¡Muy Caliente! - Vernal Geekquinox 2023

Pete, an experienced kitchener who wears his boots desert-style, and Ellen, The Shortener of the Ways, held their first Geekquinox dinner as a married couple yesterday, and it was, as always, delightful.

Pete created an assortment of spicy (but tasty!) dishes, centered around the proverb from Frank Herbert's Dune, "the spice must flow."

We gathered earlier in the afternoon than usual and kicked things off with a delightful ancholoma cocktail. This brilliant libation combined spicy ancho reyes liqueur for heat, mezcal for smokiness and Grand Marnier to bring a beat of zesty fruit and cognac aromatics to the party, centered around an immense block of ice and topped with grapefruit juice. Probably not a great mimosa replacement for brunch but dang tasty and very popular, based on the number served over the day.

Next up we had a chance to sample six hot sauces from the popular web series "Hot Ones," in which celebrities answer questions while simultaneously eating increasingly spicy chicken wings. To preserve our appetites, we sampled them on tortilla chips accompanied by the most guacamole I have ever seen outside an industrial or catered setting.

I have never been one for confections or condiments that are "I dare you" hot, but tried all six. We all agreed that the second-last sauce, Da Bomb, felt the hottest while providing the least flavour, and most people preferred the Loc Calientes and Ginger Goat. Luckily a shot of creamy mango liqueur was on hand to rescue my palate afterwards - thank you Scott and Margaret!

After that we dove into some of Pete's rightfully famous chili verde, made with chicken this time instead of pork, but still tremendously flavourful and nourishing.

Then, the welcome return of the hamachi shot! This delicious sushi shot, featuring hydroponically grown radish sprouts, tuna, toasted ginger and ponzu sauce, made its debut a decade ago at Pete's first Star Trek Geekquinox, and has lost none of its appeal among his delighted guests.

But if it is 4:00, it must be time for another cocktail, this one coffee-based! A simple cup of joe transformed by a jigger of spiced rum and topped with a generous dollop of thick, rich, butterscotch-infused whip cream.

After some minor assembly assistance from Scott and I (and my trusty pineapple corer that I had brought at Pete's request), our host trundled off to the patio to grill up some al pastor pkr and pineapple skewers that were just astonishingly good. The smoky heat of the marinade was complemented perfectly by the zesty sweetness of the pineapple.

And the pineapple hull was put to good use as well - waste not, want not!

Pete had actually planned to follow this up with another chicken dish, but we talked him out of it since everyone was already pretty full, and visiting with him is more difficult when he is tethered to his many cooking devices. So the main course was a delicious bowl of aromatic black beans and Mexican street corn on the cob, slathered with a feta, sour cream and garlic/chili dressing!

We rounded out the evening with a scrumptious cayenne and chocolate custard, topped with leftover butterscotch whipped cream. Reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate (or the many delightful items inspired by this Meso-American treat, such as the Heartstopper hot chocolate stout that Sherbrooke used to sell), this was the perfect capstone to a spicy (but not too spicy!) meal.

After that, there were a few more ancholomas, a few beers, lots of laughs, and some great conversation among the long-time friends who have gathered under Pete's Geekquinox banner since 2010 - and hopefully will do so for many years to come!