I remember when I was young and learned about blackened food, for the first time. Something about intentionally burning the surface of the food, in a really really searing hot pan ... to enhance the flavor ... really stuck with me. I think this is one of those foundational concepts that made me think about 'flavor' as a something bigger than the goodness that teases my nose and tongue. You can manipulate it. You can use techniques, interesting blends of spices and herbs, use of fats and temperatures all change the way the final dish looks, tastes and feels in the mouth. A lot to think about for an 8 year old boy! But ... I did!

These are spicy and cozy. Hot, but familiar. Really, just flat out delicious and the kind of thing I could eat a basket of.

In this case, I served them with a cool ranch dressing, but you could really eat them plain, on a salad with some blue cheese or even stacked up in a po' boy!

Serve and eat when delicious.

Note: I added a small amount of erythritol to this. The miniscule little boost of "sweet" helps round this out, but if you can't get your hands on some ... don't worry about it. It's not crucial to the dish ... it's just a personal preference.