Fun Cooking with Mary : Chile Rellenos with a Spicy Mediterranean Sauce.

A Beautiful Chile Relleno Pepper filled with Meat, Cheese and dressed in Spicy Mediterranean flavors!!

So why would I choose a spicy Mediterranean sauce for a Chile Relleno, filled with ground beef, instead of a traditional chile sauce and cheese, which was taught by my mother? It all comes to being creative in the kitchen from food experiences while staying true to one's roots. I believe these are called Cooking Techniques with experiences! I'll always feel that I have that culinary ethnicity of Mexican cuisine, which in itself is a very mixed culture. Yep, it's called "Mestizo", which means mixed. A wholehearted chef/cook can easily step out of the box chasing all sorts of ideas reflecting their culinary expertise based on what they know and what they have learned by experience.

Living in Hawaii for a year I experienced certain Native foods and culinary styles. One of my favorites was Poi. I only wished to have embraced more. Nonetheless, I did learn something about "Lumpia", a traditional Philippine food filled with lots of goodies and ground pork. I also learned about pork barbecues,...Mmmmm! As well as pasta salads made with pineapple pieces and mayonnaise! Talk about embracing cultures and identities. I'd have only hoped to experience many more foods while incorporating my own. It's most likely where I got the idea of ground beef filled Rellenos! I suppose it can be called Mexico-Californian and Hawaiin style! Yet, I will always embrace my identity when it comes to the kitchen while expanding knowledge about others foods. Like an artist, we "cooks" watch others, then we wait until it comes naturally.

As mentioned many times I'm sure, my father traveled from Louisiana, who was non-Hispanic and married a Hispanic/Mexican woman; my mother, and held on to his "roots" while she held on to hers. He embraced his new life and experienced quite a bit from the Hispanic and Latin community. After all, he did live and work in this small diverse community. He even learned the language. We had Europeans which included Greeks, Italians, and others I may not have been completely aware in my early years until I walked to school and visited others' homes. Although my father's personality was exceptional, here he was in a new place who had been run out of his own father's land and ended up in a town filled with so many differences, misunderstandings, and even prejudices. I'm sure it was difficult for many who came to a new place trying to develop a new cultural system. I know the feeling of being displaced from which one is familiar too, regardless of the environment. Unfortunately, there is very little time given for transitioning for some which can only bring on many fears of the unknown.

We, myself and siblings, who had curly hair were born into a family of diversity, other family members had straight hair. I never noticed until it became a big issue when combing hair. Not to say the least different shades of skin colors! We were a blended family. Pretty amazing, right? Not always! Being called "Grass head" was one comment. "Little Black Sambo" and "Tar Baby" were names that seemed to be one of the members' favorite names to use on us, who had curly hair. Where else would you find an African American, White-Caucasian from a European decent with Native American, which is still being researched, whom most call Mulatos? As a child, I never knew this and was quite naive about the whole thing. Well, it wasn't easy being a part of a community that didn't always agree with certain standards of lifestyle, which were quite different in some cases. Yet we managed to fit into a society where we were at least tolerated at times, from unfairness. At least, I did, most times, but not always. Nevertheless, the food was always fantastic and quite delicious!

Oh, those "dolmas"!! Love the Greek foods from a family who befriended us. It appeared the kids usually got the parents together since we all went to school together in a small community. An Italian family did allow me to enter into their home for a few moments at a time, while we allowed others into our home for large amounts of time, which I didn't like many times. I felt that these people were quite intrusive and violated our space and had my personal reasons. A child is always protective. We were open pretty much to everyone, and so was my father, except for my boyfriend, for any boyfriend for that matter. He was very strict. (I'm babbling at this point).

