Actually, this got a lot easier. I’d run into that problem when I made her chile recipe, but Walsh has a recipe for something called Chili puree. It takes a bit of effort, but if you make up a bunch it lasts a while, and you can throw it into everything in place of chili powder. It’s brilliant stuff, and it’s what Fain has you do one recipe at a time.
ETA: By the way, I think Fain and Walsh collectively are all you need to know about Texas cooking other than what your mother taught you.
ETA, ETA: There is nothing quite as wonderful as a steak with garlic slices inserted into slits in the meat and then marinated in chili puree, which is more or less one of Walsh’s recipes for fajitas.
Get a kitchen torch. Take your peppers outside to the grill (workstation). Blister them all over with said torch. Put in a ziplock and let them sweat for 10 minutes or so. Put on plastic kitchen gloves, get some paper towels, and start rubbing, the blackened skin peels right off. Do not touch your face or balls during this process.
Before I got my drum smoker I’d just blister a few lbs. of Hatch chiles in my Weber chimney. Dump in the fuel, light it, then place 3 or 4 peppers at a time in the flames and turn them with tongs until they’re fully blistered, then put them in a foil pan. After the whole batch cools, bring the pan to the sink and peel them under slow running water. Sort them and freeze them in vacuum-seal bags.
The braised lamb was fantastic. The glazed carrots were sublime. The grilled asparagus with freshly grated Parmesan were top notch. The Turkey Ueberroth Zinfandel was on point. This may be the single best Easter meal I’ve ever prepared. I have a chocolate dessert thingy from the local Greek bakery for later. Probably some Italian espresso and perhaps a little limoncello to cap off the night.
Had a new to me cheese on Mother’s Day, it’s quite tasty stuff. Having the rest of it on my leftover steak sandwich for lunch today. Brother found it at Central Mkt in Austin, so there’s a chance your local HEB carries it or could get you some.
