Cast a Chili Charm!

More and more varieties of chili peppers are finding their way into our nation’s food markets, thanks to the delectable contribution that our growing Latin American population has brought to the table.  Not afraid of flavor, these individuals have shown us how to stir the pot, infuse some chili charms and conjure a host of aromatic and savory dishes that heat our palates and warm the soul.

While chilies are not exclusive to Latin American and Mexican fare, as anyone from Thailand, China, India and Africa will tell you, of the more than 200 varieties of chilies found throughout the world, half of them hail from Mexico.  The peppers span a wide range of colors, size and heat factor.

The most commonly found chili peppers within the United States supermarkets were jalepenos.  These chilies are often sliced for embellishing soups or stews.  They also make excellent vessels for stuffing with cheeses or spreads and serving as appetizers.  The jalepeno popper is filled with cheddar and then dipped in batter and deep-fried.  Anaheim chili peppers are also widely available, their mildly sweet and spicy flavor a choice selection for use in salsas.   

Once a jalepeno is dried, it becomes today’s popular chipotle chili pepper, coveted for its ability to infuse a smoky chili flavor into everything including eggs, mashed potatoes, chili, dips, soups, barbecue sauces and stews.

Joining the chili pepper market scene are mild poblano chilies, which become ancho chilies when dried. Some very hot peppers to choose from include the serrano, the habanero, the Jamaican hot chili and the Scotch bonnet chili.  These are among the hottest peppers in the world and are used extensively for firing up spice rubs and curries.

Chili peppers are available in fresh and dry variations.  They are also used in the production of such seasoning products and condiments as chili pastes, chili powders, chili sauces and those dried red pepper flakes that you sprinkle on your pizza.  When working with whole chilies, either wear gloves or be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling.  If you fail to do so and then touch your eyes, you will surely receive a harsh reprimand for your noncompliance.  Those inner ribs and seeds that you painstakingly removed contain the capsaicin that produces the intense, firey heat.

Cast a spell on daring diners at your next gathering with these tempting spiced up dishes. 

Chili Dip

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce container sour cream

1 8-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

4 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¾ teaspoon salt

2 canned chipotle chilies, coarsely chopped

Tortilla chips, strips of bell peppers, large grape tomatoes

Combine first 8 ingredients in a food processor until blended.  Transfer to serving dish.  Top with chopped chipotles.  Arrange the tortilla chips, bell pepper strips and whole grape tomatoes around the dish for dipping and serve.

Serving suggestion: margaritas are a natural and festive sipping accompaniment for this southwestern nibble.

Raspberry Chipotle Duck Breasts

Ingredients:

4 boneless duck breast halves with skin intact

10 ounces seedless raspberry jam

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo

½ teaspoon salt

½ tablespoon additional chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo

1 6-ounce container fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 500-degrees.  Using a sharp knife, score the skin of each duck breast half in a criss-cross pattern, taking care not to cut through to the meat.  Place the duck skin side up in a shallow roasting pan.  Sprinkle the duck with salt and pepper and set aside.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the next four ingredients and stir until the jam has melted and all ingredients are mixed.

Brush the duck with a thin layer of the sauce (there should be plenty of sauce remaining for additional basting and final dressing).  Place the duck into the oven and roast for 20 minutes, brushing with more sauce once halfway through cooking time.  Before extracting the duck from the oven, stir the additional chipotles and the raspberries into the remaining sauce.  Pour this mixture over each duck breast half before serving.  Serves four.

Serving suggestion: accompany with saffron rice and serve with a red wine such as merlot or pinot noir.

Food for Thought

It’s time for all of you gardeners to get your herb plants into the ground.  With the threat of frost behind us at last, even basil will appreciate the earth’s expanse to stretch its roots.  No Italian cook should do without it, or without oregano, which, if planted last year, should be making its faithful comeback by now.  Plant earthy and fragrant sage and rosemary for all of your fall dishes; chives, dill and mint will liven up summer fare.  Thyme and parsley remain the most commonly harvested herb used in so many dishes.  My fellow Long Islanders can usually reap the benefits of enjoying fresh herbs from your gardens right through the Thanksgiving dinner.

 

In addition to fresh spinach, asparagus, herbs and strawberries, your local farm stands are now displaying the first radishes, rhubarb and lettuces.  Enjoy radishes as a simple part of an appetizer platter by dipping them into softened artisanal butter and sprinkling with sea salt crystals.  Alternately, slice the radishes into a spinach salad.

