Chile Peppers: Ancho, New Mexico, Chiltepin, Pequin

Recently, I received an inquiry from a customer regarding chile peppers.

Hello Heather. Can you please advise me on how to use some chile peppers I received in a beautiful gift basket? I’d like to know what dishes to use them in, how much and how hot they are. We do like spicy. Here are the names: Chile – New Mexico, Chile – Chiltepin, Chile – Ancho, Chile – Pequin. I appreciate the advice. Thank You, Angie

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hi Angie!

We're glad you are enjoying the basket and hope you'll have some fun with the chiles. I'll take it mild to hot.

To use dried chiles, you can either just toss them whole (destemmed) or chopped directly into a dish that has a lot of liquid, and they will rehydrate as they cook. Or, you can pre-rehydrate them by placing the chiles in a resealable bag with a little warm water, then wait at least a half hour. If the dried chile is still flexible, it is easy to remove the seeds, if you like, by slitting it down one side and using a spoon or paring knife to scrape out the seeds. That will reduce the heat level of whatever dish you are making.

The Ancho chile is basically a dried Poblano, which is a very mild variety. This one is great for adding a deep, almost chocolaty flavor to a dish.

The New Mexico chile is a medium heat chile that is great to use for making homemade chili. This is the same chile as the Anaheim or California chile, just grown in New Mexico. Like wines, the same variety of chile can have a different flavor based on where it is grown (terroir in the world of viniculture).

The Chiltepin or Tepin chile is quite spicy, so I'd use in dishes sparingly. It is one of the two state chiles of Texas. You can crush the whole chiles and keep the seeds to get a much hotter version of pepper flakes for pizza. It is also great for adding heat to chili and soups.

The Pequin is a chile from Mexico. Its small size means it is quite hot (not quite as hot as a habanero, but significantly hotter than most other chile peppers out there). My husband, Brian, likes to toss a small number into a pot of chili to make "firecracker" chili, meaning that every once in a while, instead of what you thought was a bean, you get a little hot firecracker going off in your mouth. This holiday season I made chile vinegar with it, simply by tossing a tablespoon or two of Pequins into a jar of white vinegar.

You can make good chile oils with any of the dried chiles, just go to a site like http://www.epicurious.com/ to make sure you do it in a way that is bacteria-free. No worries with the spiced vinegars, as nothing can grow in that much acid.

I hope this is helpful, and if you ever run into a question while you're cooking, feel free to call the store at 216-291-3450.

Happy cooking!

Heather

Review: John Palmer's Bistro 44

For our Valentine's dinner, Brian and I headed East to Concord. I had been to this restaurant once before about a year ago for a business dinner and remember thinking that Brian would enjoy the menu. I made the reservation via OpenTable.com, which was very easy to do, as it showed me available times to choose from and sent me a confirmation e-mail.

As our date approached, I realized that I had to find a dress that still fits. It's not that I've gained all that much weight, but rather where I've gained it. I was hoping to keep my weight gain limited to the belly area (one of those "all baby" pregnancies), but it seems that I've added quite a bit of insulation up top, as well. Luckily, I was able to squeeze into a flirty red sundress that Brian gave me a few years ago. Sadly, though, it is likely the last time I will wear it until late Summer, as it was quite tight up top. Coupled with a cashmere cardigan and a pink & red scarf, I was ready to go. For those of you who know Brian, it may come as a surprise that on occasion he will actually wear not just long pants, but a tie, too! In this case, he even donned a suit jacket. Now that's true love.

We arrived just a few minutes ahead of our 8 p.m. reservation on Friday night. The hostess seated us right away in a quite large round booth scattered with leather pillows. The lights were low and most other tables were filled. Soft music - you could hear the words, but not too loud - was playing. Quite romantic. Our server was with us within moments and took our drink and water orders. We always ask for no ice, and later she told us she had set aside a pitcher just for us when we made the request. Nice touch. We ordered our drinks and settled in to browse the menu.

A lot looked good, but I didn't want to eat too much, as I seem to be needing smaller, more frequent meals lately. So, I ordered the house salad, which was a bed of mixed greens with generous strips of sundried tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts and a light, tasty dressing. The salad was dressed perfectly - not drenched as one usually finds - just enough to carry flavor throughout and not encounter any undressed bits. I happily ate every bite. The potato leek soup was tempting, but I knew it would be too much for me. That said, having recently read Julie and Julia, I have been itching to try Julia Child's recipe from The Art of French Cooking.

