Creamy Green Chile and Bay Shrimp Chowder

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This soup started as a seafood sauce for enchiladas, but the staff at the Mountain Road Cafe couldn’t keep their spoons out of it, so W.C. turned it into a soup. It’s very rich and hearty and can be garnished with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups W.C.’s Green Chile Sauce (see recipe)

  • 4 cups homemade chicken stock

  • 3 cups white sauce (see Joy of Cooking)

  • 1 cup peas, shelled or frozen

  • 2 cups potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic

  • 1 teaspoon thyme leaf

  • 3/4 teaspoon basil leaf

  • 1 pound bay shrimp left whole

  • 1 cup milk

Instructions

In a pot, combine the Green Chile Sauce and chicken Stock and heat to a simmer. Blend in the white sauce by whipping vigorously. Add the remaining ingredients except the milk and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the milk slowly, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Serve hot, garnished with croutons.

W.C.’s Green Chile Sauce

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This recipe dates to 1976, when W.C. created it for his first restaurant, the Morning Glory Cafe. It is meatless and dairyless, but “designed for a meat-eater’s taste,” according to W.C. It is easily frozen or canned.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups chopped hot New Mexican green chile

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

  • 1/2 tablespoon red chile powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

  • 1 tablespoon salt

  • 10 cups water

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1 1/2 cups water

Instructions

In a large pan, combine the green chile, garlic, onion, coriander, red chile powder, white pepper, cumin, salt, and water. Bring to a boil and boil, uncovered, for 1 hour.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water and mix thoroughly. Add to the chile mixture and cook until the mixture clears, about 20 minutes.

Wild Mushroom Bisque with Grilled Chicken

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Every year on the Saturday preceding the Super Bowl, Wild Oats Market in Albuquerque sponsors the Chef’s Invitational Souper Bowl Soup Contest. In 1995, W.C. defeated a dozen of other Albuquerque chefs with this grand prize winner. Use whatever wild mushrooms you have to make 9 ounces—we have suggested a mixture, below. W.C. gathered most of the musrooms from the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque and urges aficionados to learn about wild mushrooms.

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 pound chicken breasts, marinated in ½ cup teriyaki sauce and 1 ½ tablespoons grated ginger for 20 minutes

  • 9 ounces mixed wild mushrooms (suggested: 2 ½ ounces, boletes, 2 ½ ounces cepes,
    2 ounces morels, 1 ounce golden trumpets, 1 ounce black trumpets)

  • 2 large shallots, minced

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 4 quarts homemade chicken stock

  • ½ medium onion, chopped fine

  • 3/4 cup butter, divided in thirds

  • 1 pound domestic mushrooms, sliced

  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour

  • 2 ounces hard romano cheese, finely grated

  • 1 quart cream

  • ½ cup dry sherry

  • 2 cups V-8 juice

  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Grill the chicken until done, chop fine, and set aside.

Soak the wild mushrooms in 3 cups warm water for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and repeat in 2 cups water. Reserve the water. Remove the mushrooms from the water and chop fine. Place the mushrooms, reserved water, shallots, garlic, black pepper, and chicken stock in a stock pot and boil for 30 minutes, adding water to keep to the original volume.

Saute the onion in the 1/4 cup butter and set aside.

Saute the domestic mushrooms in 1/4 cup butter with the garlic. Add the sauteed onions, mushrooms, and garlic to the stock pot.

Melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in a pan, add the flour, and make a roux until lightly browned. Add the roux to the pot, stirring well. Add the chopped chicken breast and romano cheese and stir well. Add the cream, sherry, V-8 juice, and salt and heat for 10 minutes.

 

Homemade Tabasco Style Sauce

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Because the chiles are not aged in oak barrels for three years, this will be only a rough approximation of the famous McIlhenny product. You will have to grow your own tabascos or substitute dried ones that have been rehydrated. Other small, hot, fresh red chiles can also be substituted for the tabascos.

Note: This recipe requires advanced preparation. 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh red tabasco chiles, chopped

  • 2 cups distilled white vinegar

  • 2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Combine the chiles and the vinegar in a saucepan and heat. Stir in the salt and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cool, and place in a blender. Puree until smooth and place in a glass jar. Allow to steep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Remove, strain the sauce, and adjust the consistency by adding more vinegar if necessary.

 

Diced Potatoes with Chiltepins

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This recipe is extremely hot and very typical of Sonora, where people make salsa casera with 2 to 3 cups of chiltepins! Serve this with a mild fish or poultry entree. Feel free to reduce the amount of chiltepins, or to substitute 3 tablespoons chipotle powder for a milder, smokier flavor..

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into a 1/2 inch dice

  • 5 cloves garlic

  • 1/4 cup chiltepín chiles, or subsitute piquins

  • 1 cup water

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saute skillet and add the diced potatoes. Toss and turn the potatoes with a spatula for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add 3 tablespoons of water, and cook the potatoes at a low heat while you are making the chile sauce.

Place the garlic, peppers, water, and salt in a blender and puree thoroughly. Pour this mixture over the potatoes and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.