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Trustworthy saying

Adrian Hedden
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Trustworthy saying

Ty Houghtaling

Five times in the New Testament, the phrase “here is a trustworthy saying” appears. For example, 1 Timothy 1:15 states, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” This raises an important question: Is it the trustworthy saying that Paul considers himself the worst of sinners, or is it that Jesus came to save sinners? It seems to be both. Paul’s humility highlights the reality of our own sin nature and our need for a savior, encouraging us to reflect on our personal need for grace.

In 1 Timothy 3:1, we read, “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.” This expression emphasizes the significance of the role of overseer (or pastor) in the local church. The health of a church and its community depends greatly on spiritual leadership, making the office both vital and noble. However, this responsibility is not to be taken lightly or entrusted to just anyone. While we may know pastors who have made mistakes, it’s helpful to remember the perspective from 1 Timothy 1:15 before being overly critical, recognizing that everyone is in need of grace.

1 Timothy 4:8-9 says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.” While athletes and health coaches demonstrate dedication and discipline, the pursuit of godliness is of even greater worth. Its impact reaches beyond physical well-being, offering benefits for both this life and eternity.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 presents a longer passage that deserves careful reading. In summary, these verses affirm the faithfulness and sufficiency of Jesus, assuring us that He is everything we could hope for.

The final occurrence, Titus 3:8, is best understood in the context of the preceding seven verses, which offer straightforward teaching that demands our full attention. The five times the Apostle Paul uses the phrase “trustworthy saying” serve as reminders of essential truths throughout scripture. These truths help guide us through the challenges we encounter daily.

Man dies in custody at detention center

Adrian Hedden
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Man dies in custody at detention center

Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press

A 29-year-old Carlsbad man was found dead at the Eddy County Detention Center on the morning of Oct. 9, hours after he was incarcerated and after jail staff said the man had a “medical emergency.”

Joel Barrett was arrested and brought to the Carlsbad jail at about 11:50 p.m. Oct. 8, according to Warden Billy Massingill, who said Barrett was in a general area awaiting processing when the “incident” began about 3 a.m.

Massingill declined to speculate on what caused the incident.

Medical personnel at the jail responded according to protocol and attempted to render aid, Massingill said. Barrett was declared dead by the Office of the Medical Investigator at about 5:30 a.m.

“The jail staff clearly rendered aid and did what they were supposed to do. We won’t know what caused it until we get the final report,” Massingill said. “We don’t want anybody dying.”

Massingill said the medical investigator was conducting an autopsy but had yet to determine the cause of Barrett’s death.

The warden said Barrett was put on a 15-minute watch when he entered the jail, meaning staff checked his condition every 15 minutes because he was “acting erratically.”

Inmates are normally checked every hour but checks can be made at 30-minute intervals or more frequently, Massingill said, depending on their behavior.

“We pulled him off the bench area and increased watch on him,” Massingill said. “Something happened between those checks.”

Barrett was originally pulled over by an officer with the Carlsbad Police Department while riding a bicycle because he did not have proper lighting and was subsequently arrested for an outstanding municipal court warrant, Massingill said.

Barrett allegedly resisted the officer, got into a physical altercation and was additionally charged with assaulting an officer.

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

Vote now for Athlete of the Week

Adrian Hedden
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Vote now for Athlete of the Week

JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press

jtkeith@elritomedia.com

The Artesia Daily Press is letting you decide on the best local sports star each week. Go to ArtesiaDailyPress.com and cast your ballot. You can access the polling using the QR code.

This week’s nominees are for the girls: Aubrey Allison, cross country runner. She has continued to improve as the season has gone along according to her coach Nicholas Rivera. Girls’ soccer player, Aubrey Edwards, she has eight shoutouts on the season and has helped her team to a 15-3 record. Volleyball player Ashton Craft has helped her team to a 14-3 record and No.1 in District 4-4A.

Boys

Soccer player Cutter Summers helped led the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory over Lovington on Thursday. The team is 15-2 on the season and in first place in District 4-4A with a 4-0 record.

Cross country runner Cameron Devenport ran in the Artesia Twilight race on Friday. “He continues to get better as the season goes along,” Artesia cross country coach Nicholas Rivera said.

Results will be released in the Oct. 23 print edition and online.

Jt Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X@JTKEITH1.

