I hope your year is off to a wonderful start!

So much has happened to me and my companies that I really and unfortunately have not blogged in way too long!

My goal is from now on to blog at least once a week, hopefully twice a week. 

On the news front, I have a new partner and address for the spice business, so our goal by February is to be all settled into our new building at 6918 Cochiti SE and start developing new products and bringing back old favorites like the original Chili Madness kit in no frills packaging.  That used to be my best product when we had the gorgeous red foil laminent packaging.  The new kit will come with the same ingredients and recipes as it did, for your pleasure.  Each kit will make one delicious batch of chili that you can make as hot or mild as you like, as we will still keep each ingredient separate to maintain our signature--pure, fresh flavors with no additives or preservatives.

The November weekend was a hoot!  We had 2 restauranter partners here from Ecaudor join us, making for an international flavor to our class. 

Last week, we fine-tuned our tour for October 16-22 to Northern New Mexico.  It is going to be first class and oh so much fun with fabulous restaurants-- the best of Taos--Lambert's and the new rage in Santa Fe--Martines--plus dinner with Estafan in the St. Frances where he is the Executive Chef known for native New Mexican cuisine.

I will also be presenting a demonstration of the favorite traditional foods of Northern New Mexico--including Carne Adobado and Posole and much more.

This tour is designed to give you a really high level introduction to the Best of Northern New Mexico with  tours to historic and beautiful sites, wineries and chef's demonstrations where we dine.  We already have a list of those wishing to join us.  You can now register and view the many wonderful aspects of this tour.

I will personally be escorting the tour--we will have so much fun!   

Jim Hammond, the Southwestern Wine Guy and myself are still hosting and look forward to your joining us on our Blog Talk Radio Show, "Bold Foods with Bold Wines".  It has been Wednesday's at 2:30 PM MST, as it will be this week, switiching to 5:30 PM on Tuesday's next week or the 26th  You can join us at BlogTalkRadio.com and by calling 347-855-8325.  It is lots of fun and you can ask any spicy food and accompanying wine question you can think of and if we don't have the answer--we will work to get it for you!  Call us, we would love to have you join us.   

Our October 9 - 11, 2009 weekend, full-participation cooking class was such fun and just a hoot.  We cooked with the colorful balloons overhead on Saturday.    In all, we had 11 participants.  Four were one day attendees and the balance took all three sessions.  Those attending were all such good cooks and enjoyed each other's company so much.

Terry Gary from Oklahoma City came back for the Sunday session just to learn tamales again--she attended in February, 2008,  also.  She is planning a festive tamale party for several friends and really wanted to make sure she knew how to make them.

And, then we had the flour gals from Texas and Florida, Beverly and Sandra, both formerly from Texas, who made the most amazingly fluffy, golden puffs of sopaipillas and yummy, soft, round and thin homemade flour tortillas--both during the Saturday session.  And then, they volunteered to make the empanadas on Sunday and created tender, moist and flaky pastry for the delicious apricot and raisin filled little delights dusted with powdered sugar.

Sue May from Colorada has been such a loyal and enthusiastic spirit.  She has taken my on-line school, subscribed to my "Cooking with Jane" and then came to this class.  Sue is a terrific chile cook and cooked away with great success in each class.

A Mother, daughter and Father, the Crase family,  all came from California and made  beautiful composed nachos the first night that really set off the "Perfect Walk Home Margaritas", made with Reposada Herradura tequila--the good stuff.

Roz from Albuquerque cooked with Sue May and with both of them being excellent cooks, all of their dishes were totally amazing.  They made the beautiful and crispy chicken tostados perfectly. 

Rounding out the group were two friends from Southern California, Shawn Lee and Marijia Micic, who came on Saturday only and really cooked up a storm, creating the carne adobada and the Green CHile Chicken Enchiladas, which were so delicious.

We have one more weekend cooking class this year and have made it half price or $525 which is the last half price school I will do.  I would love to cook with you all--this last class is November 13-15, 2009.

You can join us for a free demonstration of New Mexico's most popular foods--sopaipillas, blue-corn crusted chiles rellenos and the original salsa--salsa fresca this Wednesday morning, October 7 at the Balloon Fiesta at 10:30 AM or shortly thereafter, right after the Mass Ascension.  It is International Day, so balloonists from all over will be participating.

You would never believe the beautiful, brilliant jeweltone colors of the hundreds of balloons against our purply blue skies.  The weather this year has not been as perfect as usual, however we have now had a Mass Ascension every day.  This year there are 550 registered balloonists.  Both the usual teardrop shapes and the special shapes of all descriptions are all here.

The event attracts thousands from all over the world.  We would love to see you there, but if you don't make it, here is a special picture of the balloons.  We featured them this month in our Butel's Bytes and in our Cooking Club.  The  special event for the Cooking Club this month is a Balloon Launch Brunch that starts with Sunrise Sippers followed with Cannellini Chile  Bruschetta followed by Blue Corn Crepes, with scrambled eggs and green chile filling and a Blue Cheese Sauce napped over them.  A luscious Pear Breakfast Cake completes the menu.  There are tons of other recipes from clever recycling of leftovers to a range of Burritos and quick and easy soups.  THis month we filmed all of the videos in my kitchen instead of using ones from my PBS show series.  Would love to hear what you think.   You can subscribe to the Club free for the first month, just go to our website at www.janebutelcooking.com.    The second month is only $1.00.  Of course this month we are featuring the balloons.

At week's end, we have a weekend cooking class.  I will teach the class in my own kitchen and the fun part is that we can watch the balloons over head and landing all around us.  We still have  an opening or two if you would like to cook with us.  You can can register online at www.janebutelcooking.com or by calling us at 1-800-473-8226.

September is such a month of new beginnings--school, new season and new schedules for at least some of us.  With the new season fast approaching, I am always reminded how good it is to eat whatever fruits and vegetables are in season.

Having just picked our pears last Sunday and carefully wrapping the greener ones in paper--I started thinking how good those pears are going to be all winter in pear preserves and pear honey.  And, right now in a Pear Cake or Pie.  A good friend, Jackie Bryant,  up the street wants to share her pear pie and another friend wants to make Pear Preserves from her Grandmother from Missippi's recipe which features red hots.  Can't wait to taste both of them.  We just might have a pear party where we all get together and make them one of these Sunday afternoons or weekday evenings.  I will be sure to share the recipes.

The Pear Cake is a recipe I just love and am featuring as a great dessert for the Balloon Tail Gating Party I am featuring in the October Cooking Club.  You can get a free peek at the Cooking Club just by going to our website at www.janebutelcooking.com and get the rest of the recipes from the brunch if you join the cooking club, just click on Join Now and the first month is free, second month is $1.00.

PEAR BREAKFAST CAKE

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

Pears always seem like fall. However, I like them any time of the year. Their mellow, earthy sweet taste is wonderful in salads, a wide range of desserts, and just simply fresh, eaten out of the hand. This cake is best if allowed to set after baking and served either warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 6 servings

1 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ cup granulated sugar, divided (2 Tablespoons for batter, 1/3 cup for topping, 2 teaspoons to sprinkle over the top)

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ cup (1/2 stick) sweet (unsalted) butter, cut into ½ inch squares)

½ cup milk

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla, Mexican if possible

¾ cup sour cream

3 firm, ripe pears

A sprinkle of ground cinnamon

Confectioners’ sugar

Paper doily

1.      Preheat the oven to 375F, making sure the rack is in the upper third of the oven. Butter a 9 x 9-inch square cake pan. Combine the dry ingredients, reserving 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1/3 cup, 2 teaspoons of the granulated sugar in a separate small bowl. Stir in the salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.

2.      Using your hands, a pastry blender, or the beater blade of the mixer, cut in the butter. Mix until uniform and no large particles of butter remain. In a separate small bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and vanilla and stir into the above dry ingredients. Spread the batter evenly into the buttered pan.

3.      Combine the reserved 2 Tablespoons of flour, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and sour cream and pour this over the batter.

4.      Peel, quarter, and core the pears. Then cut into long medium thick slices and arrange overlapping in a large circle just inside the edge of the pan. Place the remaining pears in a circle inside that one. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

5.      Remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon. Bake for another 30 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean and the pears are tender and lightly browned.

6.      To serve, place a paper doily on the cake and sieve some powdered sugar over it using the holes in the doily to make a pattern. Remove the doily and place foil over the top if you are transporting the cake. Otherwise serve it warm right from the oven or serving tray.

 Did you know that you can get free samples of our spices every month with membership to our Cooking Club?  I have had several tell me that they did not know that was part of the "deal"--so I decided I had best tell you all.  You do have to place an order for us to ship them, however, you do get a good sized discount on ALL orders when you place them through your password and login information.

I have started a new program on Blog Talk Radio.  I would love for you to start listening.  Just go to their site on the internet.  Also love to have you as friends on facebook and linked in and we twit on twitter.

