Chiles Rellenos

In my opinion chile rellenos exemplify New Mexican cuisine. In fact, if they had pork in them, they would contain New Mexico’s four favorite ingredients—the other three being chile, cheese, and cilantro. Perhaps I should start experimenting with a bacon chile relleno…

This recipe was adapted from one taught to me by the amazing Chef Michelle Roetzer at Santa Fe Community College. She teaches classes for tourists and does food tours at the Santa Fe School of Cooking, which I highly recommend, for anyone who visits the Land of Enchantment.

Chiles Rellenos

4 New Mexico green chiles (Anaheim or poblano chiles will work as well)

4 oz jack cheese, grated

2  scallions, chopped

½ bunch cilantro, chopped

½ cup flour

3 eggs

¼ cup 7-up or Sprite

Cayenne

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

Roast chiles and place in sealed ziplock bag until cool. Peel carefully and use a paring knife to cut a one-inch slice toward the top of the chile. Gently remove the seeds and set chiles aside.

Combine the grated cheese, scallions, cilantro and a pinch of cayenne, salt, and pepper. Form into marble sized cheese balls.

Carefully place 3 cheese balls in each of the chiles without overfilling them or causing rips. Set stuffed chiles in the freezer until ready to batter.

Make a seasoned flour with ¼ of the flour and pinches of salt, pepper, cayenne,  and garlic powder.

Separate the egg whites and yolks into two bowls. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Add 7-up and remaining ¼ cup of flour to egg yolks and mix well.

Heat 1 inch of oil in pan. Lightly coat stuffed chiles in seasoned flour and then dip in batter before frying. Fry with the slit up and spoon oil over the top of the chile before flipping. Repeat with remaining chiles and place on paper towels to remove grease. Serve with arroz verde and enjoy!

Chile, Chile, Chile!

Growing up in New Mexico meant that I had an endless supply of green chile and ate it with almost anything. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest I have had to somewhat change my New Mexican diet. I have been hoarding chile like treasure and I currently have two jars and one pound of frozen taking up space. Despite this stockpile I have really been missing the late summer smell of freshly roasted green chiles. Luckily Whole Foods flew in to my rescue! Not only are they currently selling fresh Hatch green chile, but they are roasting it in their parking lot. I am now the lucky possessor of fresh chile and some extra hot roasted for freezing. Tomorrow I will making a batch of chile rellenos and will share the recipe, but for tonight, here is a list of my top 5 green chile dishes. Thanks to my bountiful harvest, I will be able to do recipe based posts on each of these meals in the next few weeks.

Chile Rellenos

Green Chile Bacon Cheeseburgers

Green Chile Stew

Bacon Chile Breakfast Burrito

Green chile tempura

Birthday Pie??

I have to be completely honest and say that I am not a huge fan of cake. It is delicious, but only when you have the perfect piece from the corner with the frosted pink rose. There are always the "best" pieces and then there are the pieces that get lost in the cracks. In fact, unless it is a chocolate hazelnut mousse cake from Chocolate Maven in Santa Fe, I could do without it completely.

And so in lieu of a real post today, I will simply say that it is my birthday. It is my birthday and I had pie. Delicious, fresh, strawberry rhubarb pie! With the rhubarb fresh from the garden and the strawberries summer-sweet. Pie is an equalizer. Every piece is amazing and there are no frosting roses to argue over. Can anyone think of something better than a slightly warm slice of pie with homemade melty vanilla ice cream on top? I think not. Happy birthday to me!

Improvisational Traditions

 

Every family has certain things that they cook and enjoy for holidays, birthdays, and specific days of the week. My family always had Friday popcorn nights, Christmas green chile stew, and annual mac and cheese. When I first started high school, my Dad and I would spend the week at a house close to the school while my mom worked on the farm an hour away. It was a new experience for all of us and it forced my Dad to expand his culinary horizons and Cook for the Teenager. One of my favorite weekly Dad meals was canned corned beef hash with an egg and ketchup. Best. Dinner. Ever. Sadly, I am now jaded enough to pay attention to the nutritional value on the cans. In other words, eating corned beef hash weekly is no longer on option. But on this fine day, I am going to embrace my wacky Irish family traditions and improvise corned beef and cabbage!

Unfortunately I almost forgot it was St. Patrick’s Day and by the time I remembered, all the stores were out of uncooked corned beef. But I did not let that stop me.  One quick stop at a deli and I have ¾ lb of sliced corned beef. Step two was making the spice mix to cook the cabbage, corn, and potatoes. Hopefully bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seed, whole cloves, garlic, and coriander seed will do the trick.  Step three: warming the corned beef without overcooking it. I believe that thirty seconds in with the potatoes and cabbage should do the trick.

It might not taste exactly like St. Patrick’s Day dinner with the family, but my corned beef and cabbage turned out nicely. Sometimes traditions change. People move, families spread apart, and new life experiences take hold. Today I may not be having a "normal" holiday meal, but I am wearing green, eating my corned beef and drinking a Guinness. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

 

Popping Back in Time

In my family we take popcorn to a new level. Microwave popcorn is considered a sin and movie popcorn always needs vast improvements. Some of my best memories involve homemade popcorn and I still count it as one of my favorite foods. Growing up, my Dad’s two cooking specialties were popcorn and waffles. Since then he has branched out in an amazing way, but to me he will always be the chef of Friday night movies and Sunday brunch. I started out as my Dad’s assistant at a very young age and by the time I was ten, he thought I was ready to learn the family’s secret recipe.  Even now I have friends who remember how amazing this popcorn was and I am here to share it with the world.

Dad’s 100% Best Popcorn*

Ingredients:

½ cup canola oil (optionally can be half chili oil)

2 cups popcorn

¼ cup melted butter

nutritional yeast

soy sauce

garlic powder/cajun seasoning
grated Parmesan cheese

Equipment:

12-quart stockpot (thick bottom)

large paper grocery bag

·      Add canola oil to stockpot with five popcorn kernels; cook on high heat

·      When five kernels have popped, add remaining amount to pot

·      Move continuously, shaking pot occasionally, until there is more than a two second interval between pops

·      Pour popcorn into paper grocery bag

·      Drizzle one third of the butter over popcorn. Drizzle soy sauce. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese. Shake bag vigorously.

·      Repeat three times or until desired taste and texture is achieved

 *Keep in mind that 50% of the recipe is based on personal taste and is worth experimenting with.