Eddy County nonprofits honored at Altrusa luncheon in Artesia

Adrian Hedden
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Eddy County nonprofits honored at Altrusa luncheon in Artesia

Photos and words by Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press

Rhonda Jones moved to Carlsbad six years ago from Dallas to be closer to her family.

Her husband Allison Haskel Jones passed away in 2010 at the age of 54 of heart disease, and by 2019 Jones wanted to get out of the big city and into a town she remembered visiting as young as age 3.

What she said she found was a welcoming community, and several opportunities to give back.

Jones, 73, quickly joined local charities such as the Assistance League and Lions Club, and today works as a campaign and special events coordinator with United Way of Eddy County. She also serves as a Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.

Jones was honored for her work in the community as the keynote speaker at the Make a Difference Day luncheon held by Altrusa International’s Artesia chapter on Saturday, Oct. 25 at the First Christian Church Fellowship Hall in Artesia .

She pointed to multiple collaborations between charities in both Carlsbad and Artesia, touting the United Way’s recent Day of Caring event that saw volunteers assist nonprofits with 19 projects throughout Carlsbad, Artesia and Loving.

“We partner with so many nonprofits,” Jones said. “That’s what I love about Eddy County, we all work together.”

This year was the 4th annual luncheon, where multiple nonprofit groups throughout Eddy County awarded “outstanding members.”

Altrusa President Alison Stearrett said the event was intended to give honor to those who work behind the scenes to support and uplift their community.

“Sometimes these groups and their members are unsung heroes in the community,” she said. “Part of our mission is to honor unsung heroes.”

Explosion at refinery in Artesia injures 3

Adrian Hedden
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Explosion at refinery in Artesia injures 3

Staff reports

Editor’s note: This story will be updated as more information is available.

An explosion at the oil refinery in Artesia led to three injuries as the incident was reported at about 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 31 and police ordered nearby residents to shelter indoors and avoid the area.

The Artesia Police Department was responding to the incident at the refinery owned by HF Sinclair-Navajo at 501. E. Main St., according to a department news release.

Artesia police Cmdr. Pete Quinones said injuries were reported, but no casualties as of about 2 p.m.

HF-Sinclair reported on the day of the incident that three were treated for injuries. The company did not divulge the names of the people or specify if they were workers at the plant or the extent their injuries

Police were called to the scene at 11:19 a.m., blocking roads going in and out of the refinery, part of which abuts U.S. Highway 285 heading north-south through town. An hour after police arrived, Quinones said the fires were out, and roads were reopened.

The company was continuing to monitor air quality impacts in the area from the blast and subsequent fire.

By 1 p.m., Artesia police said the explosion was extinguished by emergency responders and roads were reopened. All emergency staff cleared the area.

The Eddy County Office of Emergency Management said at about noon, Friday that an air ambulance was sent to the facility, asking people to avoid the area 1st and Main streets as well as U.S. Highway 82 and Bolton Road where a landing zone was prepared.

Police warned of “thick smoke” emanating from the refinery and drifting over the city, which could pose a danger to people nearby, the release read.

Air quality continued to be monitored after the scene was cleared.

“We are urging all citizens to stay clear of the refinery area and avoid any locations affected by the smoke,” read the initial release. “Please shelter indoors if you are in the path of the smoke and keep windows and doors closed.”

Katherine Tesillo was working at the front desk as assistant manager of the Spark by Hilton hotel at the time of the incident, across the street from the refinery.

She said she didn’t hear the blast but immediately noticed heavy smoke spreading into the area. The hotel remained in operation throughout the incident, Tesillo said.

“(I) saw smoke but did not see the actual explosion,” she said. “I heard sirens going off and I knew something was going on.”

In the wake of the explosion the New Mexico Environment Department said it was monitoring air quality in the Artesia area, aiming to address any hazards to local residents who could breathe in the resulting fumes.

The agency advised locals to follow guidance from emegency personnel, stay indoors and keeping windows closed to avoid air pollutants from flowing into homes.

“We’re working closely with local and state partners to see how this fire might affect air quality,” said Cindy Hollenberg, Air Quality Bureau chief. “State teams are on the way to Artesia to take a closer look and help support the response. Keeping the community safe and informed is our top priority.”

The refinery processes crude oil produced in southeast New Mexico’s Permian Basin oilfields, with a capacity of about 100,000 barrels per day, according to HF-Sinclair’s website.

