Now that Oaxaca is in the rearview "memory mirror"--I am organizing some of our favorite cooking classes which I look forward to sharing with you.

I hope your last few weeks have been fun and I imagine, pretty busy.  It seems that everyone I know has been experiencing "quite full plates" so to speak.

I look forward to cooking with you soon, however the "Divine Powers" had another idea.  With the hot  weather, my evaporative cooler sprung a leak in the entry ceiling, which has been fixed, but requiring all the ceiling to be torn out, to be replaced, finished and painted.   It has been a horrible and very messy job that requires drying time between the steps to repair it. 

In the meantime, starting now--I am offering the famous Chimayo, Caribean derived Caribe Chile on a half price special for this week.  Chile Caribe is a "must have" Chile" for the heralded dish of Northern New Mexico--Carne Adobado, which is amazingly delicious when properly prepared.  Just follow the attached recipe, which I am sharing below.  Caribe Chile is also a wonderful condiment chile--great on grilled corn, with chocolate and as an attractive garnish.  Also, attached is my favorite Hot, Hot Devil's Food cake, using a Tissane of the Caribe chile.  My deceased husband, Gordon, would not eat oatmeal without it!     

Due to our ceiling problem, we will not be offering classes until July 11 when we will be kicking off the green chile season with our Green Chile Fiesta class at 5 PM. In this class, we will be preparing the season's favorites, such as Green Chile Chicken melt in your mouth Enchiladas, Blue Corn Crusted Chiles Rellenos, Green Chile Crusted Quiche and even, everyone's favorite--Green Chile Apple Pie and more.

Some have asked if, during this amazing heat wave, if our kitchen is cool. "Yes" it is--we have double air conditioning--both refrigerated and evaporative cooling,  so it is quite "comfy". 

The next classes are--on July 18, we will be featuring a new Grilling class at 5 PM and on Thursday, July 18, followed by everyone's favorite, Taco Party on July 25 at 5 PM. 

Our next weekend class is August 2 - 4 and the next week long class is October 14-18, 2024.

CARNE ADOBADA

(Pork with Red Chile Sauce)

This is one of the best, if not the very best-tasting, pork creations from northern New Mexico.  Traceable back to Conquistador days, this dish has somehow never gained favor outside of New Mexico.  I think it is because crushed caribe chiles are hard to find outside the area.  I always make a full five and one half pound recipe because I like to have lots available for burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, or to serve over or under  rice, beans or eggs.

Yield:  10-12 servings

1/2 cup crushed caribe chile

1/4 cup ground mild chile

1/4 cup ground hot chile

3 garlic cloves

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried leaf Mexican oregano

2 teaspoons salt

4 cups water

5-1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch thick chops (trimmed so as to keep a narrow layer of fat around the edges) 

1. Process all the ingredients except pork in a blender or food processor. Pour into a flat-bottomed glass baking dish.  Dip each pork chop into the marinade and lay to one side of the baking dish as you coat the rest.  Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, periodically spooning chile mixture over the top and turning chops over.  Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (The pork can be frozen for up to 3 months at this point.) 

2. In the morning, stir and coat each pork chop with chile sauce. Stir and coat again.  Preheat oven to 325F (165C).  Cover pan with lid or foil; bake chops, covered for the first 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer, spooning the sauce over chops every 30 minutes.  Let cool. 

3. Using a sharp knife, remove bones and pull meat apart with your fingers to shred the pork into about 25 cent size pieces—do not finely shred the pork.. Place shredded meat back in the baking dish.  Bake 30 minutes to allow the sauce to cook into pork.  When done, the meat should be a bright rosy red color and very tender.

HOT, HOT CHOCOLATE CAKE

 This is a yummy devil’s food cake.  Once I shared the recipe with the listeners of Sam Arnold’s Saturday morning radio show on station WKOA in Denver and we got thousands of requests for it.  It was our birthday cake when I had the Pecos River Café in New York City.  Try it, it is really delicious and so moist.  With all the chile it is truly a romantic cake! 

Yield: 3 (8-inch) or 2 (9-inch) layers

Temperature: 350 F (375 F above 5000 ft.)

Baking Time: 25 to 35 minutes 

1/4 cup crushed Caribe chiles

1 cup boiling water

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pure Mexican vanilla extract

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 3 (8-inch) or 2 (9-inch) cake pans. 

2. Boil chiles in the water for 10 minutes, then let stand for 20 minutes. This can be done early in the day or ahead of time.  Strain the chiles, rubbing with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to remove as much pulp as possible.  Pour the chile water into a measuring cup.  Add enough hot tap water to make 1 cup of liquid.  Stir cocoa powder into chile water to make a smooth paste.  Add soda and vanilla, stir and set aside while preparing the cake batter. 

3. Beat shortening and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously after each addition. 

4. Sift flour and salt into a small bowl. Add to eggs, alternating with the buttermilk, using low mixer speed.  Beat on medium speed until smooth, then add the cocoa mixture and mix well. 

5. If baking in layers, evenly divide the batter among the pans. Smooth batter to edges.  Bake 35 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed.  (Bake rounds 20 to 25 minutes).  Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out cake on wire racks to cool completely. 

6. Prepare frosting. Frost cake while frosting is still warm and sprinkle with nuts and/or crushed chile.

Hot Fudge Frosting:

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons corn syrup

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Chopped pecans and/or crushed Caribe chile 

1. Mix sugars and cocoa together in a medium-size heavy saucepan. Add corn syrup and half-and-half.  Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 236 F or a soft ball forms when a teaspoon of mixture is dropped into cold water.  Remove from heat.

2. Beat vigorously until mixture becomes less glossy, adding more half-and-half as needed to make a creamy fudge.