Smokin' Hot

Every now and then we get a hankerin' for some wickedly hot, spicy food. Today was one of those days. I scored three old issues of Vegetarian Times at the thrift today for free and it just so happened that one of them had a recipe for Chipotle-Bean Burgers with Cilantro Sauce in it. We whipped them up for dinner tonight along with some fresh salsa and served them on corn tortillas. They were kind of a pain in the ass to make in the trailer because it is one of those meals that requires little bowls of prep stuff to be made in small batches and set aside and stuff has to chill in the fridge, etc. so it got kind of ridiculous in here for about an hour. But in the end it was worth it. They were SO GOOD! And they were also SO FLIPPING HOT! It was the hottest food I have eaten since leaving New Mexico a year ago. HERE is the recipe from the Veg Times website. I modified the cilantro sauce a bit by using a jalapeno cheddar bread and a red pepper in mine. So my sauce was orangey red instead of green. We had a hunk of smoked sharp cheddar that was a perfect compliment to the chipotle flavor in the burgers.

Billy cooked the burgers out on the grill....




I supervised... (but don't tell Billy I said so) whoever is wearing the apron is the boss in my book.



The only thing I would say to someone making these is make sure you cook the burger mixture down til it's good and dry and then don't skimp on the time in the fridge to set the patties. They are tough to flip on the grill if they are too wet or not chilled well enough.




I don't know if we ran in to a particularly rare and fierce batch of chipotle but holy hell it was hot.
It's a good thing we had bought a bottle of Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum to make Pina Colada's with otherwise dinner could have been tragic. Instead it was deeeelicious.



I am now impatiently waiting for a new tray of ice cubes to freeze so I can have another pina colada. Dammit. It's gonna take a lot longer than I am happy to wait.

For anyone following the Rudy Foxy Foot Saga (outside of the blog) he is doing OK. I neglected to post that there indeed WAS and possibly still IS a foxtail in his paw. The day after the initial vet visit everything went downhill and his foot developed a big blister on top of it so back to the vet we went. It was an awful experience... Rudy got "probed" and I nearly passed out as a result. They found nothing and put him on an antibiotic and sent us home to watch and wait. A few days later his foot seems to be getting a bit better. We have no idea if the intruding grass seed has come out or if it is still in there. I spoke to the vet and she agreed to wait a few days to see what developed before we bring him back in for a check up. Meanwhile we have to soak his paw in Epsom salts and he hates it. I wish I could soak my damn paws in Epsom salts. The little dude just needs to realize he is getting a sort of spa treatment and then maybe his attitude could change. I guess a gaping, sore, open wound may not feel as neat in salty water as what I am talking about though. Hmm. Anyway... we took his little ass to the dog park today and he caroused with three other dogs there for awhile without a problem so I would say he is on the mend for sure. Thanks to all who have sent him get well soon wishes.

Now... to go check on those ice cubes.