|
|
These appetizers are incredibly easy to make and so yummy! Plus they don’t have to be served hot – still good hours after you pull them out of the oven. You can also assemble them ahead of time, cover them, and just keep them in the fridge. Then pop them in the oven about a half hour before you want to serve them.
I used Mosco chiles – a hot, flavorful chile. I thought it was a good choice. They would also be good with mild, though. I also dipped some of them in maple syrup before baking. That was also very good, but I think the basic recipe is so good, I’m not likely to bother with the maple syrup.
At the Denver Chile Fest yesterday, Heather Blake of RockyMountainCooking.com made a version of these brushed with her green chile bbq sauce – super good! I’ll be publishing some of her recipes shortly.
One thing I like about this recipe is that I always have a can of water chestnuts in the pantry and always have bacon and green chiles in the fridge or freezer. So I can whip these up on no notice. Try these – this recipe’s a keeper.
Bacon Chile Wrapped Water Chestnuts - ½ lb bacon
- 1 8-oz can whole water chestnuts
- 2-3 whole green chiles, roasted & peeled
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Cut the bacon strips in halves or thirds. Thirds will do for most of the water chestnuts, but the biggest may not be totally covered by the bacon.
- Cut the chiles into strips about ½ inch wide. Then cut each strip to about the same length as the bacon.
- Cover each bacon strip with a strip of chile, put a water chestnut on top, then wrap the bacon over it and skewer with a toothpick.
- Place on a baking dish or sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until done to your liking.
- Serve & enjoy!
3.4.3177
 Heather Blake’s amazing recipe for Green Chile Risotto is fully of perfectly balanced flavors that complement each other. With roasted green chiles, veggies, and chicken, it makes a wonderful meal or side dish A very flavorful, satisfying dish that’s easy to make. This is the kind of dish that I would serve for company, take to a pot luck, or just make when the mood hits. It’s foolproof and elegant at the same time.
This recipe was created by Heather Blake of RockyMountainCooking.com; you might want to read her description of how she was inspired to give this classic Italian comfort food a Southwestern flair by using Monterrey Jack instead of Parmesan and adding green chiles. This is how truly memorable dishes are made!
Green Chile Risotto Author: Heather Blake Recipe type: Rice Cuisine: Southwestern - 1 tbs butter
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 cup diced onions
- 3 - 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1½ cups of diced chicken breast
- 1 red pepper diced small
- 1½ cups diced green chile
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
- 4 cups of chicken broth
- ½ white wine (optional)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- Heat chicken broth and wine in a separate sauce pan.
- In a large pan heat olive oil and butter over medium heat.
- Add onions, garlic, chicken, red peppers, green chile, salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne and cook until translucent. About 7 minutes.
- Add arborio rice and cook until a "white" dot shows up in the middle of the rice (about 2 minutes).
- Slowly add 1 cup of chicken.
- When the liquid is absorbed add another cup.
- Keep doing this until all the liquid is absorbed. It should take about 25 minutes (at high altitude, maybe a little less at sea level).
- When you are down to your last cup add the cheese and adjust seasoning if you need too!
- Add fresh cilantro
- Enjoy!
3.3.3077
 Zucchini Chile Cream Cheese Casserole is a simple, yet delicious dish that adds slightly spicy flavorful light sauce to the zucchini, topped with a cracker crust. This is a yummy casserole, easy to make with the gorgeous zucchini fresh out of the garden. I made these in small individual baking dishes and we ate them as a meal. Next time I might add chicken strips to actually make it more like a meal.
I used a medium chile (Big Jim), and I lean toward keeping the chiles on the mild side so they complement the zucchini rather than overpowering. You just might go for this dish on the hot side, though!
This is an adaptation of a dish from Barb Kiebel of Creative-Culinary.com.
Zucchini Chile Cream Cheese Casserole Author: Anita Edge Recipe type: Vegetable Cuisine: Southwestern - 4 cups sliced zucchini, with slices about the size of fat quarters
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 to 4 tbsp diced green chiles, depending on desired heat level
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground pepper
- 20 Ritz crackers
- Cut the unpeeled zucchini into ¼ inch slices, then microwave until still crunchy but tender, about 3 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
- Melt 2 tbsp of butter and the cream cheese, then blend with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and green chiles.
- Stir in zucchini and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Put in a baking dish. Melt remaining butter, crumble the crackers into a bowl and stir in the melted butter. Spread on top of the zucchini.
- Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until crumb topping is lightly browned.
3.3.3077
 Zucchini Chile Cream Cheese Casserole is an easy, scrumptious dish that adds slightly spicy flavorful light sauce to the zucchini, topped with a cracker crust.
 Roasted Salsa is an easy, flavorful, smoky and fresh-tasting salsa just fabulous on all kinds of dishes. This incredibly simple recipe is from Chef Philip Feder. Roasting the veggies in a skillet on the stove till they blacken makes a huge difference in the flavor – gives this salsa a wonderful smoky flavor. I found the flavor gets better the next day. The flavors blend and the smokiness develops. I’ll be making this over and over!
Roasted Salsa Author: Chef Philip Feder Recipe type: Salsa Cuisine: Southwestern - 4-6 Roma tomatoes
- 2-3 jalapeno or serrano peppers
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- ½ large white onion
- salt to taste
- Cut onion in large chunks.
- In a large skillet over high heat, roast the vegetables until they blacken, rotating so you get them blackened on all sides.
- Remove from heat and remove stem and seeds from jalapenos (you can leave seeds in to increase heat). Deglaze the skillet with a little water and pour into molcajete or food processor. A hand-cranked food chopper works great for this.
- Place all vegetables in the molcajete or food processor and smash until you get the consistency of salsa you want. If using a food processor, gently pulse and stir several times. With a food processor it's easy to overdo it and end up with a pureed mixture.
- Pour into a bowl, cover and chill in fridge for a few hours to let flavors blend.
- Serve with tortilla chips or tacos, burritos, on fish or ... use your imagination!
3.3.3077
 Roasted Salsa from Chef Philip Feder is an easy, smoky, flavorful fresh salsa ideal on all kinds of dishes.
 Smoky Pasta Salad is a classic pasta with a small amount of dressing, garlic, bacon, green chiles, mushrooms, bell peppers, and a dose of liquid smoke that makes this a distinctive and elegant salad. Can be served hot or cold.
The smokey flavor and green chiles complement each other very nicely and turn this classic pasta salad into a distinctive taste treat. It keeps well in the fridge and can be served either hot or cold. Personally, I’ve been serving it hot. You can also add olives and other veggies.
Smoky Pasta Salad Author: Anita Edge Recipe type: Pasta Cuisine: Fusion - 8 oz pasta
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Ranch Dressing mix
- ½ tsp liquid smoke
- 6 slices bacon
- 3 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1½ cups diced red or green bell pepper
- ½ cup mild or medium diced green chiles
- 3 green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional: sliced olives, 2 cups small broccoli florets, steamed
- garnish: set aside some of the cilantro, green onions and bacon for garnish
- Cook and drain pasta.
- While pasta is cooking, cook the bacon until crisp, then place the bacon on paper towels to drain, leaving bacon fat in the skillet.
- Sautee mushrooms and garlic in the bacon fat until thoroughly cooked.
- Blend the mayonnaise, Ranch Dressing mix, liquid smoke and green chiles.
- In a large bowl or saucepan, blend the pasta with the mayonnaise mixture, then stir in the mushrooms and bell pepper. Set aside 1-2 tbsp of the green onions and cilantro for garnish and stir the rest into the pasta salad.
- Crumble the bacon into the salad, setting aside some for garnish. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- If desired, stir in sliced olives and small steamed broccoli florets.
- Top with more bacon crumbles, cilantro and chopped green onions and serve either hot or cold.
3.3.3077
 Hatch Salsa Verde is a tangy, spicy salsa just perfect for adding a special touch to street tacos. Great on pork, chicken, beans, or drizzle over cheese dip. Hatch Salsa Verde is a very simple, tangy and spicy cooked green salsa. It’s one of my favorite salsas and keeps for about 2 weeks in the fridge. I’ve made it with just medium chiles (Big Jim) and I’ve tried it made with hot chiles (Sandia and Mirasol). I lean toward the medium, particularly if serving it with chips or as a dip of some kind. But this is really the perfect salsa to serve on street tacos, and I lean toward making it hot if you’re going to drizzle it over pulled pork on a taco.
You also can freeze this with no problem. That’s an advantage of a cooked salsa – they generally freeze well. All in all, I recommend drizzling this over pulled pork, pulled chicken, salmon, even shredded beef. Enjoy!
