot chantilly cream.

Yield: 6 servings

Heat Scale: Mild

 

6 cups (1.42 L) halved strawberries

½ cup (118 mL) orange juice

¼ cup (59 mL) Tequila Enchilado (page 104)

2 teaspoons (10 mL) freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons (10 mL) balsamic vinegar

Mint sprigs for garnish

 

1.
In a bowl, combine the strawberries, orange juice, tequila, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar and toss well. Cover and chill for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Spoon the mixture into 6 small glass bowls and garnish with the mint sprigs.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Heat Scale: Medium

 

1 cup (236 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice

¼ cup (59 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice

½ cup (118 mL) sugar

teaspoon (.3 mL) salt

½ fresh habanero chile, stem and seeds removed, halved

2 cups (473 mL) fresh tangerine sections, cleaned well

½ cup (118 mL) grated fresh coconut

 

1.
In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and habanero. Stir well and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Add the tangerine sections and boil for 1 minute longer. Remove the pan from heat and place it in a cold water bath to chill the mixture. Remove the habanero at this point. Transfer the tangerines and syrup to a serving bowl, cover, and chill for at least 1 hour.

2.
If desired, toast the coconut in a dry skillet, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the coconut is lightly browned. Serve the tangerine sections in glass bowls with the toasted coconut sprinkled on top.

Yield: 6 servings

Heat Scale: Medium

I have updated this 1975 recipe from the legendary John Philips Cranwell, the hilarious author of the very first collection of hot and spicy recipes,
The Hellfire Cook-book.
Alas, it is long out of print, but we can still enjoy John’s dessert. He wrote of this dish, “Frankly it is too good to leave out of any cookbook and far too appropriate to this specific one to be omitted. It is eaten with a small spoon from gold or silver saucers, if you have gold or silver saucers. China will serve. Quemado, which means a kind of burned drink, is literally fiery in every sense of the word. I suggest you serve it before or with the coffee. According to a legend, quemado is a lovers’ potion. The fire in and on it reflects the fire in their eyes, souls, and bodies. Mayhap ’tis true. Mayhap if after two bowls each they are not stone cold drunk on the floor, they pass the remainder of the night in an ethereal, if fuzzy, lovers’ paradise. I can’t vouch for the legend, but this is a most unusual dish both in appearance and taste.”

 

2 lemons

1 fresh habanero chile, stem and seeds removed, halved

2 teaspoons (10 mL) sugar

4 whole cloves

1 (4-inch [10 cm]) stick cinnamon

⅔ cup (158 mL) light Barbados rum

⅔ cup (158 mL) cognac

6 tablespoons (90 mL) 151-proof Jamaica rum

3 ripe but firm pears

½ cup (118 mL) blanched almonds

 

1.
Zest both lemons into a large bowl. Add the habanero halves and the juice of the lemons. Add the sugar, cloves, and cinnamon, and stir. Pour in the Barbados rum, the cognac, and the Jamaica rum. Allow this mixture to steep for 20 minutes at room temperature, occasionally gently stirring.

2.
Meanwhile, peel and core the pears and cut them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) sections. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, remove the habanero halves and transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Divide the pears among 6 very warm saucers and sprinkle the blanched almonds over them.

3.
After the contents of the saucepan have simmered about 1 minute, remove the cover and ignite the mixture with a thrown match. (“The flames will rise so high you’ll think you have opened Hell’s front door,” warns Cranwell.) Let the flames die down a little and ladle the blazing mixture over the pears and almonds. Serve while flames still rise from each dish.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Heat Scale: Mild

 

¼ cup (59 mL) melted butter

¾ cup (177 mL) brown sugar

1 teaspoon (5 mL) finely ground red New Mexican chile, such as chimayó

5 firm bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise

¾ cup (177 mL) dark rum

Ground allspice to taste

 

1.
In a large skillet, combine the butter, sugar, and chile over low heat. Add the bananas and cook gently until they are just soft, turning once.

2.
Add the dark rum and allow it to heat up for a minute or two. Throw a lighted match into the skillet and set the bananas aflame. When the flame dies out, transfer the bananas to serving plates, remove the match, spoon some of the sauce over them, and sprinkle with the allspice.

 

Variation

Sprinkle the bananas with toasted coconut, too.

