…if what they want is GOOD food.

Few dishes compliment the bold, spicy flavors of Mexican food better than a bowl of warm, perfectly seasoned black beans.  Thrown in a burrito in place of boring old pintos, these smoky black beans instantly add another dimension to your everyday Mexican repertoire.  In my opinion, this is a side that’s good enough to stand on its own as a main course.   Garnished with a bit of cilantro, some crumbled queso fresco and maybe a dollop of crema, this is Mexican comfort food at its best.  And, at a prep time of just over 30 minutes, this is great for a weeknight meal.

The main flavor component of this side dish is the earthy, smoky chipotle chile.  If you’ve never worked with the dried version before, this recipe is a great introduction; their inherent flavor shines through without being overshadowed by the tomato and vinegar based adobo sauce found in canned varieties.  For this recipe I used the morita chipotle but if you can only find canned chipotles in adobo, I definitely recommend going with La Morena brand.

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Having never been to New Mexico, I am by no means an expert on green chili. While I’ve made a Mexican version of chile verde in the past with the addition of tomatillos, this authentic New Mexico version relies exclusively on the smokey, complex flavor of roasted green chiles.

My sister, having visited the Southwest on several occasions, oftentimes regales me with stories “of the best tasting green chili on the planet” and boasts about the fact that you can get “roasted green chilies on anything.”  Judging by how fanatical the inhabitants of the state are about food in general and especially their famous green sauce, I have no doubt that I would fit right in.

Knowing how fascinated I am by the humble, yet satisfying cuisine of he Southwest, one of the first cookbooks my girlfriend ever purchased for me was Huntley Dent’s, The Feast of Santa Fe: Cooking of the American Southwest.  While the picadillo recipe has already become one of our all-time favorite weeknight meals, after preparing this authentic green chili, we just might have discovered our new, slow-cooked Sunday sauce.  If the sound or look of this dish doesn’t get you excited, throw some green chilies in the oven to roast and their intoxicating aroma certainly will.

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I love good pickles. I’m not talking about your run-of-the-mill, limp Claussen or Vlasic supermarket variety. What I want is a crisp, refreshing bite of a tangy, homemade dill pickle. As a true lover of all sandwiches, sometimes lunch just doesn’t seem complete without a delicious pickle to munch on between bites. Recently inspired by the spectacular whey pickles at Point Reyes’ Cowgirl Creamery and the delicious dill variety accompanying all sandwiches served at The Sentinel, I figured I was past due to join the pickle and preserves revolution and have a go at making my own. Having never pickled anything outside of onions for some tacos, I set out to make a batch using a recipe from Grace Parisi in a recent issue of Food and Wine Magazine. The results were better than expected.

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