Mexican Melee
You could hear the sizzling hot fajita platter before the waitress cleared the swinging kitchen door. Growing louder, she approaches our table with our mixed medley of beef, chicken and shrimp fajitas with heavily seasoned onions, peppers, and habaneros, by request, sputtering in its own juices from the hot cast iron plate it’s served on.
Before the waitress can utter, “Careful, it’s hot,” my buddy Norm casually reaches for the spitting plate, setting it on the table without flinching a muscle. Both the waitress and I stare at each other from my buddy’s display of painlessly handling the piping hot mixed grill, wondering, “How’d he do that?”
Grabbing a warm tortilla with his thick fingers and oversized hands, he tenderly unfolds it and casually says, “Dig in,” passing the basket. After a few bites, I break the silence, asking the obvious, “How d’you grab that plate without burning yourself?”
Norm laughs, saying, “Ever since I started casting bullets with those Lee six-cavity molds, my tolerance for heat has increased. I got some after using their two-cavity molds for years. Picked them up used for a bargain. Figured I might as well upgrade to speed up production.”