Until next time, 

Jane Butel, the Queen of Southwest Cooking

With the calendar rolling over one more day into yet another month--September is upon us.  I think there is a bit of nostalgia in each of us.  Don't you remember the excitement of a new school year and all the fun of seeing your friends you hadn't seen much of during the summer?  As weird as this sounds, I remember the scents and smells of the school building being just opened and the smells of my school things, the smell of crayons, pencils, the musty library smell of books just waiting to be peered into and pondered over.

Have you been freezing or canning this year's produce for winter eating?  I think with the economy down, it is a great time to plan ahead and preserve the fresh flavors of summer.

Basically with freezing most vegetables, you need to blanch them to kill the enzymic action which is the aging process, then chill them to stop the cooking.

There are charts available for each specific vegetable, actually the first hardbound book I ever published, "Jane Butel's Freezer Cookbook" has a complete guide to freezing all vegetables, fruits and most everything else.  It was published in 1977, way long ago, however copies sometimes are available.  I have been thinking of reintroducing it sometime.

In general,  leafier vegetables, and thinner ones such as spinach, or sliced zucchini, take 3 minutes of blanching and 3 minutes of chilling.  More dense vegetables, such as green beans take 5 minutes, ears of corn 7 or more minutes depending on the size and real dense vegetables such as beets up to 2 1/2 inches in diameter take 25 to 30 minutes.  Always remember to chill the same amount of time as you cook them.

For freezing fruits, I prefer to use the dry pack with granulated sugar and an ACM mixture such as Fruit Fresh to using syrup. 

There are several hints.  Berries can be hard frozen on cookie sheets and then packaged.  They do not require sugar or sugar syrup.

For fruits such as peaches, use the ACM and 2/3 cup sugar for each quart of fruit.  For apples, use the amount of sugar indexed to the sweetness of the apples, for example use 1 cup sugar in general, but for sweeter apples, such as the Golden Delicious, use only 2/3 cup.

I have several canning recipes in my September issue of the Cooking Club, which you can join for free at www.janebutelcooking.com.   

Have a wonderful Labor Day,

Jane Butel

The last few days have seen a flurry of chile packed events!  At the Old Town Salsa Fiesta, I demonstrated chile rellenos with blue corn crust and the original salsa, Salsa Fresca.  They were very well received! 

The blue corn crispy crust is fried onto the drained, stuffed New Mexico green chiles.  I reviewed the hints for successful chile rellenos, which always seem a mystery to so many people.  Here are the hints--

1. If using the blue corn batter, prepare it first.  Then to parch the green chiles,  pierce a small hole near the stem end of the chiles, then place them over or under direct, very intense heat.  As soon as the chile is uniformly blistered and the blisters are tan to brown, then plunge in ice water.

2.  Peel  the chiles as soon as they have cooled a bit, then stuff with cheese or your desired stuffing. DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE SEEDS OR TAKE THE STEM END OFF. ( The top inch of the chile contains most of the seeds and if you do not want the seeds, just don't eat that part.)  Then drain both sides of the stuffed chiles under double layers of paper towels.

3.  Heat vegetable oil to 375F and fry when ready.  The stuffed chiles will hold a day or two, covered in the refrigerator.  They can also be fried up to 2 or 3 hours ahead of time and kept warm very successfully.

 Here's the recipe--

CHILES RELLENOS DE QUESO

The traditional chile relleno. Serve as a main dish or as a vegetable dish.

Yield: 12 rellenos (4-6 servings)

12 large, mild green chiles, parched & peeled with stems on, or you can use three, 8-oz. cans of whole green chiles 
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 12 long, narrow strips
Vegetable oil for frying
Red Chile Sauce (recipe attached)

1. Prepare the batter, recipe follows.   Insert cheese strips into chiles, using the small slit that was cut for steaming (or cut a small slit just below the stem.) Make sure that the cheese strips do not burst the chiles or overfill them. Drain chiles thoroughly on paper towels to ensure that the batter will coat them well.

2. Preheat 3 to 4 inches of oil to 375? F in a deep heavy skillet, large saucepan, or deep-fat fryer, using a deep-fat thermometer for accurate temperature. Dip the stuffed chiles in the batter. Place in hot oil and fry until golden. Tongs work best to hold and turn them. Drain well on paper towels. Serve piping hot with chile sauce.

BLUE CORMEAL CRUST:

Crisp and crunchy. I like this batter best when made with blue cornmeal.

Yield: enough batter for 12 chiles

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cornmeal – blue, white or yellow
1 cup milk
2 eggs

1. In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal. Blend the milk and eggs, then add to the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. If necessary, add a little more milk to achieve a smooth batter that will adhere to the chiles.

RED CHILE SAUCE

This is the basic red chile sauce used to create enchiladas and to serve over burritos, chile rellenos, tamales, and chimichangas.

Yield: 2-1/2 cups

2 tablespoons butter, lard or bacon drippings
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground mild red chile
1/4 cup ground hot red chile
2 cups beef stock or water
1 garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of ground Mexican oregano
Pinch of ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt (if not using stock)

1. Melt butter in a medium-size saucepan over low heat. Add flour and stir until smooth and slightly golden.

2. Remove pan from heat and add ground chiles. Return to heat and gradually stir in stock. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt, if using, and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes. Simmer at least 5 more minutes for flavors to blend.

Variation:

Sauté 1 pound ground beef, or beef cut in very small cubes. Omit the shortening, and continue as directed above. Use for enchiladas.

Reprinted from Jane Bytel’s Southwestern Kitchen.

For the Salsa, this recipe is the original and most popular fresh salsa in New Mexico.

SALSA FRESCA

This refreshing sauce can be as mild or as hot as you like, depending on the chiles used. Any leftovers of this sauce can be added to guacamole, made into salad dressing or chile con queso, and can be frozen for up to 4 months for later use in cooked dishes.

Yield: 1-1/2 to 2 cups

1 large fresh tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped onion, or 2 scallions with tops included

4 green chiles, parched, peeled and chopped, or 4 ounces of canned chopped green chiles (or 2 to

4 fresh jalapenos, finely minced)

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients; allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Sauce keeps for 1 week when refrigerated.

I hope you enjoy these as much as the people who came to the Old Town Fiesta and the Corrales Library event.

Pickle making has always been great late summer fun!  Admittedly it is work, but the crispy, flavorful fresh tasting picles that result are so worth all the effort.   I have fond memories of making loads and loads of all kinds of pickles when I was a kid growing up on a Kansas farm.  (I did spend a great deal of time also with my Mexican aunt and in New Mexico also.)

My favorite was always the bread and butter pickle.  My Mother's recipe was always the best and we made dozens of jars every summer.  We also made dill, sweet and sometimes mustard pickles.  Yes,the bread and butter picles have always remained my super favorite and are a bit old fashioned.  That sweet, but not too sweet flavor is special in sandwich fillings, deviled eggs, meat and vegetable salads and all manner of good old fashioned American food. 

 Just last Sunday, my daughter Amy, her husband Steve and daughter Miri came over and we picked the golden delicious apples that were truly burdening my tree and made my Mother's Bread and Butter pickles.  We made a video of the steps and plan to place it on You Tube when we get a chance to get it edited.

These pickles were always served at Thanksgiving and all fine family gatherings.  When first made, I always remember my brother and I would loe to eat them on the always available homemade bread with freshly churned sweet butter and sliced tomatoes.  Probably sounds weird to you, but believe me, they were super delicious.

I am sharing our recipe with you and hope you enjoy making and eating them too.  When making pickles, it is important to know the following tips--

 -Use distilled water if you have hard water

 -Use good quality salt, such as pickling or kosher--the salt must be pure

 -Use a minimum of 4% acidity vinegar up to 6%.

 -Wash the jars well and boil them for a minimum of 5 minuts at a full roilling boil.

 -Use regulation caning jars, so that you can use sealable closures.

 Have a wonderful family pickling session!  The jars make great gifts.

MOM’S BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES

•••••••

Yield: 7 to 8 pints

3 qts. Thinly sliced cucumbers

4 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 bell pepper, cut in ¾’ cubes (3/4 cup)

¼ cup coarse salt

4 cups sugar

1 ¼ cups vinegar

1 Tablespoon, 1 ½ teaspoons mustard seed

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 ½ teaspoon celery seed

1. Combine all vegetables and salt. Cover with ice cubes and mix thoroughly. Let stand three hours. Drain well.

2. Combine other ingredients and pour over vegetables.

3. Bring to just boiling. Put in sterilized jars and seal. Chill before serving.

Here's to hot cooking and cook vacations,  Jane Butel
 

With the summer heat tinging nearly everything in sight; spending hours cooking after a long, hard work day has little or no appeal.  I have always liked to dine and enjoy a flavorful, freshly prepared meal with an appropriate wine.  It is in this spirit that I am sharing some of my favorite, recent one skillet dinners.