Yield: 32 candies

Heat Scale: Medium

 

2 cups (473 mL) creme-filled chocolate cookie (such as Oreo) crumbs

½ cup (118 mL) confectioners’ sugar

2 teaspoons (10 mL) ground cayenne

2 tablespoons (30 mL) unsweetened cocoa

2 tablespoons (30 mL) light corn syrup

⅓ cup (79 mL) Grand Marnier

1 cup (236 mL) chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons (45 mL) sugar

6 ounces (168 g) semisweet or white chocolate, melted

 

1.
In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, ground cayenne, cocoa, corn syrup, Grand Marnier, and walnuts. Blend the mixture well, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and shape it into 1-inch
(2.5 cm) balls. Put the sugar in a shallow bowl and roll the dough balls in it until they are well-coated . Store the balls in an airtight container for at least 1 day.

2.
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Dip half of each ball in melted chocolate and place the balls ½ inch (1 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm. Store in a tin in the refrigerator.

Yield: 40 pieces

Heat Scale: Medium

 

2½ cups (591 mL) sugar
½ cup (118 mL) water
½ cup (118 mL) light corn syrup
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 pinch cream of tartar
¼ teaspoon (1.25 mL) ground habanero
1 cup (236 mL) finely chopped pine nuts
1½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) vanilla extract

 

1.
In a medium heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar is dissolved. Raise the heat to medium-high, place a candy thermometer inside the pan, and cook without stirring until the temperature of the candy reaches 265°F (130°C). This should take about 10 minutes.

2.
Meanwhile, place the two egg whites in a mixing bowl and whip them with an electric mixer until they are frothy. Add the cream of tartar and habanero powder, and increase the speed of the mixer to beat the egg whites until they form firm peaks.

3.
When the sugar mixture reaches 265°F (130°C), remove it from the heat. Slowly pour the sugar mixture into the center of the egg whites, continuing to mix on a slow speed. When all of the sugar mixture is in the bowl, increase the mixer speed and beat until the candy is firm, about 12 minutes. Stir in the pine nuts and the vanilla extract.

4.
Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper. Drop 2-inch (5 cm) wide spoonfuls of the candy onto the paper, leaving ample space between them. Let the candy set at room temperature until firm, then store it in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper.

Yield: About 3 dozen truffles

Heat Scale: Medium-Hot

 

2 cups (473 mL) milk chocolate chips
⅓ cup (79 mL) butter
½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground habanero
¼ cup (59 mL) half-and-half
1 tablespoon (15 mL) rum
¼ cup (59 mL) minced mango
2 cups (473 mL) flaked coconut

 

1.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, butter, ground habanero, and half-and-half. Microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir it. Continue to cook at 50 percent power in 30-second increments until the chocolate is smooth and well-blended. Stir in the rum and mango. Refrigerate the mixture for about 15 minutes.

2.
When the mixture is almost hard, drop the candy by the teaspoonful into the coconut. Shape the candies into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls with your fingers.

Yield: 24 turtles

Heat Scale: Medium

 

24 soft caramels
2 tablespoons (30 mL) frozen whipped topping
Butter-flavored vegetable cooking spray
120 pecan halves, 24 remaining whole and the rest halved
4 ounces (112 g) semisweet chocolate chips
6 cascabel chiles, stems and seeds removed, ground in a spice mill until
fine (or substitute 2 pasillas)

 

1.
In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine the caramels and whipped topping and microwave at 50 percent power for 45 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir. Repeat this process, cooking in 10-second increments until the mixture has melted and is smooth and well-blended. Let it cool slightly.

2.
Spray a baking sheet lightly with the cooking spray. Place the pecan halves on the sheet and arrange the pecan quarters around them to form the turtles’ heads and legs.

3.
Carefully spoon the caramel mixture over each turtle, leaving the ends of the pecans showing. Set the baking sheet aside until the caramel is hard.

4.
Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50 percent power for 45 seconds., Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir. Repeat the process, cooking in 10-second increments, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the ground cascabel, then let the chocolate mixture cool slightly.

5.
Spoon the melted chocolate over the caramel, being careful not to cover the exposed ends of the pecans. Set aside until hard, then store the turtles in a covered container in a cool place.