A Closed Mouth Don't Get Fed

New Mexico July Part 4

It used to be that Santa Fe was served by many tiny local grocery stores tucked into every neighborhood. Most of these are gone, and the city has the big mainstream grocery stores. There's an Albertson's and a Whole Foods and a Wild Oats and a Trader Joes along with some successful smaller local stores like the Market Place and Kaune's Foodtown. And happily, there is still Johnny's Cash Store, a tiny one room grocery that opened in 1946 and is still run by Johnny and his family. The store is hidden up a hill in an old part of town, where the streets are narrow and twisting, and turning into the dirt parking lot could feel accidetal.

In high school, this is where we went if we had a break or ditched school and bought tamales and Dr. Pepper and individual cigarettes and sat outside on the portal to share them. The tamales are excellent and hot. This one was red chile pork and had ideal proportions of filling and masa.

Blue Sky soda is from Santa Fe and many flavors are made with real sugar. I like the grapefruit because it is not too sweet and makes a great substitute for tonic.





Johnny's also offers burritos.

Even though I bought the large bag of tamales from Johnny's, I still stopped at Albertsons to buy tubs of frozen chile. Everything (15-20 lbs) went into an insulated tote bag and got checked at the airport. It should last at least a month.

Full

Thanksgiving 2007 Menu:

Turkey
Simple Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Rosemary Apple Cider Gravy
Ginger Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans with Lemon and Mint
Green Chile Cornbread
Apple Brie Rosemary Purses
Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Leeks
Gratineed Dijon Creamed Pearl Onions
Blackberry Pie
Pumpkin Pecan Clafouti





Green Chile Cornbread

1 portion green chiles minced (frozen/reconstituted/can diced)
1 poblano chile (roasted, peeled and seeded) minced
1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
2/3 c. buttermilk or plain kefir
1 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 T cold butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 can creamed corn

450 degrees. Big bowl, mix dry: flour, cornmeal, sugar, powder, soda, salt, then butter in bits. in another bowl, mix wet: egg, corn, chiles, kefir. Add wet to dry. Bake in greased dish, perhaps a square 9 inch glass baking dish, or some such item, until golden and toothpick comes out clean.

I am thankful for many things. Thankful that as I get older I get to watch people I love get older and really start to become friends with their siblings. I am thankful that my palate is so curious. I'm thankful for criticism, change, spices, chemistry and honesty. I am thankful for my senses, my memory, and my family. I am thankful for cumin, Honeycrisp apples, onions, and chiles. I can't possibly list all the things in the world I am thankful for, better to try and pay attention everyday and night and live the list instead of write it.

June: Another Exercise in Chile

L.I.C., New York-



Attended the 1st Food Film Festival at Water Taxi Beach and saw George Motz’s film Hamburger America, which features (among others), the be all and end all green chile cheeseburger from the Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe. In celebration they flew in fresh frozen green chile from Hatch, NM and applied it to burgers (unfortunately with embarrassing teaspoon-sized portions). Though I have large amounts of chile in the freezer (as well as in dried form), this got me all riled up to visit the vibrant plates of El Norteño.

Santa Fe, New Mexico-



Huevos Rancheros at the Tecolote Cafe, (corn tortillas with eggs -I like poached- and smothered in red and green chile) served with potatoes.



Enchilada Plate at The Shed (rolled blue corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and raw onions, covered in red and green chile (“X-Mas”), with pinto beans, posole, and an egg over-medium. All traditional dishes are served with a small amount of chopped lettuce and tomato. The Shed serves the best red chile. Accompanied by the classic Silver Coin margarita. Not shown, enchiladas from the Santa Fe Bar & Grill, they have a good red too, very dark and smoky. Also had green chile cheeseburgers from the Zia Diner (organic) and fancy Niman Ranch GCC’s from Santacafe. Breakfast burritos from the Baking Company.





A Frito Pie at the Atomic Cafe. A traditional Frito Pie is served in the Fritos bag, with red chile and meat (like a sauce), and beans and chopped raw onions. The Atomic's is served in a bowl with Fritos, green chile, jack cheese, carrots, red onion, tomato, black beans and a slice of jalapeño. They serve some version at the Levee in Williamsburg, but I'm not sure what its about. I assume they're using a form of chili, not chile. Needs investigation.



The most unusual (and therefore appealing for a sucker like me) was the Kobe Beef burger from Bert’s Burger Bowl ("One Location Worldwide"). A funky burger joint that’s been open forever, Bert’s is never run of the mill. They serve “lime Cokes” and “French Cokes” the first with fresh squeezed lime juice and the second with half and half.









I had the burger with green chile of course, and it was good of course. I should have had them omit the yellow mustard and pickles though, which just sour everything up.

Green Chiles

Santa Fe, NM- We bought two bags (the size of garbage bags) of New Mexican green chiles grown in Hatch, New Mexico. Purchased in burlap sacks, they are then dumped into appropriately sized turning roasters stationed in the parking lot or wherever one buys the chile. The skin of the chiles becomes black and blistered, and the smell is smoky, powerful, a sign of fall in New Mexico. It gets in the blood. The steaming chiles are then corralled into plastic bags to be taken home for further preparation. The chiles are roasted and left to steam some so that the skin can be removed (it is not easily digestible) and so the flavor of the chile is enhanced and the texture useful. Once in the kitchen, (wearing gloves) the skins are peeled off and all the seeds and some veins removed. We then bagged and froze all thirty pounds. (about seven hours). The chile can then be easily transported, defrosted and used in sauces, stews, quiches, breads, on cheeseburgers, sandwiches, eggs, fries, tamales, enchiladas, and honestly anything and everything else.