Tag Archives: chile peppers

Harissa

Check it out!  I made harissa, and I can’t stop myself.  A dollop atop my eggs.  Slathered on sandwiches.  I may even have a pizza situation happening.  I would say it’s my new Sriracha/Valentina/Cholula, but we know that isn’t true.  There are people who can’t have enough spicy condiments around, and I am one of them.  Hi there.

Harissa hails from North Africa, and although I’m clearly just using it as a condiment at the moment, it’s also used as a flavor base for soups, stews and meat dishes.  I’ll utilize it properly at some point.

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Drunken Noodles

What’s so drunken about these noodles, you ask?  They look perfectly poised, don’t they?  There is no alcohol in the recipe, after all.  Well…  Let me tell you a story.

If you go to Salvador Molly’s in Portland, there’s a picture of me on the wall–a reward for conquering five of their habanero fritters, plus habanero salsa (as seen on Man vs. Food!).  During that experience, I found that I had never consumed a beer (and an almost-full second one that I hijacked from my supportive and sympathetic companion) so quickly, before or since.

…And that, friends, is how anything that is spicy enough can make you drunk.

I suppose your alternative in such a situation could be whole milk (capsaicin is fat- and alcohol-soluble).  In that case, we’d have to call this dish, I don’t know, Bloated Noodles, or Look Ma, Strong Bones Noodles…  Not that catchy.

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