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Tap each of the chiles on their ends to make the seeds fall away from the stem, and cut away the stem. Empty the seeds into the ramekin and slice the chile lengthwise down it's side opening it up. Discard any remaining seeds and the white ribs. Slice lengthwise down the other side of the chile, creating two flat pieces. Repeat.", "After all of the chiles have been processed, on a skillet over high heat toast each of the chiles in small batches. Don't crowd the chiles! Slight blistering of the skin side, and slight browning of the flesh side is all we're going for and it happens in seconds. In other words- don't walk away from this. If they get overcooked they'll be bitter. Take the water off the heat to cool. Place toasted chiles in colander as they're done.", "After everyone is nice and toasted, cover the chiles in the hot - not boiling- water for twenty to forty minutes. But, don't sit down, or remove your gloves.", "Reduce the heat to medium-low and add a little olive oil to the skillet. Saute the onion until just translucent. Add the garlic and reduce the heat. Let this go just until the garlic is fragrant. You're not trying to cook the vegetables, you're just trying to scare them.", "Pulse the garlic, onion, lemon and lime juices, vinegar, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper together in a food processor or blender until a very fine, almost liquid consistency is achieved. Thin with water if you have to, but don't use the soaking liquid from the peppers. Reserve one quarter of this mixture.", "Your gloves should still be on when you discard the soaking water and gently press the water out of the chiles. After a rough chop, toss them with salt and cover the colander with plastic wrap. Set a mixing bowl on top of the covered chiles and allow to drain for ten minutes.", "Unless you have a giant food processor, work in batches pureeing the drained chiles into a thick paste. Combine everything in a mixing bowl as it comes out of the processor. Tasting the sauce now you'll discover that it's either bland, or bitter, or perhaps too sweet. Don't worry, you have not erred. And, you still can't sit down or take off the gloves.", "What you have now needs to be reduced over very low heat. Slowly. Put the quarter cup of stock in the pan and stir in the sauce. Keep stirring, keep tasting and you'll notice the heat and sweetness develop a real richness in the sauce. The longer you can let this go, the better developed your sauce will be. However, you can't very well reduce it to nothing and you don't want to burn it. Fifteen or twenty minutes should be fine.", "Remove from heat and add reserved mixture of aromatics for that final punch of brightness. Taste and add salt, citrus or vinegar to your liking. If you want more heat, grind some of the reserved seeds and add in small amounts. Now would be the time to press through a fine mesh sieve. I don't do that, but but if you want a really fine sauce, sieve away. Better yet: food mill.", "A jar or handy squeeze bottle is great for storing this stuff in the fridge and it keeps for weeks, tightly covered. If you made extra, spoon it into ice cube trays and you'll have it on hand for months. Add it to literally anything you want to give a little heat. Sauces, salsas, soups, dressings, marinades, breads, whatever. Oh, but don't take your gloves off yet.", "Wash everything you touched with warm soapy water, or put it straight into the dishwasher. Don't forget cabinet and drawer pulls, refrigerator doors, spice containers, olive oil bottles, and so on and so forth. Remember what I said about Mise en place?"]
