Macque Choux! Gesundheit!

While I've been trying to get over a nasty chest cold, I still found the energy to utilize fresh Hatch chiles (see Roasted with Love-Hoarded with Passion and The Great Green Chile Quest), this time in Macque Choux! Macque choux, pronounced "mock shoe," is a corn-based side dish traditional to southern Louisiana. The origins of this Cajun specialty are a bit unknown; however, it appears that the dish was embraced by the Acadians (French immigrants from eastern Canada) who, after being moved out by the British, settled in Louisiana and learned it from the local Native Americans. There are a plethora of recipes for macque choux, but all contain corn, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, herbs, spices, and usually some Tasso ham. 

This recipe for "Hatch Chile Macque Choux" is yet again another version I'd never seen before, so I had to try it! It utilizes fresh Hatch chiles (which hopefully you have all ready to go in your freezer), bacon, a little lager, NO tomatoes (gasp!), and enriched with heavy cream. I served it with some seared scallops and a garnish of fresh chives. Very pretty! However, this fiery version (which really helped open my sinuses) really over-powered the delicate flavor of the scallops. Shrimp, crawfish, chicken, and some potatoes can be added to create a "main meal." If you prefer not to use the green chiles, substitute tomatoes for a more authentic dish. Any leftover macque choux makes a welcome addition to cornbread!

Hatch Chile Macque Choux

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped

3/4 cup red bell pepper, diced (if using tomatoes instead of green chile, substitute a green bell pepper instead...to keep the colors pretty!)
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup lager

4 cups corn (preferably freshly cut from 3 or 4 ears of corn, see Techniques)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, deseeded, and sliced (optional, can be replaced with diced tomatoes)

Directions:

Saute bacon over medium heat until crisp and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the red bell pepper and onion to the pan. Cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the lager and deglaze by stirring and scraping all the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until the lager is nearly evaporated. Add corn, cream, and Tabasco. (If using tomatoes instead of chiles, add them here.) Bring to a simmer and cook until cream is thick enough to leave a trail on the back of a spoon. Add the bacon back in. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Hatch chiles, if using.

Recipe courtesy of Central Market.

Hatch, Hatch, Hooray!

Hatch chiles have just hit the market! Yippee! These amazing chiles are only available for a short period of time, so you better run out and get some! Every year I load up, roast and freeze them to hopefully last me all year. See Roasting and Freezing Hatch Chiles. I also make Green Chile Sauce, that I freeze in ice cube trays, which I adore with scrambled eggs. The first meal I make is always my amazing Green Chile Cheeseburgers! Delicious! In fact, I'm making them tonight! I can't wait! Other fabulous recipes from my site that make the most of these addictive chiles are Chiles Rellenos, Green Chile Chicken Lasagna with Goat Cheese, and Hatch Chile Macque Choux. I highly recommend any of those!

However, I have a new recipe for you to try this year! How does "Hatch Chile and Cheddar Corn Pudding" sound? Chiles and cheese - my favorite! It's the perfect side dish with grilled or roasted meats. It would also make a fine meal on it's own with a nice green salad. If you like chiles, you'll love this recipe!

Hatch Chile and Cheddar Corn Pudding

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 large hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, and chopped (See Techniques for more information on how to roast a chile.) (Can subtitute 1, 4oz can of hatch chiles, if necessary.)

4 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

3 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups grated cheddar cheese, preferably freshly grated

5 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree 3 cups of the corn in a food processor or blender. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the remaining 1 cup corn, salt, scallions, chiles, flour, and 1 cup of the cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream until combined. Stir into the corn mixture.

Place butter in a 8" square baking dish (I used a 2 quart souffle dish), and place in oven until butter is melted, about 10 minutes. (Don't let the butter burn!) Pour batter into the hot baking dish and sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese. Place a baking sheet on lower rack to catch any drips, and bake until puffed and bubbling and cheese is golden brown, 45-50 minutes. (I had no issues with any drips.) Let cool 30 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

What "The Old Fart" Can Teach You!!!

How can it be that since I moved north, the summers are even hotter than South Texas? With temperatures consistently clearing triple digits, I am up to my eyeballs with my favorite hot weather food, i.e., Black Bean-Chicken Tostadas with Salsa and Tangy Romaine, Retro Wedge Salad with 1916 Roquefort Dressing, and Schlotzky's "Original" Sandwich, just to name a few. What I really want, which sounds insane, is a nice bowl of soup! Yes, I said soup, even in triple digits!!!

Luckily, My local grocer just started receiving Colorado corn! I don't know what it is about Colorado corn, but I swear it is the best I've ever tasted! Maybe it's the fresh mountain air, or perhaps nostalgia for the beautiful state of Colorado? Either way, it makes the most delicious "Corn Soup with Coriander!" You may think that this sweet, spicy, and exceedingly fresh tasting soup is from my Texas heritage, but it's not! It's Canadian, specifically, from a relic Canadian magazine called The Old Fart! Lucky for me, Laura Calder included this recipe in her newest cookbook! She recommends serving it as a starter, followed by steak, salad, and summer pudding; however, it's HOT, just give me a bowl and an ice cold cerveza, and I'm perfect!