Brian ordered the duck breast small plate, which came beautifully presented and cooked. The breast itself was seared with peppercorn on the outside and tender rare on the inside, sliced into about 5-6 pieces and fanned over a pool of maple cherry reduction, topped with a generous piece of perfectly ripe brie. At this point, I believe he was finally sure that all the dressing up was worthwhile. I've never heard him make noises like that over restaurant food. He said he wanted to eat it slowly to savor the wonder of it all, and later professed that he may like duck even better than steak. That's quite an admission from a guy so in love with beef. He generously offered me a taste (actually, more than once), but I only took a small piece, not wanting to limit what was clearly a transcendent experience for him.

For entrees, we both opted for the strip steak, which came with buttered escarole (perhaps a little too buttered, but very tasty) and wonderful truffle tater tots - yes, that's right, tater tots! We just had to have them. The tater tots were crispy and not oily on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside (almost like how a truly perfect gnocchi should be, but I'll save that rant for another post). Very nicely seasoned, it was almost as if the filling was piped directly into the frying oil. Beautiful way to take a simple child's menu item like a tater tot and make it truly adult and refined.

On to the steaks. I ordered medium rare and Brian ordered rare. This is a good strategy for us, as I cannot usually finish all of mine and will have Brian eat it, taking some of his home for leftovers. Reheating is only successful if you have truly rare steak to work with. Again, we were not disappointed, though I don't think anything will come close to Brian's duck experience for a long time. Frequently being disappointed with the results at other restaurants, we were pleased to see that these folks knew what rare and medium rare were all about. We got exactly what we ordered. The meat itself was very well marbled and tender, with lots of flavor. I don't think it was seasoned with anything but salt and pepper, and we were very happy about that, as the rich flavor of these cuts of beef didn't need much else other than being cooked properly.

We opted to skip any dessert, as the meal was quite filling. Our server was attentive and friendly throughout the meal. Our food and drinks arrived on time and we never had to ask for water refills - she was there with our "special carafe" before our glasses were empty.

All in all, I couldn't have asked for a nicer experience. We're eager to go back again - well worth the 20-minute drive, and just as satisfying as any downtown restaurant without the parking hassle. When I can drink wine again, I want to try out their special prices on Monday nights. Check out their Web site JohnPalmers.com.

Pot Roast Stew

I had a cheap cut of meat (beef roast) in the freezer and was too lazy to go to the store. What to do? Why, when the weather is cold and snowy -- or rainy, as it may be -- stew is the answer.

I raided all of the aging veggies in my fridge and got to work chopping and tossing items into the slow cooker (electric crock pot)

• About 1-1/2 to 2 lbs of beef (cheaper is better in the case of slow-cooking)
• 2 small yellow onions, cut into eighths, no skins
• 5 small cloves of Garlic, whole with the skins removed
• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cans of water
• Baby carrots (probably about a cup and a half)
• Celery (about four stalks cut in 2" lengths)
• Dried mushrooms (I used whole woodear, but would generally recommend shredded woodear, black trumpet, portabello or morels in the future)
• 2-3 teaspoons Greek Seasoning (honestly, I just shook a bunch in and didn't measure)
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Salt (again, I wasn't too exact with measurements here)
  
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper (I added a few grinds of Australian Mountain peppercorn to great effect, as it adds a more pungent and bitter flavor for this strong stew)
• 4 Russett potatoes, cut into eighths with the skins on

If you want, you can replace the cream of mushroom soup with 2 cans of whole or diced tomatoes, with the juice. Also, a nice addition, which I would have added under other circumstances would be a cup of red wine.

Put everything in the cooker, mix it up a little, with the beef in the center at the bottom, then let the cooker do its work for several hours. I started it on high for about 2 hours, then let it go for another 3-4 on low. The great thing about a slow cooker is that timing is approximate. I did check on it occasionally to mix things up and add a little water, as needed, but it would have been fine without the attention.

If you aren't planning to serve it right away, you will want to cool it down quickly to avoid bacteria growth. I believe Alton Brown's recommendation for things like that is to put the ceramic portion of the pot in a cooler with about 2" of ice in the bottom and either stir the mixture as it cools, or immerse a few bottles of frozen water (3/4 filled so they don't crack when they freeze) into the food itself. That will help the center cool faster. Then, when it has cooled down enough, stick it in the fridge for later enjoyment.

No pictures of this one, as the aroma and flavor far surpass the appearance. But, oh, what comfort... and a great way to clean out the fridge!