I love Johathan Swift's statement, "Living Well is the Best Revenge" and even though I mostly eat alone at home, I still prepare my favorite things. 

Here are two of my memorable, yummy favorites using one skillet.  First, select a well seasoned, heavy skillet, so you won't have trouble with your foods sticking. 

You should be able to prepare either menu in 30 minutes or less. Let me hear from you how you liked these.

Sea Scallop Dinner

Pan Seared Sea Scallops

Braised Arugula with Cherry Tomatoes

Zucchini slices

To Prepare:  Place about a Tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium hot heat. Heat until the smoking point, then add the thinly cut (about 1/4 inch thick) Zucchini slices in the hot skillet.  In the meantime, place about 1 teaspoon pure ground mild chile (available from us www.janebutelcooking.com) with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar combined together on a plate (I use a paper plate for convenience) Lightly brown both sides of the zucchini and place on a warm plate (hot water on plate works well).  Dust the sea scallops with the above mixture and place in the skillet.  After about 3 minutes, turn and add arugula and cherry tomatoes to the skillet.  When the scallop is browned on both sides but still flexible when squeezed, remove to the plate with the zucchini.  Keep warm covered with foil, a lid or place in an oven. Turn and stir the arugula until a bit wilted and place on side of plate with the tomatoes and enjoy with a nice crisp white Sauvignon Blanc.  THis entire meal can be done in about 15 to 20 minutes and is wonderful to enjoy outdoors.  

Pork Loin Chop Dinner

Pan Grilled Pork Chops with Chilied  Cherry Shiraz Sauce

Braised Green Beans with Garlic Bits

Herbed New Potatoes

To Prepare:  Start the cherry sauce when you begin cooking the rest of the meal.  Or, make the cherry sauce ahead of time and freeze, available for later use.  Here is the recipe--

Chilied Cherry Shiraz Sauce  

Yield: enough for 4 servings, freezes well

1 cup Shiraz wine

1/2 cup Bing cherries, halved and pitted

! Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon pequin quesbrado or chipotle powder (can order from us at www.janebutelcooking.com)

1. Place all of the ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened and reduced by about a third. 

Meanwhile, place a Tablespoon of olive oil in a well seasoned skillet on medium high heat.  Add about a handful of sliced baby new, red potatoes and dust with fresh minced or dried rosemary and fresh, cracked pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, then turn and lightly brown the second side, about another five minutes.  Remove to a warm plate, then add a loin pork chop, lightly salted and peppered and sear on both sides.  After turning the pork chop the first time, add a coarsely minced garlic clove and lightly tinge and remove garlic.  Add the green beans and cook and stir until still somewhat crisp.  Place lid over skillet and allow to steam for about 3 minutes.  Add garlic to the green beans.  Remove the pork chop and green beans to the plate with the potatoes on it and pour Cherry Sauce over the pork chop.  Requires about 20 to 30 minutes to prepare. 

In our August issue of "Cooking with Jane"  I wrote a story on the four ways to keep your kitchen cool.  Here is the section about grilling that I thought you would enjoy.

Grilling is probably the most popular alternative to cooking in the kitchen. If you do not have a grill, the broiler-- whether in your oven or a portable electric grill -- works well.

When grilling, cooking the entire meal on the grill makes the most sense in all ways. You only have one heat source, thus saving the time for heating an additional source, such as a kitchen stove as well as the indoor heat and energy .

Here are some very good hints to remember when grilling most any food.

To get the most flavorful, grilled foods--

- Always preheat the grill to the desired temperature.

- Marinades add tenderness and juiciness.

- Bastes add flavor and moisture.

- Rubs add flavor and a crispy crust.

- Determine the doneness temperature or timing before starting to grill—especially for meats. A thermometer thrust into the leanest, thickest portion of a meat will be the best way to tell. Lacking a thermometer, you have one in your palm. For rare, the meat should feel a bit soft and yield to being poked, just like the flesh below your thumb. For medium, the meat should be firmer to the touch, much the same as the muscle on the lower pad of your thumb. For well done, the meat should be hard and not yield to poking.

- If you desire criss-cross grill marking—always place the meats on a 45 degree angle for half of the first side's grilling time. For example, for chicken breast, which takes 8 minutes, 4 minutes to each side. Grill at the first angle for 2 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees and grill 2 more minutes, creating diamonds. Repeat on the second side.

-If you would like to see the other three great ways to stay cool, and stay OUT of the kitchen, take advantage of our free month's subscription to Cooking with Jane At www.janebutelcooking.com.

In the same issue I share some of my favorite grilled fruits recipes.  Here is one I adore, especially when the peaches are ripe on the tree, which will be in a few weeks for me.

ITALIAN GRILLED PEACHES

The ingredients here are most unlikely, but amazingly delightful when combined. You can use any cheese you like, if you do not like blue cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

2/3 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons freshly ground rose or other peppercorns

2 large fresh freestone peaches or nectarines, unpeeled, halved and pitted

2 to 3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1. Earlier in day, simmer balsamic vinegar in a small nonreactive saucepan with sugar and pepper until reduced by about half and slightly thickened for a glaze.

2. Preheat grill to medium-high or 350 or 400F (175 to 205C) if not already hot. Place peach halves on grill, cut side down, and grill about 5 minutes or until flesh has slightly charred, then brush top sides with glaze and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Turn, brush with glaze and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to individual serving dishes and spoon or spatter any remaining glaze with a fork over tops. Serve with crumbled cheese on top.

Note: These can be baked in an oven for approximately the same cooking time.

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel's Southwestern Grill.

I hope your Fourth of July was terrific!  Mine sure was.  We went to the Fourth of July Parade in Corrales, New Mexico, the little village where we live.  We lucked out again, we love to sit in the front patio of Nate and Hannah's cafe and watch the parade and luckily, we got a table in the front once again. 

The Parade, originally called the Pet Parade, now features all kinds of other entries--from all kinds of bicycles to a group of Union Soldiers to all kinds of bands and bugle and fife corps to you name it!  Here's a unicycler who did a really good job keeping his balance, a  happy guy on his totally 4th of July decked out horse, a beautiful black trotting horse,  a young man on really tall stilts and our local produce and chile farmer--Wagner Farms.

We had a wonderful time with friends the rest of the day.....going to a barbeque that was truly traditional with hamburgers or brats and all the trimmings set amid the tall trees on their grassy back yard.

Then after a short break, we went to a fun, fun party with our neighbors at a home with a fabulous view of the fireworks in a nearby community called Rio Rancho.  Before the fireworks, Mother Nature decided to do her own display and sent tremendous thunder and lightening very nearby.  The strong blowing winds and wind driven rain totally changed our agenda.

We all moved inside to eat and decided the good thing about having to move in, is that we really got to meet more people.  It was a potluck--so the food was really good--numerous salads, ranging from a tortellini salad to a Chinese Cole Slaw to my blue cheese potato salad and many more.  The crowning glory was the pies--all homemade by my neighbor Jackie and her sister Carol, who long ago worked with me.  They made all fresh fruit pies--blueberry, rhubarb-red raspberry, apricot and tart cherry.  All so yummy.  They insisted I take some home, so I took two small slivers--one each of blueberry and the rhubarb. 

On the way home, I kept hearing a rustle of paper.  And low and behold, my little Dachshund puppy ate the pies--his first taste of sweets since he had been with me.  He seemed to survive just fine.  He just didn't eat for 2 days.

We still have our July special on for our half price weekend class.  I look forward to welcoming you to the class. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you!  Just contact us at info@janebutelcooking.com. 

Here's to your health,

hot tamales, cool evenings

and lots of laughter,

Jane Butel   

I have been reflecting a lot on the days when I developed the world's first energy conservation program for Con Edison way back in 1971 and wondered if you wouldn't like to know of some of the hints and tips we developed. Actually, they are just as apt today as they were then and no one seems to be sharing that kind of information today.

First,  to kind of get saving energy into perspective--think about it this way.  Anytime you heat or cool--you are using the most energy in the home.

Some of the most popular "aha" ideas we developed were--"just by organizing your refrigerator, you can save up to a third of the operating cost.  For example,  if you consistently have a place to park all of your sauces for meats on one shelf of the door, all the jams and jellies on another shelf, sweet dessert type sauces on another--fruits always in the left hydrator and vegetables in the right.  Milk always on the back of the right top shelf, etc.  you will not waste so much time standing in front of the refrigerator hunting for "what to eat".

Think of ice cubes being worth about a nickel a piece, depending upon the electric rates you are on and the refrigerator you have--at any rate--they are not free. Freezing ice takes money.

A full freezer is cheaper to operate than a partially empty one.  Freezing cartons of ice and keeping them until you need them for an outing, etc.  will save you money in the long run, if your freezer has the room for them.

