Tapatio Hot Sauce… I’m Addicted to You…

I enjoy watching other people eat hot stuff, but when it comes to me eating spicy hot stuff—you’d better have a pretty good bribe ready. I’ve had my share of spicy foods and know my limits. Besides the heartburn aftermath, I’ve never enjoyed eating things so spicy that I can’t taste the food’s natural flavors.

That’s why I hesitated to try Tapatio for the first time…

My brother claimed it was the shizzle and had nearly polished off a full bottle by himself. We have pretty similar tastes and that’s what pushed me over the edge. I held the bottle close to my face and inspected the ingredients: water, red peppers, garlic, salt, various spices, sodium benzoate… despite it probably being loaded with preservatives, I figured it was okay to consume. At least there wasn’t a hidden chiltepe in there. I hate those little pepper bombs of death.
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November’s Bhut Jolokia Winner…

And the Bhut Jolokia winner, a.k.a. Harbinger of Death, emerges. The random winning entry is:

Christopher Chambers. Hello, I’m currently a student at Mississippi State University. My major is Culinary Arts and I just love cooking new things. For our final (in December) we are allowed to cook whatever we want, and I know for a fact that my professor has a huge hot tooth. If I won these peppers, I either make him some kind of salsa, a curry and rice mixture, or some kind of Bhut Jolokia and sesame grilled chicken. Anyway, I’m sure those pepper would help me pass my class. Thanks for reading mine.

Congratulations, Christopher. Remember that torturing your professor won’t get you a passing grade. Send me an email by Sunday night to claim your prize.

Speaking for all of us, we’d love to see the end product of your bhut jolokia chili pepper dinner; so if you remember, please send in some pictures or a YouTube video so I can post it later. Thanks, and happy cooking.
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November Giveaway: Win Bhut Jolokia Peppers

By now I imagine you’ve heard of a bhut jolokia chili pepper, also known as a ghost pepper or naga jolokia–the world’s hottest chili pepper.  These peppers are hotter than Beelzebub’s spit.  From what I understand, the bhut jolokia is native to Eastern India, which doesn’t surprise me.  Those Indians can eat some crazy hot curry foods without batting an eye.  I, on the other hand, cannot. Just the thought of eating a jalapeno makes my eyes water.  In short, I’m a wuss.  Okay, I said it.

I admit that it’s a little strange to be giving away a bag of dried bhut jolokia peppers, and in the future, my giveaways will be a little more useful, but I couldn’t help myself. Just the thought of having a bag full of the world’s hottest peppers and playing with the idea of actually trying it out gives me a foodie high–sort of like going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. I’m not sure I’d survive either scenario. For some of you pepper heads out there, this ought to be the ultimate challenge.
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