zxcvbob wrote:
>
> Going to make a pot of gumbo this weekend with leftover turkey and
> turkey stock from Thanksgiving, plus tomatoes and okra from the freezer.
> The recipe calls for onions, celery, and bell peppers, which is a
> "trinity" in Cajun and Creole cooking. Jalapeños were on sale cheaper
> than bell peppers so I bought a pound of those. Storebought jalapeños
> are kind of a craps-shoot whether they'll be hot or not. So I'm
> planning to chop them (most of the seeds removed) and sauté them with
> the onions and celery. Later I'll adjust the amount of cayenne in the
> recipe to get the heat level right.
>
> Does this sound reasonable? Or will it taste all wrong? I think any
> subtle flavor difference will be covered up by all the garlic, thyme,
> and black pepper (etc)

When substituting for bell peppers (one of my few strong dislikes) I
prefer to use other non-hot peppers that I don't dislike. Cubanelles or
sweet paprika peppers when I can find them. Or peppers that have a type
of hot that I don't detect so I'm immune to. Hot paprika peppers.

If all I've got is the hot ones I'll go for the milder among the hot
ones. Banana peppers range widely in heat but are usually milder than
jalepenos. Pascilla chilles are mild to the point I can't detect their
heat but my wife can.

Using jalepenos should work but you'll likely need to leave out more
than 200% of the cayenne. As you can't leave out more than 100% of an
ingredient expect the result to be quite hot. Also jalenpos and
pascilla chilles have distinctive flavors of their own that will bias
the result. It will be good but not the same as the original recipe.