For the food blogging community August was all about pie. Pie and love.

Food bloggers from around the world gathered together to support fellow food blogger Jennie Perillo when she lost her husband to a sudden heart attack. First, everyone made peanut butter pies in honor her husband Mikey. I spent an entire friday wiping tears from my eyes at my desk as I watched the #pieformikey Twitter feed. Then I watched this amazing video tribute for Jennie from White on Rice Couple and just outright bawled.

After this amazing group of bloggers gathered around Jennie and her family in the biggest virtual embrace I’ve ever witness, they quickly turned to the practical side of things. Bloggers Without Borders created the Fund for Jennie and bloggers from this same amazing community are offering baked goods, special art, and more in an auction to benefit Jennie and her family. My friend and photography goddess Penny De Los Santos is generously offering a full day of photography in New York City as part of the auction and let me tell you, I’d give my eye teeth to be able to bid on that amazing adventure. As of today the auction has raised $30k for this blogging family in need and it’s not over yet. Simply amazing.

In the mean time, here in Austin we’ve been having our own celebration of community and love through pie. The Austin Food Blogger Alliance partnered with the Alamo Drafhouse to host a special showing of Waitress with proceeds benefiting SafePlace, an organization that supports abused women and children in their greatest hours of need. Along with the proceeds from the movie ticket sales Alamo’s Executive Chef John Bullington made 20 pecan pies with local blogger Michael Chu after he won our pie contest earlier in the month. Proceeds from sales of slices of pie also went to SafePlace. And finally, local pie makers donated a table full of pies that we sold after the movie to further benefit SafePlace. When all was said and done we raised $2k for this important local charity. As I stood in front of a packed house before the Waitress screening and shared the story of A Pie for Mikey I was struck by how honored I feel to be part of such a passionate, loving, and supportive blogging community both here in Austin and around the virtual world. In the end this is why we blog: to create connections, build community, and share our love for food.

I didn’t quite manage to get a peanut butter pie made in honor of Mikey, but this weekend I did create what I’m calling inspired pie because it was inspired by two of my fellow food bloggers. At the food blogger pie contest Addie Broyles from the Austin American Statesman made a cherry galette with one of the best crusts I’ve ever tasted. It was flaky and just salty enough to balance out the sweet cherry filling. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the crust was made by Martha Stewart’s trusty pate brisee recipe. Addie said it was easy to make and work with which are great characteristics for any recipes to have, particularly a dessert recipe. Since I had Addie’s galette I’d been thinking about making one myself but hadn’t settled on what kind. Then just this last weekend Lisa Fain posted a recipe on Homesick Texan for Hatch Chile Apple Cobbler and I knew I had found my gallette.

My daughter turned 12 last weekend and my family was in town to celebrate. As I put together her birthday dinner the inspired galette was the first item on the menu. There was something particularly special about making pie for my family in a month when pie has meant so much to my extended blogging family. The touch of Hatch chile in the recipe tied the whole dish back to my roots in the Southwest. This particular pie meant more to me than any pie I’ve made before.

Recipe: Apple and Hatch Chile Galettes

Ingredients

• 1 recipe of Martha Stewart’s pate brisee
• 1 recipe of Homesick Texan’s Hach Chile Apple Cobbler filling
• 2 Tbsp. sugar in the raw

Directions

1. Make the pate brisee according to the recipe directions and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Make the cobbler filling according to the recipe directions and let cool.
3. Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper.
4. Divide the pate brisee dough into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 7-8 inch circle.
5. Place a dough circle onto a corner of the cookie sheet. Fill with a heaping 1/2 c. of the cobbler filling, leaving about a 1 inch border of dough free of the filling.
6. Bring the free edges of the dough up around the filling. The crust will be uneven and the center of the filling won’t be covered by the dough. That’s okay, that’s sort of the point of the galette. It’s supposed to be rustic. It’s also a pass for you so the crust doesn’t have to look perfect. Everyone wins.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Refrigerate the galettes for an hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
9. Brush the crust of each galette lightly with water and sprinkle with the sugar.
10. Place the baking sheets into the oven and cook for 30 minutes, swapping the position of the sheets on the racks after 15 minutes.
11. After 30 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 375 and cook for another 15 minutes or until the edges of the galettes are nicely browned.
12. Let cool slightly and serve with something cool and creamy like vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

When I was growing up my very Southern grandmother adapted all sorts of traditional Southern recipes to fit the ingredients, cooking styles, and tastes she encountered in El Paso. I can’t tell you how many nights she served collard or mustard greens (cooked with ham hocks of course) with a warm pan of onion and green chile cornbread. What’s funny is back then I only liked straight up cornbread with just a touch of sweetness, so I usually skipped her version. If only I could turn back time and enjoy a square right now. I didn’t know what I was missing.