Dream season continues for Artesia boys soccer team

JT Keith
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Dream season continues for Artesia boys soccer team

Sometimes in real life, things turn out like they did on Saturday the Class 4A state boys soccer playoffs at Robert Chase Field. The Artesia Bulldogs were on fumes- cramping, exhausted, and short a player on the field- and still managed to upset the No.5 -seeded Los Alamos Hilltoppers 2-1 in the state quarterfinals.

“Their goalkeeper Kenny Linn is top-notch and phenomenal,” Bulldogs coach Phillip Jowers said. “He is going to play at Colorado Mesa, but the whole Los Alamos team is good. They are a good group of boys whom I always enjoy playing with. I felt really confident in this game, knowing Los Alamos had to come here. It has been eight-to-10 years since Los Alamos has played here. The fans that showed up for us were phenomenal, and that gave our boys an extra bit.”

Red card leads to victory

The victory is the first time in school history that the Bulldogs soccer program has played in the state soccer semifinal game in its 28-year history. The best player on the field for either teams was German foreign-exchange student Anton Wodarz for Artesia, but the most valuable player on the team was sophomore Couper Foster. He had the presence of mind to tackle a Los Alamos player, who, if he had made it past him, would have been one-on-one with the goalie Ryker Hays. 

The Los Alamos player could have made the shot to end the Bulldogs’ season with less than two minutes to play in the game. With the tackle, Foster sacrificed his season with a red card to extend the match a little further, including to overtimes.

With the red card, Foster was ejected from the match and must miss the semifinal match against St. Pius X at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Without Foster’s sacrifice, the Bulldogs might not be going anywhere but class on that day.

“I knew the second after he (Foster) made that foul it was going to be a red card,” Jowers said. “Nobody wants to get a red (card); they call that denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. It was the right call, and the referee had it right.  I don’t want to condone red cards because I don’t think anybody wants your team to get one, but if he (Foster) hadn’t fouled him, we would have gone down 2-0. He (Foster) decided to roll the dice, it happened, and we responded well and came back and got that equalizing goal with 20 minutes in.”

Another key factor in the Bulldogs’ victory was the entire coaching staff of Zane Brooks, Billie Delgado, and John Baca. All of them could be seen encouraging the players through their physical fatigue, with the coaches picking players up off the field and talking to them. Encouraging them not to give up and to keep fighting, while remaining positive, especially when the game was tight. 

As Artesia was short a man after Foster’s red card, Jowers said to his team, “We don’t lose at home; they (Los Alamos) are spent. Continue to press and pressure them, they (Hilltoppers) are not used to heat.”

As a result, the longer the game went, the stronger and more aggressive the Bulldogs became.

“I don’t know that I talked to a lot of people when we were a man down,” Jowers said. “My mind was trying to figure out how to make it work with the personnel because a lot of the boys were cramping. I have a great coaching staff, and I could not do it without them. I think that is why we have so much success, because we have a great staff.

Artesia’s Moises Corza scores the game tying goal at The Robert Chase Field on Saturday.

The game was hard-fought and scoreless in the first half, but with 6:29 in the second half, Los Alamos scored the game’s first goal. For the next 13 minutes, the Hilltoppers were playing aggressively on the Bulldogs’ side of the field. With Wodarz out, the team looked to Moises Corza, who at the 20:15 mark in the second half scored a cross-goal to tie the game. After the goal, Artesia’s momentum changed, and they started playing with the belief that they could win. 

“Once we scored the goal, it gave us extra energy,” Jowers said. “It was a hard-fought game. This is one of those games where you blow a team out and win- kind of crush them. Those are great, but these are the wins. I feel like this game will be remembered forever, mainly because the boys got stuck in with a man down.”

Win in overtime

With 2:28 left in the second overtime, Wodarz was able to beat a Los Alamos defender and went to the right side of the goal, where he faced Los Alamos Kenny Linn. Before Linn could move, Wodarz got the shot off that went just past Linn’s outstretched arms to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory.

“I received a great assist from (Jayden) Soto,” Wodarz said. “I said, ‘I shoot now or I shoot never.’ The game was physical. It is part of a good game when it gets physical. It is better to get a red card than to give up a goal. I think when you really want something, you can get it, and you never give up. Our team never gives up. I am happy to play again, and we are so successful. I am really happy for the seniors, especially. I am happy to make the (Artesia) dream come true. When I shot the ball, I was thinking of my little brother, whose name I have written on my shoe, Johann Wodarz.”

