I get home Tuesday night to a big Fed-Ex box waiting at my doorstep.  Immediately I act like it’s Christmas, I tell Mando “Grab some scissors so I could pop this box open.”   I spy to see the return address is Melissa’s Produce, this sets excitement to my creative mood.  Pulling the flap up to the box  a crowd of HATCH CHILES reveal themselves.  I see the chiles have decided to group into cliques labeled “HOT” and “MILD”…. Who do I want to enjoy first?  I know,  I will test the waters with the mild chiles initially and work my tolerance up to the hot…. Sounds like a plan.  Here’s what happened next:  Brainstorming, market run, roasting chiles over an open flame, and peeling all the charred skin away. Corn bread strata is what I came up with for the mild hatch chiles, wait a couple of days and I’ll deliver what kind of dance the hot hatch chiles did for me! Thank you again Melissa’s Produce!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for hatch chile corn bread:

3/4 – cup milk

1 – cup grilled corn

1/2 -cup melted butter

2 – beaten eggs

3/4 – cup mild hatch chile (roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped) (about 3 chiles)

1 1/2 – cups yellow cornmeal plus 1/4 cup

1/4 – cup flour

1 – teaspoon baking powder

1/2 – teaspoon baking soda

1 – teaspoon sugar

1 -teaspoon salt

1 – cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

First start by roasting hatch chiles over an open flame. Then once skin is charred place in a ziplock bag and let steam for an hour. Remove from bag, and peel off charred skin under a slow stream of water. Then remove stem and seeds from chile. Lastly cut into long strips then chop into small pieces.

Next take your grilled corn on the cob and remove kernels.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Then take a 9×13 metal cake pan and grease with butter and shake with 1/4 cup of cornmeal. This will ensure your corn bread does not stick.

In a mixing bowl add milk, grilled corn, butter, eggs, and mild hatch chiles. Mix well.

In a large mixing bowl add cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk together. Then add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix until combined.

Pour into prepared metal cake pan, and spread evenly. Then top with 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Corn bread is done!

Ingredients for strata:

1 – pan of hatch chile corn bread

1 – cup grilled corn

4 – mild hatch chiles (roasted, peeled, seeded, and butterflied)

5 – ounces artichoke hearts (chopped)

1/2 – cup pepitas

2 – cups grated jack cheese

1/2 – cup chopped green onion

1/2 – tablespoon dried chili flakes

1 – teaspoon black pepper

1 – teaspoon Lawry’s

2 – cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 – tablespoon spicy brown mustard

8 – eggs

1 – cup milk

1 – cup 1/2 & 1/2

Butter a 9×13 glass baking dish. Then take corn bread and cut into small pieces. Then line glass baking dish with corn bread pieces. Make sure to leave 1/8 of corn bread behind for a later use.

Then sprinkle with grilled corn.

Then add butterflied mild hatch chiles to the next layer.

Now add the artichoke hearts and pepitas.

Now for the jack cheese, chopped green onion, dried chili flakes, black pepper, and Lawry’s.

Now take the remaining cornbread (that 1/8 you saved), and break it up over the top.

Let’s be fair and sprinkle in some sharp cheddar cheese to the top.

In a bowl beat mustard, eggs, milk, and 1/2 & 1/2.  Then pour mixture over the top of the strata.  It should look like this from the side.

Now cover the strata and place in the refrigerator for 12 hours or over night. This is the hard part. Waiting.

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  Bake strata for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!

Enjoy!  Serve for breakfast with some sausage on the side or with a side of black beans and sour cream.  I’ll take both. 🙂

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Melissa’s Produce hatch chiles to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.

I wish I was in FRANCE right now.  I wish I could be there enjoying the Bastille Day parade!  Eating with a smile on my face.  Enjoying the simpleness of a toasty ham and cheese baguette all in celebration of La Fete Nationale!  Now that’s the way to start your morning.  The last time I was in Paris there was a lovely bakery right outside of my hotel that made me a loyal customer day one.  Every morning they make delicious coffee, pastries sent straight from heaven, and this simple baguette with ham and cheese on top.  Mmmmmm.  I crave that toasty baguette all the time.  I may not be in France for the glorious celebration July 14th, but the least I could do is make the toasty toast, and I will.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for toasty ham and cheese baguette:

1 – 8 inch piece of french baguette

1 – tablespoon room temperature butter

6 – slices comte cheese

2 – slices ham

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Then take baguette and slice down the middle making two pieces. Place on cookie sheet and spread butter on both pieces of bread.

Then neatly place ham on bread, then top with slices of comte cheese.

Then place under broiler on high for 6 minutes or until golden bubbly crisp.  That’s it, your done…. Enjoy for breakfast with fresh fruit or a cup of french pressed coffee.

J’aime Paris!

I hold a pocket of memories close to my heart, and I had to reach in deep to pull this one out.  It was summertime 1980 and my Tia (Aunt) and Tio (Uncle) took myself and a few of my cousins on a camping trip to Sequoia.  We went on many adventures as a family, but this one in particular reeks of embarrassment.  I remember the trip there being a long haul up winding mountains, and riding inside the camper laying on the flat bed high up top looking out the long rectangle window as little bugs got splattered against the glass. Many hours later we found our spot and settled in nestled amongst towering trees.  A few tents were pitched for the adults and us kids claimed our beds inside the camper.  Once night fell upon us the stars filled the sky, some shining bright twinkling to catch our eye, and some a bit bashful they scurried away in shooting fashion only to disappear.

