An Average Joe in San Antonio

It’s that time of year again.  The temperatures are soaring, football season is about to gear up, and Hatch green chiles are in season!  What? Never heard of Hatch green chiles? I guess that they aren’t as common down in South Texas as they are where I’m from in West Texas.

(This post originally appeared on August 19, 2010, but I decided to update it with a video showing how to roast the green chiles!)

Hatch green chiles come from Hatch, New Mexico and are a staple of New Mexican cuisine.  If you have ever taken a trip through New Mexico, you probably noticed that you can get green chiles on practically EVERYTHING – pizza, sandwiches, eggs, and burgers just to name a few (on my last trip up there, I even came across green chile wine!).

While I was born in Texas and definitely have the West Texan accent, my mom is from Santa Fe, NM so green chiles were part of growing up, and I am thankful that they were.  Green chiles can pack a bite that is far different than a serrano or a jalapeño, and also have the possibility of being hotter too.

Central Market has an annual a Hatch Green Chili fest where they bring in green chiles to both Central Market and the other HEB stores.  Every year I have stopped by to pick up some of the chiles and I would be disappointed because it seemed to me like Texas got the “weak sauce.”  This happened to change this year when I went to the HEB Plus on Blanco and 1604.  I bought a couple of pounds of chiles (I mean, they were on sale for $1.29, I had to try!), and man oh man, those boys were the real deal Hollyfield.  My roommate of serrano pepper bet fame had one and it put him on the ground!  I knew I had to go back and get a bunch to roast.  I didn’t even chance going by the HEB closest to my house, I wanted to make sure I got some hot chiles so I picked up about 20 pounds from the Blanco/1604 HEB.

Anyway, since the chiles were good, I figured I would let you know how to roast them so you can enjoy them yourself without having to pay HEB a premium to roast them for you.

This is the site of deliciousness about to be roasted.

First, heat up your grill REAL hot.  Spread out some green chiles across it.  Close the lid and kind of listen for them to sizzle.

Chiles on the grill.

When you hear the sizzle, open the grill up and flip ‘em over.  You want to make sure that the skin is good and blistered.  When you open the grill, breath a deep breath in and enjoy the smell of roasted chiles!

Continue to roast the other side, and even the edges.  Get them where all the skin is blistered.  This will help you peal it off when you are ready to cook them.

I can smell them now...

Prepare a cutting board with a wet towel on top of it.  As your green chiles are ready to come off, place them on this wet towel and then cover them up with another wet towel.  This is to get the steam to continue to cook them.  As I get a good stack of them, I will take the cutting board inside, pull the towels/chiles off, and replace with new towels so they can continue to steam a little bit.

Don't forget to have a damp cloth below and on top of the chiles to steam them when they come off.

Finally, after you are finished cooking the chiles, let them all cool down before you bag them and place them in your freezer.  I put around three to a bag because depending on who will be eating my dish (whether they like hot/medium food), I will use either 3 to 6 green chiles.  Some people choose to take the charred skin off right now, I happen to just wait to do that whenever I defrost them.  HEB says that they last 6 months, but I have been known to let mine freeze for way longer than that.

Get out there are grab some green chiles, because the next couple of days I will be posting a couple of recipes that use them that are family favorites!

Now that you have your roasted Hatch green chiles you might need some recipes:
Mom’s Famous Queso
Green Chile Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

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Have you ever tried to run a start-up bakery or catering business out of your home? Or have you tried brewing a beer out of your bathtub with no success in nailing down the recipe? Aspiring San Antonio entrepreneurs, restaurateurs and budding chefs, Bake, Broil & Brew is your answer.

Bake, Broil and Brew owners Michelle and David Solis have kick-started their idea of building a commercial kitchen space for the San Antonio community, the first ever in our city. With plans to open doors in the next few weeks, this West side location is sure to get locals fired up about the possibility of being their own boss.

Budding entrepreneurs have limited space and resources, which makes it difficult to jump from a self-startup to a full-time business. Bake, Broil & Brew is bridging that gap.

Not only can a small business owner rent out space for, let’s say, a cupcake business, but one can also grow their consumer base to eventually cocoon into a blooming (and booming) business.

Michelle Solis, owner and Chief Executive Officer explained the process where a local entrepreneur can rent out the facilities at Bake, Broil & Brew. This includes:

• One large, general purpose and fully-equipped kitchen
• Two general-purpose kitchens
• One fully-equipped baking station
• One state-of-the-art brew kitchen (Zapco system included)

Bake, Broil & Brew Kitchen Plans

The entrepreneur can rent this space by the hour, day or month where the rates vary depending on time of day and length of time.

Reserving space is also quite simple, as it will be an online calendar available to those already in the system. Checkout is just as easy. Once your time is booked, you can easily pay using the Google Checkout process.

Bake, Broil & Brew is also equipped with an on-site small business center and the front of the facility will double as a demonstration area for events or showcases.

The Bake, Broil & Brew offices will also be available to provide some guidance for those who are getting started as a business owner. Michelle and David Solis have been working with several San Antonio businesses to make sure entrepreneurs will be provided with the necessary resources to grow. These include contacts for insurance companies, account managers, business centers and the San Antonio Metro Health office.

