Hatch Chile Pepperoni Pizza

Check it out: my first time making pizza from scratch! I've been wanting to dive into the pizza-making world for the longest time, but anyone who follows this blog regularly knows my oven is capricious on a good day, homicidal on its worst. The oven doesn't even go up to 500°F that is usually recommended. I even bought a Boboli pre-made crust as emergency backup, that's how much I feared this endeavor.

But I had to try this combination of toppings. I have heard so much about delicious green chile pizzas in New Mexico I knew that it was worth a try to create at home, even with zero pizza skills. With Hatch chile season going strong, it was a man-up moment.

Of course, I had a little bit of trepidation with the dough. I obviously did not use nearly enough flour, made the rookie mistake of not picking the dough up and loosening it after spreading and before applying toppings, and as a result my pizza stuck rather badly to the sheet and my nice thin round pizza ended up being thick and crumpled because I needed a spatula to pry it off onto the pizza stone.

Also, I don't have a pizza peel, or even an rimless baking sheet. In fact, I have one baking sheet to my name, and I'm pretty sure it's older than me. So I flipped it over and used the bottom to spread my dough out. Which in retrospect was a dumb idea, because the 1" sides made it elevated above the pizza stone and my dough crumpled even more when transferring because of it, and the toppings fell off a bit.

I possibly shouldn't go on and on about my lack of pizza-making skills on my own blog. I should pretend that I wanted my pizza to look rustically handmade/asymmetrical and I wanted my pizza to have a thick crust.

Whatever. It still tasted amazing, and both the Bro-chi and Mr. Mochi were very impressed with my first attempt. The pizza was gobbled up in seconds, and I plan on stealing a rimless from my mother to perfect my technique. Just goes to show you can make a great tasting pizza that isn't very pretty, so don't fret if yours doesn't look perfect. If you're serving guests, just pretend that's what you were going for.

Hatch Chile and Smoked Cheddar Cornsticks

We're taking my Oklahoma Modern Choctaw Cornsticks a little Southwest! Hatch chile season is in full swing, just in time for grilling during this heat wave we've been getting here in Southern California. (My birthday was on Labor Day, and it was sweltering here!)

 Here's a little back story on Hatch chiles if you're not sure what the hype is about: Hatch chiles and New Mexican peppers, usually green, are actually the same as the Anaheim pepper found here in Southern California, but they are usually much hotter.  Hatch chiles are not actually a type of pepper, but simply named for being grown in the Hatch Valley, New Mexico. The hot days and cool nights make for a famously delicious group of chiles, but anyone in New Mexico will tell you that New Mexican peppers in general are special.

Most commonly, the peppers you see in the market are several different varieties of New Mexican green chile, which is how farmers can sell Hatch chiles by grouping them "hot, medium, and mild." Watch out, the hot varieties are hotter than jalapenos! Here's a list of cultivars developed by New Mexico State University.

You can google a list of roasting locations in your area, or pick them up fresh from the market. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful aunt that gave me two vacuum packs of freshly roasted flash frozen Hatch chiles!

Hatch Chile Jelly

One last New Mexican green chile recipe! 

I made this quick and easy jelly at the end of Hatch chile season, so I either have to wait until next year or use Anaheim chiles to make another batch.

In the last hatch chile pepper jelly I made, I found some red chiles to give some interesting color, but this time I made sure to get the classic green for a monochromatic tribute. In addition, this jelly is nothing but hatch; no apricot, no onion, just chiles! The short cooking time allows the pepper to retain their crunch in the jelly.

If you've ever found yourself pondering what you could possibly do with a hot and sweet pepper spread besides over toast, I have some suggestions below:

Interesting twist on a quesadilla: spread some jelly on the inside of a tortilla, top with shredded cheese and meat of your choice, and grill until melted. I did this for my habanero gold jelly and made a quesadilla with leftover rotisserie chicken and cheddar.

Heat it up and swipe it over grilled meats right at the end of cooking: Grilled fish, poultry, and red meats will all benefit. Great when making grilled fish tacos!

Quick and easy appetitizer: Top crackers or toast with goat cheese and pepper jelly. Also good with cream cheese.

Fired up? Let's make some hatch chile jelly!

Hatch Chile Apricot Jelly

I've got that canning and preserving bug again. I will never understand what compels me to spend most of the day chopping and boiling fruits and veggies to get a couple jars of preserves. I think it is reading too much Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Or maybe it is the almost magic process that allows such perishable and seasonal goods such as fresh Hatch chiles to be shelf stable and able to be given away as gifts.

After all, I couldn't do just one Hatch chile recipe for the season!

I debated on how I wanted to preserve the chiles. I could pickle them, made a jelly with their juices, or make a simple jam with just the chiles. After some thought, I decided. My family and friends enjoyed the Habanero Gold preserves so much, I decided to make a Hatch Chile edition. This one will be milder without the habanero, but I made sure to get a couple hot Hatches to throw in the mix!

The very cute ball jar in the pictures are courtesy of an anonymous family member, who returned the baskets from my mother's day preserves at my mother's doorstep with a four pack of them.

New Mexican Green Chile Enchilada

Hatch chiles are here! These New Mexican peppers, usually green, are actually the same as the Anaheim pepper found here in Southern California, but they are usually much hotter.  Hatch chiles are not actually a type of pepper, but simply named for being grown in the Hatch Valley, New Mexico. The hot days and cool nights make for a famously delicious group of chiles, but anyone in New Mexico will tell you that New Mexican peppers in general are special. Most commonly, these peppers are a couple different varieties of New Mexican green chile with names like "Big Jim," which is how farmers can sell Hatch chiles by grouping them "hot, medium, and mild." The hot ones are hotter than jalapenos! Here's a list of cultivars developed by New Mexico State University.

I had fun finding the rare red ones!

My dad's side of the family is from New Mexico, and I remember getting big batches of roasted chiles and pecans from the family. So when I saw that the chiles were arriving from New Mexico, I just had to jump on this! I wanted to make something classic New Mexican, so what better than some enchiladas with green chile sauce? Like in my dad's recipe for enchiladas, these puppies are stacked like pancakes, not rolled.

Alien tomatoes!

You can vary the heat of the enchilada by the type of New Mexican chili pepper used. I made them with the mild/medium variety and Mr. Mochi and I unanimously agreed that next time we would use the hotter ones. The cheese and the milk do a good job taming the green chile, so don't be afraid of heat. And while red peppers do pop up in bushels of peppers, I suggest using the green ones so that way the color goes with the tomatillos.

Speaking of which, this green chile sauce uses tomatillos like the Mexican chile verde, a fruit I had never used before. They are members of the nightshade family just like tomatoes, but they are actually a closer relative of the cape gooseberry, which also has a husk that covers the fruit. They are acidic and tart, and are pretty weird to me for whatever reason (husks!). You peel off the husk, wash off the sticky residue on the skin, and chop them up, no need to peel or seed them.