Habanero Pina Coladas

Remember Joef's spicy birthday dinner over a month ago? Remember my mention of habanero pina coladas? Yeah, that's how behind I am on my posts. Well, there's nothing wrong with pina coladas in the middle of December, is there?

I know what you're thinking. Joef's penchant for spice has gone too far. There's no way this could be good. But let me tell you, this kid knows how to make a mixed drink, and he gets full credit for this one. And the citrus-y heat of the habanero is a great complement to pineapple and coconut.

It's a little deceptive at first - you expect sweet, and get heat. And believe me, it's hot. But it's also unique, creative, and really good.

The first step is to infuse rum with habaneros, which takes about two days. So plan ahead!

HABANERO RUM
750mL-1L Cachaca (type of Brazilian rum)
4 habaneros, tops cut off

Drop the habaneros into the bottle of rum. Let sit for 2 days. Remove the habaneros.

PINA COLADA
For one drink: in a cocktail shaker, mix two parts rum with 3 parts pineapple juice. Add about 2 tbsp cream of coconut, or to taste. Shake with ice and pour into a small glass. Enjoy!

Three-Pepper Burmese Chicken Curry

(adapted from Dave DeWitt's 1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes)

Joef turned 29 this year, and to celebrate, we hosted a spicy potluck dinner party. We stocked our fridge with ice cream and whole milk, turned to Dave DeWitt, and used spice with reckless abandon. We even made spicy drinks - bloody Marys and (to be posted soon) habanero pina coladas (surprisingly great). Our friends all brought (delicious) spicy dishes, from peanut noodles to what was described to me as Indian "sloppy Joes". Seriously, our friends can cook - the food was awesome.

I randomly selected this Burmese Chicken Curry. I've been really promoting cookbooks lately, and I'll do it again - DeWitt's book is really, really good. We haven't had a so-so recipe from it yet. This was delicious. I probably wouldn't make it this spicy again (it won spiciest for the night) - Joef, of course, disagrees - and the flavors were awesome. Which is actually pretty lucky, because I accidentally swapped the proportions for the paprika and the turmeric...pretty significant error, which turned out totally OK. So - below is my (accidentally) adapted recipe, with the heat turned WAY up (to turn it down, substitute red pepper flakes for habanero, and regular oil for the Naga-Jolokia infused). Can't wait to make this one again.

(You could pretty easily make this vegetarian - just swap the chicken for cauliflower and/or potato, right?)

(Warning - the fish sauce smells awful. Really awful. I promise it will taste great.)

For eight or more servings:

5 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground turmeric
8 tbsp fish sauce
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
8 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced
1 tsp paprika, plus a little more
2 tsp habanero flakes
1 cup plus 4 tbsp water, divided
1 jalapeno, stems removed, minced
6 tbsp Naga Jolokia-infused peanut oil
2 large/medium tomatoes, chopped
2-3 cups brown rice
1 tbsp rice flour (optional and if needed)

Wash the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken in a deep dish. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, paprika, and fish sauce, then pour over the chicken. Marinate the chicken in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, blend the onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chile flakes, 4 tbsp of the water, and the jalapeno, plus a few shakes of paprika, until it turns into a coarse paste.

In a large, deep frying pan, heat the oil over medium. Add the paste and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and tomatoes, and stir fry for 15 minutes or so. Add the rest of the water, partially (mostly) cover the pan, and cook over medium-low for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is done and the sauce has thickened. (My friend Archana taught me a trick - if it's not thickening the way you want it to, you can take a little bit of the sauce out of the pan, add 1 tbsp or so of rice flour, stir them together until blended, and then return the combination to the pan and stir it in.)

When the chicken is ready, remove the drumsticks from the pan, remove the meat from the bone, and return to the pan. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes, then serve over rice. And wash it down with whole milk.

Steak with Habanero Butter (with Rabe and Mashed Potatoes)

This was Joef's "welcome home from Japan safe and sound" dinner. Rabe was, of course, a requisite item, as was the addition of something spicy - in this case, habanero butter for the steak, which was seriously delicious.

This is maybe the second time I've made steak. I'm not sure what cut I got - it was inexpensive, didn't have a bone, and was somehow really, really good. Probably because it was just a leeeeetle bit fatty. Mmm.

MASHED POTATOES
4-5 small red potatoes, chopped into largish chunks
Milk
1-2 tbsp butter
Garlic powder
Dill
Salt

Boil the potatoes until softened. Drain, then stir in butter until it melts. Stir in milk, mashing the potatoes, until they're at the consistency you want. Add garlic powder and dill to taste. Season with salt to your liking.

STEAK with HABANERO BUTTER
2 steaks
Salt
Pepper
Habanero butter for serving (see instructions below)

With steaks at room temperature, salt and pepper on both sides, pressing the seasoning into the steak. Cook under the oven broiler. Turn once, cooking for a total of about 6-10 minutes, depending on how well done you want them. For the habanero butter, melt 2 or so tablespoons of butter and add habanero pepper flakes - a few pinches - stir to combine and pour over steaks once they're cooked. Enjoy!