habanero peppers

I admit it. I love...no LOVE, spicy food. Growing up in a family where we bought economy-sized jars of jalapeños about as often we'd buy milk, I am no stranger to food that makes your eyes water and your nose run.

Little did I know that far away from my native Texas, I'd find not only one person, but a group of people that adore spice as much as I. One of these people, my friend Marissa, came over this past Saturday to make stuffed habanero peppers and her specialty, habanero chocolate truffles.

First, the stuffed habaneros. These were killer. Inspired by this recipe Marissa found (no surprise that she reads a blog dedicated to hot sauce!), we stuffed the fiery orange peppers with a mix of Tony's seasoned salt, lots of crushed black pepper, and cream and cheddar cheese. Going for a healthier-than-frying-option, we dipped them in panko bread crumbs and baked them at 350 for half an hour.

Wow. These were seriously spicy. We each downed four of them, plenty of water and Negra Modelo (for me!) within close reach. Not for the faint of heart, but YUM.

Marissa's habanaro chocolate truffles were divine. She didn't measure anything, but I watched: She melted a couple bags of chocolate over a double broiler, stirred in some whipping cream (hmm...seemed familiar!), then took the mixture off the heat and stirred in about a teaspoon+ habanaro powder. She chilled it until it was pliable like a dough, then rolled it into balls to later be dipped into 85% cacao melted chocolate. Heaven.

Of course, I should have pictures of all these spicy treats, no? Shame on me...