Pepper

Watermelon, cucumber and mint are great summer flavors. Jalapenos add a little fire to this refreshing salad. Just a little fire though.

Tortellini is a classic stuffed pasta shaped in the image of Venus' navel.  In this dish, it's paired with sausage, porcini mushrooms and fennel.  It's served in a light cream sauce with parmesan cheese, arugula and a little heat from ghost pepper powder.

This is one of the best chile recipes I've ever made.  Guajillo, puya and cascabel chiles make a rich mildly spicy sauce for the tender cubed flank steak while wild tepin chiles add some fire.  I opted for no beans in this Texas Red style chili which is my personal favorite.

I found this recipe while browsing lamb recipes on the internet.  I do very little Moroccan cooking so it intrigued me and I figured I'd give it a try.  The cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice and ginger go very well with the strong flavor of lamb while the cayenne gives it a little kick.

Pureed ancho chiles give the beef incredible flavor, a deep dark color and loads of moisture.  When I was putting my burger together I decided to make it absolutely obscene by using two half pound patties, four slices of monterey jack and I topped it with homemade ketchup.  It still seemed like it needed something so I put two armadillo eggs on top.

Eggplant Parmesan is such a hearty Italian dish.  This spicy recipe includes a really simple tomato sauce but what really makes it special is the goat cheese and ghost peppers.  I was blissfully sweating my way through the whole plate.

Ghost Peppers (aka Bhut Jolokia, Naga Jolokia) make this the hottest, spiciest grilled cheese sandwich I've ever eaten.  The creamy goat cheese mellows the heat of the Ghost Pepper a little but not by much.  The Parmesan crusted bread and red onion add a bit of salt and sweet.  I even threw in a few Parmesan crisps for good measure.

These are not your everyday pecan turtles.  There isn't anything unusual about the pecans or chocolate in these candies but the caramel packs some punch.  You might be surprised at how well the nuts and chocolate mellow the fiery caramel.  If you doubt your ability to handle the heat then just use one habanero the first time around.

Acorn squash pie has similar textures and flavors to pumpkin pie but it has a slightly different color.  The pie filling is very lightly sweetened with honey.  The pie is garnished with a mildly spicy walnut streusel and honey sweetened whipped cream.

Have you ever wondered about making your own ketchup from scratch?  Well, I did.  I realized how "monotone" the bottled stuff is when I tasted this scratch made spicy ketchup.  All of the flavors are very distinct and it contains no high fructose corn syrup or any substance called "flavoring."

I prefer yuca fries over potato fries anyday.  I like them so much, in fact, that I decided to make my regular yuca fries healthier by baking them.  Although the fried version has a slightly crispier surface, baked yuca fries are surprisingly similar and whole lot easier to make.

Creamy southwestern butternut squash bisque brings in some flavors of Autumn with a twist.  This is truly a lazy day dish since it's super easy.  I took a shortcut by garnishing with root vegetable chips rather than making my own but that doesn't make this dish any less comforting.

Caramel apples shout "Autumn" as loudly as the change in the color of leaves, apple cider, honey and pumpkin pie.  The habaneros in this spicy recipe for caramel apples leave a distinct habanero flavor but they might make it more of a trick than a treat for someone who isn't expecting the apple to bite back.  They are delicious but they certainly pack some heat.

Porcini and Chanterelle mushrooms work well in this spicy recipe for miso soup.  Miso soup is the ultimate Japanese comfort food but you don't have to go out to enjoy it.  Miso shouldn't be a mystery so don't be afraid to try it.  After all, it's a really simple recipe with only a few ingredients.