Rematch

The Bulldogs now must travel to Albuquerque for a 2 p.m. start against St. Pius X on Nov.5. It is a rematch of the teams that met 17 days ago, when the Sartans defeated the Bulldogs 5-0.

Sights from Artesia boys’ soccer historic quarterfinals win over Los Alamos on Saturday

JT Keith
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Sights from Artesia boys’ soccer historic quarterfinals win over Los Alamos on Saturday
Artesia’s Anton Wodarz makes a move on Los Alamos goalie in double overtime. Artesia would win the game 2-1 at Robert Chase Field on Saturday. JT Keith | Artesia Daily Press
Anton Wodarz scores the winning goal with 2:28 left in double overtime to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory.
Los Alamos’ goalie can only watch the ball go into the net for a victory on Saturday.
Artesia’s Damian Lopez ponders his next move against a Los Alamos opponent on Saturday.
The team gathers together after the first overtime.
Artesia’s Damian Lopez prays before the start of the second overtime.
Jackson Hollinger and Cutter Summers talk with teammates between overtimes.
Artesia’s Alexis Montanez looks ahead during the rest period of the Los Alamos game at The Chase on Saturday.
Artesia’s Damian Lopez takes a shot in the second period of the Los Alamos game.
Artesia’s Anton Wodarz sets up his man to make a move during Saturdays game against Los Alamos.
Anton Wodarz tries to escape a double team from Los Alamos on Saturday at The Chase.
Artesia’s Adan Rojas takes a shot on goal during Saturday’s game against Los Alamos.
Joshua Vazquez
Adan Rojas takes a kick with seconds left in the game against Los Alamos at The Chase on Saturday.
Artesia’s Jackson Hollinger makes a pass to a teammate against Los Alamos on Saturday.
Moises Corza scores a goal against Los Alamos to tie the game 1-1 during tournament action on Saturday.
Moises Corza is mobbed by teammates after his kick tied the game at 1-1 at 20:15 in the second quarter.
Artesia’s Alexis Montanez makes a move against a Los Alamos defender during tournament action.
Anton Wodarz makes a move against Los Alamos.
Artesia’s Jayden Soto advances the ball up the field against Los Alamos on Saturday.
Artesia assistant soccer coach Zane Brooks encourages Jorge Martinez after the first overtime.
The team gathers together one more time to before the second overtime against Los Alamos.
Artesia’s Cutter Summers shield a Los Alamos defender from the ball during game action on Saturday.
Artesia’s Alexis Montanez shows kindness to a Hilltop player, who was cramping in overtime during tournament action.
The Artesia coaches and players go ballistic after Anton Wodarz makes the game winning kick at 6:32 of the second overtime.
The team celebrates its victory over Los Alamos on Saturday to advance to the semifinals against St. Pius X on Wednesday.
The team celebrates its victory over Los Alamos on Saturday.
Team picture on Saturday.
Team picture on with the scoreboard indicating that Anton Wodarz made the winning goal at 6:32 seconds and the 6-0 is the undefeated season in District 4-4A.
The seniors with coach Jowers on Saturday.

Around Town

Michael Smith
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Around Town

Come Shred With Us

Artesia Clean and Beautiful will be hosting a Shred Day on Nov 14th from 9am to 2pm in the south parking lot of the Artesia Public Library.   This is in honor of America Recycles Day.  CARC Document Destruction will be there to accept any documents that you would like to have destroyed. You can also bring your magazines, newspapers and junk mail for recycling. For questions, call 515-748-3192 or 575-513-0143.

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President Trump’s Prayer Initiative:

President Trump has asked that the American People come together and pray for our Nation weekly until July 4th, 2026.

Artesia will be holding its prayer gathering every Thursday at Lucky Duck Restaurant, 2209 W. Main St, Artesia NM at 10-11am.

Come and go during the hour. Everyone is welcome Come join and pray for our Nation.

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26th St Construction

Phase III will begin around Oct. 13, 2025. Traffic will be closed in both directions from W. Washington Ave. to just North of W. Mann Ave. Phase II will take approximately 5 months.  For more info contact Tod 575-626-6013 or Scott 575-626-5042.

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Registered Voters

The Local Election is Tuesday, Nov 4th, 2025. Key dates are: October 7th: Early Voting begins at County Clerk’s Office October 21st: Last day to request a mail-in (absentee) ballot at NMVOTE.ORG Same Day Registration is available at Early Voting locations

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Toddler Move & Play

October   30 @ 10:30 am at Artesia Public Library. For toddlers ages 1-3 and their families. Music, creative movement, group activities, play with age-appropriate toys, and social time.

