Chili Peppers, 1885

19th Century Chile Varieties in London and Paris

Dave DeWitt Historical Gardening Leave a Comment

Grown in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, 1832: Chili Peppers: Yellow Tree Capsicum, Red Chile, Small Red Chile, Tree Capsicum, Piment Longue Petit Tardif, Long Chile from the East Indies, Long Chile, Long Red Chile, Black Chile, Piment Violet, Indian Small Red, Cayenne Pepper. Large Long Yellow, Piment Gros, Capsicum Paprika, Short Red, Piment Cerise, Tall Cherry Red, …

Hot & Cheesy Artichoke Dip with Toasted Pita Triangles

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

Even people who don’t like artichokes will like this dish. Although it tastes like it requires a lot of preparation, it is very easy to make. It takes no time to put together and can be made in advance and refrigerated to save time before a party. Then it just needs to be brought to room temperature before baking. Serve with the pita triangles or substitute crisp tortilla or corn chips; they all taste good with this dip. To increase the heat, sprinkle minced jalapeño or serrano chiles on top.

Ingredients

Dip:

  • 3/4 cup chopped green New Mexico chiles, which have been roasted and peeled

  • 1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

  • 1 8½-oz. jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

  • 8 tablespoons mayonnaise

  • 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

  • Pita Triangles:

  • 8 large rounds pita bread

  • 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

  • Salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

 

To make the pita triangles, cut the pita breads in half and then cut each half into triangles. Separate the triangle layers and then arrange the triangles, rough side up, on a baking pan. Brush with the butter and season lightly with salt.
Bake until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

 

Combine the chiles and artichoke hearts. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish and spread the mixture over the bottom. Spread the mayonnaise over the mixture and top with the grated cheese.

 Reduce the oven to 350° F.

 Bake the dip in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the dip is hot.

 

Serve the dip with the pita triangles.

 

 

 

Venison Steak with Juniper Berry and Red Chile Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This recipe is by Lois Ellen Frank, from her book Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations (Ten Speed Press, 2002). Both the venison and the juniper berries are available from mail-order sources. Of course, grape juice or wine would not have been available to the Maya, but Lois has adapted this recipe for the modern kitchen.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon dried juniper berries

  • 3 cups unsweetened dark grape juice or wine

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme

  • 2 shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped

  • 2 cups beef stock

For the Steaks:

  • 6 venison steaks, 8 to 10 ounces each

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 whole dried chiles de arbol, seeds and stems removed, crushed

Instructions

To make the sauce, wrap the juniper berries in a clean kitchen towel and crush them using a mallet. Remove them from the towel and place them in a saucepan with the grape juice or wine, bay leaves, thyme and shallots. Simmer over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the liquid has been reduced to 1 cup. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium and cook for another 15 minutes until the sauce has been reduced to 1 ½ cups. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and keep it warm.

Brush the steaks on both sides with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the steaks on the grill and grill for 3 minutes, until they have charred marks. Rotate the steaks a half turn and grill for another 3 minutes. Flip the steaks over and grill for another 5 minutes until done as desired.

Ladle the sauce onto each plate, top with the steaks, pattern-side up, and sprinkle the crushed chiles over them.

Drying Seeds

system Chile Gardening Leave a Comment

Q: Hello Dave:I Was giving a talk on chiles Saturday while waving one of your fine books. I had two questions which I could not answer with confidence. They were:1. Should you always dry seeds from mature pods before seed starting? 2. Is there anything significant about possible red markings near the glands on a cut green pod? To me, …

The Earliest Mole Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

Why wouldn’t the cooks of Cerén have developed sauces to serve over meats and vegetables? After all, there is evidence that curry mixtures were in existence thousands of years ago in what is now India, and we have to assume that Native Americans experimented with all available ingredients. Perhaps this mole sauce was served over stewed duck meat, as ducks were one of the domesticated meat sources of the Cerén villagers.

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatillos, husks removed

  • 1 tomato, toasted in a skillet and peeled

  • ½ teaspoon chile seeds

  • 3 tablespoons pepitas (toasted pumpkin or squash seeds)

  • 1 corn tortilla, torn into pieces

  • 2 tablespoons medium-hot chile powder

  • 1 teaspoon achiote (annatto seeds)

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 cups chicken broth

  • 1 ounce Mexican or bittersweet chocolate

Instructions

In a blender, combine the tomatillos, tomato, chile seeds, pepitas, tortilla, chile powder and achiote to make a paste. In a pan, heat the vegetable oil and fry the paste until fragrant, about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken broth and the chocolate and stir over medium heat until thickened to desired consistency.