Bake, Broil & Brew is the ideal one-stop-shop for local San Antonians who have a dream to start their own self-sustaining catering, baking or brewing business.

If you’re interested in learning more, Bake, Broil & Brew is hosting several events for local entrepreneurs to find out how Bake, Broil & Brew can help them get started. The next session is today, Thursday, June 23 and they have sessions at 11:30AM-1:00PM and 6:00-7:30PM.

To keep up with the latest Bake, Broil & Brew news and events and when they officially open their doors, check out their Bake, Broil & Brew Facebook page or on Twitter at @BakeBroilBrew, or reach out to Michelle Solis via email at msolis@bakebroilbrew.com.

One of the great things about being in San Antonio is that you meet a lot of people who know how to cook delicious food.  One of these people is Carla. I met Carla on a volleyball team a couple of years ago and have since become friends along with collaborating on the BarCards and Second Take apps.

At my Christmas party two years ago, she brought her Mom’s version of Pastel Diplomatico, a traditional Mexican dessert consisting of flan and chocolate cake.  The cake was devoured and my roommate and I had a battle over the tiny remaining piece.

After bringing the dessert again to this year’s Christmas party (I’m just sayin’, I think that this should become a tradition…), I asked her if she would be interested in sharing the recipe.  It’s so good that you will need a diplomat to help you decide who gets that last piece.

–San Antonio Joe

One thing Mexicans know how to do is bake. We’ve got our empanadas, cuernos, reposteria, and – of course – pastel, or what you gringos call “cake.”

My grandparents owned a bakery in a small town in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. This spawned many bakers in my family, including my cousin who now owns his own bakery in the town of Cadereyta, Nuevo León.

Several years ago, my cousin visited our family in San Antonio and made El Diplomatico, a tactful and delectable pairing of chocolate and flan cake.  Over the years, my mother has taken this cake to a new level, adding her special touch to this dessert, causing one of my aunts to exclaim, “¡Parece que estamos en la gloria¡”

San Antonio Joe asked me to write a guest post on his blog with this family recipe (because he knows good food).  So with my Mom’s permission, I share with you the secret recipe of El Diplomatico.

El Diplomatico
Click here for El Diplomatico Recipe Cards!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

• Blender
• Bundt pan
• Large casserole dish that fits a Bundt pan
• Aluminum foil

INGREDIENTS

For the Flan

• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Cake

• 1 box of Betty Crocker™ Super Moist Cake Mix “Triple Chocolate Fudge” flavor (and the ingredients shown on the box:  3 eggs, 1 1/3 cups water, ½ cup vegetable oil)
• 1 Tbsp instant pudding powder (chocolate flavor)
• 1 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise (to make the cake extra moist!)

For the Topping

• ½ cup cajeta (goat’s milk), dulce de leche or caramel
• Chopped pecans for topping
• A little bit of butter and flour to grease the Bundt pan

DIRECTIONS

Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF.

Part 1: The Flan

1.  Add all flan ingredients to the blender and mix on a high setting for several minutes until the ingredients are in a liquid state.

2.  Set aside.

Part 2: The Chocolate Cake

1.  Separate the egg whites and yolk.  Whip the egg whites in a large mixing bowl until fluffy.  Set the egg yolks aside in a small bowl.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients (including the egg yolk) to the mixture and mix well.

3.  Set aside.

Part 3: Where Flan Meets Chocolate Cake (how diplomatic of them!)

1.  Grease all sides of Bundt pan with butter.

2.  Sprinkle flour on all sides of the Bundt pan.

3.  Pour the cajeta (or dulce de leche/caramel) in the Bundt pan.

4.  Pour in the flan mix.

5.  Pour in the cake mix so that the mixtures almost reach the top. (You may have some cake mix left over.)

6.  Cover the Bundt pan with aluminum foil and seal the edges tightly. Cut out the middle portion to seal the inside edge.

7.  Place the Bundt pan inside the casserole dish and place in the preheated oven.

8.  Fill the casserole with water so that the flan portion of the Bundt pan is surrounded by water. (This practice is called “baño Maria” or “bain marie.”)

9.  Bake for 75 minutes.

10.  Carefully remove the cake from the oven.

11.  Let the cake cool for 30-60 minutes, then place in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 7-8 hours).

12.  When ready to serve, remove the aluminum foil and gently use a knife or other flat utensil to loosen the cake edges from the pan.

13.  Place your presentation plate bottom up on top of the Bundt pan. Flip both plate and pan over. The cake should slip out easily.

14.  Garnish with chopped pecans for decoration.

I had an absolute blast at Central Market’s Green Chile Cookoff!  It was really cool to visit with the contestants and judges who all have a passion for Hatch Green Chiles.

There were all kinds of recipes ranging from Hatch Puppies, Meatballs, Rice Soup Dish, Tomato Bisque, Chili, Cupcakes, and Chile Chocolate Chile Bread.  But it turns out that the winner and grand champion was a Hatch Chile-Avocado Ice Cream!  Be sure to check out Michael Saiz’s (the Meatball guy) blog for way better pictures than I could take on my iPhone!