  

From the Big Apple to the Big Easy

I was recently told of a vacationing couple from abroad that was touring some of the southeastern region of the United States.  Upon being informed that the couple had planned a visit to New Orleans as part of their itinerary, my own memories of a week well spent in the Big Easy flooded to the surface.  I immediately recalled all of the things that Brian and I saw, the tours we embarked on and the food.  Oh, the food!  We’re from New York.  Long Island, to be more specific, but the Big Apple is just over an hour’s train ride away.  With access to some of the most global cuisine prepared by some amazing culinary geniuses, food consumed in another city really should not have impressed us that much, but it did.  New Orleans is, hands down, second only to New York’s metropolitan area when it comes to extraordinary dining experiences.  Since this couple is actually friends with my parents, I immediately passed along a few choice recommendations to make their brief stay in New Orleans a memorable and flavorful experience.

Inspired, I have chosen to generously share some of these recommendations with my readers.  It was ten years ago when Brian and I visited New Orleans, before hurricane Katrina perilously ravaged through.  Fortunately, New Orleans has since rebuilt.  Most of the places we enjoyed were not permanent victims of complete devastation and remain in business today.  Several friends of mine have experienced an equally wonderful time in New Orleans within the past three years.  The French Quarter remains alive and festive around the clock and still offers sheer gastronomic rapture at several restaurants.

We stayed at the beautiful Mariott resort located on Canal Street.  This is a perfect location for accommodations because there is so much to see and do within walking distance from that block.  Once we dropped our bags, we immediately did an about face and exited the hotel to begin exploring and familiarizing ourselves of the surrounding area.  Our stroll brought us to Riverwalk, a lengthy shopping mall filled with shops peddling all manner of New Orleans souvenirs.  Some of the shops were very specialized, such as one that was right up my alley where I purchased a cat-themed New Orleans t-shirts and coffee mugs and even a catnip toy for my pampered feline, stitched from swaths of fabric bearing jazz cat musicians in the pattern.  There was a cooking shop, selling New Orleans themed aprons, cookbooks, cookware and Cajun and Creole spices and condiments.  Our first meal in New Orleans was taken in the food court of Riverwalk, where a jazz combo of musicians sashayed through with lively tunes while I savored a shrimp po’boy.  On the river side of this mall is an outdoor promenade that spans the length of the mall and overlooks the Mississippi River, hence the name Riverwalk.

That evening, we dined lavishly on what was most definitely the finest meal in town at Emeril’s Delmonico, located in the lower Garden District.  This is one of several restaurants owned by the celebrity chef within the city.  His original establishment, Emeril’s New Orleans can be found in the Warehouse District and the more casual NOLA is situated in the French Quarter.

The following night’s dinner was spent in the elegantly styled dining room of the historical building that houses Arnaud’s.  The menu features stellar classic Creole fare and diners are treated to live jazz.  The traditional dessert of bananas Foster is prepared and flambéed with visual flourish at your tableside.

When pounding the pavement to take in such photographic opportunities as Jackson Square with the Saint Louis Cathedral towering in the background or the splashing fountain near Riverwalk, be sure to take a respite at the famed Café du Monde.  Fashioned after the sidewalk cafes for which Paris is world famous, there is no better spot to relax in the fresh air sipping chicory cafe au lait and enjoying a plate of powdered sugar-dusted beignets.  Before resuming your sightseeing tour, be sure to browse the shop for such souvenirs as cans of ground chicory coffee, beignet batter mix, coffee mugs, barista aprons and t-shirts.

One of the requisite beverages to throw back with reckless abandon is the original Hurricane cocktail from Pat O’Brien’s, the place where it was created during World War II.  Located in the heart of party central on Bourbon Street, this place is always hopping and hosting festive celebrations.  Any excuse is a great excuse to throw a party, and Pat Obrien’s delivers.  Many local bars and restaurants create a similar drink, but due to copyright laws they are not allowed to call their incarnation a hurricane, even if the impostor cocktail looks and tastes identical to the original.

For lunches and casual dinners, we delved into such Cajun delights as turtle soup, po’boys, jambalaya, fried alligator, gumbos and oysters in restaurants and pubs that were alive with the energetic rhythms and sounds of zydeco.  The three things that New Orleans is never lacking are good food, good drinks and good music.

