Welcome to another edition of The Heat!. As always, The Heat! is brought to you by Chef Jay and Chile-Pepper-Sauces.com.

Vegas Heat!

Hey Everyone! I hope the past few months have treated you all as well as they have Lisa and me. In this issue I want to tell you what I've been up to, share some contributions from readers and offer a few suggestions for hot sauces to try.

I've been staying extra busy. Among other things I took a trip to Las Vegas in February. Of course it was a blast.

We stayed at The Orleans Hotel and Casino. The food wasn't too great but I managed to find some things to my liking.

We ate at the buffet several times, the highlight being breakfast. They had an excellent omelette bar. It offered lots of different ingredients and the chef cooked each omelette to order while you waited. And, they had fresh jalapenos for the taking, and of course I DID!

Another thing I liked about the buffet was the fact that every table had a bottle of Melinda's Original Hot Sauce. I have mentioned it here before. Melinda's is made with habaneros so you know it is hot, but the flavor is great too. If you get a chance be sure to give it a try.

The only other spicy food I ate in Vegas was at the new Hooters Casino. I know what you're thinking, but we really did go there for the wings...and maybe the scenery. If you have never been to a Hooters restaurant before, they are famous for the wings and their waitresses.

The wings are good but not great. They come breaded unless you ask for them to be "naked"! That is how I like'em. Ooh, the waitresses all wear orange shorts and t-shirts. Hooters is more of a "guy" kind of place.

We did get to visit a few other casinos that I hadn't been to before. The Palms and the Hard Rock Cafe are two hot spots to visit if you are in town on a weekend. If you get a chance, check them out.

Melting The Polar Ice Cap

OK, enough about Las Vegas, on to Antarctica. Last December I got an email from James Battaglia, a fellow subscriber and hot head. James works in Antarctica and wanted help with his chili recipe for a contest he participates in each year.

The McMurdo Chili Cook-Off or "Ice Stock" has been held every New Years since 1957. James' ECOLI Chili(Excellent Chili of Local Ingredients) finished second last year and with my advice on ingredients and a little tutelage...he finished second this year too!

Well it was fun exchanging ideas with him and James sent me a t-shirt and postcard for my efforts! It is always great to hear from my readers(that's you). You guys and gals are what make this newsletter worthwhile. Please contact me anytime, even if it is just to say hello...or ask for help with a recipe.

Kathy, another reader, did just that. She has been looking for a green enchilada sauce recipe. Well Kathy here you go:

Green Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:
8 Tomatillos, medium size, husked and rinsed
4 Serranos, stemmed
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 onion, medium, chopped
1 Garlic clove
1 Cup chicken broth
1/2 Bunch cilantro, chopped
Salt to taste

Directions:
- Roast the tomatillos and serranos on a baking sheet under your broiler until blackened about 5 minutes, turn over and roast the other side. Place everything including the liquid into your blender or food processor.
- In a heavy skillet over medium high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil, add the onion and cook until golden, stir in garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the onions and garlic to the food processor and puree all to a medium consistency.
- Add the remaining oil to the skillet and heat to medium high, add puree and stir for about 5 minutes until it begins to thicken. Stir in the broth, cover and simmer on medium low for 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season to taste.

That is it. This Tomatillo and Serrano Sauce can be used in a variety of dishes. In this case use it with your favorite enchilada recipe, and if you don't have one you can find some on my Mexican Recipes page, just click the link!

Oh yeah, I have one more wing story. One of my favorite things to eat is chicken wings and my favorite place to eat them is BW III. They have a sauce, "Blazin'", that is probably my favorite of all wing sauces. Anyway, for Valentine's Day Lisa bought me a new bottle of Blazin' Sauce and gave me a gift certificate for BW III. The lady truly knows the way to my heart.

Calypso Hot Pepper Sauce

This month I also received some sauces to try from a fellow chef, Wendy Perry. Knowing how much I love hot sauce, she sent me a jalapeno sauce and a caribbean sauce.

They are both part of the Watkins family of products. The Calypso Hot Pepper Sauce had a much better flavor and more heat than the Jalapeno Hot Pepper Sauce. Its sweet flavor and hot taste are right up my alley. You can check them out here.

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