Next week starts the last month of summer and green chile season has just kicked off--a perfect time to spend this coming  weekend cooking with us.  Just this past week, the aroma of green chiles roasting has begun filling the air.  We are placing this full participation weekend class on sale for just $750, down from $1050.  Just for the record, this class and my week long class have been rated by Bon Appetit magazine any Gayot.com as the best in the US for non-vocational cooking schools!

In New Mexico, roasting green chiles for the year ahead is a rite of late summer and a ritual to observe.  In this forthcoming weekend class, we will be making several green Chile specialties including Blue Corn Crusted Chile Rellenos and Green Chile Chicken Open Face Enchiladas.

We will be roasting green chiles, which once roasted are best plunged into ice water as soon as the skins are blackened.  The ice bath stops the cooking, making for luscious, thick green chile flesh, not thin yellowish flesh resulting from not stopping the heat.  We will teach the tricks of best techniques for chile roasting.  (By the way, my computer thinks chile should be capitalized as for the country or spelled chili--the dish made from meat and red chiles--I get so tired of  having to correct the system!)

I hope you will find time to join our class.  The complete menus are on my website, www.janebutelcooking.com.  Just click on the Weekend class button on the home page.

Our next day class, is Green Chile Fiesta at 5 PM on Wednesday, August 14 followed by the Creative Southwest Grilling class on Thursday, August 29 at 5 PM.

Here's a couple of quick easy to make entrees for the heat of summer. 

Enjoy them.

CHICKEN FAJITAS WITH PICO DE GALLO,

SOUR CREAM & TORTILLAS

 Chicken breast is perfect with the traditional fajita marinade.  I have always preferred the fresh pure flavors of lime and garlic to the “foreign flavors” such as soy sauce and monosodium glutamate.  My favorite way to serve these chicken fajitas is with grilled rather than sauteed vegetables.  Select large red onions and the biggest bell peppers you can find.

 Yield:  6 to 8 servings

 2 pounds lean boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Juice of 2 limes

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 large red onions, halved crosswise

1 each large red, green and yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

Pico de Gallo,

Dairy sour cream

Guacamole, optional

6 inch diameter flour tortillas, warmed

1. Cut each breast in half, following the natural division of the cartilage and removing any fat. Pound between sheets of plastic wrap to uniform thickness. 

2. To prepare the marinade: Combine lime juice, garlic, salt, black pepper, and oil in a bowl.  Dip each side of the chicken breast into the mixture and marinate 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 1 hour in the refrigerator.

 Preheat the grill, allowing enough time to get hot. Use mesquite wood or chips to flavor the to give a real authentic flavor. Lightly brush onion halves and bell pepper strips with oil. Start vegetables 20 25 minutes before starting the chicken. When they are done, cut into ½ inch wide strips and mix together. Keep warm. 

4. Grill chicken about 3 inches from coals for about 4 minutes to the side. Cut into strips about 1 inch wide when done. 

5. Serve the grilled chicken over the grilled onions and peppers. Serve with bowl of Pico de gallo and sour cream and guacamole if desired. Pass napkin-lined basket of hot tortillas. 

VARIATIONS:  Pan-saute the onions and peppers, cutting them into strips before cooking using minimal oil, cooking only until slightly crispy.  Then saute the chicken breast in the same skillet or broil for about 4 minutes a side.

PICO DE GALLO

As hot as the top of a cock’s comb is the literal translation of this dish’s name.  The salsa originated in northern Mexico and should be made with chipotle chiles.  (Our powder works just fine and is so much ease than boiling, then chopping the chiles.  This salsa is a staple with fajitas.

Yield:  1-1/2 cups

3 chipotle chiles or fresh jalapeno chiles, finely chopped or 1 /2 teaspoons chipotle powder
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
1 Spanish onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pequin chile or to taste (omit if using chipotle chile)
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
¼ cup fresh lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl, cover, and marinate at least 1 hour to develop natural juices before serving.