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STEM/STEAM After School

October 30 @ 4:00pm at Artesia Public Library. For students in grades K-6th and their families. Each week we offer a different fun activity to put STEAM techniques and ideas to work, from LEGO building to paper circuits, slime lab, and more.

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Tennis Lessons

The City Recreation offers free tennis lessons for grade 3rd-8th. Classes meet between 3:45-5:30 pm at Jaycee Park. For more information call Tim Palmer at 772-480-1876 or email tpalmer@socket.net

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Artesia Quarterback Club

Will meet each Tuesday night at 6:30 pm at the Field House. All men are welcome to come support out football program.

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GUIDED MEDITATIONS

Are held during the summer at First Christian Church at 11th and Bullock on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. It is free and all are welcome.

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PHLEBOTOMIST PROGRAM

Applications are now open for Artesia General Hospital’s certified phlebotomist program. To learn how to apply and for more information on this career opportunity, call 575-736-8178 or email foundation@artesiageneral.com.

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GRIEF SUPPORT

A Grief Group meets at 1:30 p.m. each Tuesday in the Saint Damien Center at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 1111 N. Roselawn Ave. Free support is offered in both English and Spanish. For more information, contact Nora at 575-308-3248.

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P.A.L.S.

People about losing safely meets at 9 a.m. Wednesdays at the Senior Center. For more information, call the Center at 575-746-4113.

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ALZHEIMER’S/DEMENTIA SUPPORT GROUP

Every other Tuesday  from 6:30pm-7:30pm at Artesia Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center -1402 Gilchrist Ave. RSVP to Helen at 575-746-6006.

Who are the real kings?

Michael Smith
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Who are the real kings?

Victor Davis Hanson

So-called King, Donald Trump, ran in two contested Republican primaries.

He ran three times in a general election.

He was elected twice, and his party recently won a Republican Congress.

In contrast, in 2020, former President Joe Biden did not run a typical campaign.

He avoided the public, staying ensconced in his basement. He outsourced his campaign to Democratic politicos, donors, and a sycophantic media.

No red state ever sought to remove Biden or former Vice President Kamala Harris from their 2024 ballots. In contrast, 25 blue states attempted to take Trump off their ballots.

In 2021, Biden’s DOJ and FBI raided then-former-President Trump’s home. They found only 102 classified documents among some 14,000 seized, but nevertheless indicted him.

There was no such SWAT raid on Biden’s multiple repositories of illegally removed classified documents.

All were in less secure places than at Mar-a-Lago. Biden removed them over the course of three decades with impunity. At the time, unlike Trump, he had no presidential prerogatives to declassify them.

Special counsel Robert Hur found Biden culpable for the removal of these files but declined to prosecute, claiming that he was too enfeebled to stand trial.

In 2024, the same backroom donors and politicos who had conspired to ensure Biden was the 2020 nominee now, against his wishes, in coup-like fashion, removed him from his own reelection ticket.

Within 48 hours and without a delegate vote, they crowned Harris as the presumed nominee. Queen Harris had not received a single delegate vote in her disastrous 2020 primary run.

Trump, in 2020, did not sic his Department of Justice on his rival, Biden.

Nor during his presidency did his Department of Justice indict any past or future political opponent or ex-president.

In contrast, Kingly Biden’s White House helped coordinate 91 indictments of his past and future presidential rival, ex-president Trump.

A mere three days after Trump announced his reelection bid on November 15, 2022, Jack Smith was coincidentally appointed special prosecutor of Trump.

That same day, strangely, Nathan Wade, the Georgia county prosecutor prosecuting Trump, met with Biden’s White House counsel.

On the same day, Matthew Colangelo, the former lead prosecutor in Letitia James’s case against Trump, abruptly left his DOJ post. He would soon go on to lead Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of Trump.

In the 2020 election, Joe Biden’s surrogates rounded up 51 “intelligence authorities” to lie that Hunter Biden’s authentic and incriminating laptop — then verified but suppressed by the FBI — was the work of the Russians.

The Biden-era FBI also joined Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to help smother any media story that might have verified the authenticity of the laptop.

The left portrays Trump’s constitutional right to pardon as the act of a king.

In his nearly five years of governance, Trump has pardoned roughly 1,700, including about 1,500 en masse for those convicted for the January 6 protests.

