Homemade Mexican Red Chili Sauce

If you make enchiladas, tamales, or any  Mexican or Tex-Mex style dish that requires red chili sauce, I urge you to bypass the canned stuff and make your own sauce from scratch.
It goes together very quickly, with just a couple of ingredients  and is far tastier than canned, plus you can adjust the level of heat according the the chilies you use.
(Most well stocked grocery stores carry dried peppers in the Mexican food/ingredient  section.)
The method is much easier than you might imagine:
- Simply rinse the peppers, remove the seeds and stems (discard.)    - Lightly toast the peppers in a dry skillet to bring out their flavor.
- Remove from skillet and place in a small sauce pot with water, bring to a boil and remove from heat.  Allow to soak for 10 minutes.
- Puree the softened pepper in a blender with some of the soaking water (or plain water if the soaking water seems bitter)
- Add 1 large clove of garlic, 2 whole cloves, 2 pepper corns, 1 or 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, and salt.  Continue to blend until sauce is smooth.
- Pour the sauce through a sieve into a skillet, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Stir and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Taste for seasonings.
Use immediately in your favorite recipe or cool and store in a glass container then refrigerate or freeze.





Elise, over at Simply Recipes has a wonderful step-by-step pictorial, with the type of chilies to select as well as the recipe.
Next up,  I'll show you one of my favorite ways of using this Red Chili Sauce.

Thank you for stopping by, and for any comments you would care to share!  Have a wonderful week.

xo ~mari  :o)

Grilled Chili Rellenos

At one time these cheese-stuffed grilled chilis were my favorite appetizer at MacArthur Park Restaurant in San Francisco. At the restaurant they are made with Pasilla peppers, and stuffed with a combination of Cheddar, Jack, and Blue Cheeses. They are served with a fresh tomato based salsa with cilantro and lime.





Poblano chili peppers are more readily available where I live now, so that is what I usually use. Which ever chili pepper you choose, select ones that have smooth skins, and wide cavities so they will be easier to stuff. With a small sharp knife cut the stems out of the chilis; if you cut them as shown below, leaving the "shoulders" of the peppers intact it will help to keep the cheese inside of the peppers while grilling. (Rather than slicing them straight across.)






Reach in and remove the seeds and pith; using a knife to assist, if necessary.

I skip the blue cheese and simply stuff them with pieces of cheddar and jack (you can use any cheese or cheese that you like best.) You may secure the tops to the body of the chilis with tooth picks if they don't fit back inside securely. To grill, simply brush the chilis with oil, salt them lightly if desired, and grill until slightly charred, and the cheeses have melted.







Sometimes I serve them as an appetizer before a grilled dinner, but usually they appear as the main course as shown here. A black bean and corn salsa, Mexican-style rice and diced avocados make delicious accompaniments. A few lime wedges served alongside offer a favorful addition if you have them.

Over the years I've come to prefer this style of Chili Relleno rather than it's fat laden, egg dipped and fried cousin, the texture and flavors are fresher and more interesting to me.

Shrimp and Cream Cheese Chili Bites

I don't make these very often, but they are fun to serve at summer parties, or casual events like a
Superbowl Party, etc.
I bought the grills online from http://irondesert.com/ a couple of years ago for a Mexican-themed summertime party.

The company manufacturer's many different styles of chili grills;I chose these two smaller grills rather than one large one so I could keep the peppers coming, hot off the grill for a crowd.

One small grill makes more than enough for 3 to 4 people,

more if you are serving lots of other appetizers. Handmade, and very sturdy.

The "heat" of each crop of jalapenos can vary widely,from mild to very HOT, so beware.

(I prefer the milder ones, but this particular batch was very hot.)

Ready for the oven, or covered grill.

Usually I make these on the covered outdoor grill, this time I baked them in the oven.

The basic directions: Wash the peppers, cut the stem end from each, scoop out the seeds and ribs with a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, using a toothpick poke a hole in tip end of each pepper, fill them any way you would like, standing each in the chili grill as you fill them.

Then simply bake or grill for 50 to 60 minutes.

You can find all kinds of suggestions on the Iron Desert site (link above) for serving ideas My favorites are the plain cheese, or the shrimp/prawns with cream cheese.

If you're using a fresh meat, you'll need to poke a hole in the bottom of the pepper with a toothpick to allow juice to drain.

Allow them to cook for 50 to 60 minutes; allow them to cool slightly before passing

(you'll want to give your guests a napkin with each one.)

Shrimp Jalapenos1 shrimp for every pepper you're fixing (20-30 count size)Cream cheese

Shake some Tony Chachere's seasoned salt (or any seasoning you like) on the peeled shrimp and stuff them head first into the jalapenos.

Fill up the gap at the top of the jalapeno with cream cheese. Bacon on the top of this one is mandatory.

Poke a hole in the bottom of the jalapeno with a toothpick so it can drain as it cooks.