Need a get away, fun, fun time--and who doesn't?  Plan to join us in New Mexico for our week long cooking vacation. Believe me it is lots of fun.  Think about it this way.  It is like a learning vacation or party you do not have to buy the groceries for or even clean up from.  We have our week long course on sale this month for half off.  Also the July 31-August 2 weekend class is half price.  And, the best part is that you will save lots of money on restaurant bills afterwards. You will be able to make even healthier, tastier food at home. 

But hurry, our offer ends July 8.  I would love to cook with you.

Have you signed up for our Butel's Bytes yet.  We give lots and lots of recipes, hints, tips and good cooking information every month and it is free.

Happy Fourth of July,

Jane Butel

Several of us excitedly met each other in Dallas and warmly hugged our reunion with each other.  The rest met us in Mexico City.  The enthusiasm for our tour was for real, once we landed midst the bouganvillas and beautiful flowers at the Oaxaca airport.  Even the rain did not dampen anyone's spirits.

We were off to a wonderful introductory dinner at the main xocolo where we sampled traditional Oaxacan moles and other specialties--yummm, yum.  Here's a picture of all of us the first night where we dined overlooking all the festivities of the main plaza...called the xocolo.

THe next day we were off to the public market in Etla, where we had a sampling tour of the village specialties and were able to see all their beautiful produce and crafts.  Following, we cooked a sumptuous dinner at Seasons of My Heart Cooking School with Susanna Trilling .  Here we see Carey Head, daughter Erika Martin, and Janet Banks making a Roasted Chile Poblano Bisque. 

The next day started with a trip way back into the pages of history with a visit to Monte Alban, one of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World.  It is truly amazing in a totally beautiful, top of the world setting.  The Monte Albanians were doing brain surgery, other types of operations and really understood all types of mathematics and solar relationships and amazing amounts of technology.  Here is from left: Erica, Carey, our tour guide-Hector Gazga Mendez, Janet and Bill Banks.

Following, we had a delicious lunch of Tlayudas, the popular served dish at the green pottery village, Santa Maria Atzompa, and then off to view the colorfully painted wood figures famous in the town of Arrazola.  Here we see Janet  almost overwhelmed with the over selection of the little wood figures as all of us were.  This is Janet viewing just one of the collections to choose from.  Next we toured to San Bartolo de Cayotetepec.  This is a picture of us with all of our black pottery selections!

The next day, we were back with Susana Trilling where we learned how three Oaxacan cheeses were made from the same batch of cow's milk, right before our eyes.  Here we see a local lady demonstrating cheese making at Susana's cooking school. 

The main dishes that we prepared Sea Bass in Tomatillo Sauce with Acuyo Leaf Wrapped in Banana Leaf served with Saffron Rice with Caramelized Pineapple.

After two wonderful days cooking with Susana and her staff, we had our picture made in from of the school.

Our third cooking class in Teotitlan de Valle consisted of learning how the Zapotecs, the predominant Indian tribe of Oaxaca prepare their barbacoa with baby lamb or goat, a red chile rub and layers of wild avocado leaves.  Rosaurio and Ernesto showed just how it is done at a demonstration followed by a full participation session on making corn tortillas with squash blossoms and local salsa.  We learned how they make salsa on a metate, their beans with the herb, conejo and following they served a corn custard dessert. 

Following, they hosted a weaving demonstration showing how they card the wool, spin it, color it with all natural dyes by hand and then weave beautiful rugs.

After a shop til you drop day, we flew off, vowing to return!

Note:  We are currently assessing the interest in a tour of the culinary culture of New Mexico for 2008.

Here in New Mexico, enchantment is almost jargon for our state's beauty and alluring qualities.  In fact, the state's byline is "The Land of Enchantment". 

I was very excited to be spending the Memorial Day weekend away in a casita on a ranch where I used to visit in the early '80's all the time.  It used to be called Rancho Encantado, now  Encantado, an Auberge Resort, north of Santa Fe. 

Encantado is set in a gorgeous, pinon wooded, rolling foothills setting.  Every detail of the main entertainment areas as well as the rooms are beautifully appointed  with a feeling of understated elegance and great quality. 

It was very rainy over the weekend, so we spent most of our time visiting museums, shows and shopping since it was far too rainy to enjoy the lovely pool.  (We couln't compain too much about the rain, because New Mexico is so dry and about 3 inches under the average rainfall.)

This weekend was kind of a trip down memory lane as I hadn't eaten at the Pink Adobe in years,  but I used to eat there quite often, knowing Rosalea Murhpy quite well, the founder.  The food was still quite delicious and the service very attentive.  I had the Steak Dunnagan as that has been a popular signature item for so long.  In Fact Rosalea gave me the recipe to go into my latest edition of the Hotter Than Hell cookbook where it is photographed as well.

The food in the Terra restaurant, the main restaurant at Encantado, was beautifully presented and very delicious.  We loved the arugula salad with caramelized pinon nut clusters, pomegranite garnish and a yummy vinaigrette.  We ordered soft shell crabs, having both spent time in the East in crab country and they were wonderful.  The somelier, Paul Montoya had a perfect touch with the proper wines to accompany each course, finishing with a berry, chocolaty Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany our 5 layered chocolate napolean like desert.

This would be a perfect place to enjoy more of New Mexico following one of my week long or weekend classes where we cook New Mexican, Southwest and Mexican regional dishes.

The beautiful blue skies and warm days really get me into the mood of summer.  I love the seasons, however the promise of summer from the first warmth of spring is surely one of my favorites.  I adore flowers and the dry climate with bountiful sunshine here in New Mexico really prompts them to put their pretty little faces up to the sun.  All manner of iris, peonies and now  roses are stars in my front courtyard gardens.  They are so much fun to look at each day, to see the changes--the new flowers that are unfolding each day.

This wonderful weather strongly beckons me to want to be outdoors as much as possible.  Cooking and eating outdoors are such great fun, especially in this beautiful weather.   My favorite theme is to cook everything out of doors when I am grilling--it is much more efficient in both time and fuel. 

Most all foods can be adapted to grilling.  You just have to think about the heat being generated intensely from below.  And if you want to roast or cook slowly on a low heat, you need either a cover, a huge lid or a large piece of heavy foil to cover the surface of the grill, capturing the heat like an oven does.

When I bake quick breads such as buttery cornbread or biscuits, I bake them in a skillet that I have covered with foil so the bottom won't be impossible to clean.

When the grill is heating, you can use that heat to braise bones and veggies for stock or roast green chiles or tomatoes for a salsa. 

Here are two of my favorite grilling recipes, all from my Jane Butel's Southwestern Grill--

 GRILLED CHICKEN WITH LEMON-PECAN BUTTER

Pecans grow all over the Southwest. The richness of pecans tinged with tart lemon and tarragon is delicious. This can be served with grilled vegetables.

Yield: 6 servings

Lemon-Pecan Butter (see below)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Salt and freshly ground white or black pepper
6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley or tarragon

Lemon-Pecan Butter
¼ cup pecans
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1. Prepare the Lemon-Pecan Butter
2. While the butter is chilling, brush chicken with lemon juice and melt butter, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat grill to medium or 350°. Place rack 4 inches above heat
4. Arrange chicken on rack: grill 6 minutes. Turn and grill 5 to 6 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife and the interior is 185°.
5. To serve, place 1 breast half on a plate and top with 2 thin slices Lemon-Pecan Butter. Garnish with parsley.

Finely grind pecans in a blender or food processor. Add butter, lemon zest, tarragon and lemon juice and process until combined. Place on a plastic wrap or waxed paper, forming into a log about 1 inch in diameter. Refrigerate until firm. (Freeze if time is short)

  GRILLED VEGETABLE SALAD WITH WARM HERB OIL DRESSING

The fresh orange juice lacing the dressing makes it a particularly nice accent for any poultry or pork main dish. Heating herbs in oil intensifies their flavor.

Yield: 4 servings

1 red bell pepper, rinsed and left whole
1 green bell pepper, rinsed and left whole
1 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into ½ inch-thick slices
1 small yellow summer squash, cut lengthwise into ½ inch-thick slices
1 small eggplant, cut lengthwise into ½ inch-thick slices
1 Vidalia or other sweet onion, cut crosswise into ½ inch-thick slices

WARM HERB OIL DRESSING

2 Tablespoons good-quality olive oil, preferably Spanish
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange-juice
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt

1. Preheat grill to medium-high or 400F (205C) if not already hot. Place bell peppers on grill rack. Arrange remaining vegetables on separate skewers for ease in turning. Lightly brush with oil and place on grill rack. Grill bell peppers until evenly blackened and blistered, turning often. Grill remaining vegetables 5 to 7 minutes or until charred on edges and grill marks are apparent.

