Random randomness from Randomia: Sunday edition

Couple of things coming down the pike this April (besides High Road to China coming out on DVD):

• Geralt "I'll fuck anything with lady parts" of Rivia is coming to the 360 this month (04/17) in The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.  Two discs, plus score, plus a bunch of swag.  I really enjoyed The Witcher and hope the game makes the transition to 360 without losing the edge.  Looking forward to it.  The changes seem to be pretty good though according to this article.
Here's a fuckin sweet video:

• Slowly plodding my way through the main story of SWTOR with my main.  A couple of the planets have been a real drag and I'm not looking forward to slogging through them again with my alts once legacy comes out.  Quesh is a fucking dump.
• I've been trying to get more into the twitter thing and less of the fb thing. It's basically the same shit as on here but with more links to bizarro news and shark attacks and cool shit like that.

Not much else to report for the time being. Hope all of you are well and in good spirits.

Sunday in the kitchen with Abuelita J: Chile paste

The Trinidad/Bhut blend is on the left.  The other is a blend of Santaka and Ring of Fire

I got my chores done and the kitchen clean so of course I had to make a mess of my kitchen again.  The pile of Trinidads and bhuts on the counter were half dried.  I fired up the oven to 450, tossed the chiles in olive oil and put them in (I didn't know this but Pyrex measuring cups are oven safe as well - a handy thing to know for the future) for about thirty minutes.  I also had about a dozen dried bhut jolokia in the freezer that I reconstituted in boiling water.  Now there are two cups of bhut jolokia tea sitting on my counter which I'm wondering what to do with.  The roasted chiles and reconstituted bhuts all went into the food processor with roughly two tablespoons of oil.  Then the paste went into a hot pan.  All windows were open and the fan was on but it was kind of intense going for a bit.  I added a couple of tablespoons of garlic puree, the zest and juice of one lemon, a pinch of salt, and a good slosh of fish sauce (it seemed like a good idea at the time).  Fried everything together until the excess liquid was gone, let cool, and jarred.  I did a scaredy cat taste test (I nibbled a little from the end of a spoon) and it's kind of evil.  Mola Ram god damn black blood of Kali evil.  So I'm naming this blend: Pankot Masala.

The blend on the right is the one I made before and is just Santakas and Ring of Fire roasted, blended, and fried.  It's actually got a human consumption heat level and gives the dishes I've used it a cayannesque kick with a richer flavor.  This one is probably one I will branch out with and work on for the upcoming holidays.

Chile stuff.

So for the upcoming Phi Alpha Theta potluck I plan to make spicy pork.  Though I may not make it as infernal as might for others I do plan to bring a bottle of bhut jolokia vinegar.

I still have a whole bunch of ghost chiles just sitting around, menacing everything else in my spice cabinet.  I figure it's time to put them to good use.  Ghost chile vinegar to give the spicy pork an extra kick.  nom.

Chile pepper updates...pics pending.

So I harvested almost a dozen serranos from my plant this morning. I finally know what the plant is, I had forgotten what seeds I planted. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them. Probably just going to end up pickling them.

Thanks to the fine folks over at World Spice Merchants for sending my latest order quickly and efficiently. I picked up some Aframomum melegueta aka "Grains of Paradise", Urfa Biber, Poivron Rouge, and another ounce of Bhut Jolokia (my new friend aka "ghost chile").

Here's a quick run down:

1. The grains of paradise have an outstanding aroma and peculiar flavor. When ground they have a floral, peppery smell with a hint of I don't know what. The taste is a combination of pepper, coriander, and possibly a hint of anise. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to use this in but I may end up using a pinch here and there for my grains.
2. Urfa Biber is a Turkish chile that is dark chocolate brown. I got it ground so I don't know what the chiles look like. The stuff looks like freaking tar but has a mellow, mid-range heat and a very mysterious flavor. I know that may sound insane but I tasted the stuff and got a weird sensory image in my head of a bazaar in Instanbul. I think I might have to use this stuff on ribs.
3. The Poivron Rouge hails from Marrakech and has a similar look and taste to Hungarian Paprika. I plan to have this as an additive to couscous or quiche.

That's all the news I have today folks. Have a good weekend.

Bhut Jolokia, the "ghost chile", the Dorset Naga, the world's hottest chile, many names one bite.

As I posted 03/02/07 "I gotta get me some of those" and after two years of not really searching at all I found out the fabled "ghost chile" is available for purchase in the United States for a fairly reasonable price (less than ten dollars an ounce). I bought mine from World Spice Merchants.

I have to admit I was worried about consuming the ghost chile. I had seen videos of people wolfing them down and looking like they were going to turn inside out, unless you are Anandita Dutta Tamuly. Yes I was having second thoughts, the dried chiles have the color and vague appearance of sun dried tomatoes. Indeed, they smelled like dried wickedness. I threw one pepper in the grinder and tried to avoid breathing the dust. I poured a saucer of olive oil and added about a gram of the ghost chile powder to it. Then I dunked a chunk of bread in and sampled.

In such a small amount the heat was certainly apparent but was certainly manageable. I noticed a tomato-esque flavor and another hint of something unidentifiable. The heat managed to fill my head, this may sound insane but I could feel the heat radiating through my head like a fever. However the gustatory rhinorrhea did not seriously kick in so I think I need to step up the amount I consume. I added some to my eggs this morning and got a good little kick.

My plan this weekend is to take several ghost chiles and add them to a chile mix I have sitting around (like everyone does right?). I believe that the ghost chile will bring an edge that I've been looking for. More news to follow.