For the ultimate in fine dining, we retained a reservation at Commander’s Palace, located in the Garden District.  With its strict dress code, Brian was definitely feeling the warmth in the southern heat as we opted for a table in the outside courtyard.  Once the first bite of epicurean delight touched his lips, however, all focus turned to savoring the most sumptuous offerings of haute Creole cuisine.  This family-run establishment is where a young Emeril once began his culinary career.

Our last dinner in New Orleans was in the dining room of the iconic Brennans.  Since 1946, this culinary jewel of the French Quarter has been serving up sublime innovations of entrees that will propel any foodie to immediate ecstasy.  The extensive wine list and spectacular menu choices make this restaurant yet another mandatory dinner stop.

After checking out of the hotel, with our flight not scheduled to depart for several hours, we opted to partake in one last meal.  It was very well chosen, it turned out, and I highly recommend this for any tourist’s final farewell.  The Court of Two Sisters is a historic restaurant nestled around a courtyard in the heart of the French Quarter.  Their award-winning daily courtyard brunch put every brunch we had ever dined in through life to shame.  Buffet station after buffet station offered the most extensive choices of food to satisfy the heartiest of appetites.  The cooling sounds of a splashing fountain and a live jazz band provided a mesmerizing and relaxing ambience.  It was during this meal when wait staff began calling on anyone in the courtyard who could speak French to help them communicate with a couple of touring patrons.  Feeling that my language skills were rusty, I only rose to the challenge when no one else present volunteered.  I was led to a table where two older ladies from France sat.  They reminded me of my French grandmother and my heart immediately reached out to them.  They were eternally grateful as I helped them place their drink order and we shared a nice conversation before I bid them Bon Appetit and returned to my on-looking husband, my confidence in my French speaking skills restored once again.

Since this is a food blog, I naturally focused primarily on edible recommendations.  For those who are curious about what there is to see during the day in New Orleans, just start walking through the French Quarter.  The architecture displaying elaborate iron scrollwork in the balconies is a site in itself.  Jackson Square is a gathering place for street artists, tarot card readers, fortunetellers and musicians, their sultry notes drifting from their saxophones and trumpets.  The Saint Louis Cathedral is situated on the edge of the square.  Horse-drawn carriages will whisk you away on a historical guided tour of the Quarter.  Visit the Mardi Gras museum to learn the history behind the annual carnival and to peruse a host of Mardi Gras exhibits featuring props and costumes. Animal lovers such as myself won’t want to miss the New Orleans Zoo and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  Take a guided tour, if you dare, through the oldest cemeteries in the city to learn about the unusual traditional burial practices and visit the tomb of alleged Voodoo queen Marie Laveau.  We also took another tour that took us on a riverboat ride through the alligator dwellings of the Louisiana swamp, a picturesque experience with the surrounding backdrop of Spanish moss draped from every tree.  We also toured a couple of old Creole plantations, one of which was conducted by the most engaging and effective tour guide I have ever followed.  He made the subject matter so fascinating that I proceeded to purchase his historical book to learn more.  For nighttime entertainment, the streets are lined with jazz and zydeco clubs.  There are no laws in New Orleans regarding consumption of alcohol in the streets, so you can take a drink outside and stroll through the dynamic environ of Bourbon Street.

There is so much to see, do, eat and drink in New Orleans.  The city, like New York, never sleeps.  Because most things are either in walking proximity or accessible with a short ride in a cable trolley or taxi, one can take in every activity and location that I’ve mentioned at a leisurely pace over even a short span of four days.  I highly recommend a trip to New Orleans and adhere strictly to their daily mantra of ‘Laissez les bon temps rouler!’  English speakers are all familiar with the translation of this sage advise: Let the Good Times Roll!

If you need a little inspiration via a taste of the Big Easy at home, try my recipe for jambalaya.  My variation of the traditional Cajun entrée is one of Brian’s favorite requests.  For another sample of Cajun flavor, here’s a recipe for Andouille sausage and red beans.  Finally, serve up a plate of Creole goodness by preparing shrimp creole:

Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and cleaned

1 onion, chopped

2 green bell peppers, diced

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

½ cup white wine

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Bottled hot sauce, such as Tobasco, Frank’s or Lousiana

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and sauté until translucent.  Stir in the garlic and sauté for another two minutes.  Stir in the wine and boil for one minute.  Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper and thyme.  Season to taste with hot sauce.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the cover and add the peppers and the shrimp.  Cook and stir until the shrimp have all turned pink.  Stir in the parsley and serve over cooked rice or, for southern flare, cooked grits.  Pass the bottle of hot sauce at the table for those who revel in punishing their palates.  Serves four.