From the Whole Chile Pepper Book.

If a prepared recipe is too blistering, here are some ways to cool it down:

- Reduce the amount of chile in the recipe to begin with. More heat can always be added later.

- Remove the seeds and membranes from the chile pods before adding them to the recipe.

- Increase the amount of tomato products (if any) used in the recipe, such as tomato sauce, puree, or whole tomatoes.

- In appropriate recipes, such as enchiladas, add a side of sour cream or yogurt.

- If using canned chiles, rinse them well to remove the canning liquid.

- If making a sauce calling for green chiles, add pureed green Bell peppers to dilute the heat.

- When buying crushed red chile, avoid products with yellow flakes, which indicates the presence of seeds and pepper membranes.