Brownie Heaven

These are the brownies I've been baking at the cafè lately - dense raspberry brownies with salted pecans and a topping of ganache. Man are the good! If anyone wants the recipe, let me know.

Last seconds before the big dinner!

I'll be posting many pics from the Hatch Chile Fest dinner tomorrow, but for today, here's a picture of my counter right before I headed off to the venue:

Jambalaya

Here's a recent fast dinner that I made - Jambalaya with fried plantains.

1 Med. Onion
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Celery Stalks
1 Chicken Breast
1 lb Andouille
28 oz Canned Tomatoes
1 C. White Wine
Cajun Seasoning (I prefer Tony Chaceres), Salt, Pepper to taste
1 C. Rice

Cube the chicken and cook in oil in the bottom of a dutch oven or everyday pan. Just before the chicken is cooked through, add the sliced andouille and cook until its smelling yummy. Next, dice the veggies and saute in a bit of olive oil until soft. Add the canned tomatoes (chop them if they weren't already chopped), add the juice from the can of tomatoes, 1 C. broth or water and the wine (should be about 3 C. liquid). Bring it to a simmer and add the rice. Stir in the seasoning and cover, turn to low until the rice is cooked.

Emeril would scoff at this version, but my dear Auntie Young would be proud!

Also, with the big dinner coming up on Saturday, I'm swamped with testings, so I may not get to post much until next week. Today I started gelatin clarifying my chile juice and making chile nori. I'll post results as I'm able. Wish me luck!

More samples

Look at these fun things! A couple who lives half the time in Mexico, stopped by with salt grinders for us to check out. Great packaging, but we'll have to see how much they'll cost. The salt and garlic grinder was good but didn't grind aggressively enough. I'd like to see them in our store.

One of the greatest days of the year!

May I share my romantic feelings for a moment?

Today was the day that I welcomed a new friend to my kitchen. He is a friend that I invite each year, but only comes for one day. He releases his musk, which wafts through my nose, sending quivers of orgasmic ecstasy throughout my limbs. If I could wrap my arms around his scent, I would squeeze so hard that he could never leave. But, alas, he always does. After a few short hours all that remains are memories of his existence, and maybe an instant recall following a bite of his slimy green flesh. Yes, my friends, today is the day I roasted my chiles!

For those of you who haven't met my friend, I'll do my best to introduce you. This time of year, green chile trucks are all over our highways and side roads. Behind them lay a crumb trail of green curled peppers. My first experience with the real deal (not the canned Ortega crap) was in a little tiny town called La Garita, where after a day of rock climbing with Tory, I would get a green chile cheeseburger. This truly is food of the gods.

Nowadays I have green chile year round, at pretty much any restaurant I go to. And I use green chile daily in the cafe for a couple of our menu items. So today's reuniting with my friend was as much about love as money (I'll spend pennies on the dollar using these chiles). Here is how its done.

You start by going to pretty much any grocery in the area and pay about $17 per bushel with a $2.50 roasting fee. Bring your own trashbags and/or pillow case. Here's my friend waiting for his ride:

Here's the tour guide loading my friend on:

(brief romantic pause) There's something about watching the chile roaster. The little green fellas go round and round, every now and then one or two hang on to the top for dear life, only delaying the inevitable fall to the masses. Their skin sizzles, their tops burst with steamy delight, seeds spill upon the ground. This pile of sensuous blackened, fleshy meat, waiting to be released from the scorching fire. The smell that is released is one of a kind. It can not be duplicated at home in your oven. It can only be enjoyed one day a year.
(back to the story)
The ride is over:

Next, I took my buddy, stuffed him into a pillow case, and that went into a trashbag. There are many other ways, but I like this system because it captures the moisture, but allows for the steaming to happen.

And here it is. The object of my desire:

I always had a thing for redheads:

It took me just under two hours to rub the skin off of all of the chiles, chop the heads off, squeegee the seeds out, and lay them in stacks. But this is the payoff:

That guy is perfect - destined for cheeseburger greatness!
Sometimes, passionate moments aren't pretty. Here's the mess:

And the final moment. One bushel gives me this many small bags of chiles for use in stews, enchiladas, burritos, soups, omelets...you name it.

So what do you say - do you like my friend?

Bitter - Step 2

Purple Gentian
Smell - very faint, almost sweet
Directly in mouth - I refrained from spitting it out! Bitter with a slant toward acidic. It reminded me of chewing on licorice root. The flavor is somewhat "roundish" and is concentrating on the back of my tongue, as expected by the outdated map of the tongue.
As a tea - More smooth, but still quite bitter. More of the sensation was experienced on the tip of my tongue.


Silk Tassel
Smell - virtually none
Directly in mouth - Flavorless
As a tea - Has the smell of a good green tea. A very nice taste with just a tinge of bitterness on the tip of my tongue. I would drink this as a tea happily.


Oregon Grape
Smell - dusty, non-distinct
Directly in mouth - Similar to putting cream of tartar in your mouth with a slight earthy flavor.
As a tea - Not good nor bad. So non-distinct that I won't be using this.


Hops
Smell - Fresh and green
Directly in mouth - Almost citrus-y, but mainly mild
As a tea - Not pleasantly bitter - how did this stuff end up in beer?! Nothing unique about it.