One summer I trained myself on Buffalo Wild Wings Blazin’ Sauce. The first couple weeks it was a bit rough, but by the end, I was taking them down like nothing. I actually complained that they seemed to have weakened the sauce. One of my friends said he’d check, so he tried one and instantly teared up. I realized I had just overcome them.

But then, a couple months later I was in Madison for Halloween, and as was tradition at the time, the night ended with the police shooting plumes of pepper spray down State Street. Only after inhaling a whiff of that did I get the same burning sensation as the first week at Buffalo Wilds Wings. And let me tell you, it was glorious.

One thing to remember is that pepper plants cross-pollinate, so one spring’s mild pepper plants can be super-hot the next spring if they’re grown near other, hotter pepper plants.

I love spicy foods and hot peppers, and I regularly grow jalapenos, tabascos, serranos, and habaneros.

I’m also a huge fan of hot sauces, but I have a big complaint about most of the sauces that promote their heat, like Dave’s Insanity Sauce. Hot sauces, like any condiment, should be used to enhance and complement the dish. Hot sauces made strictly to be “the hottest” have little to no flavor and add nothing to, say, a salsa except a burning tongue. A fresh habanero, on the other hand, while very spicy, has a fruity undertone hiding behind the heat that adds another level of flavor to a dish.

Fresh peppers are always a plus. If you don’t believe me, I’ll make you a batch of my mango/serrano salsa. It’s delicious with grilled tuna.

Prison inmates and knowledgeable street thugs call it “The Black Jesus” because when you get hit with it, you writhe around on the ground like a Southern Pentacostal yelling, “Oh Jesus! Oh Jesus!”

We have to get sprayed to carry the stuff (thankfully only once every five years) – remember that when you see the reports on TV – the cops know EXACTLY how that stuff feels when they use it. We put three of our own guys out of work for two days once.

that being said the hottest pepper I’ve ever had was A Tabasco pepper right off the vine. My dad suggested I take a bite, thinking I’d bit just the tip off… no I ate the hole thing… I still remember that.

However, I was dared one night at work to try this hot sauce that one of my co-workers brought in. Apparently you can’t buy it in stores, it only sells online. I remember my co-worker saying that just one drop was recommended for a whole vat of chili. There was a small group of us that got up the nerve to try it (me being the only girl) and it was such intense pain that I dry heaved, gagged, and choked for a good 30 minutes, even with all the milk I could gulp down. The worst part though? The trip to the bathroom afterwards!! Talk about a whole new meaning to the phrase “ring of fire!”

All things considered, it was a terrible, horrible experience, but I’m glad I tried it. I just wish I could remember the name of the hot sauce!