Introducing the 2012 San Antonio Hatch Contest Winner!

For those of you not "in the know"...our favorite grocery store (Central Market) sponsors a Hatch chile recipe contest in conjunction with their Hatch festival every August. They've selected Bruce or I (one entry per household, please) as finalists for every year of the contest. (I've posted lots about Hatch on Alamo A La Carte.) I won in 2008 with a Hatch Key Lime Pie; Bruce won the following year with a Hatch Fudge Sundae. To our knowledge, we're the only family that has participated each and every year in San Antonio.

Bruce's entry this year was a Smoked Hatch Penne Casserole with a Hatch Corn Salad. They made us sweat bullets for a bit; they didn't make the phone calls until after this year's festival had wound down. But we did indeed get the call, and Bruce whipped up a batch for the contest on September 1. (I've posted a video on my YouTube channel.)

Many of our friends (who help us select the recipe to enter; we come up with five or six every year) stopped by to root us on. One by one, the nine finalists presented their dishes to the panel of five distinguished judges (from the local food world).

Entries always run the gamut; this year's participants prepared three desserts (which have won the past four contests), a quiche, and tabouli, among others. (You don't cook there at the store; you bring the prepared dish. So unfortunately, the earthy aroma of roasted Hatch chiles is missing.)

Bruce presented his dish next-to-last. He explained how we choose our recipes. We always prepare a vegetarian version of all our dishes (for one of our best friends). In this particular case, the vegetarian version tasted better than the version with meat. So he submitted his recipe with soyrizo (a soy-based chorizo).

Finally, the scores were tallied. Third place went to the quiche, and second place to the "hot kisses." At that point, Bruce said he had written it off; he didn't think he had a chance against the desserts.

Then Patric announced, "The 2012 Hatch chile winner is .... Smoky Hatch Penne Casserole!" Our cheering section whooped and hollered, and Bruce went up to accept his prize basket and chile crown. (And 75 pounds of chiles; no kidding. We're still trying to foist them off on friends.)

We brought extra so audience members could have a taste after the contest (only the judges get to taste every dish). It was all gone by the time we left.

People ask us when we start coming up with next year's ideas. The answer: NOW! My notebook is full of scribbled ideas to try next summer.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Meet the Sapote!

Hello! I am a sapote (sah-POH-tey). I’m about the size of a coconut. Actually, "sapote" is rather vague and also refers to several of my cousins. Specifically, I am a mamey sapote. Laura found me at H-E-B’s Alon Market. When she finds unfamiliar ingredients like me, she usually brings us home.

I am native to southern Mexico. I taste kind of like a tropical peach. Laura found me amongst the guavas and mangos. Use me quickly once you get me home, or I’ll turn all mushy on you. She found this yummy recipe for Frozen Mamey Sapote Mousse (pictured at the bottom), and we’ll go through it together.

1) When you cut through my somewhat leathery skin, don’t be surprised by the big pit in the middle. It should lift right out. You also want to remove any fibrous material lurking around the pit.

2) Scrape out the fruit into a strainer. (A food mill works best, but Laura doesn’t have one. She might try a potato ricer the next time.) This removes any more fibrous material.

3) Now, mix the sugar and salt with the sieved fruit.

4) Soak the gelatin in the cold water, then dissolve it in the boiling water. Blend it with the fruit mixture. Chill until the mix thickens (about two hours).Remove from the fridge and whip until light.

5) Whip the heavy cream until stiff (remember, a cold bowl makes whipping cream a lot easier).

6) Fold the cream into the mamey mixture.

7) Freeze for at least two hours. Remove from freezer one hour prior to serving.

The finished product!

　

Welcome to Laura's Local Kitchen!

A warm welcome to my new blog, Laura’s Local Kitchen! I’ve been doing a lot of cooking and recipe development in the last year. I am happiest when cooking and writing, and I wanted to share some of those discoveries. I plan to focus on cooking with local, seasonal ingredients….but I’ll bet some unusual, not-so-local items will pop up! I hope you will find something that you and your family will enjoy. (By the way, I’ll have a spiffy new logo soon from my talented friend Shauna!)

Several months ago, I noticed a refrigerated van from Greenling (@greenling.com) in our neighborhood. This online grocery delivers to your home (assuming you live in one of their delivery areas). You can order all kinds of things; I placed an order for an every-other-week “local basket,” which contains organic, local, and seasonal produce, a different selection each week. I have had a lot of fun discovering things I’ve never heard of before (mizuna greens??) and finding new uses for familiar ones (see a future post on crispy kale).

My last basket included okra.

No, wait, don’t run away!!! It’s good stuff, really. Give it a try!

Okra’s slime puts off a lot of folks. (See this excellent post on “What makes okra slimy” from Food Republic.) Alton Brown’s Good Eats even aired a whole episode that attempted to rehabilitate okra.

As a fifth-generation Texan, love for okra is in my blood. (Bruce had never eaten it until he met me.) My favorite way to prepare it: fried. (OK, so maybe fried is not as “good for you” as other preparations. But it’s still tasty.)

To ensure success, make the okra slime work to your advantage. This particular recipe (one of my “stand-bys” from Lone Star Legacy II, a 1985 cookbook from the Austin Junior Forum) uses the slime to help the cornmeal batter better adhere to the slices of okra. Another key: making sure your frying oil heats to 360 degrees. Any cooler and the okra will turn out soggy. Any hotter and you risk burning (not to mention setting your kitchen aflame).

If you do it right, you’ll taste none of the slime; just smoky, crunchy okra. We last enjoyed it with a batch of steamed blue crabs.

Fried Okra

1 lb okra, ends trimmed and cut into ¼” rounds

1 C cornmeal

2 T smoked paprika

1 T garlic powder

Salt/pepper to taste

Large pot of salted, boiling water

Vegetable oil (in a deep fryer or cast iron skillet)

1) While the oil is heating, parboil the okra in the boiling water for about five minutes; drain. (Do not let the slime put you off at this point. That’s why you parboil it—to give the cornmeal something to adhere to.) Let cool for a few minutes. (I recommend rinsing the pot and drainer as soon as possible. Slime turns to concrete if you let it dry on your cooking implements.)

2) Place the cornmeal and spices into a ziptop bag; mix thoroughly. Once the okra has cooled, dump it into the plastic bag and mix thoroughly until all pieces are coated. Pour the coated okra out through a wide-mesh strainer. (I like to use my deep fryer basket.) Shake off excess cornmeal. Let the okra sit for at least 20 minutes. (This further helps the cornmeal to adhere.)

3) While your okra sits, heat up your oil slowly to 360 degrees.

4) Fry the okra until just golden brown (only a few minutes). Remove to a fine-mesh cooling rack over a cookie sheet. (Or take the deep fryer basket out of the oil and let drain above the oil. I don’t like using paper towels, as they can make the okra soggy.) Serve immediately. Serves four.