Some Like it Hot as Hell

My husband came home yesterday with a gift from his friend Andy - HOT PEPPERS. After looking at them, I realized I needed to put on gloves and a mask to handle them, even in the raw state. My crazy family likes peppers hotter than hell and thinks it's fun when their mouth is on fire. I, on the other hand, can't handle freshly ground black pepper without grabbing a glass of water.

Scoville heat units, also known as SHU are simply a measurement of the number of times capsaicin needs to be diluted by sugar water pepper. The number of Scoville Heat Units (SHU) in a pepper or even hot sauce indicates the amount of capsaicin present. The higher the Scoville rating, the hotter the pepper.

Did you ever fry hot peppers and start gagging? That's because capsaicin molecules are flying into the air, where they can be inhaled and irritate and sensitize your lungs, leading to coughing fits, choking, and discomfort while breathing. That's why I put the mask on!

The salad started innocent enough with the harvesting of tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil from the garden. A visit to a local Italian bakery for fresh wet mozzarella completed the platter.

It wasn't until my husband came home that this beautiful and fresh platter turned evil. He wanted me to make my chili fire oil to drizzle on top of this platter. I agreed only if he put the fire oil on his serving, not the entire thing.

Once I put my safety gear on, (gloves and a mask) I sliced the peppers, garlic, basil, fresh oregano - getting them ready for the hot olive oil.

The pepper looked innocent enough and even had a beautiful orange and red color. I grow Scotch Bonnets and habaneros - these were hotter.

Andy's Devil Peppers were so hot, my latex gloves turned a terrible color and started to melt the tips. Imagine what these would do to the inside of your stomach??

I fried the hot peppers, basil, fresh oregano, salt & pepper and added 1 tsp. of red chili flakes, (what the heck, if he is looking for hot, I'll make it extra hot!) until the peppers were soft. I allowed the oil to cool and put them into small containers wrapped in plastic wrap. I was fearful that the fire oil would eat thru the plastic container and leak in my refrigerator.

I made a serving for my husband (on a paper plate so it didn't stain my white dishes) and he loved it!

Today he drizzled the fire oil on top of his grilled sausage and said it got hotter overnight.

I do believe the dessert wine tonight will be a shot of antiacid!