Some of the contestants at the cookoff.

I received Honorable Mention, but it really meant a lot the SA Police Chief McManus and Tanji Patton both came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed my recipe!  I ended up getting a $20 Central Market giftcard, and upon leaving the store and smelling the green chiles roasting, I used it to buy a box of hot roasted chiles.

SAPD Chief William McManus an Tanji Patton at the judes table.

Overall, it was quite a day!  Thanks to all the judges and congratulations to all the contestants and winners!

The winner and champion, Adele Williams!

You only have a few more days to grab some Hatch Green Chiles from your HEB down here in San Antonio.  Once you get them, be sure to reference the first post in this series where I show you how to roast your green chiles.  Hopefully you got to use some of your roasted green chiles and tried my Mom’s Famous Queso.  Today, I thought I would go ahead and give you her recipe for green chile sour cream chicken enchiladas.

Here’s what you are going to need:

*1 Fully Cooked Chicken (I can find these are my grocery store; if not you can cook 3-4 chicken breasts on your own)
*1 lb grated cheese Mexican Blend
*1 medium onion chopped
*30 pack of corn tortillas (you’ll probably only use 20)
*3 Hatch Green Chiles (6 to make it really spicy)
*28 oz of chicken broth (use 2 of the 140z cans)
*1/2 cup butter
*4 TBSP flour
*2 cup sour cream (use the 16oz container)
*gang load of vegetable oil

-Preheat oven to 350F
-Heat vegetable oil in a pan on Medium High and dip each tortilla in the oil for about 2-3 seconds (see more detailed explanation below)
-Chop and saute onion, defrost green chile remove charred skin (feel free to de-seed/de-vein the chile to decrease heat) and chop; mix together with shredded chicken and cheese
-In another pan, combine butter and flour and melt
-Add chicken broth and stir; add sour cream and bring to a rolling boil
-Roll chicken mixture in with the tortillas (should make approximately 20-24 enchiladas) and place in pyrex pan
-Pour sour cream sauce on top of the enchiladas
-Cook in the oven for 20 minutes
For more details, read below.

Here's all the ingredients that you are going to need.

Go ahead and get your oven preheated at 350F so it will be ready when you are done rolling all your enchiladas.

Now the first step can be difficult if you are a gringo like me and don’t really make enchiladas on a regular basis.  You might think that corn tortillas are like flour tortillas and are ready to go out of the package.  Not so.  You actually have to dip them in hot oil so that they don’t break.

Pay careful attention to these directions and you’ll be cool (and have a bag of flour nearby in case you start a grease fire).  Get a skillet and fill it up with oil where it will completely cover a tortilla.  Heat up the oil a little bit more than Medium High; you are going to want it to get hot enough that when you dip the tortilla in with tongs it immediately starts bubbling up.

Two Scoops is showing you how to cook the corn tortillas in the hot oil. Be careful not to burn down your house in this step.

When the oil is nice and hot, have a plate with a paper towel square on it.  Dip the tortilla in the oil for a couple of seconds, flip it to the other side, hold it above the oil and let the excess drip down, and then place it on the paper towel.  Put another paper towel square on top of it and repeat the process.  You are eventually going to have a stack of tortillas alternating with paper towels (kind of how you you get cheese slices separated by paper from the deli).  Do this with the exhaust fan on high (so you don’t trip your fire alarm) and BE CAREFUL.  The oil is VERY HOT!  Remember that if a fire does happen, use flour and NOT water to put it out.

While you are cooking your tortillas, place your chopped onion in a skillet nearby with a little bit of oil and saute them where you get a little bit of brown edges.  This will probably be done around the time you are finished with the tortillas.  Place the onions to the side and go and shred the meat from the chicken.  If you buy a cooked chicken from the grocery store, try to get all the meat you can off of it and shred/dice it up using both the white and dark meat.  Otherwise, cook your chicken breasts through and shred the meat.

Mix the chicken, onions, cheese, and diced green chiles (that you have defrosted and de-skinned) all together in the bowl.  I found that the best way to do this is with you hands so that you can get everything mixed up really good.

The chicken, onion, cheese, and green chile mixture. Your hands are a much better mixing utensil than a spoon (just be sure to wash them).

You are now ready to get your sauce going.  Melt the 1/2 cup of butter (one stick) in a pan and mix in the 4 TBSP of flour on Medium High to get good mixture.  You are then ready to stir in the chicken broth for a little while followed by the sour cream.  You will notice chunks that appear in the sauce, keep stirring until you get a nice thick sauce without any lumps.  This is crucial and will make a good sauce; if you rush it will be kind of runny and the ingredients won’t blend together.

Do you see any lumps in the sauce? Nope. Be sure to take your time and you'll get a good, thick, and consistent sauce.

While your sauce is simmering, start rolling your enchiladas with a handful of chicken mixture in each.  Line them up in the pan, and once you are through you should have a 9×13 pan and a 8×8 pan filled with them.  Pour the sauce over both the pans and place them in the preheated 350F oven for 20 minutes. Once the time is up, get ready to eat some of the best enchiladas in the world!

The finished product. Enjoy!