Some of our teachers/instructors were from San Francisco, the bay area. Some were very liberal. I grew a special attachment to certain teachers in elementary and in high school. There was one teacher who was quite liberal. She was pretty cool. I tentatively listen while my teacher told stories about nude beaches and her lifestyle, it was quite interesting. I thought, why not? And I was amazed at the openness. I mean coming from parents who were Catholic and a strict Baptist background, the Southern Baptist type were men are always right, this had to be interesting. Although, sometimes it appeared that conservatives were quite different towards us. It was as though they were smiling in our faces, while having thoughts about why we were there in the first place. In a strange manner, we all pretty much got along, until something happened which was not acceptable, of course. I was spat on, chased while being called a nigger, and taunted by boys who were of a white race, bullying me, causing me to break my leg, and pretty much got away with it. But my father would just allow things to be so that he could keep some type of peace in our disrupted world.

Many times, it was unpredictable. My parents didn't always see eye to eye and families conflicted. I would watch the Italian families cuss each other out in their language, which was very interesting, I thought. Not really different than ours at times. I witnessed so much violence. I'm sure my father often thought, "How did I end up here?" as I do these days. Nonetheless, when it came to cooking, whether made with love or anger, it's what brought families together. Either way, it was delicious. And I learned to love to eat. I love the food!! So there you have it in a nutshell. I simply fell in love with the cuisines in our community, even with the prejudices and somehow it made up for the differences.

Some would say I behaved like an Italian, really?! Well, look at my influences! I'm sure things would have been different if I was raised in New York, or maybe not. I always dreamed of living there after living in Paris for a while. Now that would have been a culinary and artist's dream. But for now, I simply cook from my heart and see where the heck this takes me. Enjoy one of my favorite recipes while I babble! Thanks.

Video of Making Chile Rellenos Part 1

Roasting Poblano or Anaheim peppers over an open fire on the stove.

Mise-en-place for recipe ingredients:

Anaheim or Poblano peppers, 6-8 medium peppers (Ratio: 1 egg for 1 medium pepper)

Perfectly Roasted Peppers!

The best way to roast peppers is an open flame in my opinion. They should be constantly turned, so that they will not get burned. Turn them every 30 seconds. If the skin is tough, then allow for mire time until the skin becomes slightly blistered. After roasting them, place them in a plastic bag, and allow them to sweat for a least 15 minutes. Remove from the bag and run them under cold water, removing the seeds and the roasted peeling. Set on a dry and clean towel to have the excess water removed.

Meat filling for Relleno

Mise-en-place for recipe ingredients:

Premium ground lean meat, chicken, beef or pork, 10 ounces to 1 pound

Extra virgin olive oil and canola mix, 2 tablespoons

Yellow or white onion, 1/2 cup, half of large or very small, small diced

Bell pepper, 1/4 cup, 1 small or half of large, small diced

Carrots, 1/4 cup, peeled and small diced

Chile powder, 2 tablespoons, (optional)

Ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon

White wine, preferably Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc,

Cilantro, 1/2 cup, small diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute pan and wooden spoon

Heat oil in a stainless steel pan. Season meat and add to the pan. Crumble meat with vegetables. Add seasons and continue to stir. Add cilantro. This process should only take about 8 minutes on medium high heat. Cook until tender leaving some liquids in the pan. Do not over cook your meat. It's important to keep some moister in the meat mixture so the same texture will flow throughout the dish, keeping it flavorful and a light feel to your palette; from the pepper to the sauce.

Video of Making Chile Rellenos Part 2

A frozen bowl!

The bowl you will be using for the egg whites should be at a very cold temperature. And a stainless steel bowl would be best. Keep the bowl in the freezer until it's ready to be used.

Separating the eggs

Make sure the egg yolks are separated from the whites. If the yolk touch ("contaminate") the whites, the whites will have a tougher time fluffing up. So keep them separate during this process.

Egg whites with cream of tarter

Ratio is 1 to 1 for chile rellenos. For each pepper use one egg. If the eggs are small, use a small pepper. If the pepper is large, use a large egg, etc. Or you can easily use ounces. Egg whites are easily purchased. An ounce needs to be used for each relleno. Also, consider the yolk. Yolk is needed to give some dept to the relleno. For example, if you are going to make 8 rellenos, use 7 ounces of whites and add at least a couple of eggs, separated. Add the whites to the the purchased whites. The yolks will be added after the whites are whipped. Please note adding cream of tarter, will help egg whites to stabilize. Only about 1/4 teaspoon is needed. Or you can opt from using it. Your preference.