2. Place grilled bell peppers in ice water to cool. Drain and peel, then cut into about ¾ inch squares. Place squash, eggplant and onion on a cutting board and slice into matchsticks. Prepare dressing. To serve, place vegetables in a large bowl and toss with dressing

WARM HERB OIL DRESSING

1. In a small pan that will not get blackened by grill, heat oil with cumin and coriander about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

Zest of 1 lemon, minced
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice.

1. Prepare the Lemon-Pecan Butter
2. While the butter is chilling, brush chicken with lemon juice and melt butter, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat grill to medium or 350°. Place rack 4 inches above heat
4. Arrange chicken on rack: grill 6 minutes. Turn and grill 5 to 6 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife and the interior is 185°.
5. To serve, place 1 breast half on a plate and top with 2 thin slices Lemon-Pecan Butter. Garnish with parsley.

Finely grind pecans in a blender or food processor. Add butter, lemon zest, tarragon and lemon juice and process until combined. Place on a plastic wrap or waxed paper, forming into a log about 1 inch in diameter. Refrigerate until firm. (Freeze if time is short)

You will have lots of fun looking at our Cooking Club. Just go to the home page of www.janebutelcooking.com and you will be guided on how to join.  There are six features and four videos completely detailing how to make the featured dishes.

In this current, May issue you will receive my favorite ideas for a really festive Fiesta party complete with time lines on how to prepare everything in advance for a "no hassle" event...just pure fun.

Do you know the history of the margarita?  For starters, they were  named for Margaret; but which one and where?  I detail several of the accepted histories and tell you the recipe for my favorite Perfect Margaritas, which we always make in our weekend and week long classes from premium tequilas.

Chiles are the most healthful food you can eat.  I give you some insight about enjoying them.

Recipes are featured for a story on quick and easy to make wraps for snacks or light meals.

Gifts kids can make this summer are shared in the "Off the Plate feature.

And Jim Hammond explains the best wines to select for serving with bold foods such as these.

I would love to have you check us out--its absolutely free for the first month and you can stop your subscription at any time.

Here's to good health with chiles,

Jane Butel

In addition to celebrating Cinco de Mayo and perfecting all the recipes for this month's Cooking Club, we also had a great time watching the Kentucky Derby, particularly interesting since the winning horse was such a long shot and from here in New Mexico.

Do you ever watch the Kentucky Derby? Growing up partly on a Kansas farm endeared me to horses and watching them race has always been a super high.  After living in Louisville, Kentucky while managing the General Electric-Hotpoint Consumer marketing department, I have never missed a Derby on television.

I don't know whether you like horses or bourbon or even house parties, but if you like even one of them--the Derby has always created a focus for a fun, fun party.  Living now in New Mexico, I find my friends never turn me down for a Derby watching party.  It was super fun this year--Julie Roberts brought her big hat, a dozen beautiful pink edged white roses and a fine bottle of local San Geovasie wine.  Linda Brown joined in the fun and here's what we looked like.

I thought perhaps you would enjoy the recipe for great Mint Juleps.  Of course it helps to have silver julep cups (which I managed to collect while in Kentucky), but it isn't critically necessary.   At least 3 hours or more ahead of time, make sugar syrup by boiling 2 cups water, and stirring in 3 cups granulated sugar when it boils.  Stir until it dissolves.  About 30 minutes before you wish to serve the juleps, collect fresh mint or purchase ahead of time.  Using a blender, combine a cup of the syrup with 4 to 6 sprigs of mint and blend to make a puree. 

For each julep. fill glass or silver cup with crushed ice.  Add 1 jigger of mint-sugar puree, then 2 jiggers of Maker's Mark bourbon.  Stab  a fresh stalk of mint you have crushed into powdered sugar in top of glass or cup and serve with a straw---enjoy and watch the race!

1 Comment     Comments Email

Paul, North, Louisiana , May 12, 2009 at 3:20 PM | Reply Hats! Hats! Hats! You ladies are obviously having a blast! I guess there really isn't a season for Mint Juleps, is there? Keep having a blast! Paul

We all had such a fun, fantastic time at last weekend's class.  We cooked vegetarian variations of each of the meat laden dishes and had fun tasting the flavor differences. 

In all my 26 years of teaching the weekend and week long classes, I had never had anyone from Mexico take a class.  Well the spell was broked with Rita and Salvador "Chavo" Rodriguez who are now from Michigan.  They kept saying how much they loved the class and that just seemed to "light" everyone up to a higher level of enthusiasm.  Many laughs and giggles and great cooking successes later--the class was complete and everyone was reluctant to leave.  Generally the classes break up at about 2 PM on Sunday afternoons.  Well, this class did not separate until about 4:30 PM!

Here we are featuring a few pictures of the classmates and will soon have a page on our website for the class.

You just gotta take a moment to look at the Cooking Club to see the fun Cinco de Mayo party we whipped up and the stories and recipes.  Check out the history of margaritas and tequilla, the bold wines and fun wraps, to say nothing about the touching Mother's Day story for our Off the Plate feature.

Have you signed up yet for my complimentary Butel's Bytes?  You can on our website under Subscribe at www.janebutelcooking.com.  This coming edition due out in the next few days features Mother's Day recipes, good deals on our classes and much more.

Looking forward to tweeting and staying in touch on Facebook and Linked In too!

Here's to your good health and Happy Mayo,

Jane Butel

I want to get to know more of you and get linked and Tweeted together (if that's how you say it)  We now have our own Facbook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Albuqueruqe-NM/Jane-Butels-Southwest-Cooking/18214705318

You can access our Twitter on our Home Page now and by tomorrow, we'll be linked to the above page.

The weekend got off to a bang with a fun dinner of Guacamole with Blue Corn Tostadas paired with Perfect Margaritas made with Don Eduardo Reposado tequila and freshly squeezed lime juice with my favorite addition of a bit of fresh egg white and Triple Sec.  Very refreshing!   Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with home stewed pinto beans and strawberry shortcake for dessert made the meal.  We were planning potential TV shows which we could develop--of course they would be about foods of the Southwest and Mexico.

Then Saturday, Farrah, my assistant and I took my cookbooks for an autographing to a local charity for the Albuquerque Christian Children's home, where I was also asked to judge the chili competition.  It was great fun,  the chili's were all very good--some better than others, of course; and we got to meet so many friendly people who just loved my books.  Always fun.

And then, there was a great surprise ending!!! Early in the event, I saw a woman with two darling baby miniature Dachshunds and she said they were part of a silent auction to benefit the Childrens' Home.  Little did I know that I would fall for the little guy and ended up successfully bidding for him.  He is so cute and will make the fourth Dachshund I have had.  Needless to say, I am a dog lover.  I already have a German German Shepherd who is 2 1/2 and very spirited.  It will be great fun to see them interact.

After going home, I really needed to make homemade strawberry jam as I had bought some gorgeous strawberries and needed to get them preserved.   I made 8, 8 ounce jars of jam, which is so beautiful and so flavorful.  It has a fresher, clearer flavor than the bought.  I never use pectin, just quick cook it down, unyil two drops come together and sheet off.  I always use a heavy pot.

My favorite recipe is so simple, just use 1 cup of fresh fruit cut to the same size to 3/4 cup sugar.  (Use more sugar if a tart fruit and less for a sweeter fruit such as the strawberries.  I used about 5/8 cup sugar for each cup of berries.) For this batch of jam, I used 10 cups of berries to 6 1/4 cups sugar.  Here in the Albuquerque area, we are at 5000 feet, so everyting boils quicker but at a lower point, meaning it takes longer to cook foods.  This jam took about 30 minutes of constant stirring at a medium boil.

There's more--I had a favorite friend over who watched me finish the jam, then we hopped into a relaxing hot tub looking at the beautiful rose colored then plum and purple Sandia mountains that are right in front of our yard.  Following we had a luscious dinner of fresh salmon pan grilled with chipotle powder (our brand) and a mango-fresh pineapple and dried cranberry salsa and brussels sprounts and a wonder Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.

And on Sunday, I had a great time in the backyard, turning on the three tier fountain, planting oodles of brightly  colored geraniums and petunias and fed the grass a good dose of fertilizer.  Then more hot tub, more great friends and fabulous wine from Jim Hammond, our wine writer/columnist for our cooking club and his wife, Barbara Kline.

What a full weekend!  Next weekend,  I teach a full participation weekend class on tradional New Mexican dishes with parallel vegetarian variations.  Come join me if you can.  I have it posted for just half price, due to the economy.

We are all "abuzz" preparing for our Traditional Weekend Class with Vegetarian Variations next weekend, April 24-26, 2009.  For each meat laden dish, we will prepare the vegetarian variationl We will be making the Vegetarian Chili out of my Chili Madness cookbook, which by the way, won the best vegetarian chili recipe in a contest conducted by the New York Times Sunday magazine. (See the recipe below.) Of course, we will also be making the traditional Bowl 'o Red with Fixin's 'n Mixin's. 

Also, we will be making eggplant adovado in addition to the carne adovado and vegetarian posole with seared vegetables in addition to the traditional carmelized pork version. 