Hatch Salsa Verde Author: Anita Edge Recipe type: Salsa Cuisine: Southwestern - 1 ½ cups medium or hot Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded
- 2 cups coarsely chopped tomatillos
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs & stems
- salt to taste
- Remove husks from fresh tomatillos and rinse tomatillos under warm water to remove stickiness, then chop coarsely.
- In a saucepan simmer tomatillos, broth, and garlic until tomatillos are tender, about 10 minutes if using fresh tomatillos and about 5 minutes if using canned.
- Add chiles to tomatillo mixture. Cool salsa slightly and in a blender pulse until coarsely chopped (use caution when blending hot liquids).
- Salsa may be made up to this point 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before being chilled, covered. Bring salsa to room temperature or reheat before proceeding.
- Just before serving, in blender pulse salsa with cilantro until cilantro is finely chopped (use caution when blending if salsa is heated) and season with salt.
3.3.3077
So what’s this salsa like on a taco? That’s where it really shines. Here we have a pulled chicken taco with some sour cream and crumbles of cotija cheese. That hot, tart flavor adds a whole new dimension just like you find in the best street tacos. I’ve taken this batch of salsa and frozen it in 1/2 to 1 cup containers so I can pull out just the right amount when I’m making homemade tacos or burritos. Easy peasy!
 Hatch Salsa Verde is a tart, spicy salsa ideal for adding a special touch to street tacos. Great on pork, chicken, beans, or drizzle over cheese dip.
 Pineapple Salsa is a fresh, sweet and a bit spicy, very flavorful salsa – absolutely wonderful on pulled pork tacos. Also very easy to make. Recipe from Chef Philip Feder I took a Street Tacos & Salsas class a couple weeks ago from Chef Philip Feder at Colorado Free University, and this salsa was the class favorite. It just had a great flavor with some heat, but not too much. The pineapple taste stood out with the onion and jalapeno served as accents that added character. Plus, it’s easy to make. You can make this with canned pineapple – not quite as good, but still worth making.
This Pineapple Salsa is ideal on Pork Tinga Street Tacos or Carnitas Tacos. It’s similar to Tacos al Pastore. Chef Philip’s Pork Tinga was basically a pork butt or pork loin cut into big chunks, onions, tomatoes, chili powder, a little vinegar, and jalapenos thrown into a pressure cooker and cooked on high for an hour and a half. I think quantities are just crude guesstimates. I’ll have to try making it myself so I can publish the recipe.
I hope you enjoy this Pineapple Salsa recipe – I’ll be making it again and again myself!
Pineapple Salsa Author: Chef Philip Feder Recipe type: Salsa Cuisine: Mexican - 1 whole pineapple
- ¼ white onion, chopped (about ⅓ cup)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ¼ jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- Juice of 2 limes
- Sprinkle of Kosher salt
- Core and dice the pineapple.
- Mix pineapple and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Set aside for 15 minutes to let flavors blend.
- Serve on pork tacos or with chips.
3.3.3077
 Carnitas Taco with Pineapple Salsa is a classic pulled pork street taco, just bursting with flavor and character. It is basically a variation of tacos al pastore, which is pork cooked with spices and pineapple. Recipe from Chef Philip Feder
 A spicy, garlicy, yummy green hummus ideal with pita bread, a vegetable platter, or even on a sandwich with chicken or beef I took this to a potluck this week, and everyone who tried it asked for the recipe. It definitely has lots of flavor. Plus it’s easy to make and keeps for up to a week in the fridge.
This is a very simple and forgiving recipe. You’ll notice I suggest a number of optional spices. This is the kind of recipe where you might have a half dozen interesting variations by blending in sriracha or smoked paprika or chipotle powder. Just take a spoonful of hummus and try it. These spices also make attractive garnishes.
Cilantro Chile Hummus Author: Anita Edge Recipe type: Dip Cuisine: Southwestern Mediterranean Fusion - 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp hot green chiles
- ½ cup cilantro stems (and/or leaves)
- Pita bread or a vegetable platter for dipping
- optional: olive brine for flavor and to adjust texture
- optional garnishes: sriracha, cayenne pepper, chipotle powder, paprika, cilantro leaves, chopped olives
- Dump garlic, lemon juice and olive oil into blender first, then add half the garbanzo beans, the tahini, cilantro and half the green chiles. *See notes
- Blend until smooth and then add remaining garbanzos. Taste for heat level and add remaining green chile gradually to reach your desired heat level.
