Hatch Chile Season 2013

The back to school stuff is going in Target, heralding the end of the summer. Soon enough it'll be time for backpacks and lunchboxes and binders, but before we give ourselves over to F-A-L-L, it's time to worship at the altar of the Hatch chile. Last summer I froze 25 pounds worth and it looks like I was pretty stingy in doling out the chiles over the year since I still have several bags in the freezer. But there's nothing like fresh roasted, and stores across the country are already breaking out their roasters with events starting this weekend.

ByMichelleAugust 3, 20136Comments

Hatch Chile Popovers

With everyone getting kids back to school, summer has been declared over. But I won’t let it be. I'm saying right here, right now, it ain’t over til it’s over. We’re in the best days of late summer – still warm and mostly sunny – and the chiles have arrived. The chiles – you know…

ByMichelleAugust 30, 20121Comment

Entertaining Photo One-offs Side Dishes

Out with the Old, In With the New: Ancho Creamed Corn

This year we had a smaller crew together for Thanksgiving, so I pretty much scaled everything back so that we'd end up with a manageable amount of leftovers (read: a lot of stuffing and only a little of everything else!). In the end, our regular corn pudding was crossed off the list entirely. I even…

ByMichelleNovember 27, 20111Comment

Main Course Recipes

Hatch Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Sometimes food is just not that pretty. I don't mean dishes that are carelessly slapped together and just look like slop. I'm talking about food that actually tastes great, but is just difficult to doll up without turning it into a hyper-styled Franken-dish. It's the food we eat and love, but not the food we aspire to. I'm thinking about this as the personal project I shoot for myself. Show real food in the best light possible. But pick subjects that are kind of ugly. This Hatch Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole isn't a beauty in the sense that a pile of ripe heirloom tomatoes is, but it's real, it's homey and it is delicious.

ByMichelleAugust 25, 20113Comments

Photo One-offs

It’s Hatch Chile Time

The heat rises off the desert floor in visible waves, a tumbleweed blows across the landscape and a cherry red 1959 Cadillac convertible comes screaming down the highway, its driver's leathery face obscured by sunglasses and a cowboy hat. The perfume of roasting chiles hangs heavily in the air. It's Hatch chile time.

ByMichelleAugust 24, 20110Comments