Instead of lighting a bon fire and roasting marshmallows the park ranger had informed us of a cartoon viewing that night at the Lodgepole.  Us kids were thrilled and squirmed in our seats through dinner anticipating the fun that awaited our animated pleasure.  The Lodgepole was an open space with long logs made for seating and a big white drop screen hung from two trees on either side.  We ran to find our seats with bags of salted peanuts mixed with raisins in hand.  I sat next to the park ranger with the rest of my cousins and family in the aisle behind me.  The screen started to flicker with a projection of Tom and Jerry cartoons.  I munched on my snack concentrating on the cat and mouse before me. The evening was going splendid until I felt a bit of gas building up in my belly.  I thought to myself “Could it be the peanuts and raisins? Should I let out a fart here? No one will hear it, the sound is too loud.”  I released an almost silent fart and thought I had gotten away with a BIG scheme.  Two seconds later I was engulfed in the most hideous stench. The park ranger turned and looked at me and said in the loudest voice he owned “Did you just fart?”  I shook my head back and forth with an expression that read disbelief that he was asking me that question and blurted out “No.”  He raised one eyebrow and crinkled up his nose in disgust and said “YES you did LIAR, and it smells.”  I was so mortified, my instincts told me to run deep into the pitch black forest and pass from sight like a faded star.  Instead I sat there turning every shade of shame shrinking smaller and smaller in my seat.  Of course it didn’t end there…. all the kids around me start squealing saying “Eew!”

The next morning I laid in bed covers pulled over my head reeling from humiliation.  I just wanted to go home.  My Aunt was up making breakfast and it smelled so inviting.  I could hear the sizzle of bacon and the shell of eggs breaking.  Then a hand came, pulled back my blanket, and rubbed my hair.  The hand was accompanied by a loving voice that belonged to my Tia.  She said “Get up Mija, I’m making potato-bacon fritters and eggs.” And just like that the magic of delicious food made everything better than fine. Forgotten even.

All food photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Here’s a photo of me and my cousins standing in front of the truck/camper before we left on our road trip. From left to right. Myself, Scott, Mando, Yvette, and Shrimp.

This recipe will make 16 fritters

Ingredients for fritters:

3 – cups mashed Idaho potatoes (a day/or a few days old and cold)

1 – cup sharp cheddar cheese cubes (I use Tillamook)

1 – package of bacon (fried, and crumbled)

1/2 – cup roasted pasilla chile (skinned, deseeded, and cut into small cubes)

1 – egg

1/8 – cup corn starch

1/2 – cup flour

1/2 – bread crumbs or corn meal

1/2 – teaspoon Lawry’s

1/2 – teaspoon black pepper

Vegetable oil

In a big bowl add mashed Idaho potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, and pasilla chile. Mix well with hands.

Using a 1/4 cup, scoop out potato mixture and form into patties. Should make 16 patties. Place patties on a piece of wax paper so they don’t stick to your working surface.

In a container mix cornstarch, flour, bread crumbs, Lawry’s, and black pepper. Set to the side. In a small bowl mix egg then dip one patty at a time. Then take patty and dip into flour mixture. Repeat with next patty till done.

In a large frying pan add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil over a medium flame. Allow oil to get hot, then add coated patties. Fry on each side for 2 -3 minutes or until golden brown. You will need to fry the patties in batches, using more oil each time.

Once cooked remove from pan and serve. I like to add sour cream to the top and a fried egg on the side. That’s it…you’re done.

How to make the mashed Idaho potatoes:

3 – large Idaho potatoes (Peeled and cut into 8 pieces)

1 – tablespoon minced garlic

1 – stick of butter

8 – large mushrooms (chopped)

1/2 – cup whipping cream

2 – tablespoons chopped green onion

salt and pepper to taste

Peel and boil pieces of Idaho potatoes for 20 minutes or until a fork can pierce through. Drain and place in a bowl and mash with a hand masher. Then in a frying pan place 2 tablespoons of butter with mushrooms and garlic and let saute for 5 minutes, then add the rest of the stick of butter to melt. Pour the butter garlic mushroom saute into the mashed potatoes along with the whipping cream and the chopped green onion, and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

🙂 Mashed Idaho Potato Tip: Will taste better if made a few days ahead of time and placed in the fridge. They will hold better too if cold when making this recipe.

How to make the roasted pasilla chile:

1 – pasilla chile

1/2 – teaspoon of vegetable oil

Pour 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in a small dish,  with a pastry brush generously brush pasilla chiles with olive oil to coat. Then place oil coated pasilla chile on an open medium high flame. Burn the skin of the entire chile. It will take about 5 to 7 minutes to char.

Once chile is completely charred, place it in an air tight ziplock bag for 1 hour. This step will allow chile to steam in it’s own heat and will make peeling charred skin off much easier. It’s an essential step.

Once chile has steamed, remove from ziplock and place under a stream of water from faucet. With your fingers slowly and carefully peel charred skin off of chile, until all burned skin is removed.

Then discard stem and seeds inside. Cut into long strips, then dice into small squares.

How to make the bacon:

1 – package of bacon

Take a slab of bacon and cut into 4 sections.

Then in a large frying pan over a medium flame, add bacon pieces. Fry until nicely browned. It should take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Once cooked set on a paper towel lined plate and allow to cool before crumbling a little bit smaller.

Enjoy these fritters. I sometimes make them for dinner and serve with a piece of fish. 🙂