Beginning with Chiles - Softcover

Creechan, Mary Lou; Creechan, James H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0968506607 ISBN 13: 9780968506608

Publisher: Tiengui del Norte Publishing, 2000

Synopsis

Chile peppers are the essential ingredient in Mexican and southwestern cooking, but with endless varieties, names, types, and heat scales, chiles can be a challenge. To meet that challenge, Mary Lou and Jim Creechan have prepared a practical guide that tells how to roast, peel, and prepare chile peppers for authentic Mexican salsas, stuffers, and seasonings. This handy guide focuses on the most common chiles available in supermarkets, grouping them for easy use, recognition, and substitution. You'll read about the small, hot snappies generally used in salsas, the larger, milder stuffers, the smoothies, and the seasoners. The authors provide practical preparation tips, handy hints, classic recipes, and information on their personal favorites.

Beginning with Chiles is the ultimate capsicum read for novice and connoisseur alike. Notes, comments, and anecdotes reflect the historical, cultural, and mythical significance of chiles, while recommended readings, chile charts, chile fiestas, and web sites are provided for the more adventurous readers. Versatile, practical, and informative, it's a total chile experience for all chile aficionados, seasoned or otherwise.

RECIPES
Jalapeños: Salsa Mexicana / Salsa Verde / Hell's a Poppin' Jalapeño Salsa / Jalapeño Cream Sauce / Mango Jalapeño Salsa / Guacamole / Jalapeño Cream Cheese / Shrimp Supreme / Topopo Serranos: Pico de Gallo / Salsa Verde with Tomatillos / Chilaquiles Verdes / Island Salsa / Serrano Pesto / Ceviche / Shredded Fish / Black Bean Relish
Habaneros: World's Hottest Table Salsa / Simply Habanero / Habanero Table Salsa / Salsa Habanero y Col / Habanero and Mango Salsa / Habanero Mayonnaise
Stuffer Recipes: Rellenos Batters / Rellenos Classico! / Chiles Rellenos Casserole / Chiles Rellenos with Shrimp and Chipotle Mayo / Chiles Stuffed with Tuna / Chiles Rellenos con Maiz / Chiles Rellenos de Picadillo / Chiles en Nogada Rajas / Chile con Queso / Chile Verde / New Mexico Green Chile Salsas
Smoothie Recipes: Basic Red Chile Sauce / Cheese Enchilada / Chicken Enchilada / Red Chilaquiles / Basic Ancho Sauce / Ancho Paste / Ancho Sauce with Orange Juice / Smoky Chile Pesto / Creamy Ancho Sauce / Dark Red Chile Sauce / Ancho and Tomatillo Salsa / Mango-Ancho Salsa / Stuffed Chile Anchos / Salsa Pasilla
Seasoner Recipes: Hot Salsa de Chile de Arbol / Oaxacan Peanuts / Red Chile Oil / Tomato-Chiltepin Salsa / The Chiltepin Challenge / Chile Cheese / Crispy Chile Potatoes / Rice Rico / De Arbol-Ancho / De Arbol-Tomatillo / Homemade Chorizo Powder / Jaime's Special Seasoning
Chipotle Recipes: Homemade Chipotle en Adobo / Chipotle Purée / Tomato-Chipotle Salsa / Pineapple-Chipotle Salsa / Chipotle Mayo / Chipotle Cream Sauce / Chipotle Dressing / Chipotle-Zucchini / Albondigas en Chipotle / Salsa de Chipotle

About this title

From the Publisher

Although there many books about Southwestern and Mexican cooking, this book keeps the beginner in mind. The book provides an overview of Fresh and Dried Chiles, and focuses on those which are most commonly available. Its basic premise is that one can learn to make traditional salsas, stuffers and sauces by beginning with the chile. It provides 75 classical and straightforward recipes, practical handling and preparation advice and tips, and a wealth of cultural and historical information about chiles. The authors have lived in Tucson, Arizona, Los Angeles California, Mexico City and also in Western and Eastern Canada. They have an excellent overall understanding of how chiles are used and also present this information with a concern for teaching the reader about how to use chiles.

From the Author

Why us? When we first became interested in chile peppers, we looked for a cook book that would provide general information about the most common chiles, basic descriptions of their characteristics, and some simple tips about preparation. We also tried to find a collection of straightforward recipes which would highlight the flavour of chiles, use widely available ingredients, and which would be easy to use. In other words, we were looking for a book like 'Beginning with Chiles'. It would have made our introduction to the chile experience a whole lot smoother. We hope our book will do that for you.

As chiles become more widely available north of the Rio Grande, friends and acquaintances often ask us which chiles to buy and how to prepare them. They want a general understanding of how to use them in recipes, and they want to know what flavours and textures they add. In this book we answer those basic questions, keeping in mind the historical traditions and cultural context from which they come. Hopefully, our personal anecdotes and informational notes give you an appreciation of how much this food and culture are intertwined.

Chile peppers are such an integral part of our personal daily diet we can't imagine a world without them. We've been reading and working with chiles for many years and yet we continue to unearth fascinating facts about this exotic food. It's always possible to do something wonderful with a chile- whether it's a simple salsa or a complex mole. And despite the availability of more sophisticated kitchen utensils, the basic preparation techniques are unchanged. Chiles are exotic and exciting, much like the culture from which they come. They've been apart of our world for many years. We hope Beginning with Chiles will make them a part of yours.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tiengui del Norte Publishing
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0968506607
• ISBN 13: 9780968506608
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 188