Green Chile goodness

One of the things I miss most about living in the southwest is the fresh roasted green chilies. Every year, the big iron roasters will pop up in parking logs of grocery stores or wherever they can find a space, like giant heated bingo cages full of peppers. After living in the greater Seattle area for eight years, I have realized that there is no subsititue for the real thing. For that reason, I have requested periodic care packages from my mom who taught me more about cooking than Food TV. (That said, Alton Brown, you are my God, so keep on cranking out Good Eats and I'll keep watching!)

These packages consist of one big freezer bag of green chile seperated into several smaller portions of ziplocked green chile goodness. I'm on my last 2 portions now, so hopefully more arrives soon. I don't want to go into withdrawl. So below is one of my favorite family recipies for the use of these little fire-blackened peppers from heaven. It is a closely guarded family secret, so don't tell anyone where you got the recipie, but do enjoy.

-T

Cornbread Santa Fe

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 can creamed corn

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ cup sugar

½ shortening, softened (or butter)

4 eggs

1 ½ cups shredded cheese (cheddar or jack or both)

* while the recipe originally calls for only 1 cup, I never find it to be enough, and don’t actually measure the cheese. 1 ½ up to 2 cups is about what I end up using when I make this myself.

3 green chilies, cleaned and chopped (or 2 small cans)

*fresh, authentic chilies make this dish what it is, but they can be hard to find in Seattle. The canned ones do not have as much burn or flavor, but are still perfectly acceptable.

Pre-heat oven to 350, and grease a 9x11 Pyrex dish.

Mix all ingredients until moistened. Pour into baking dish and level with spoon.

Set timer for 30 min. You should see the edges slightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Since not all ovens are created equal, and the consistency of chilies and amount of cheese can make the cook time vary, 30 minutes is just a guide line and will most likely need to be baked just a bit longer. The cornbread can cook for as long as 45 minutes, but personally, I have never needed to bake it that long. Just check it every few minutes with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, remove the pan and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

It goes particularly well with butter whipped with honey as a topper.