I love teaching the classes and watch relationships bond--it is always so much fun.  Also, in the over 20 years I have been teaching the classes, I am always pleased  to see how many of us still stay in touch and many have returned up to five times...which is wonderful to me.

If you can get away, we would love to welcome you as we still have a few openings--and to fit in with the economic crunch, I have made them half price or just $525.00....just about what I charged in 1985 when I started the weekend schools in my home in Woodstock, NY.  You can register by clicking cooking schools on our Home Page, www.janebutelcooking.com.  

 VEGETARIAN CHILI

 What to do when vegetarian friends or relatives are coming to dinner? Good news--they need not go chili-less. This recipe provides the good taste of chili plus the benefit of complete protein derived from the beans and the bulgur. Its also full of flavorful, healthful vegetables; onions, garlic, celery, carrots, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Serve this brew topped with grated cheese for additional protein and flavor.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

2 ½ cups dried kidney beans, soaked over night in water to cover

3 teaspoons salt

1 cup tomato juice

1 cup raw bulgur (see Note)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 medium-size onions, coarsely chopped

4 medium-size cloves garlic, minced

3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

3 or 4 tomatoes, peeled seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 Tablespoons ground hot red chile

3 Tablespoons ground mild red chile

1 teaspoon ground cumin, divided.

½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

4 ounces queso blanco or feta cheese, crumbled, for serving (optional)

• 1. Drain the kidney beans, place them in a large heavy pot, and add water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer the beans, partially covered, until tender, about 1 hour. Watch the water level and add more water, if necessary, to keep the beans from scorching.

• 2. Meanwhile, place the tomato juice in another saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it has reached a boil, immediately remove it from the heat and add the bulgur. Cover and let stand until the bulgur softens but is still slightly crunchy, 15 minutes.

• 3. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in celery, carrots, tomatoes, lemon juice, ground chiles, oregano, basil, ½ teaspoon of the cumin, black pepper to taste, and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Cover the pot and cook until the vegetables are nearly tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the bell peppers, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes.

4. Add the kidney beans, the water in which they cooked, and the bulgur to the vegetable. Stir the mixture thoroughly, cover the pot, and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the bulgur does not stick to the bottom of the pot, for 30 minutes. The chili may be thick-add more water as necessary.

5. Taste the chili and adjust the seasonings as needed. Ladle the chili into bowls and sprinkle the cheese on top, if desired.

Note: Bulgur is available at some supermarkets and most health food stores. If bulgur is not available, cracked wheat can be substituted.

It all started with a very successful bid on a beautiful set of 8 Waterford crystal 8 ounce red wine glasses.  I went to a silent auction preceding the annual Goodwill Industries Banquet honoring community service.  I kept looking at their sparkly presence and looking and telling myself I really didn't need them.  Then, I decided to cut loose and bid on them and got all 8 for just $130.00--such a steal.  I even checked the internet for the Waterford site to verify the deal.

With such pretty glasses in hand one of my friends, Barbara Kline said we are free next Saturday night and we were off and running with party planning.  I decided to stage a romantic dinner using the crystal of course with white china, lace and silver. 

It was a chilly night for New Mexico, so a hearty dish that complimented red wine seemed in order. I decided on Beef Bournignone on parsley buttered noodles, for the entree.  I spurged a bit and used T-Bone and Porterhouse steaks for the beef to assure tenderness and wow, what flavor! 

For appetizers, we had assorted cheeses, duck pate and crudite with chipotle dip.  The side dishes were braised asparagus with lemon, gingered carrots with a caprese salad and for dessert home grown cherries in crisp ala mode. 

The real treat was the wine.  Jim Hammond who is a wine columnist and authority and Barbara's husband brought a 2005 Eagle Crest Barolo wine--quite wonderful for initiating the beautiful crystal glasses.

Linda Brown filled out the guest list and brought a very good Fetzer cabernet 2006 and suggested we all wear red.

Here's to great romantic evenings.  All you got to do is go to an auction and buy crystal glasses.  By the way the Beef Bournignone recipe is in my Hotter Than Hell cookbook.

I just love the excitement of Spring!  We are knee deep here in the Rockies with beautiful blossoms of Spring and thinking about when to plant our vegetable gardens. We have had a bit of a chill the last two weeks, and it will be lasting for one more week--discouraging any planting of live plants.  Seeds are fine to plant now. Last year, I wanted to get a jump start and planted my large tomato plants in mid-April, only to be frozen.  They did come back however but were very stunted. 

The last two years I have lost most of my tomato plants in mid-July only to finally learn that there is a mite that dwells on wild mustard and bites and lays eggs on the tomato plants soon after they are planted.  This sets up a death trap for the plants when the eggs mature into mites, they kill the tomato plants.  The owner of the Garden store where I get most of my live plants said I need to put plant dust on the tomatoes as soon as they are planted to prevent this.  I am passing this on to all tomato lovers who may be having this problem.

To keep me healthy, I keep on eating chiles, both green and red.  The red chile powders are a much better value in the winter as the green chiles are seasonal and do not start producing locally until about the middle of July.  I featured lots of ideas for including red chile in your diet in the Bytes that went out yesterday--Butel's Bytes is my free enewsletter. (You can sign up for it at my website, www.janebutel.com).

You may have heard or read some of my chile facts where I reccommend eating chiles at least 24 days out of 30, which will keep you amazingly more healthy and ward off the ravages of stress  induced diseases, such as cancer, heart trouble, digestive trouble--the list is nearly endless.  I am frequently asked, " how much do I need to eat?"    Actually just a little bit of chile each day will do you--say a good fat pinch at the very least.  I have found that with my crushed chiles on the table at all times, I find myself sprinkling them on all manner of vegetables, meats and nearly everything.  They truly add spice to life!

Here's to your good health,

Jane Butel

Last night we were so excited to see so many come to our Chiles and Chilis demonstration at the Tramway branch of the Albuquerque Public Library.  The event had a waiting list of 40, which inspired us to lock in another date as soon as possible.  The next date is July 8, 2009, at 5:30 PM at the Albuquerque Downtown Library, which has a much bigger room.

I had such a great time seeing many familiar faces who had attended my classes in the past, some had attended way long ago and remembered me when I first started my career for the electric utility, PNM. 

Chili has such a rich history of the cattle drives, the Blue Nun from Spain who had visions of chili back in 1620 up to the current moment with all of the chili cookoffs.  No single food is so American and conjures so much excitement.  I just love to share this history and the Basic Fitness Plan for perfectly fabulous chili every time.  All of this history, plus my favorite chili recipes are in my newest book, the revised and expanded "Chili Madness", which I have been touring the country doing classes, TV and media of all sorts.  The book is for sale on my website at www.janebutel.com under products.  ( And, I will autograph a copy for you.)

Chili is such a perfect dish for right now!  With the economy is such a slump,  cooking and serving chili makes perfect sense.  It is a dish that can be cooked in huge amounts,  improves with storage in the refrigerator or freezer, can be served myriads of ways, as is with toppings, which I call Fixin's 'n Mixin's or as a filling or topping for potatoes, egg dishes, on tortillas openface for pizzitas, in tacos, as an enchilada sauce and with macaroni--you see, the list is almost endless and so much fun.

Why is chili fun?  My take on it is that chili gets it's life blood, so to speak, from chiles--which are one of my very favorite topics.  Chiles have long been known by the Native Americans who first developed them and took them back to their native Asian areas--primarily Mongolia and Tibet.

Chiles help your body to be healthier in so many, many ways!  And to begin with, chiles excite, almost ignite our endorphin system--creating kind of like a runner's high.  Chiles have a greater ability to do this, due to their unique possession of capsaicin--the substance that we know of as the spicy quality of chiles.

Chiles, red or green, help clear plaque from our arterial system, improve digestion, fight cancer, aid our kidneys and fight aging ( I am increasingly interested in this one!) among many other properties such as aiding weight reduction. 

I am going to continue telling you the many,many benefits of eating chiles on a very regular basis--this is truly a life's mission with me.  Let me hear your thoughts and questions.  Until later,  have a healthy and fun life,  Jane

If you join our cooking club right now, you will really get a great discount--it is our first time to offer such a low price.  Just go to Cooking Club, once you are on our home page at www.janebutel.com and click join now.

This month I am featuring some "go green" entree ideas for St. Patrick's Day that are not the usual corned beef and cabbage. In my Southwestern Saint Patrick's Day story,  yummy recipes for my favorite Green Chile Stew, Calabacitas, Clam and Green Chile Chili, and Mole Verde with Comino Rice are the stars.  So spicy and so good.

Also fun dishes for a stay at home dinner party featuring delicious easy to make Spicy Carnitas appetizers with a duo of salsas and a choice of 3 entrees--Chili Mac, Chiliquiles and my award winning Tortilla Meat Loaf steal the show. I suggest that these, plus luscious dessert choices  are the meal for a Dinner and a Movie evening.  I even give you timelines that literally take all the rush and most of the work out of entertaining.