- You may find more liquid is needed to reach desired consistency - you can gradually add more olive oil, olive brine (juice from a can of olives), or the liquid from the can of garbanzos.
- When desired heat and consistency is reached, spoon into a serving dish and serve with pita bread, chips, or a vegetable platter for dipping.
1. Roasted Tahini is found in most grocery stores, but you may have to ask to locate where it is in the store.
2.Add liquid as needed as you blend. Insufficient liquid can be hard on the blender.
3. I use mainly cilantro stems. Most people throw these away, but they blend nicely, are flavorful and nutritious. I save the leaves for garnish and to make up the balance of the ¾ cup needed in case the stems aren't quite enough.
4. The spices are for a pretty garnish, flavor or both. This is the basic recipe and adding your choice of spices makes for interesting variations. 3.3.3077
 Yummy appetizer perfect for any party. Full of sausage, Jack cheese, green chiles, mayo and tomatoes. Easy, easy to make. These are so easy to make and always get rave reviews. I just took these to a party and watched people pop them in their mouths. Eyes widen and they say, “Wow – these are good!”
I keep all these ingredients around, and I can make these with less than an hour’s notice. I keep a few boxes of phyllo mini-cups in my freezer (15 cups each – they keep a couple years) and I keep chubs of sausage and blocks of Monterrey Jack cheese in my freezer. I always have cans of Rotel tomatoes (or competing brands) in the pantry.
Do not make these ahead of time. It’s best to assemble and bake them within a half hour or so before serving. These cups get soggy on the bottom if they sit for long. To reduce tendency to get soggy, you can put some shredded cheese on the bottom of each cup before you put the mixture in – yeah, extra work. It’s the tomatoes that cause the cups to get soggy.
Green Chile Sausage Bites - 1 cup tomatoes and diced green chiles, drained (Rotel or similar)
- 1 cup Jimmy Dean regular sausage, cooked and crumbled
- 1½ cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup diced green chiles
- 3 packages mini-phyllo cups (15 cups per package)(see notes)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Spoon the filling into the cups so each cup is very full and rounded.
- Bake for 15 minutes and serve.
Mini-phyllo cups are found in the freezer section of most grocery stores next to the frozen pie crusts, phyllo dough, and puff pastry. I used Athens Spinach Mini-Fillo Shells, which is why they are green. These are no longer made, so you can only get the regular color. 3.5.3208
 A gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with premium roast beef, Jack cheese, roasted green chiles, onions, and tomatoes, grilled to perfection. A guaranteed hit! Over the past few weeks, this has become a favorite in our house. It started out as just a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich featuring premium roast beef. Using quality roast beef is very important – I used the deli roast beef from King Soopers that normally sells for $12/lb. Usually I have it thin sliced and only use 3 slices. Really, really good! I make it sometimes with green chiles and sometimes without. It’s very easy to make, yet far beyond a typical grilled cheese sandwich.
I’ll be trying some variations on this – this is the kind of dish that you basically can’t screw up, especially if you stick with high quality ingredients.
Grilled Chile Cheese Steak Sandwich Author: Anita Edge Recipe type: Sandwich Cuisine: Fusion - 2 slices sourdough bread (from a square loaf)
- Monterrey Jack cheese, sliced no more that ¼" thick to cover both slices of bread
- 3 slices premium deli roast beef (for extra-beefy, double the amount)
- 1 large green chile, roasted, peeled, seeded
- 1 slice onion, diced and grilled till soft
- 2 slices tomato, diced
- mayonnaise
- mustard
- butter
- Spread both slices of bread with mayonnaise. Spread mustard on one slice.
- Top both slices with a layer of Monterrey Jack cheese.
- Top one half with diced grilled onion and diced tomato.
- Top other half with the green chile, split open, and the sliced roast beef.
- Put the two halves together and butter the outside.
- Grill in a skillet over medium heat until the bread is nice and golden.
- You may need to microwave the sandwich on high for about 20 seconds to melt the cheese to the point where it's nice and gooey without running out of the sandwich.
- Serve & enjoy!
3.2.2925
Steps 2, 3, & 4:
 Top the bread with jack cheese on each side, diced tomatoes and onions on one side and a split green chile on the other. Step 5:
 Add premium roast beef, put the two halves together, butter and grill.
|
|