Several years ago I came across a wonderful recipe for blue corn madelelines. The delicate cornbread bites are lighter than a dense square of cornbread and the fun shape is just a little unexpected. They have earned a permanent place on my Christmas Eve Mexican food menu. For this year’s Hatch chile festivities I decided to try a new twist on this stand-by recipe inspired by my grandmother’s cornbread. I’ve kept the madeleine shape because that’s half of the fun, but this version is stuffed with onions, green chiles, and gooey cheese. It makes these cornbread nibbles a little denser than the original recipe but because they are two bites, you hardly notice at all.

I’ve been making these madeleines for at least five or six years and found the recipe back when I still clipped and copied recipes from magazines instead of just saving them right into my online notebook. I’ve been working from a hand-written version of the recipe, without date or attribution of course, and  while some quality time with Google seems to indicate that this is a Bon Appetit recipe, I can’t find it anywhere on their actual site to verify. Long story short, this is my adaptation of a fantastic recipe and I humbly thank whomever originally created it because it’s a sining gem in my collection.

I have wonderful silicon baking molds that I use to bake these madeleines. I can’t recommend them enough. The cornbread cakes pop right out of the molds leaving the beautiful detailing intact.

It’s August and that means one thing here at Fete & Feast: it’s Hatch Chile Month! Over the last several years Hatch Chiles have become something of a celebrated vegetable here in Central Texas. Given my roots in far West Texas just down the road from Hatch, New Mexico, this thrills me to no end. Last year I celebrated Hatch with the likes of macaroni and cheese, enchiladas, green chile cheese beer bread, and green chile palmiers. This year I’m cooking up cornbread, roast chicken thighs, and even grilled cheese, all featuring the little green chile that could.

To kick the season off I’ve put together this recipe for a hand pie stuffed with squash, green chile, tomatoes, and cheese. It’s a fun take on calabacitas, a traditional way to cook squash with onions and green chiles that was featured at my family’s dinner table many a summer when squash were in abundance. I’ve tucked the squash, chile, and cheese mixture into puff pastry to make it convenient finger food, just perfect for a party. You can make these little bites ahead of time and freeze them unbaked so you have a quick meal or appetizer any time you get a hankerin’ for a taste of Hatch. The filling in these empanadas is so substantial they will hold up nicely as a main dish. Serve them with a side of guacamole and a green salad for an effortless Meatless Monday menu.

I often think that meatballs as an appetizer are under-appreciated. You can do so many interesting things with ground meat and fun ingredients all packed into a little ball that people can spear with a toothpick or even grab with their fingers when no one is looking. Sure, meatballs are great for spaghetti and as sandwich filling, but I encourage you to let them have a place on your next appetizer tray or buffet table. For these particular meatballs, I’ve combined one of my favorite lean ground meats – buffalo – and Hatch green chilies to create a spicy and warm one-bite package that is sure to please any crowd. I know I’m a broken record when I extol the virtues of bison, but it really is such a great meat. It’s lower in fat and higher in protein than ground beef and it’s almost always raised in a sustainable way, so it’s a responsible choice as well. When paired with the green chilies, you have a salute some of the best ingredients the Southwest US has to offer.

As I was considering what to serve alongside these meatballs, I was reminded of meatballs in a grape jelly and chili sauce my mom made for parties in the 70s and 80s. The sweet and savory combination in that dish is what made it popular, and as I thought about how to update the concept I decided pomegranate juice would be a good modernization to the flavor combination. Pomegranate juice is also good for us, unlike grape jelly, so it fits nicely with the healthy bison.

Next time you have a party, set out a bowl of these little wonders and watch them disappear before your very eyes.

