Chipotle

You don't need a degree in restaurant-hopping to know that America is going up in flames. Gullet-scorching blazes lit by fiery bird peppers from Thailand. Gustatory fires fueled by Scotch bonnet chilies that send you lunging for the nearest beer. The latest chili to inflame the American palate is the Mexican chipotle. A specialty of Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Veracruz and Mexico's Central Valley, chipotles are smoked jalapeno chilies. To make them, ripe red jalapenos are smoked over smoldering pecan or mesquite fires in underground pits until they are shriveled and dry. The result is one of the most flavorful ingredients you'll ever burn your tongue on. Chipotles are hot - not as hot as the infamous habanero, but hot enough to make me sweat, and I have an asbestos palate.

My goal was simple - a company-worthy dip that didn't involve a heart-stopping volume of sour cream. If it also could be fast and easy to assemble, even better. Because, face it, we need all the help we can get to manage the chaos of cleaning and cooking that ensues anytime company comes. Especially during the holidays. Which is how I came up with this easy sweet-potato dip spiked with chipotle peppers. Cooked sweet potatoes are blended with almonds, garlic, lemon juice, chipotle peppers, and classic chili seasonings for a rich and creamy dip. Serve it with pretzels, tortilla chips, toasted baguette rounds, carrot sticks, or hunks of flatbread.

Bio: 51; grew up in Delco's Sharon Hill; went to Temple; lives in Center City with his wife and sons, 9 and 7. What's new? Little Louie's BBQ, his ribs-and-more joint at 505 Haddon Ave. in Collingswood, N.J. It opened in November. First restaurant job: 1982 apprenticeship at L'aigle D'or in Center City. First chef job: About two years later in Denver. Came back here in '85. Philly restaurant connections: Bogart's at the Latham Hotel, Founders at the Bellevue, Moshulu, Sheraton Rittenhouse Square, Jonathan's American Grill.

In the food world there's fusion that leads to confusion. But for Cafe Con Chocolate chef/owner Yoshiko Yamasaki, the blending of Mexican and Japanese is how she grew up. Her father is Japanese and her mother Mexican. Yamasaki recalls, with a charming giggle, "I grew up in Mexico City and my mother cooked Mexican and my father Japanese, but we ate sushi rice with everything. " Though that might take a meal into confusion, I can report happily that at Cafe Con Chocolate long-grain rice came with the Mexican dishes and the sushi rice was reserved for the Japanese dishes.

Azure tacos Fans of El Vez' signature mahimahi tacos won't be disappointed by the change-ups that chef Julio Rivera, an El Vez alum, has made at Azure. He has switched to warm, rustic, handmade corn tortillas (instead of the original flour). The meaty mahimahi is lightened up, not crusted, but dusted with achiote powder. Stuffed with a shred of iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and tomato over smoky chipotle mayo, then ignited with a fresh spritz of lime, they've become an overnight Northern Liberties cult favorite.

When Zoot, the hip jazz spot at Head House Square, closed its doors in October, it left a lot of blue aficionados who missed the cool jazz and the hot and trendy food. The good news is that Zoot has reopened at 126 Chestnut St., the first floor of the landmark Middle East restaurant. (More good news is that the Middle East has not closed; it's moved its shish kebab, belly dancers and music nights to the second floor.) Al Teti, the man behind Zoot, has revamped the original menu, which focused on grilled seafood, into a full range of small dishes, many with a Southwestern touch - veggie creations, dinner salads and entree-like platters served with rice, fries or a vegetable.

Hot peppers. Hot salsa. Tongue-scorching flavor all over the place. To judge from the exhibits at the Fancy Food Show, Americans are developing fire-resistant tonsils. There was jalapeno popcorn, jalapeno pesto dip, jalapeno horseradish, Cajun basmati rice, jalapeno chocolates, jalapeno malt balls, jalopeno jelly, red chile bread . . . The popularity of what the trade publication Gourmet News calls "foods that bite back" has been growing steadily over the years.

  Brighten Mom's day, and her table. Yellow sunflowers on a white background make this Tuscan serving platter a stand-out, and the antique-edge finishing adds to the handcrafted look. Made of earthen- ware in Italy; dishwash- er and microwave safe. - Dianna Marder Tuscan Sunflower Rectangular Serving Platter, 17-by-11 inches, $39.95, at Sur La Table in the Promenade at Sagemore, 500 Rt. 73 S., Marlton, N.J.; 856-797-0098 or SurLaTable.com   El Chocolate If your mamacita has a nib of Mayan soul, she's going to love these Mexican-style chocolates from Taza, a Massachusetts company that uses ancient Oaxacan-style stone mills to grind its direct-trade organic cacao.

Los Amigos in West Berlin has been a favorite South Jersey watering hole and cantina for 22 years. It delivers traditional Tex-Mex and Southwest specialties at prices that won't break your budget. Tex-Mex cuisine was new to Pat and Mike Shemely, who discovered it in the '70s on a trip to the West. The pair, who share responsibility for the business with Mimi and Curt Taylor, figured south-of-the-border cuisine would fly here - and it has. At Los Amigos, the atmosphere is comfortable and relaxed.

