In honor of The Next Iron Chef and the contestants’ alternative desserts, I created a Christmas-colored version of Jello Salad. In my search for deliciousness that isn’t fatty or loaded with sugar I’ve been turning more and more to spices and hot peppers. I turned out a sugar free Jello cup into a bowl and put a cannelle of sugar-free Cool Whip on top. Total calories: about 20. That didn’t sell it for me though. So I deveined and seeded a Poblano pepper, cut it into brunoise, and sprinkled it over the top. It was a nice texture contrast but lacked a little heat. I would probably leave the veins in next time or, better yet, devein and seed a jalapeno or serrano. Then I could go monochrome if I wanted or switch it up with green Jello and a red pepper.

Speaking of spice, I learned a valuable lesson today. Chopped beef Mai Fun soup mixed with a teaspoon of Sriracha sauce and a whole serrano cut thin yields a soup so G-D-spicy that it makes you cough and sweat, but in a good way. My mouth was numb for a good hour after. It was only a glass of apple cider that helped. Looks like Scoville was right.

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Justin Dickinson

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