Recipe: Green Chile Meatballs with Pomegranate Dipping Sauce

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Makes: About 45 meatballs and 1 c. sauce
  
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
  
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
  

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 lb. ground bison
• 1/4 c. grated onion
• 4 oz. green chilies
• 1/4 c. panko
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. pomegranate juice
• 1/4 c. honey
• 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and place a baking rack on top of it. Spray the baking rack with cooking spray and set aside.
3. Add the bison, onion, chilies, panko, egg, cumin, coriander, oregano, and salt to a medium mixing bowl. Use your hands to gently mix the ingredients together.
4. Divide the mixture into 1 Tbsp. portions and roll gently to form meatballs.
5. Place the meatballs 1 inch apart on the baking rack and cook at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150 degrees.
6. While the meatballs are cooking, combine the pomegranate juice, honey, and balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
7. Reduce the heat to medium and boil gently for about 15 minutes until reduced by half, whisking occasionally. Stir the minced chipotle into the reduced sauce and serve with the cooked meatballs.

Recipe for Success

• Be gentle with the meatball mixture and don’t over-work it. The meat will get tough if you man-handle it too much.
• I use a 1 Tbsp. scoop to simplify the meatball production process.
• If you find the meat mixture is sticky, use damp hands to make rolling easier.
• You can absolutely make these with any other combination of ground meat that you’d like. Pork goes particularly well with green chilies and goodl ol’ ground sirloin would work as well. Because the recipe includes binders like eggs and panko, you can use leaner ground meet to keep the fat under control.
• You can mix and form the meatballs up to four months in advance and freeze them uncooked. To keep them from sticking together in the freezer, spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until solid. Place them in a heavy-duty ziptop bag and store in the freezer. When you’re ready to cook the meatballs, prepare the baking sheet with foil and the sprayed baking rack as in step 2, then place the frozen meatballs 1 inch apart on the rack. Spray the meatballs with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let the meatballs thaw in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours or overnight. Remove the plastic wrap and cook as directed in step 5.
• This mixture makes a mean burger as well. Be sure to spray the patties with cooking spray before you put them on a grill or griddle because the mixture is a bit on the wet side and will stick. I’m pretty sure it would make a great meatloaf too. You could even use the pomegranate sauce as a glaze.

I love quick breads. They come together, well, quickly, and they can be a vehicle for so many different flavors. From sweet breakfast breads to savory dinner loaves, the options are almost endless. A couple of years ago I came across a recipe in Cooking Light for a basic beer cheese bread and I thought at the time that it would be a great base for a green chile cheese bread. It turns out I was right. The green chile’s trusted companions, gooey cheese and earthy cumin, come along for the ride. The beer lends a slightly bitter edge to the bread to cut through the creaminess of the cheese and the soft dough. Serve this bread with a hearty soup or on its own with a bit of honey butter. It travels well too, so it’s perfect for a potluck or a holiday party. Or, make a loaf and eat the whole thing yourself. I won’t tell anyone.

Recipe: Green Chile Cheese Beer Bread

Adapted from Basic Beer-Cheese Bread

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Makes: 16 slices
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 4 oz. hot green chilies, chopped (about ½ c.)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• ¼ c. diced shallot
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ¾ tsp. ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 13.5 oz. all purpose flour (about 3 c.)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about ½ c.)
• 2 oz. manchego cheese, shredded (about ½ c.)
• 12 oz. lager-style Mexican beer such as Dos Equis

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Place the green chilies in a double layer of paper towels and squeeze to remove as much moister as possible.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for five minutes or until tender but not brown.
4. Add the black pepper, cumin, honey, and chilies to the pan and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
5. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
6. Add the onion and chile mixture, cheeses, and beer to the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined, careful not to over-mix.
7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for an hour or until a tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
8. Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes then remove it from the pan and cool completely on the rack.

Recipe for Success

• You can use mild chilies in this recipe if you’d like, but there’s enough going on with the bread and the cheese to help balance out the heat of warmer chilies.
• The final batter is very thick; resist the urge to over-mix it or the final bread will be tough.
• The recipe doubles beautifully and is great for gifting. Take a loaf to a potluck or to the office to make your co-workers happy.