And there is much, much more--an educational feature on the best and reasonable wines to serve, a board game entertainment evening, an ode to your health with chiles and freebies, discounts and a whole passel of potato recipes.  You just gotta check us out and join!  I look forward to having you as my cooking buddies.

Here's to your good health and cooking fun,

Jane Butel

Eating Chiles and Chili Makes One Happier

You know, I read the other day that the happier you are-not only the healthier you are-but also the more money you will make (and even if that is not important)-the more fun you will have!

And you know, eating chiles and chili makes that happen. Chiles are about the most healthy food there is-no kidding. And one of the very best delivery systems is chili-big bowls of the red and green stuff, that have simmered for hours.
Nothing like eating it, year ‘round. And you ask-how does that work? It is because chiles stimulate the endorphin system or simply put-they stimulate all of you-your entire body, making it have a sense of euphoria or happiness-a high in other words.

The healthiest cultures around the world all seem to eat lots of chiles-at least 24 days out of 30.

I keep having so much with my Chili Madness promotion. The presentation at the Smithsonian was a total blast and it was filmed. I will work to get it on twitter-which you just have to check out.

I seriously love to share chile knowhow and cooking hints and tips with chiles-are you getting my free e-newlsetters-Butel's Bytes and are you a member yet of my cooking club-"Cooking with Jane"? Go to www.janebutelcooking.com to sign up. All of these, plus my cooking classes, whether live face-to face full participation or on-line classes, really feature chile and chili know-how.

Here's to chile health and happiness and until next time,

Jane Butel

An Evening of Chili Madness
With Jane Butel at the Smithsonian, Washington DC
February 25, 2009

I am so excited! As I write this, I am anticipating my presentation Wednesday night, February, 25, 2009, at the Smithsonian Atrium Café to a sold out audience. We are serving a full menu from my new Chili Madness. The menu will be -

Pecos River Bowl o Red With Fixin's ‘n Mixin's

Mexican Tortilla Chili

Corn and Bacon Chowder Chili

Apple-Blue Cheese Slaw

Blue Corn Parfait Bread

Creamy Margarita Pie

Iced Tea

Selected New Mexican wines from Gruet and Southwestern Winery

I will be giving a review of the history of chili, how to prepare award winning delicious chili, the trends in chili and end with the history and health of chiles.

In our cooking club, these same hints and tips will be presented in forthcoming issues. AND, in our online cooking classes, in the section on chili and the health section on chiles-all the information is presented. It total, there are 40 modules or lessons in the online class, just check it out at www.janebutelcooking.com and register for both.

This is an outreach program operated by the ResidentAssociates.org of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC. For more information go to the website or, call 202-633-3030.

I will let you know how it turns out. In the meantime,you can join our new "Cooking with Jane" monthly subscription cooking club by clicking to my website at www.janebutelcooking.com. Also, check out our 40 session long on-line cooking class, our live full hands-on weekend, week long sessions and our alumni tours to Mexico. We also sell all my cookbooks and the chile products and spices.

Here's to good health and a great life,

Jane Butel

 Chili Madness continues and has been a great and rewarding experience!  It is so wonderful seeing so many of my alumni friends and book owner buddies.  In fact in many of my book signing events, I have been so pleased to see book owners of Chili Madness and other books I have written bring in the stained, often very damaged copies of my books to get me to autograph them.  Of course they always buy the new revised, expanded book too—oftentimes many copies of it for friends and family.

I am reminded of one very nice lady at the St Louis, Mo signing at the new Left Bank Bookstore, where she brought her first printing of Chili Madness in a plastic bag.  She had driven 2 hours to get to the signing and it was just fabulous to see her and the so well used copy of the book.

Last weekend I was in beautiful Fair Hope, Alabama, a gorgeous gulfside town all decked out in beautiful flowers along the main street.  The book signing there was at a huge chili cookoff, which was just a hoot.  Right behind us they even had a mechanical bull bucking away with all manner of kids and adults.

This coming week, I will be at the Smithsonian Museum in the Atrium room presenting Chili and chiles along with New Mexican wines presented by Jim Hammond, a Southwestern wine authority.  The wines are donated by  Gruet and Southwestern Wines, both of New Mexico.  This will be a very special event.  For more information, phone the Smithsonian at 202-633-3030.  All attending will be treated to a special chili dinner featuring my famous Bowl o Red, Mexican Tortilla Chli, corn and Bacon Chowder-Chili, apple Blue Cheese Slaw, Blue Corn parfait Bread and Creamy Margarita Pie.  Hope to see you there!

Our new Cooking with Jane is really taking off.  Be sure to take a peek at our premiere issue and join as a charter member while you still can.  Charter membership gives you 10% off all of our products—even our cooking schools.   Just click here to join.

Want to study more about chili and chiles—sign up right now for our “All About Chili” online cooking class while I have it on special.  Click here for more information.

And don’t forget to sign up for Butel’s Bytes where every month I share favorite recipes, hints, tips, discounts and more.
Let me hear from you!

I have been having so much fun travelling all about promoting my new Chili Madness book.  It has been a total hoot, meeting so many of my friends, alumni and owners of my cookbooks.

Also I have been introducing our new Cooking Club, "Cooking with Jane", which is getting off to a great start.  I would love for all of you to join--check it out on our website at www.janebutelcooking.com.  Each monthly issue contains at least six features which will give you lots of fun, timely content.  Each month there will be a story featuring timely recipes and hints and tips, an entertainment story, a health story, a time and budget stretcher set of recipes, reasonably priced bold wines to go with bold foods and an "Off the Plate" story about decorating and serving meals.  Plus freebies and hints and tips and more.

My online course is getting ready to start again.  It is totally amazing in the amount of information and recipes you will learn--over 150 of my alltime favorite tested recipes.  Check it out on our website at www.janebutelcooking.com.

Let me hear from you.  I would love to know your thoughts, ideas and questions.  Here's to health,  Jane Butel

 Are you a Charter Member of “Cooking  with Jane”?

“Cooking with Jane” is our newest product and we would just love for you to be a part of it.  We have a sneak peek setup at www.janebutel.com.  Go ahead and have a look.

It is not just any old recipe site.  Each month there will be special features that include healthy, quick and easy  cooking, fun entertainment menus with timelines, budget stretching ideas, hints and tips  as well as features where we explain the culinary tips and techniques that have made our cooking school rated as the best in the US by Gayot.com and one of the four best in the world by Bon Appetit.

In addition to a range of culinary stories, videos and recipes, we will have a special wine story each month, written by columnist and wine authority, Jim Hammond titled Bold Wines for Bold Foods.  And to round out our monthly offerings, there will be “Off the Plate” featuring décor, and kitchen and dining ideas.
You will actually save more than you make, once you are a member.  There is no other site like this!  So I know you will want to be a part of it.

Charter membership is the best, because you automatically get 10% off all our products and cookbooks, and after six months of membership, you get 10% off our cooking classes.  Membership has its privileges indeed!  Hurry to sign up, because the charter membership drive is over January 31, 2009.
I am just about to take off on the tour to promote “Chili Madness” .  Sunday, I leave for Phoenix and visit the Southwestern States, then the Mid-Central and Southern states the next week.  Hope to see you and serve you a sample of Bowl o Red!

Christmas in New Mexico is very traditional, combining centuries old customs of the Native Americans with the four hundred year old Spanish traditions.  If you haven't experienced Christmas in New Mexico, plan to real soon.  From the luminarias lighting home after home, block after block combined with all manner of colorful lighting to the special foods--Christmas here is indeed memorable.

Candlelighted choirs are everywhere.  Both secular and religious music are very popular and singing in the plazas, churchs and auditioriums fairly ring with beautiful music.

In addition to the luminarias which are candles nestled in sand in  paper sacks to small bonfires made from pinon wood shich scent the air in a very special way.  The crisp, clear high altitude air mades for a very special setting.

The culinary traditions are to serve the state cookie, Bizcochitos with hot chocolate after viewing the outdoor lighting and singing. Families vary with their traditions.  Many native families serve posole on Christmas eve for dinner, other always serve posole for good luck on New Years.  I am including my favorite Posole recipe from our cooking schools.

New Mexico is special year round, we look forward to welcoming you here next year.  We have great discounts available until noon Christmas Eve--20% off live or on-line classes, free sneak peeks of our cooking club which you simply must join, 10% off our Oaxaca trip and free shipping on our products and cookbooks offered until the end of the year. Check out our website at www.janebutel.com

Here's my favorite Posole recipe--

POSOLE
Dried Corn with Pork and Red Chiles

You may serve this either as a side dish or main dish.  I like to layer toppings such as fresh shredded cabbage, fresh lime juice and fresh chopped onion.

