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January 7th, 2004
Clearly
this article was intentionally timed to match my hankerin' of late for really, really spicy food.
At least, I thought it was horrifying until I later stumbled upon the curious "Mr. Chilehead: Adventures in the Taste of Pain" (ECW Press, 2003, $15.95) by James D. Campbell.
Reading Campbell's oddly fascinating account of his love of hot chili peppers is equal parts disturbing (it starts with the words "Pain has a taste") and educational.
[...]
"The pain is very definitely integral to the experience," he said during a telephone interview from his home in Montreal. "Many people find the pain purifying. It cleanses the organism and exalts the spirit and therefore is a very fine thing indeed."
Hold on there, Cap'n Mysticalpants. It is true that good hot stuff will provide a really nice high, there's no need to roll it in religiousity sauce too. Though I knew a guy back in college who probably could outdo Campbell. This guy was a heat freak. When we'd go for hot wings, he'd order the hottest ones (and the tastiest super hot wings I've ever had) and then go stand outside the kitchen berating the cook so that he'd make them extra hot. His snack food of choice was dried habanero. Once he made what he called Sunshine Burgers. This involved about 1.5lbs of beef mixed with some dried habanero flakes and about a tablespoon or so of Dave's Insanity Sauce. He made about 4 burgers from that which we were going to split. Halfway through the first burger, I started floating; halfway through the second, I had to roll over and take a nap. I never take naps.
For a taste of the pain so-called chiliheads crave, try Campbell's intriguing Jalapeņo Brownies. Though much hotter than I care for, the contrast of sweet and spicy was surprisingly good. Unless you want a mouth of fire, dice the peppers well.
Ah, brownies. The universal "Dude, let's bake our shit in that!" food item. Recipe follows at the end of the article....I might have to hit the store tonight.