Chili Peppers, red hot and otherwise

Well....the Hatch chile festival is just about over.  I have stocked up on enough chiles to use until next year.  I typically purchase these in the mild and the hot version.  My husband is the one who like hot peppers.  I make several recipes with them, but his favorite is the variety of stuffed peppers that I make.  I stuff them with several things: meats, plantains, rice & beans, cheese, eggs, cornbread and make home-made ranchero sauce or salsa (red and green) to bake them in.  For the cornbread stuffed peppers, I make a sweetened red salsa.  I think this year, I may use the peppers for Thanksgiving and make some sort of turkey stuffed pepper.....hmm, now I'm thinking.  

The other pepper that I like to use to stuff, is a poblano.  These are a very dark green and look gorgeous with the red salsa or ranchero sauce on them.  These are dipped in a very light batter and deep fried until golden brown.  

Candied jalapenos.....this is a food group all of it's own.  I make these by the potful for my husband and friends and use the excess syrup for a surprise "kick" in several other recipes.  All I can say right now is chocolate and "the spicy"......YUM!!!!

I also love to make tamales.  I make these each year for the holidays and typically get orders for them.  For fun, I make sweet dessert tamales with some sort of decadent sauce to go over them.  The sauce will most likely involve a bottle of tequila, which is one of my favorite liquors.....ole`!!!!