Pay serious attention to the restaurant business and you'll soon realize that survival is often a matter of being willing and able to change. An example of a restaurant that has done just that - in this case for 20 years - is the Old City eatery now known as New Mexico Grille. Since opening in 1976, the Grille has had its name changed once - from Los Amigos - and its concept modified several times. Originally Tex-Mex, the menu here eventually evolved to include the flavors of the American Southwest, but now seems headed back in the direction of burrito-ville.

Bio: 51; grew up in Delco's Sharon Hill; went to Temple; lives in Center City with his wife and sons, 9 and 7. What's new? Little Louie's BBQ, his ribs-and-more joint at 505 Haddon Ave. in Collingswood, N.J. It opened in November. First restaurant job: 1982 apprenticeship at L'aigle D'or in Center City. First chef job: About two years later in Denver. Came back here in '85. Philly restaurant connections: Bogart's at the Latham Hotel, Founders at the Bellevue, Moshulu, Sheraton Rittenhouse Square, Jonathan's American Grill.

My goal was simple - a company-worthy dip that didn't involve a heart-stopping volume of sour cream. If it also could be fast and easy to assemble, even better. Because, face it, we need all the help we can get to manage the chaos of cleaning and cooking that ensues anytime company comes. Especially during the holidays. Which is how I came up with this easy sweet-potato dip spiked with chipotle peppers. Cooked sweet potatoes are blended with almonds, garlic, lemon juice, chipotle peppers, and classic chili seasonings for a rich and creamy dip. Serve it with pretzels, tortilla chips, toasted baguette rounds, carrot sticks, or hunks of flatbread.

Makes 4 sandwiches For aioli: 2 egg yolks 1 chipotle pepper, soaked in       1/2 cup water 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup cooked sweet    potatoes 1 tablespoon honey For fig dressing: 4 figs 1 teaspoon minced shallot 2 cups white balsamic    vinegar 1 cup olive oil Juice from half a lemon...

NBC "Today" weekend hosts Lester Holt , Amy Robach and Jenna Wolfe (who formerly worked as a sports reporter for WB17) joined the cast of SyFy's "Ghost Hunters" to investigate Eastern State Penitentiary last night. We're told their coverage of the visit, featuring "Ghost Hunters" paranormal investigators Grant Wilson , Jason Hawes , Britt Griffith , and Adam Berry , will air on both Saturday and Sunday's episodes of "Today. " Speaking of Eastern State, Eagles Brent Celek and Todd Herremans stopped by its Terror Behind the Walls tour Tuesday.

  Brighten Mom's day, and her table. Yellow sunflowers on a white background make this Tuscan serving platter a stand-out, and the antique-edge finishing adds to the handcrafted look. Made of earthen- ware in Italy; dishwash- er and microwave safe. - Dianna Marder Tuscan Sunflower Rectangular Serving Platter, 17-by-11 inches, $39.95, at Sur La Table in the Promenade at Sagemore, 500 Rt. 73 S., Marlton, N.J.; 856-797-0098 or SurLaTable.com   El Chocolate If your mamacita has a nib of Mayan soul, she's going to love these Mexican-style chocolates from Taza, a Massachusetts company that uses ancient Oaxacan-style stone mills to grind its direct-trade organic cacao.

In the food world there's fusion that leads to confusion. But for Cafe Con Chocolate chef/owner Yoshiko Yamasaki, the blending of Mexican and Japanese is how she grew up. Her father is Japanese and her mother Mexican. Yamasaki recalls, with a charming giggle, "I grew up in Mexico City and my mother cooked Mexican and my father Japanese, but we ate sushi rice with everything. " Though that might take a meal into confusion, I can report happily that at Cafe Con Chocolate long-grain rice came with the Mexican dishes and the sushi rice was reserved for the Japanese dishes.

It seems to happen to a lot of people. There's a restaurant/bar in your neighborhood. You pass it all the time and, yet, never think to go in. McKenna's Irish Pub, on Brown Street in my Fairmount neighborhood, was one of those places for me. There was no reason to avoid it, but no real reason to go, either. Until I read that there was a $20 all-you-can-eat crab and clam dinner on Friday nights. As it turns out, I stumbled in at just the right time. About two months ago, Chef Siobhan Allgood stopped by to have a bite to eat with her husband.

Azure tacos Fans of El Vez' signature mahimahi tacos won't be disappointed by the change-ups that chef Julio Rivera, an El Vez alum, has made at Azure. He has switched to warm, rustic, handmade corn tortillas (instead of the original flour). The meaty mahimahi is lightened up, not crusted, but dusted with achiote powder. Stuffed with a shred of iceberg lettuce, red cabbage, and tomato over smoky chipotle mayo, then ignited with a fresh spritz of lime, they've become an overnight Northern Liberties cult favorite.

The invitation to John and Bernadette Foy's cruise-reunion party read like a captain's command: Attendance was mandatory, and cruise wear was expected. Which explains why men and women wearing shorts and aloha shirts, sandals and shell necklaces, and smart navy-and-white ensembles converged on a Queen Village street on a cold, gray Sunday last month. The Foys, who own Bridget Foy's South Street Grill, wanted to warm up a dead-of-winter weekend by reconvening a group of fun-loving fellow food professionals who sailed from Tampa to Cozumel in November as guests of U.S. Foods, an Allentown-based restaurant-supply company.