I have written over on Fete and Feast about how much I love enchiladas and my quest to find the perfect enchilada in my now home-town of Austin. And while I spent many words waxing rhapsodic about red chile enchiladas, there’s plenty of room in my enchilada-loving heart for green chile enchiladas. In my experience, green chile enchiladas are a little mellower than their red counterparts, making them a great starter enchilada for those new to the dish or a nice change of pace from the more acidic red enchiladas or fruity tomato-based enchiladas. I tend to like my green chile enchilada sauce smooth and creamy, which means it’s often sour cream based, but I’ve come to enjoy Greek yogurt as a twist on that tradition. I’ve been making this enchilada recipe for about twenty years now and it’s never failed me. You’ll note that it’s filled with cheese and onions, my preferred filling for any enchilada, but if you take a look at the Recipe for Success section at the end of the post, I include some other ideas on what other fillings might go well with this ooey-gooey green sauce.

Recipe: Green Chile Enchiladas

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Serves: 4-6
  
• Prep Time: 30 min
  
• Cook Time: 25 min
  

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• ¼ c. butter
• 1 ¼ c. diced yellow onion, divided (about 1 medium onion)
• ¼ c. all purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 14 oz. chicken broth (1 can)
• 8 oz. 2% Greek yogurt
• 8 oz. roasted green chilies, chopped (about 1 c.)
• 12 corn tortillas
• 6 oz. queso asadero cheese, shredded (about 1 ½ c.)
• 6 oz. manchego cheese, shredded (about 1 ½ c.)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9″ x 13″ glass baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
3. Sauté ¼ c. of onion in the butter until soft but not brown.
4. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and cumin to the butter and onion and stir to combine. Continue to stir as the mixture bubbles, about two minutes more.
5. Pour the broth into the pan in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Raise the heat to medium high and continue whisking until the mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Whisk for 3 more minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and add the yogurt to the sauce; whisk to combine.
7. Add the green chilies to the sauce and whisk to combine. The sauce will be very thick.
8. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Spread ½ c. of the sauce sauce along the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
10. Toss the queso asadero and manchego cheese to combine. Reserve 3/4 c. of the cheese.
11. Lay three tortillas on a plate so their edges are barely overlapping; microwave them for 20-30 seconds on high, or until they are soft and pliable.
12. Remove the tortillas from the microwave and lay them on a clean counter or on a sheet pan. Fill each tortilla with about 2 Tbps. of grated cheese and 1 Tbsp. of onion. Roll up each tortilla and place it seam side down on top of the thin layer of sauce in the prepared baking dish.
13. Repeat the heating, filling, and rolling process with the remaining tortillas, cheese, and onion.
14. Pour the remaining green chile sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas and use a spatula to spread it evenly across the top. Push the sauce down between the tortillas as well so it covers them on all sides.
15. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and any leftover onions on top of the enchiladas.
16. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
17. Remove the foil from the dish and bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the tops of the enchiladas begin to brown lightly.
18. Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest in the baking dish for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe for Success

• I like the tartness that Greek yogurt adds to the dish. The fact that it is good for you and not weighed down with calories is a bonus. You can substitute regular plain yogurt or even sour cream for the lower fat Greek yogurt.
• I prefer to use thin corn tortillas for any enchilada preparation. The thicker tortillas bring too much tortilla to the party and eclipse the other ingredients.
• If you can’t find queso asadero, a Mexican melting cheese, you can substitute Monterrey Jack instead. I like to use a mix of the melting cheese and manchego cheese for a more complex flavor profile. For simplicity’s sake though, you can simply use 10 oz of either Monterey Jack or queso asadero.
• I like to work with tortillas three at a time because they all stay warm enough to be pliable. If I try to work with more than three, the last couple have cooled down by the time I’m ready to roll them and they inevitably break.
• The full cup of chopped chilies gives this dish a very robust green chile flavor. You can reduce the chile by up to half for a less intense chile flavor or, to heat things up a bit, combine hot and mild chilies.
• You can prepare the dish all the way through step 16 up to eight hours ahead and refrigerate the prepared enchiladas. Remove the cold dish from the oven 30 minutes before you’re ready to put it in the over and then proceed with baking the enchiladas at 425 degrees.
• While I’m a firm believer that enchiladas should only be filled with cheese and onion, this recipe adapts easily to other fillings. Shredded chicken or tender pork would be a great place to start, as would grilled vegetables or sautéed spinach. You could also fill these with crab or shrimp for a seafood variation.

