Matt Bray 
Habanero ranch sauce: creamy ranch with a pureed habanero, garlic and onion stirred in to taste. A cool, fiery dip for wings, fries and crudités that comes together in five minutes.
A classic mojito with a kick: jalapeño wheels muddled with mint, lime and sugar, then topped with white rum, club soda and lots of ice.
Crisp cornmeal hushpuppies with sweet corn, onion, fresh jalapeño and a little Old Bay. A spicy side for fried fish and barbecue, or a party appetizer.
No matter your fish taco recipe, bring it to spicy life with this super-simple spicy sauce recipe. The sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice and Sriracha meld together for a delicious creamy and tangy heat. Looking for a tasty fish taco recipe to try this sauce on? Check out this one that uses a cayenne and chili powder rub to amp up the tilapia. Together they provide a lot of kick!
Scoville heat units (SHU): 1 to 1,000
Jalapeño reference point: 3 to 8,000 times milder
Origin: South America
Seeds: Medusa pepper on Amazon
Looking for a colorful ornamental pepper for container gardening or small garden spaces? The Medusa pepper, with its compact profile and dozens of multi-hued upright chilies per plant, is neat perfect. Its stunning Medusa-like looks belie what’s truly a surprisingly mild and sweet pepper, perfect eating for those with little spice tolerance.
Smooth and spiced just right… Mixing jalapeño heat with the smoothness of honey makes one delicious marinade or dipping sauce. Try it with chicken tenders or roasted chicken. Control the spiciness by leaving the jalapeño seeds in (spicier) or remove them for less heat.
Whether a simple spring salad, a grilled chicken salad, or a mango salsa salad, chipotle lime vinaigrette just works. Part tangy, party spicy, and a touch of sweet, this vinaigrette works perfectly with chicken, shrimp, or tropical fruits. If it’s too spicy, halve the amount of chipotle pepper used and increase the adobo sauce by an additional tablespoon.
Jamaican jerk sauce is not for the timid, that’s for sure. No sauce that starts with a half dozen Scotch bonnet peppers is one to take lightly. But that’s of course why we love it so much. It’s spicy, but also deliciously spiced – with the likes of allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon in the mix. It’s a delicious marinade for chicken, beef, and pork.
If you can’t get your hands on Scotch bonnets, choose habanero peppers instead. They’re a close cousin that brings the same heat, just not quite the tropical fruitiness.
Scoville heat units (SHU): 100 – 1,000
Jalapeño reference point: 3 to 80 times milder
Origin: Italy
Products: Italian long hot pepper on Amazon
When you travel in the Northeast of the United States, it’s hard not to stumble upon this long, gangly chili. Italian long hot peppers (a.k.a. long hot peppers, or simply Italian long hots) are now growing in popularity in many regions, but cities like Philadelphia and New York have a special bond. And there’s a lot to love. Italian long hots have only the slightest of sizzles to go along with a delicious sweet pepper flavor profile. They are a favorite fried or roasted as a side, and often placed on hoagies and other sandwiches to add zest to the meal.
A rustic, spicy tomato soup with red wine, herbs, cumin and a good dose of red pepper flakes, simmered for an hour and blended as smooth or chunky as you like.
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