[Sca-cooks] now chilies

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> You said the magic word, CHIPOTLE!! I found in Stockholms most exclusive
foodstore (the same store a lunatic stabbed to death our Foreign Affairs
Minister for two months ago) a lot of dried and fresh chilies. I bought
dried chipotle, ancho and arbol and fresh habanero and japaleno.
> Anyone knows how to use the dried chili peppers?
> Ana, novice in chilis..

Well, you're really going to have to try them out for yourself, in order to
find your preferred usages, however...

Chipotles are a dried, smoked jalepeno. The reason that they're smoked is
because they're so fleshy, they would tend to rot, rather than dry, if sun
dried like most chiles are. The smoking has the attribute of adding a lovely
smoked flavor to foods. When I can get them, I use them as a primary base
for my chile powder.

Anchos are a relatively mild, largish chile, with a nice rich flavor.

Arbol are quite a bit hotter than either Ancho or chipotles, usually- nice
flavor, but too much heat for many folks.

Habanero tend to be hotter than the hinges of Hel. Those and Scotch Bonnets
tend to compete for the title of hottest- I suspect there might be a
varietal in there that confuses the issue. Please use them sparingly, and
warn anybody you feed them to, unless they happen to be macho sorts who brag
about how hot the peppers are they eat- then, warn quietly, and let them
have at them- watching steam shoot out people's ears can be highly amusing,
and if you've warned them, they have no reason to bitch ;-)

Most of the heat in jalepenos is in the seed veins, so that makes them a
very versatile pepper that you can seed or not seed, depending on the amount
of heat you desire. I consider them a flavorful base for whatever else I'm
making, often salsas, and add other peppers to vary the flavor and heat,
depending on what I'm looking for.

Basic Salsa
(Angarad, I know better than to ask if people want a recipe ;-)

This recipe was given me by a Mexican lady, and came the closest to my ideal
salsa, with a little playing to get the texture right.

2-3 plum tomatoes, chopped.

A medium onion, chopped

Jalepenos, to taste, generally 1 or two, with or without seeds (their heat
can vary considerably, depending on the type of growing season and variety)
minced very finely.

Fresh cilantro- not a lot, maybe a tsp to a T, shredded/minced finely

Lemon juice- about one lemon's worth, or lime juice, the same.


Mix them all together, then remove half of the mix, and run it through the
blender until it's almost juiced. Mix it all back together thoroughly, and
serve over whatever you like.

I'll often put it over scrambled egg, or in an omelet, or make it up and use
it witrh my

Frijoles Negros con Huevos.
(another recipes, for those who haven't seen it yet)

A can of black beans

A can of chopped tomatoes OR a chopped tomato or two, and enough of the
salsa to be an equal volume to the beans. Or, go straight salsa, but that's
usually a bit intense for most people.

A small chopped onion.

Eggs.

Grated cheese

Mix up the beans, the tomatoes or salsa, and the onion. pour it into a
baking pan, and using a spoon, make dents in the mix and crack eggs into the
dents, preferably in a pleasing pattern. (alternatively, you can put the
beans in the bottom of a muffin tin, and top it with frsh egg). Add grated
cheese on the top.

Put in an oven at 350 until the bean mixture is heated through and the eggs
are cooked- about half an hour. You can finish under the broiler for a
moment or two, to brown the cheese a bit.

Serve with corn bread and butter.

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....