You may have noticed the Hatch Chili gang is at Central Market for their annual roasting sale. If you haven’t seen it, they have these giant, open roasting cages that fling the peppers around while a flame thrower contraption chars them. I’m guessing there must be 550 lbs of chilies and 1100 lbs of propane. There is nothing like the hiss of an open propane flame to get my taste buds going.
I just attempted to kill a few party goers with this beauty: Hatch Chili infused Tito’s Vodka. It was easy to make. Even your local high school anarchist could do it! Soak a couple of chopped, raw, mild, Hatch Chilies in Vodka for around 48 hours, strain, chill. For an evil twist, freeze some Habaneros into ice cubes.
Lastly, to put out the fire, I made Hatch and Rosemary Focaccia Tomato sandwiches with Garlic Aioli. A good time was had by all.