Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Four Horsemen

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. But then there are those other occasions where that rule doesn't apply. There are instances where sometimes things can be just what they seem. And on those rare occurrences, it could be even more.

Just saying "The Ghost Chili is the hottest chili on the planet" doesn't really describe the terror of this beast. Its almost like an understatement. This chili could be looked at as the devil himself if he were in the form of a plant. Its not hot, it just burns. And the burn is so bad you can't even comprehend its power.

Let's put this into perspective.

The Scoville scale measures the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepper, as defined by the amount of capsaicin it contains. Each pepper's number is how many units of capsaicin are in it. Capsaicin is a chemical compound that give peppers their "heat." This is how they rank in maximum units.

Bell peppers: 0 (nothing)
Black Pepper (Peperoncini): 500
Poblano: 2500
Jalepeno: 8000
Chipotle and Serrano: 23,000
Tabasco and Cayenne: 50,000
Habanero: 350,000
and then there's the Ghost Chili.
coming in at just over a million (1,050,000)!

Take that in for minute. Really think about those numbers. Even if you don't like spicy food or can't eat it, do it anyway. Process the info. Yes this is a real thing. Its a damn vegetable. He aint playing fair. Not in the plant world or animal world. Thats more than just wrong, that's evil. No mercy. Coming in with the big guns. No, not even guns. In a gun fight, he brings missiles. Hell, why you think its called the Ghost Chili???

I know some of you are thinking what the hell this has to do with the four horsemen. And I was actually just getting to that. Like I said, I had to put it in perspective. So....

There is a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas called Chunky's that serves a burger called the Four Horsemen. Its a half pound burger topped with Jalapenos, Serranos, and a Habanero sauce that in itself brings torture. Already you got a ridiculously hot and spicy burger that many people wouldnt be able to eat. But no. That wasnt enough. Somebody thought it was a good idea, just for special measure, to top the burger with Satan himself.....aka the Ghost Chili. This pepper doesnt have regular balls. His balls are elephantine.

Its one thing to know what having your hand in a fire feels like. Its another thing to know what having your hand in lava feels like. Thats a whole nother hot thats so far beyond hot, it should even be described as hot. Thats the destruction and devastation this pepper brings.

The burger comes with a challenge and only 4 people have completed it (including Adam Richman of the Travel Channel's “Man v. Food”). The challenge is to not only finish the burger in 25 minutes or less, but you also have to endure the intensity for another 5 minutes without water or anything to calm the fire.

“When you eat it, you think it's the apocalypse, the end of the world.”


I personally like spicy food, but this is a no brainer, no way in hell (pun intended)

Monday, December 21, 2009

Grilled Stuffed Chicken with Shrimp Skewers and Asparagus


Chicken stuffed with spinach and feta cheese, asparagus, and shrimp skewers.
All grilled and served with rice.

Everybody wants to know how I made this. Most of the time when I cook, I just put stuff together, not really following a recipe or using exact measurements. So, I'm gonna tell you the process and ingredients I used. You can tweak to your liking.

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 sm box of frozen spinach
Feta cheese
Asparagus
Shrimp
Rice
Greek salad dressing
Chopped garlic
Lemon or lime juice
Sauzon (seasoning, comes in a box of packets, find in mexican food section)
Butter
Oil (I used peanut oil)
Cumin
Season salt
String or toothpicks (I didnt have sting but I think it would work better with string)

Directions:


Stuffed Chicken - Remove fat from chicken. Pound it out to help tenderize and flatten out the chicken. Sprinkle lightly with season salt and spread out on a baking sheet or plate. Place frozen spinach according in boiling water to cook. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool down. Squeeze out as much water as possible. Add chopped garlic (I used alot but you can use a little or you can skip it). The chicken thighs are small and cannot hold much. My one pack of thighs (about 6) and one small box of spinach was enough, but there was left over feta cheese. Take about a heaping tablespoon of spinach and some crumbled feta, mix and mold with hands into a small football shaped lump. Put the lump on one end of the thigh and roll up. It doesnt have to be perfect. If you have string, you can use the string to wrap around the thigh to keep it closed (string would need to be soaked so it doesnt burn while on the grill). I didnt have string so I used a few toothpicks at the seam to hold it together. Put on the grill. Place seam down and spoon greek dressing on top. Periodically spoon more dressing over chicken while grilling.

Asparagus - Clean and cut off bottoms. Add oil, chopped garlic, and season salt. Toss.

Shrimp - I used 21-25 shrimp no shells. Add greek dressing, 1/2 packet of Sauzon, lemon or lime juice and cumin in a bowl. Toss shrimp and let sit. Skewer shrimp before putting on grill.

Asparagus and shrimp wont take long to cook so when chicken comes off, put both on grill. Use some of the marinade to spoon over shrimp.

Rice - Cook. Add butter and cumin.


If someone uses this recipe process, please let me know how it turns out and take pictures.