You may have seen palmiers in a bakery as a sweet treat, with the layers of puff pastry filled with sugar and butter, but they are equally tasty in savory form. Great fillings for palmiers include (but are not limited to)

• Herbs and spices
• Harder cheeses like cheddar and parmesan
• Soft spreadable cheeses like goat cheese
• Cured meats like prosciutto
• Cooked spinach
• Spreads like tapenade and pesto
• Sun dried tomatoes

For this recipe I made a green chile pesto and paired it with creamy Monterey Jack cheese and aged manchgo, a firm cheese similar to parmesan in texture, and Serrano ham, which is essentially the Spanish version of prosciutto. The result is lovely blending of flavors with the green chilies proving a subtle heat and chile undertone that’s nicely balanced by the creamy cheese and the salt of the ham. Unlike my Green Chile Macaroni & Cheese recipe, these palmiers won’t beat you over the head with their green chile flavor, making them perfect for those who are new to green chile. Green chile aficionados will still appreciate the familiar flavor and may be pleasantly surprised to find green chilies used in this way.

Puff pastry is one of my entertaining secret weapons. It’s versatile, easy to work with, and impressive. For many years puff pastry was a bakery specialty because there weren’t very many good pre-made options. Today however, several food companies have perfectly acceptable packaged puff pastry offerings that you can find in the freezer section at your local grocery store. I typically use Pepperidge Farm because it’s consistent from package to package.

Recipe: Green Chile Palmiers

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Makes: About 24 palmiers
  
• Active Prep Time: 20 minutes
  
• Rest Time: 30 minutes
  
• Cook Time: minutes
  

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about ½ c.)
• 1.5 oz. aged manchego cheese, shredded (about ½ c.)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
• Scant ¼ c. green chile pesto (recipe to follow)
• 1.5 oz. thinly sliced Serrano ham (about 3 slices)

Instructions

1. Combine the cheeses, cumin, coriander, oregano, and salt in a medium bowl and toss to combine well.
2. Lay the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a 9 x 10.5 inch rectangle.
3. Spread the green chile pesto evenly over the puff pastry leaving a border of about ¼ inch on all sides.
4. Sprinkle the cheese and spice mixture evenly over the pesto.
5. Lay the slices of ham over the cheese, cutting them as needed to cover the cheese mixture evenly.
6. Starting with one long side, roll the pastry over the filling into a tight spiral, stopping when you reach the mid-point of the pastry.

   Roll the other side of pastry over the filling until it meets the first roll.

7. Using wet fingertips or a wet pastry brush, brush the pastry where the two rolls meet lightly with water and press them lightly together to seal.
8. Gently transfer the rolled pastry to a cookie sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes until firm and easy to slice.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
10. Cut the rolled pastry into ¼ inch slices and place an inch apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Gently shape each slice to make any square corners rounder.
11. Transfer to the hot oven and cook for 13-15 minutes until the pastry is puffed and the cheese melted. Remove from oven, transfer to a serving dish, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe for Success

• You can prepare the recipe through step nine up to three days in advance and freeze the rolled and filled puff pastry wrapped tightly in a double-layer of plastic wrap. When you’re ready to slice and bake the palmiers, set the frozen pastry on the counter for about 15 minutes and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
• You can easily double this recipe to use both sheets of puff pastry that typically come in a package.
• If you can’t find Serrano ham, you can substitute prosciutto or any other thinly sliced dried ham.
• If you can’t fine manchego cheese, any other firm Spanish cheese or even parmesan will do in a pinch.
• Don’t worry if the uncooked palmiers look like scrunchy faces instead of smoothly curved pastry. When the pastry cooks, it will flesh out and become nicely rounded.