That number so far is about 200 fewer pardons than during the Obama administration.

Biden, in a mere four years in office, pardoned roughly 4,245 people — the vast majority through autopen signatures and without the full knowledge of Biden himself.

Under the Obama and Biden administrations, admitted left-wing government lawbreakers and White House allies were never prosecuted for felonious behavior.

CIA head John Brennan admitted to lying twice to Congress.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confessed to lying under oath to Congress as well.

FBI Director James Comey claimed ignorance or amnesia 245 times while under oath to a House oversight committee.

Interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe lied four times, often while under oath to government investigators.

A federal judge in 2020 admonished John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Advisor and vehement critic, that he had endangered national security by removing sensitive documents to write an anti-Trump campaign-cycle memoir.

He also warned Bolton that he could be subject to civil and criminal penalties.

Not one of these political grandees was ever indicted by either the Obama or Biden DOJ.

Trump’s White House advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were arrested in public for ignoring a congressional subpoena, convicted, and imprisoned.

In contrast, top Democrat officials like former attorneys general Eric Holder and Merrick Garland both ignored congressional subpoenas and faced no such indictments.

Monarchs might order assassinations of U.S. citizens abroad and surveil the phone records of Associated Press reporters.

Obama did both during his tenure.

Do kings monitor the phone records of their senatorial opponents?

Biden’s special counsel, Jack Smith, did just that.

Why then do the Democrats’ “No Kings” protests claim that Trump is a monarch?

Answer: Through open and fair elections, the left lost most of its former political power in Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court.

Now in their fury and impotence, Democrats hit the streets — projecting onto their hated nemesis, Trump, their own past preferences for kingly methods.

(Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of “The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won,” from Basic Books. You can reach him by e-mailing authorvdh@gmail.com.)

Southwest-inspired desserts to finish any feast

Michael Smith
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Southwest-inspired desserts to finish any feast

Bruce Lesman

These three Southwest-inspired desserts blend traditional elegance with regional flair. Designed for 4 to 6 servings, each creation adds a touch of warmth, spice, and color — the perfect finale to any feast, whether rich with roasted meats or light with seafood and vegetables.

Mexican Chocolate Crème Brûlée

Rich, silky custard infused with cinnamon and a hint of cayenne pepper, topped with a crackling caramelized sugar crust.

**Serves:** 4–6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 4 oz Mexican chocolate, chopped

• 5 egg yolks

• ⅓ cup sugar

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• Pinch cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ¼ cup sugar for topping

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. In a saucepan, heat cream and chocolate until melted. Stir in cinnamon and cayenne.

2. Whisk yolks, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add warm chocolate mixture.

3. Pour into ramekins. Place in a water bath and bake for 35–40 minutes until set.

4. Chill, then sprinkle sugar and caramelize with a torch before serving.

Warm Ancho Chocolate Lava Cake

Decadent molten cake with a subtle ancho chile and espresso note, topped with vanilla ice cream.

**Serves:** 4–6

Ingredients:

• 6 oz dark chocolate

• ½ cup butter

• ¾ cup sugar

• 3 eggs + 3 yolks

• ½ cup flour

• 1 tsp instant espresso

• ½ tsp ancho chile powder

• Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease ramekins and dust with cocoa.

2. Melt butter and chocolate together. Stir in sugar, eggs, flour, espresso, and chile.

3. Pour into ramekins and bake 12–14 minutes until edges are firm and center is soft.

4. Invert onto plates and top with ice cream.

Lemon-Lime Panna Cotta with Prickly Pear Compote

Light, creamy citrus panna cotta balanced by the vivid sweetness of prickly pear purée and fresh berries.

**Serves:** 4–6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream

• ½ cup sugar

• Zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime

• 1 packet unflavored gelatin

• 2 tbsp cold water

• 1 cup prickly pear purée

• Fresh berries for garnish

Preparation:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water to bloom. Heat cream, sugar, and zest until steaming.

2. Stir in gelatin until dissolved, pour into ramekins, and chill 4 hours.

3. Top with prickly pear purée and garnish with berries before serving.

Bruce Lesman, Bachelors of Science, Hotel, Food & Travel, Associate Degree, Culinary Arts. Past positions include Corporate Food and Beverage Director, Cunard and Seabourn Cruise Lines, and Vice President, Canyon Ranch Wellness Resorts, Tucson and Lenox.

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