Sunday, February 17, 2008

peter piper picks a winner



I thought I would indulge my picante side by cooking up some chicken and beans to be lovingly wrapped in tortillas. Somewhere in one of my cooking adventures, I picked up the technique of infusing oil by first cooking a hot pepper and then adding the other ingredients. And one lesson I learn over and over is that moderation is a virtue in many things, but especially in cooking. I seemed to forget that lesson tonight because I decided if one jalapeño is good, three jalapeños would be better.




My little experiment was fine. The wraps were a bit spicier than I had intended, but I had no trouble eating two of them for dinner out in the hot tub. I mention the hot tub only because after I was done eating, I touched my cheek and got the strangest burning sensation. That should have been a warning that I had set several pepper traps during my meal preparation. I was smart enough to be very careful what I touched. (I have made the eye rubbing error before.)




The big impact was when I walked into the house. The moment I opened the door, I felt as if I had been maced. Apparently, I managed to get enough of the pepper oil atomized during my oil infusion that it spread through the house just waiting for its next victim -- me. The dog would not even come into the house. Fortunately, I was able to pull most of the smell out of the house using the stove fan.
All told -- a great culinary experiment.


P.S. It is now Monday morning, the mace cloud has lifted, and I am enjoying the last serving of pollo picante for breakfast. It appears that resting in the refrigerator has caused its heat to dissipate. No hay remedio. (I assure you it tasted much better than this ominous photograph would indicate.)



7 comments:

Michael Dickson said...

You´re nuts.

Steve Cotton said...

As I was wandering through the house this morning, I could get just a whiff of the pepper. Not unlike the morning after in 1967 Berkeley -- with a hint of tear gas in the air.

Don Cuevas said...

¡Imagínate! Estuvieron los chiles Jalapeños, no los Habaneros.
Que recuperas pronto.
"Cada Loco Con Su Tema"

Saludos,
Mike

Steve Cotton said...

While I was at the grocer, I looked at the habaneros, but they were a bit old. Can you imagine how my tale would have ended if I had used them!

Anonymous said...

Yikes! My eyes water just reading this. YOu learned a good lesson though didn't you?

"I felt as if I had been maced. Apparently, I managed to get enough of the pepper oil atomized during my oil infusion that it spread through the house just waiting for its next victim -- me."

Babs said...

Hi Steve - I just found your blog because of your comment to First Mate. I read about your concern about money and moving to Mexico. I did it 7 years ago and have NEVER regretted it. I'm living comfortably on about $20,000 a year and traveling whenever I want. My blog is babsofsanmiguel.blogspot.com if you want to check it out. I talk about daily life and fun things.....

Steve Cotton said...

Babs -- Several people have made the point that I easily have enough money to move to Mexico right now. I have some personal obligations, though, that I must attend to before I can leave. April of next year is looking far more likely. I will probably post that list before too long.

Jackie -- Yes, I did learn a lesson: moderation is highly overrated. Some of us are REAL SLOW learners.