A HOT time in high country

A couple of weekends ago, Josh and I attended the 1st Annual Denver Chile Festival at a fireworks warehouse. With about 12 other people.... Okay, there were more than that, but not many. Perhaps the 2nd annual festival will have a better attendance. The festival centered around the Hatch Chiles, the popular chiles which come from Hatch, New Mexico and apparently no where else. I was excited to go because I know of these chiles from my Aunt Vicky and Uncle Jack. The years they spent in New Mexico introduced them to this culinary delight, and they are lucky enough to be able to get them a couple weeks a year in Houston.

At the festival, there were salsa cookoff samples, pork and gren chile samples, smoked ribs and brisket sliders outside. There were also about 8 large chile roasters on the side of the building with young men in t-shirts and tank tops roasting your chiles right in front of your eyes. When you walked into the building, there were hundreds of bushels of chiles for purchase by the bushel, half-bushel, or double bushel. There were many varieties including Poblano, Anaheim, and Hatch chiles ranging from mild to XX hot. I appeared to be the only person who thought it was odd to have propane torches going like crazy outside the fireworks warehouse--HELLO!?!

We chose a half-bushel of Hot Hatch Chiles, paid for them, and by the time we got outside again, our chiles were in the roaster, going round and round, in a beautiful chile roasting dance. When the skins were blackend from the huge propane torches, they were dumped into large, super thick plastic bags with images of dancing chiles with sombreros on, and tied shut.
We didn't go straight home, choosing instead to swing by a grocery store on the way home. FYI--my car STILL smells like roasted chiles. When we got home, we sorted the chiles into bags to freeze. We opened the bag and I took each chile out one-by-one, pulled the blackened skin off, removed the hard stem end, and put it into a freezer bag with about 10 of its friends. One bag we set aside specifically to be "stuffing" peppers. These were the largest, most perfect of the peppers which I cleaned the seeds out of also. We got 8 quart size freezer bags out of that half bushel, and as much as I would have loved to have twice that amount--since they are only available one time a year--it would have taken FOREVER to clean them all.

One suggestion about the handling of these things--DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES!!! Even after you have washed your hands. Don't do it! No I mean it! You will regret it!!!

Anyway, once I had all these chiles, I felt the need to put them into everything that weekend. Josh and I like spicy food on the hot side. Not so hot that you can't taste the other ingredients, but heat is good! When adding the heat in any of these recipes, you know your own tastes best, so go with that. Canned and frozen Hatch chiles tend to be the mild variety, so can be used quite liberally, and these are the ones most often found in supermakets all over the country. If you have fresh chiles you want to use, no matter what variety, remember that the hottest parts of the chile are the seeds and veins. If you want flavor instead of high heat, remove those bits and just use the flesh.


Hatch chile and sausage chili

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 medium onion diced
3-5 cloves garlic minced
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
1 tbls chili powder
1 bay leaf
3-5 Hatch chiles diced

Saute onions and sausage in skillet on medium heat, until sausage is cooked through. In the last few minutes, add garlic so it cooks but does not burn. Put skillet contents and all other ingredients into a crockpot set on low, and let cook for 6-8 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Chili pie

1-1 1/2 lbs pizza dough
3 c prepared chili
sliced or shredded cheddar cheese
shredded Parmesan cheese

Roll out 2/3 dough and fit into pie plate or casserole. Pour chili into bottom crust and cover with cheese. Roll out remaining crust and place on top. Seal edges and cover top with Parmesan--press cheese lightly into crust. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.


Hatch Chile Queso

3 tbls butter
3 tbls flour
1 1/2 c milk at room temp
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 c shredded jack cheese
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1-3 roasted Hatch chiles, diced

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low/medium heat. Add flour, stir until completely incorporated and cook for 5 minutes to cook out raw flavor of flour. Slowly whisk in milk, cayenne and garlic powder, and heat until thick, stirring regularly. Add cheeses in small handfuls, stirring each addition until completely melted in. Add chiles, make sure it is hot all the way through, and then enjoy.


Hatch Chile Chicken

Chicken thighs skin removed
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 med onion sliced
3-5 cloves garlic minced
2-3 Hatch chiles diced
2 tsp cumin
1 tbls crushed dried oregano
salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker (Crock Pot or otherwise) and cook on low all day while you are at work.

Heat a can of pinto or black beans with some garlic powder and chopped Hatch chiles.
Place a chicken thigh on a plate, smother with tomato/onion sauce and serve beans on the side. Eat it all using your hands and fresh tortillas.