Corn Soup with Coriander

Serves 8

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn

3 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, minced

2 small red peppers, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes, or to taste

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup milk or light cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Leaves from a bunch of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped

Directions:

Shuck the corn, and with a small knife shave the kernels from the cobs. (Click my "Techniques" tab for tips on removing corn from the cob.) Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat, and saute the onions until translucent. Add the corn, red peppers, and chili flakes and saute for 5 minutes. Add the jalapeno, tomatoes, and chicken stock; simmer for 15 minutes. Add the milk and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the chopped coriander, and serve. Pretty easy, eh?

Recipe adapted from Dinner Chez Moi: The Fine Art of Feeding Friends, by Laura Calder.

You say poblano, I say Green Chile Cheeseburger!

A few years ago, I was absolutely convinced that I would win the HGTV Dream Home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I loved that place. I was so convinced, that after hearing someone talk on Splendid Table on NPR about the New Mexican staple, the Green Chile Cheeseburger, I spent quite a while trying to figure out a recipe. This is what I came up with. A wonderfully juicy, spicy, cheesy version of the original! Although I didn't win my dream home in the mountains, I won't stop making this delicious burger!

Green Chile Cheeseburgers 

Makes 4 burgers:

Ingredients:

4 "Hatch" green chiles (if available) or 2 large poblano peppers

1 smallish yellow or red onion, thickly sliced but do not separate into rings
garlic powder
1 pound ground chuck
Kraft cheese slices (I'm normally a stickler about processed food, but here it just works!)
lettuce
1 tomato
mayo
ketchup, optional (a real "no-no" in New Mexico!)
onion sandwich rolls
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

First you need to roast the hatch/poblano peppers. Click here to find out how. Next, drizzle the onion slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper on each side. Grill (I use a grill pan) the slices until soft and no longer opaque.  Now chop up the peppers and onions into the same size pieces. (I do it about 1/4 to 1/2 inch size.) Mix them together and plop back into a bowl. Heat up a saute pan and cook the poblano/onion mixture for a few minutes. Throw in a good dash of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and stir. This step is important. If you don't heat the mixture up the flavor is just not there. When done, drop into the same bowl and cover until ready to make burgers.

Divide the meat into 4 balls. Flatten with the back of a plate. Make them bigger than the rolls so they will fit after cooking, as they will shrink. Season liberally with salt and pepper on each side.

On a grill (but I have cooked them in a skillet) cook the burgers. I do about 5 minutes the first side. After flipping the first time, top each burger with as much poblano/onion mix that will stay on top. Continue to cook about 3 to 5 minutes on the second side. Now, a couple of minutes before done, I top each burger with 2 slices of Kraft cheese slices (don't judge me). Once the burgers look good and the cheese has melted smooth, remove.

Cover each side of the buns with some mayo. Put burgers on the buns. I top with some lettuce and a slice of tomato. I don't put the ketchup on the buns, just on the side to dip the burger in bite by bite. If you put it on the burger, the green chili flavor gets lost.

I think these are best served with roasted potato wedges (seasoned with cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper) and a nice cold Shiner Bock from my childhood state of Texas. Prosit!

What I want to eat when it's freakin hot outside!

Today it's 99°, with a heat index of 110°!!!! Ick!  I'm so sick of the heat and the dreaded question of "What's for dinner?"  At times like this, I immediately think of the ultimate, quick, hot weather food from Rick Bayless's Mexico One Plate at a Time. Black bean-chicken tostadas with salsa and tangy romaine makes a perfect dinner that no one in my family will turn down. My version simplifies things by buying packaged tostada shells, a rotisserie chicken, using my favorite salsa, and a couple more tweaks. In fact, this is so fast that I pull this out when I'm in a pinch for time.

Black Bean-Chicken Tostadas with Salsa and Tangy Romaine

One package tostada shells

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium white onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1, 15oz can black beans or frijoles negros, drained

Kosher salt

2 cups shredded chicken (use a store bought rotisserie)

3/4 cup mexican crema or sour cream (I can find crema at my local mexican market. It's awesome and worth looking for! If not you can make your own crema!)

1 cup or so of your favorite salsa (I like a tomato/jalapeno type for this recipe)

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco, cotija, or even shredded cheddar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups loosely packed, thinly sliced romaine

chopped tomatoes and cilantro for garnish

For the beans:

In a medium saucepan, heat the 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium heat.  When the oil is shimmery, add the onion and cook until golden, approximately 7 minutes.  Add the garlic until you can smell it (about a minute, no more).   Then add the beans.  Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they are soft and creamy.  Add a little water, if necessary.  Don't worry about lumps.  It should be lumpy but still smooth.

For the tangy romaine:

Toss the romaine with the vinegar and olive oil and about 1/4 teaspoon salt.

To serve family style (or you can plate to make it more special):

Put out the tostada shells, bowl of shredded chicken, bowl of beans, the tangy romaine, crema, salsa, chopped tomato, chopped cilantro, and cheese. 

To assemble:

Take a tostada shell and spread the bottom with the delicious black beans.  Top with some chicken, romaine, salsa, crema or sour cream, and cheese.  Garnish with the tomatoes and cilantro.  Enjoy and don't forget to tell your kids to lean over their plate!!!