Recipe: Green Chile Pesto

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Makes: 1 ½ – 2 cups
  
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
  

Ingredients

• ¼ c. toasted pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 c. whole green chilies, roasted, peeled, and seeded
• 1.5 oz. aged manchego cheese, shredded (about ½ c.)
• 4 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper

Instructions

1. Combine the pine nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process for 10-20 seconds or until the garlic is chopped into small pieces.
2. Add the green chiles and manchego to the bowl of the processor and process with on/off turns until the mixture forms a paste.
3. With the processor running, gently stream the grapeseed oil into the bowl.
4. Scrape the pesto into a small bowl then stir in the salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Recipe for Success

• This pesto resembles hummus more than it does traditional pesto because the pine nuts and manchego cheese tone down the green in the cheese. Once you taste it, you’ll know it’s absolutely not hummus. This pesto is a nice alternative to using green chilies on their own because it brings a more subtle green chile taste to a dish where you don’t want to the chilies to overpower the other ingredients.
• You can substitute canola oil or any other flavorless vegetable oil for the grapeseed oil.
• Store the pesto for 3-5 days in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap.
• You can serve this pesto as a dip with tortilla or pita chips, tossed with pasta and some additional cheese and cherry tomatoes, or even in a quesadilla. You could also serve it over (or under) grilled chicken or roast pork. Let your imagination go wild.

As a start to this month of green chile goodness, I thought I’d start with a fun recipe that infuses one of my personal favorite dishes, macaroni and cheese, with the mild heat of green chile. I’ve had a few versions of this dish at different restaurants and wanted to try my own hand at it. The result is an intense combination of chile, cheese, and pasta that you’ll want to eat right out of the baking dish.

Recipe: Green Chile Macaroni and Cheese

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Serves: 4-6
  
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
  
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
  

Ingredients

• 6 oz. macaroni or similar pasta
• 3 whole green chilies, roasted, peeled, and seeded.
• 2 corn tortillas
• 3 oz. manchego cheese, grated, divided
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/3 c. chopped yellow onion
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ¼ tsp. cumin
• 1 ¼ c. whole milk
• 4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 oz. queso asadero or provolone cheese, grated
• 4 oz. green chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped. (about ½ c.)

Instructions

1. Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain, toss with a little bit of olive oil, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with non-stick spray.
4. Puree the whole green chilies in a blender or small food processor. They should yield about ¼ to 1/3 cups of pureed chilies. Reserve the puree to use later in the sauce.
5. Tear the corn tortillas into pieces and place them in a food processor mini chopper. Process until they resemble coarse corn meal. Add 1 oz. of the manchego chese to the chopper bowl and pulse until the entire mixture is uniform in size. Reserve the mixture to use as the topping.
6. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
7. Sauté the onion in the butter until soft but not brown.
8. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and cumin to the butter and onion and stir to combine.
9. Pour the milk into the pan in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Raise the heat to medium high and continue whisking until the mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Whisk for 3 more minutes then reduce the heat to low.
10. Stir the puree into the sauce then add the cheddar, queso asadero, and remaining manchego cheeses in small batches, stirring until each batch fully melts into the sauce.
11. When all of the cheese is incorporated, add the chopped green chilies and stir to combine.
12. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss it with the sauce until the pasta is evenly coated.
13. Pour the sauced pasta into the prepared baking dish. Spread the tortilla and cheese topping evenly over the top.
14. Transfer to the 350 degree oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the sauce bubbles.
15. Turn the oven broiler on to high and broil for an additional 7-10 minutes until the topping is brown and crisp.
16. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe for Success

• “Green chilies” in the Southwest usually refer to the Anaheim variety of pepper grown predominantly in New Mexico. If you can’t find this variety, you can easily substitute poblano peppers in this recipe. You can also order fresh Hatch green chilies online if you want the authentic thing delivered to your door.
• You peel green chilies the same way you peel other peppers, by roasting them until the skin blisters and letting them sweat in a plastic bag or bowl covered with plastic wrap. It’s a very simple process and the skins rub right off. If you’ve never peeled a pepper before, watch this quick video to see how it’s done.
• You may also be able buy green chilies roasted and peeled in cans at the grocery store. My favorite brand is the Hatch brand, but others will do in a pinch.
• My goal when I created this recipe was for the green chile flavor to be intense and pervasive. If you like a more subtle flavor, you can reduce or omit the puree all together and just use the chopped chilies. If you like your chile on the hot side, you can add some hotter chilies into the mix.