Whipping the egg whites with that cream of tarter

Whip the egg whites until they are nice and fluffy, soft to a firm peek. Separately beat the egg yolk. Do not over beat the egg whites. The egg whites will become warm and begin to separate.

Mise-en-place for Relleno mixture

Ingredients:

Corn flour or all purpose flour, 3/4 cup to 1 cup, depending on the length of pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Other seasonings can include:

Ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, if you prefer to not use fresh

Reserve 1 tablespoon of seasoned flour for egg yolks!

Mix the seasonings into the flour mixture. Add the seasoned flour into the beaten egg yolk. Then gently fold the egg yolks into the egg whites. It's best to fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites using a tempting procedure. Place a spoonful of whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it a bit, then add the rest into the egg whites. Folding the yolk mixture is best. It keeps the whites from deflating. Fold from the outside into the center with a rubber spatula. This is the proper way of folding. Do not over mix!

Folding the egg yolk into whites

Mise-en-place for Rellenos

Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of cooking oil. It can be a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil. Enough to cover the bottom of the saute pan. Place flour mixture in a plate or shallow pan to roll the stuffed peppers. Cut a pound of cheese into "batonnet" cuts, 1/4" by 1/4" by 2". You can use as much cheese as needed to make sure you have enough for each pepper "relleno". Gently open each pepper and place a tablespoon of meat mixture in each one. Fill with cheese pieces and hold the pepper together with your fingers. Gently roll the pepper into the season flour. Add pepper into the egg whites. Quickly remove and place into the heated saute pan. Fry for 3 minutes. Gently turn the relleno pepper over and continue to fry for another 3 to 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove and place on a rack to drain or on a paper towel. Set aside.

If you have some egg mixture left, which I'm sure you will, add the meat to it and make some egg cakes. They are so delicious and have plenty of flavor.

Filling the beautiful pepper!

Roll the pepper in the seasoned flour!

Place pepper into the egg white mixture

Frying the Relleno!

Make sure they do not stick

Gently turn each relleno over

Frying the "leftover" egg mixture

Placing chile rellenos on paper towels to absorbed all the extra oils!

Video for Making Spicy Mediterranean Sauce! Part 3

Mise-en-place

Mise-en-place for Spicy Mediterranean Relleno Sauce!

Ingredients for recipe:

Yellow or white onion, medium, washed, peeled, cut into small dices, 1/2 cup

Bell pepper, cute and small diced, 1/4 cup

Carrots, peeled and small diced, 1/4 cup

Celery (optional), small diced, 1/4 cup

Extra virgin olive oil and canola oil mix, 2 tablespoons

Ground chili powder, 1 tablespoons of each: California chili, pasilla, and smoked paprika

Jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped!

Fresh heirloom tomatoes, 4 to 5 or 32 ounces of canned tomatoes

Tomato paste, 2 tablespoons (optional)

Dry white wine, 1/4 cup

Stock or water, 1/2 cup

Dried oregano, 2 teaspoons

Bay leaves, 2 or 3

Cilantro, (optional) 1/4 cup finely rough chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauteing the vegetables

To begin this beautiful recipe, make sure you have most of these ingredients in place to cut your time. Heat the skillet or saute pan, preferably a large one, with the cooking oil. Add the onions, bell peppers, carrots, celery (optional), and stir. Cook for a couple of minutes, till slightly tender. Add the chili powders, salt, and pepper. Please note that you can always adjust your seasonings to suit your palette. Go ahead and venture with your flavors. nothing is set in stone!! Don't forget to add the wine!

Gently place chile rellenos in the sauce, cover and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. This is my favorite way because the sauce marinates right into the rellenos! Or you can always serve the relleno separately. So delicioso!! Get ready to plate these beautiful blankets of love!