There’s something so comforting about a quiet Sunday dinner. The aromas of a pot roast simmering in the slow cooker, something scrumptious grilling on the barbie, perhaps a pie baking in the oven – it all seems to say, “It’s been a great weekend, I’m happy to be home.”

We added these Ancho Chili and Cheddar Stuffed Potatoes to last night’s Sunday dinner. In college, I made stuffed (or twice baked) potatoes all the time, and like my lasagna, they were never the same way twice. These had a bit of a Southwestern twist with the added roasted mild Ancho chilies. A bit of cream and white cheddar made them dreamy.

I’m not much of a recipe follower when it comes to stuffed potatoes, as I tend to just throw ingredients together and taste as I go, but I did my best to put it all together for you. Adjust the flavors to suit your own palate, more cheese is never a bad thing in my book!

Click here for the full recipe:

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Sorry music lovers, I’m not talking about the band, I’m talking about the capsicum. Although both do add spice to your life.

You don’t have to be a “hot head” (a.k.a. lover of spicy foods) to appreciate these beautiful chili wreaths. You can pluck from them for your cooking pleasure or just let them colorfully adorn your kitchen. There are a couple of shops in Pike Place Market that hand string these, and I am always like a kid in a candy shop oooing and aahing over the row upon row of them.

That’s the short of spicy of it for today!

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Whenever I go downtown to Pike Place Market I’m always sucked into the Spanish Table. There’s no way around it, and I always end up parting ways with more dolares ($) than I intended. Needless to say, it’s a wonderful establishment and I always leave happy – usually with a bunch of anchovy stuffed olives in my hand.

Today I was thrilled to find a shipment of Padrón peppers had just arrived from Happy Quail Farms located in East Palo Alto, California. When we lived in Palo Alto we frequently bought from Happy Quail Farms, and we were delighted to find their produce had made it all the way up to the Pacific Northwest.

Padrón peppers, named after the Spanish municipality in which they are grown, and are a typical tapa. They’re small, sweet and mild, although occasionally you do come across an errant hot one. Peppers grown in June/July tend to be milder, while those grown in August/September tend to pack more heat. But that’s not a strict rule of thumb, so it’s a bit like playing Russian Roulette. I hope you enjoy spicy surprises, you just may get one!

1. Start with 1/2 to 1 pound of pimientos de Padrón
2. Wash the peppers and dry on a paper towel.
3. Heat a frying pan with a small amount of olive oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan
4. Add the peppers when the oil begins to smoke just a bit
5. Fry the peppers shaking the pan so that all sides cook
6. As the peppers start to blister, sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.
7. Once the peppers are slightly browned and blistered on all sides, remove from heat and cover in pan for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add a bit more salt, hold by the stem, and eat while they’re hot!

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If you like hot and spicy foods, then you’d love harissa; an oh-my-hell-it’s-hot! North African chili paste, most commonly found in Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisine. It’s often used as a condiment, but is also added to meat dishes, stews, couscous or sauces.

A little bit of this delicious chili paste goes a long way. Too much can turn your hair red and melt the lips right off your face! There are a lot of subtle variations in harissa recipes; some of which would alert the fire department two blocks from my house, while others appeared to be on the slightly milder side. Some contain tomatoes, some don’t. I grabbed elements from a few different sources and gave it a whirl.

Harissa

10 dried red chili peppers
1 roasted red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil

Over a gas flame or on the barbecue, roast a red bell pepper until black. Put it in a paper bag and close up the top. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, or until you can easily slide the skin off. Remove the top and seeds, then dice.

Heat a heavy skillet until very hot. Add the dried chilies and toast them 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add just enough water to cover the chilies. Cover and let sit 30-45 minutes (or until soft). Take out of the water, and remove the stems and seeds. I recommend wearing gloves when handling extra hot chilies!

In the skillet, toast the coriander, caraway and cumin until fragrant. Then, combine spices with all the remaining ingredients in a food processor, and blend to a smooth paste. Add water if necessary.

Store in airtight container. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top to keep fresh.

Note: For a less fire-hot harissa consider using a milder chili, such as ancho.

Try these delicious sounding Mini Lamb Sliders with Harissa Sauce from Ms. Glaze’s Pommes d’Amour. Yum!

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I love Mexican food. So much so that I think I was Mexicana in a previous life. Actually, I say that when I eat just about any food, really. I’ve been Japanese, French, Italian…you get the picture.

My newest love is mole. You’re probably saying, “Well, what took you so long?” Honestly, I had a bit of a bad experience years ago (I’ll spare you the gory details) and have been a bit averse to trying this rich dish again. But with a less whimpy belly, a fierce gusto for food and a recent trip back to Mexico, I tried it once more.

“Holy mole this is good!” I cried with gastronomical glee. I.Am.Hooked.

I know visually it may not knock your socks off, but believe me taste-wise it will.

Mole (pronounced mo-lay) is like curry. In fact, mole is a generic term for “sauce” and, like curry, comes in a variety of flavors. Such as, guacamole, or “avocado sauce.”

Probably the most well-know mole is Mole Poblano which is made from dried chili peppers, a whole gang of spices such as cinnamon and cloves, ground seeds and nuts, Mexican chocolate (stay with me now, it’s great), aromatics…oh the list goes on!

It’s no easy thing to whip up a mole. Well, a good traditional Mole Poblano, that is. It can take days to prepare a truly authentic one. But the good news is there are a variety of premade moles readily available at your local Mexican market or markets that carry ethnic foods.

We bought a Mole Verde (green mole) and prepared it with chicken like so:

We julienned some red and yellow peppers along with a large sweet yellow onion. Then we sauteed them in a large pan with a bit of olive oil until browned, removed them from the pan and set aside. In the same pan we heated up some more olive oil and browned a whole chicken (cut into parts). Once browned we added the pepper and onion mixture to the chicken. In a separate saucepan we heated the entire jar of mole and a bottle of white wine (minus a sip or two – wink, wink) until thoroughly mixed. We then added the sauce to the chicken and simmered the whole shebang for hours. You want to simmer at least a good two hours to allow the flavors to truly marry.

Muuuuuy delicioso!

If you have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon try one of these great mole recipes from Ramekins. I specifically like the sound of Mole Poblano #5.

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Since we are in Mexico, I thought it only proper that I dedicate at least one blog post to the venerable chili pepper. Here in Mexico you often hear the refrain “si no pica, no es comida,” which roughly translates to “if it’s not spicy, it’s not food.” Suffice it to say that folks here absolutely love their peppers! Chilis are considered “traditional” ingredients in Chinese, Thai, Indian, Korean, and many European cuisines, but in reality all forms of chili peppers originated in this part of the world. Columbus brought them back to Spain five centuries ago, from there they were the disseminated throughout the world and integrated into local tastes.

Today there are literally hundreds of types of chilis grown in a vast array of size, shapes, colors, flavors and levels of spiciness. The Chili Pepper Institute provides some fascinating facts and trivia if you want to learn more. You may also want to check out the Hot Sauce Blog and the PepperFool.

We visited an herb and spice shop called La Abejita (the little bee) in the small town of Buceries, which stocks a rich mosaic of dried chilis. Here’s a short slide show of some of their selection:

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