Chimayo comes from a little town just outside of Santa Fe that grows this specific chile and also happens to have this fantastic restaurant, Rancho de Chimayo, that seems to have come right out of one of my favorite TV shows, Northern Exposure.

If you want to know more about Pittsburgh-style sandwiches and their chief purveyor, check out the Web site for Primanti Brothers Deli

And for the record, I double the spice amounts for my personal stock. They make a pretty mean carne adovada themselves.

Salpicon

1 12 pound brisket

1 onion

6 cloves garlic

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

2 cups beef broth

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

2 cups olive oil

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 7 oz. can chipotle in adobo

Juice of 1 lime

2 cups diced cheddar cheese

1 cups diced green onion

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Place brisket fat side up in a roasting pan with onion, garlic, celery and carrots. Put the stick of butter on top of the brisket and seal the top with foil. Cook 10 hours or until internal temperatures is 180 degrees. Let cool an hour then shred into fine ribbons.

Mix oil, vinegar, chipotle and lime into a vinaigrette.

Combine all ingredients and serve in warm tortillas, tortilla cups or wonton cups.

Chicken and brie quesadillas

16 oz. brie, peeled and diced

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1/4-inch cubes

2 green onions

1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder

Half a stick of butter, sliced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ cup of dry white wine

1-2 tablespoons chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

6 large flour tortillas

Fry the chicken in butter on high heat until it’s browned. Add green onions and soy sauce and cook down liquid. Add broth and cook down. Add salt, pepper and chile, then deglaze pan with wine. Mix well and set aside.

Heat a griddle to medium high heat. Melt a slice of butter on the griddle and spread. Place a tortilla on the griddle, placing a large spoonful of chicken and several cubes of brie on one side. When the cheese begins to melt, fold the uncovered half over the covered half. Flip once the bottom is golden brown. When the entire tortilla is golden brown, remove and set aside. Continue until you’ve run out of filling. You may want to keep warm in the oven. Slice the tortillas into wedges and serve with your favorite hot sauce.

Salsa Roja

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 large clove garlic, peeled

2-5 fresh serrano or jalapeno chiles

¼ cup cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon salt

Half an onion, chopped

Black pepper to taste.

Place onion in food processor and chop. Remove to folded towels and wring out any liquid. Combine remaining ingredients in a food processor. Mix salsa with onions in a bowl, adjust salt and pepper.

Salsa Verde

2 lbs tomatillos

1 full bunch of cilantro, stalks and all.

3-8 serrano or jalapeno chiles

Juice of 1 lime

3 sliced green onions

Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pot, boil tomatillos 10 minutes and allow to cool. Cut out stems and combine with remaining except for onions ingredients in a food processor. Important: Store overnight in the refrigerator and add onions before serving the following day. Tomatillos need a little more time to blend with other ingredients. Onions are best added just before serving as they can overpower when left in too long.

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados

2 peeled garlic cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ of an onion chopped

1 roma tomato chopped

Juice of half a key lime

Optional ingredients: fresh chiles, chopped cilantro leaves.

Using a mortar and pestle, mash salt and garlic into a paste. Peel avocodos and scoop into a bowl with garlic paste remaining ingredients. Adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

Smore Bars

Crust:

14 whole graham cracker boards, crushed (2 1/4 cups crumbs)

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted

Brownie:

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:

1 jar (7.5 ounces) marshmallow cream (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup mini chocolate kisses

3 whole graham cracker boards, broken up

Heat oven to 350.

Crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter in small bowl until the graham crackers are moistened.  Press evenly in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.  Refrigerate until the crust sets.  About 30 minutes.

Brownie: Combine bittersweet chocolate and butter in bowl and microwave on high 1 minute at a time until melted.  Stir until smooth.

With a hand-held mixer on medium-high speed, beat together the eggs and sugar until well blended.  Reduce speed to medium and gradually add the melted chocolate-butter mixture to the egg mixture, beat until smooth, scraping the side of the bowl occasionally.

Stir the flour and salt into the egg mixture.  Stir in the vanilla until smooth.  Scrape brownie mixture into the crust lined pan.  Bake at 350 oven for 30 minutes. 

Topping: While the brownie layer is baking, whisk together the marshmallow cream and the milk in a small bowl until well blended and smooth.

Once the pan is cool enough to handle, pour marshmallow topping over the brownie layer and spread or tilt the pan to cover the top completely.

Sprinkle the mini kisses over the marshmallow topping.  Then scatter the crumbled graham crackers all over the top.

Dark Chocolate Gravy

12 oz. dark chocolate chips

1-½ sticks butter

½ cup light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

Heat syrup and cream to 180 degrees, mix in chocolate until thoroughly combined. Fold in butter.

Salsa Crema

1 jar Mexican table cream, or crema fresca

2 green onions diced,

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, crushed into powder

Juice of half a lime, or 1 teaspoon lime zest.

salt and pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly and serve.

Chicken tamale filling

1 whole chicken

4 bay leaves

1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano

3 cloves garlic

1 onion quartered

12 whole peppercorns

2 teaspoons olive oil

Half thin sliced onion

2 cloves garlic minced

2-3 cups reserved broth

1 toasted ancho chile toasted, seeded and sliced in strips.

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon chile de arbol powder

7 oz. diced canned tomatoes

Place chicken in a stockpot and cover by two inches with water. Add next five ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer about an hour, skimming the top periodically.

Remove chicken and let cool. Strain and reserved stock.

Shred chicken once cool enough to handle.

In a heavy skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil and sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer at least 30 minutes. Makes 25-30 tamales.

16 oz. whole kernel corn

16 oz. grated

4-6 roasted poblano chiles, roasted skinned, seeded and diced

8 oz. black beans, drained of any liquid

4 sliced green onions

2 roma tomatoes, diced

2-4 serrano peppers chopped

¼ cup chopped cilantro

You can roast the poblanos in broiler, on a hot griddle or in a deep fryer. Roast until skin is blistered thoroughly and immediately transfer to an airtight container or bag for 20 minutes. Once out, the skin should peel off.

Cook the corn, preferably on the cob and over hot coals.

Then combine all ingredients.

While the state boast many fine gourmet shops, the biggest boost to finding a greater variety of chiles falls squarely on the rise in the Hispanic population. There are markets that specialize in Hispanic imports statewide.

That said, I go straight to the source: Pendery’s in Dallas/Ft. Worth.

Pendery’s claims to be the birthplace of chile blending, what we now call chile powder. I have visited their retail store in Ft. Worth dozens of times, and I’ve been shopping with them online for years. Not once have I been unable to find the chile I’m looking for.

What they don’t have is fresh chiles. As I mentioned, the rise of Hispanic markets has  increased availabilty of poblano peppers as well as a larger supply of jalapenos, serranos and habaneros.

To read about Pendery’s history and check out their supply, go to www.penderys.com.