Lucy Delgado, well known in the 1960s as a traditionalist New Mexican cook, taught Samuel Arnold to stuff peanut butter into peppers. "These are the best appetizers I know," she said during a recipe swap. "But if I show you how to make them, you have to promise to try them." Peanut butter-stuffed jalapeños! Arnold vowed he would taste them even though they sounded stranger than a five-legged buffalo. She prepared some and said, as a last word of instruction, "Pop the entire pepper into your mouth so you're not left with a mouthful of hot jalapeño and too little peanut butter." Arnold gamely took the little morsel by the stem, and in it went. Miracle! Delicious!

Fearful of serving them to guests but eager to try them out on friends, Arnold made them for his own parties until they became so popular that he put them on the menu. When NBC's Today show came to Denver, Bryant Gumbel ate eight of them in a row. (Jane Pauley would have none of it.)

One 12-ounce can pickled jalapeño peppers
11/2 cups peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

Slice the pickled jalapeños in half lengthwise not quite all the way through, leaving the 2 halves attached at the stem end. Using a knife or spoon, remove the seeds and ribs under running water. Pack the halves with peanut butter, press together, and arrange on a serving plate. Be sure to warn guests to put the whole pepper (except the stem) in the mouth before chewing, to get 70 percent peanut butter and 30 percent jalapeño. A nibbler squeezes out the peanut butter, changing the percentages and making it very hot indeed. A fun variation is to mix Major Grey's chutney with the peanut butter. It gives a nice fruity sweetness that also buffers the burn.

Per person:
3 green Anaheim chilies, roasted and peeled (canned will do,
but fresh are best)
Salt
1 clove garlic, chopped
Pinch of Mexican leaf oregano
10-12 ounce thick-cut New York strip, top sirloin, or tenderloin
of beef or buffalo steak
1/2 teaspoon salad oil
Freshly ground cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon butter (optional)

Slit the chilies to remove the seeds and chop 2 into a fine dice and mix with the salt, garlic, and oregano. (New Mexicans traditionally like to leave a few of the seeds in the dish. The seeds give it life, they say.) With a very sharp knife, cut a horizontal pocket into the steak. Stuff the chopped chilies into the pocket. Brush the meat and the remaining chili with salad oil. Grill the steak on both sides to the desired doneness. If using buffalo, watch carefully so as not to overcook! Because it contains less fat than chicken, bison cooks much faster then beef and is best medium rare.

Salt and pepper the meat. Grill the remaining whole roasted chili to get a nice patterning of grid burn on it. Lay it across the steak as a garnish. A teaspoon of brown butter on the steak as a special treat is heaven. To make brown butter, simply place the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and allow it to melt and turn golden brown.

The West was built in good part by Chinese and Japanese immigrants who supplied both hands and brains to build railroads and cities, ranches and farms. Also, some of the first trappers who had been brought to our northwest coast by John Jacob Astor were Hawaiians. It is not surprising, therefore, that teriyaki came to the West early on.

The Fort serves well over one thousand of these quail a week. They start with partially deboned birds so that the little rib cage has been removed. The legs, thighs, and wings are still attached, and with the large breast, quail makes a delicious dish when two or three birds are served.

1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Mirin rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or smashed
2 whole anise (found in Asian section of most groceries or
in bulk at natural food stores; optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped orange peel
1 cup orange juice
1 cup water
8 individual 21/2 - to 31/2-ounce partially deboned quail
4 orange slices for garnish

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool. Place the quail in a single layer in a pan, pour the marinade over, and let the quail marinade for 2-4 hours. Beware of leaving the birds in for more than 8 hours because they will become unpalatably salty. When ready to cook the quail, heat the grill to medium or preheat the broiler. Cook the quail for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Garnish with a twisted orange slice.