Yield:  15 to 16 servings

1 pound dried posole
1 quart water, or more
2 pounds pork, steak or roast, cut into ½” cubes
1 Tablespoon salt or to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of Mexican oregano
1 Tablespoon cumin, or to taste
¼ cup caribe chile or to taste

1. Simmer the posole in unseasoned water until it becomes soft and the kernels have burst open; it usually requires 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

2. Brown the pork in a cold, well-seasoned frying pan; adding no fat or oil to the pan. Saute until very browned, then add to the posole. Deglaze the frying pan with 1 cup water, stirring to loosen the brownies sticking to the pan.  Also add to the posole.

3. Add remaining ingredients, using one-half the cumin and cook the stew for 1 or more hours, to blend the flavors.  Just before serving, add the remaining half of cumin.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Ideally, this dish should be started the morning before it is to be served, to allow the flavors to develop.

+

We have heard from so many of you who have not gotten our mailings lately--of Butel's Bytes and our specials.  In looking into it, I learned so much!!

There is a definite path to take to receive information you really want.  You have to go through a process called white listing.  Each email provider such as AOL, Yahoo or Outlook has a different method to use for whitelisting, which makes it a bit difficult.  Hopefully, you will want to white list us and then you will always be able to get all of our "goodies"  literally and figuratively. 

Here's the link for the directions for all the various providers.  If you have any problems, please let us know, so we can fix the problem before it gets as big as it is now.
Link for white listing http://www.janebutelcooking.com/help.cfm?topicID=706&happ=Universal&app=janebutel

It is rather fitting to be writing this as it is snowing big, beautiful white flakes. 
I look forward to hearing from you about what you'd like to hear from me. 
all the best,  Jane Butel

Hi all,

I recommended to all my readers on Butels Bytes (my free newsletter, sign up on our website at www.janebutel.com) and in  articles I wrote in November to add chile to your Thanksgiving dinner to enhance the healthfulness as well as to hype the flavor into the "bold" category.  Here's the dishes that I had fun preparing and serving to my Thanksgiving guests:

Blue Cornbread Green Chile, Pecan and Sausage Dressing - I made blue cornbread from scratch and  flavored it with sauteed celery and pecans in sweet unsalted butter, coarsely chopped fresh frozen green chile and sauteed, well drained country breakfast sausage.  I used freshly made chicken-turkey stock from cooking the giblets to moisten the dressing before stuffing the bird.

Red Chile Giblet Gravy - It was amazingly delicious--my guests all said it was the best they ever tasted.  I also added a glug of port wine. For about 2 quarts of gravy, I added 1/4 cup pure ground mild chile.

I served the appetizer of the Beets with Romesco sauce featured in the November bytes.

I roasted the turkey my favortie English method way with the high heat sear and slow overnight roasting in the oven.  After the high heat sear, I doused the turkey with about 1/2 cup sherry and port wine mixed.

My guests all said it was the most delicious turkey and Thanksgiving dinner they ever ate.  I of course was very pleased and wanted to share this information with you for your future cooking.

I hope you enjoy these delicious ideas,  Jane Butel

Hi everyone,  Thanksgiving is fast upon us. I want to share with you my favorite way to roast a turkey.  I always get tons of phone calls from friends and former students trying to remember my way of turkey roasting.  It produces incredibly delicious, rich tasting, moist meat.

I am a great traditionalist, especially when it comes to holiday cooking. Many years ago, I was trained on the English roasting method.  And, I fell in love with the results.  The turkey is so bronze and beautiful.  The skin is almost parchment thin, due to the slow roasting, the fat has almost completely melted away from the under layer.

It is a bit of a process.  Prior to placing the stuffing in the bird, can even be Tuesday evening; rub a scant 1 Tablespoon of kosher or sea salt--can even use a salt substitute--into the inside cavities of the thawed or fresh bird.  Be sure to rub it thoroughly into the underside of the breast as well as the thoracic or neck cavity.  Never salt the skin as it causes it to dry out, burst and release brining the turkey's natural juices.  (This is one reason I like this method better than brining.)  You get the flavoring without the drying out of the skin.

The night before or tonight (Wednesday night) prepare the stuffing. Pull out and render down the turkey fat from inside the cavities. Place the turkey in the roaster, breast up and bring to room temperature.  Stuff the turkey both in the body and neck cavities.  Then either brush on the rendered turkey fat or melt unsalted butter and brush on the outside skin.  (Don't even attempt to rub on the back.)  While the fat is still warm, scatter finely minced herbs--fresh sage, thyme, rosemary or whatever you have.  Dry herbs can work.

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Place the turkey in the oven just before you go to bed for 20 minutes for the first 15 pounds and a minute per pound for each additional pound.  After the timer goes off, reduce the temperature to 200 F.  Open the oven and quickly dash some sherry or kirschwasser over the top of the bird--about 1/4 cup for a smaller bird and more if larger.

When you awaken to the fabulous aroma of the turkey, start basting every 30 minutes.  You will be amazed at the bird's beauty and flavor.  Pull out of the oven at least 30 minutes before serving to make the gravy and to carve the bird.

Try adding a Tablespoon or more pure red ground chile to the gravy for extra color and flavor.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and let me know how you like this method.  Some get nervous about the stuffing and the low temperature of roasting--it has worked for over 30 years for me.  Do be sure all of the ingredients in the stuffing are cooked.

Talk to you soon.  In the meantime, check out the cooking club--it is about ready for the sneak peek.  Join us soon for a fun cooking class and be sure to join our club and give it as a gift. Just go to www.janebutel.com and click on cooking school and cooking club.  Join our bytes too!   Jane Butel

I am so glad to finally be able to communicate with you through this medium.

My entire office has been really hopping, working on getting the exciting content ready for our new Cooking Club.  We are going to have a very fun format and plan to have it up in November for each of you to take a "peek".  We will be featuring video clips of me showing how to make popular favorite recipes and will have several features each month. 

The food articles will be mostly written by me on a range of subjects from great to know hints and tips to quick and easy, money saving, healthy, traditional and innovative recipes,  party menus, rescuing mistakes and more .  There will be a chat room, discussion board and live teleseminars with me. Also, members will receive discounts on our live classes, on-line classes, culinary tours to Mexico, cookbooks and products.  Freebies from other companies as well as from us and great to know food facts will be featured.

Susan Stiger, a great writer who also has a food background, having trained in Paris, France; will write a monthly column called "Off the Table" about interesting  dining related features such as pottery, weaving, and so on.

And, we will have wine.  Jim Hammond, a regional wine expert, columnist and author of Wines of Enchantment will be writing a monthly column on Bold Wines for Bold Foods. 

 It is going to be so much fun to see it take shape.  We are producing the club and calling it Cooking with Jane.  The monthly fee will be $10.00 a month.  You gotta join us.

My publicity trip to 19 cities in the US early next year is starting to get very exciting with some national talk shows, a program at the Smithsonian and a variety of great promotional events including satellite radio shows.

I have been presenting week long and weekend full participation classes.  Last but not least I wanted to share a picture of Composed Nachos Robin Burgess and Denise Hoyle from Birmingham, Al made during our week long full participation class this past July.  We have one more full participation weekend class, set for  November 7 to 9, which will be at the height of our red chile and yellow cottonweed season.  (Just call me and mention you saw this in the blog and get 20% off this class.)  The recipe they made is Composed Nachos, recipe follows:

COMPOSED NACHOS

These alone are almost a meal.  When artfully arranged as described below, they are beautiful and look like a sunflower—a picture really worth eating.  The crispy, cheesey nachos serve as a scooper for the guacamole, refried beans and garnish!

Yield:  2 to 4 servings

6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, crisp-fried or bake

1  cup mixed shredded Monterey Jack cheese and Cheddar cheese

¼ cup thinly sliced fresh or pickled jalapeno chiles, or to taste

½ cup Guacamole

½ cup Refried Beans

2 tablespoons each chopped onion, fresh tomato, and ripe olives

2 tablespoons dairy sour cream, optional

1.   Preheat the oven to 425F.  Arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet topped with a smaller sheet.  Bake 5 minutes, then remove the top, smaller sheet pan and finish baking about 8 more minutes or  until crisp. Prepare Guacamole and Refried Beans.  Generously sprinkle cheeses on tortillas.  Bake about 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.

2.   Cut each cheesed tortilla into four pieces.  Arrange them on a round large plate or platter, placing them in an overlapping chain – the point of one slightly overlapping the top of the next.  Position a mound of Guacamole in the center of the platter.  Spoon a circle of beans  around the outside edge of the Guacamole.  Garnish with jalapeno slices, onion, tomato, and olives.  Top beans with sour cream, if desired.

I'd also like to have you join our Butel's Bytes monthly enewsletter.  For more information about our classes and to register for them and subscribe to our newsletter, go to www.janebutel.com.  Or, call or email us any time.  Our phone is 1-800-473-8226.

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