As I’ve said before in my weekly Austin Foodie Bits posts as well as my recent recipe for Stuffed Squash Calabacitas, Texans are crazy for green Anaheim chiles, particularly those grown in Hatch, New Mexico. We can buy canned chiles from Hatch year round, but for a three week period in August, our love for all things Hatch works itself into a freshly-picked chile fervor that results in festivals, contests, and this year even a food blogger potluck focused wholly on cooking with this unassuming green chile pepper. Seeing as Hatch chiles were a ubiquitous part of my childhood, I’m as crazy as the next Texas foodie for Hatch chiles. To that end, I’m devoting the bulk of my blog for the next two or so weeks (maybe longer if I feel like it) to Hatch chile recipes. Today’s post is all about buffalo burgers stuffed with green chiles, I also have a green chile crostini recipe up my sleeve and quite possibly a green chile risotto. I’m also preparing for the afore mentioned food blogger potluck, so there will be at least one post, and probably two related to what promised to be a great afternoon of fun and feasting.

“But Natanya, I’m not rich in Hatch chiles, whatever shall I do?”

Immediately move to Texas! What, that’s not a viable option for you? That’s too bad. You’d like it here, I promise. And Hatch chiles are only one of the reasons. Still not happening? Okay, I guess we’ll have to figure something else out.

While you will be missing out on one of the most amazing smells known to man – the scent of a freshly roasted chile after it’s blackened over a flame so the skin falls off leaving only tender and succulent meat ready for all sorts of applications – you can buy canned green chiles that will get you by. Start looking on the same aisle at your grocery store where you’d find other Mexican ingredients like chipotles in adobo or enchilada sauce. If you can’t find them there, try a Mexican specialty market. If all else fails, you can order them online. If possible, buy the Hatch brand of green chiles, they are the best that are available, but even if you can’t find those, don’t let that stop you from grabbing whatever brand of green chile you can lay hands on to start cooking with these green beauties.

If you are in a position to get freshly roasted chiles, buy a lot. They freeze beautifully after they are roasted. Just pack them away in bunches of 6-8 in heavy-duty freezer ziptop bags and freeze for up to a year. Now that I’m done waxing rhapsodic about green chiles, let’s get down to business with the recipe for a burger inspired by the Mexican and New Mexican flavors of my childhood.

Recipe: Hatch Green Chile-Stuffed Bison Burgers Topped with a Deconstructed Guacamole

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground bison
• ½ lb. ground chuck
• 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 4 tsp. New Mexico chile powder
• 2 whole Hatch green chiles, roasted, stems and seeds removed
• Salt and pepper
• 2 oz. Asadero or other white melting cheese, sliced thin
• 1 large avocado
• 1 lime
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• 4 hamburger buns, toasted

Instructions

1. Prepare a grill or grill pan to cook the burgers.
2. Break the ground bison and chuck into small chunks and combine them in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle evenly with the cumin and chile powder.
3. Gently combine the meat and spices until well mixed.
4. Divide the meat into 8 equal portions, about 3 oz. each. Gently roll each portion into a ball then flatten into a thing burger, about ¼ in. bigger in diameter than your hamburger bun.
5. Cut each green chile into quarters. Place two quarters into the center of each of four of the meat patties. Top each of the patties with chiles with a patty without chiles to create four “stuffed” burgers. To seal in the chiles, press the edges of each stuffed burger together tightly and smooth out to create a patty that is uniform in size.
6. Liberally season the burgers on both sides with salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator until ready to grill.
7. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scope the flesh from the skin with a large spoon. Cut the avocado halves into slices and cover completely with the juice of the lime.
8. Grill the burgers to your desired doneness. I recommend pulling the burgers from the grill at about 130 degrees. Put the cheese on the burgers about 1 minute before you are ready to take them off of the grill so the cheese can begin to melt.
9. Toast the hamburger buns while the cooked burgers are resting.
10. Place a patty on each bun and top with 3-4 slices of avocado and 2-3 slices of red onion.

Recipe for Success

• While it’s important to evenly combine the bison, chuck, and spices, be careful not to over-work the meat or your burgers will be tough.
• Bison is a very lean beef, which is why I’ve included a bit of chuck in the mix to bring some fat to the burger. Be careful not to over-cook the burgers or they will be dry.
• You could just as easily top this burger with guacamole instead of this collection of guacamole ingredients.
• Pick your poison – use either mild or hot green chiles depending on how much heat you like.
• I think that the avocado brings enough creaminess to the burger that it doesn’t need any wet condiments like mayo or mustard, but you can certainly dress the burger however you’d like.