Hatch Chile Cheese Casserole - Easy and Yum for a Potluck

Just in case you haven't been to a grocery store, picked up a magazine or food section of the newspaper, watched the news or listened to the radio...

ITS HATCH CHILE SEASON!

Hatch Chiles hail from Hatch, New Mexico and their unique flavor, (and fantastic marketing efforts:)
have made them a treat that is enjoyed all over the U.S. Harvested in late August, just about now, they appear in speciality stores like Whole Foods, and on the menus of trendy restaurants. Heck, you can even find them in a tin in the local grocery store.

As a chile lover, I love em.

They range in heat from Mild...

To Hot...

And are a perfect choice for an easy potluck casserole like this one.

POTLUCKING

Here's the goodness of Hatch chilies in the casserole on a (heaping) plate of POTLUCK!

Hatch chile heads say they are the best chiles ever, because they are grown at elevation. (Sound familiar you wine nerds? Grapes that are grown on the side of mountains are often the best, too!)
Hatch lovers even have a festival full of roasting peppers and crazy treats like chile candy, caramel sauce and of course, ice cream. Savory goodies abound too, providing inspiration for home cooks to whip up their own creations.

Because this casserole is topped with a white hat of cooling nonfat greek yogurt - its great for those who LOVE the HEAT - but also the wimps among us. ( Don't get testy with me for calling you wimps, I live with one who I love dearly!)

Fast to prepare and a perfect side - it makes a 9 by 12 baking dish of lusciousness. If you're not in to sharing that much - put it in two smaller casserole dishes and pop it in the freezer for dinner the next week or so.

Gotta point out, since I AM a Healthy Chef Partyologist, that this casserole is a perfect TASTY choice with lots of flavor, but includes lots better-for-you ingredients like beans, tomatoes and chiles. Hey! did you know that the capsaicin in chiles can raise your metabolism. Thats the active ingredient in the chiles that make it pungent and/or hot. WooHoo - I think that makes chilies health food, don't you? Feel good about taking this dish to the holiday potluck, cookout or even just serving it to your family for dinner!

Hatch Chile Cheese Casserole
This serves 16 people

2 Cans (15 OZ) Hominy, Drained and Rinsed Well (you can find this in the grocery store next to canned beans)
1 Package Frozen Corn, Defrosted or 4 Ears of Corn off the cob
1 Can Black Beans, Drained and Rinsed Well
2 Cups Halved Grape Tomatoes
1/2 LB Chopped, Roasted Hatch Chilies - Buy them already roasted at Whole Foods, grill them over a hot flame or under the broiler, or buy 8 OZ tins in the grocery store
1 Cup Chopped Cilantro
1 TB Cumin
2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1 1/2 Tsp Salt, divided
1/2 Tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
1 Cup Shredded Pepper Jack Cheese (I like Cabots reduced fat Pepper Jack)
1 Cup Shredded Parmesan
4 Cups Nonfat Greek Yogurt
1 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

Step One
In a nonstick sprayed casserole dish, dump the drained hominy, corn, black beans, tomatoes, chiles and cilantro into the casserole dish. Add in the cumin, paprika, 1 Tsp of the salt and the pepper and stir. Sprinkle on the cheeses.

Step Two
Using a spatula, spread the yogurt over the entire top of the casserole. (Don't worry if you pick up a little shredded cheese in the yogurt, it will be fine:) Sprinkle with the remaining tsp of salt and the pumpkin seeds. Cook in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until deliciously warm and toasty. This is great warm or room temperature!

MORE INFO about the Hatch Chile Festival

Thanks to Jennifer Gantner for some of the glamour shots in this blog!

Pinot Noir Poached Figs and Cheese for Easy Fall Evenings

Helloooo Fall! Here in Atlanta, we are having an unprecedented run of days, (Okay, only 2 so far but I'm keeping my fingers crossed), with warm but not hot weather, low humidity and sunshine. After enduring a rainy, building-an ark-and-growing-gills-soggy summer this seems to be a good repayment from Mother Nature. Yesterday Mike and I hiked at the Chattahoochee river and the crisp temperate air was so welcoming it inspired another loop of the trail.

Buoyed by the thought of more fall days, spending time outside and easy dinners, I am passing on the recipe for Pinot Noir Poached Figs and Cheese. Since the weather is so wonderful, I plan on packing this up and taking it for a fun fall weeknight picnic this week. I'll put it in the cooler along with a bottle of Pinot and a simple baby greens salad dressed with a little orange juice and olive oil and we'll set off. After a lovely hike to work up our appetite, we'll feast.

Pinot Noir* Poached Figs and Cheese

1 1/2 Cups Pinot Noir

3 TB Honey

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 Whole Cloves

12 Dried Figs (about 1/2 pound) I have some organic, dried California Black Mission figs from Whole Foods 

Camembert cut in thin slices

Whole Wheat Baguette

Step One In a  saucepan combine all ingredients except the cheese and baguette and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer figs, covered, until tender, about 30 minutes.

Step Two Transfer the figs to a bowl and boil syrup until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Strain the cinnamon and cloves out of the syrup into another bowl, then add the syrup to the figs. Serve the figs mixture with Camembert with slices of baguette.

*What kind of Pinot to use? I buy two bottles - one to cook with and one to enjoy. You want a luscious jammy-fruit-forward wine, so I'd suggest a bottle from the "New World". California, New Zealand, Argentina, Oregon, etc. When I picked up my baguette, cheese and dried figs from Whole Foods, I grabbed a couple of bottles of Block Nine Pinot Noir. Easy drinking with lots of red cherry flavors, its a perfectly yummy and affordable picnic or weeknight wine.

Green Chile and Black Bean Casserole

It all started when I spied a container in the produce section at Whole Foods. Oh yeah...Roasted Hatch Green Chilies. One of my favorite bites in the world. Not too hot, not too sweet, just full of green chile flavor. Have you tried them? Its Hatch season right now - and if you're very lucky, you can find them at Whole Foods - looking just like this long green guy in the picture above.

Hatch Chilies are from Hatch New Mexico, a town that calls itself the "Chile Capital of the World". Once a year during chile season, the town hosts a festival to celebrate its bounty of chilies. The fun weekend includes chile eating contests, chile cooking contests and even a mariachi "play-off"! The Hatch festival is on my bucket list, I bet on yours too if you can find the little green lovelies.

What's so great about chiles? One fresh medium-sized green chile has as much Vitamin C as six oranges, a tablespoon of the dried powder has all your daily requirements of Vitamin A, and one of the best things about hot chilies? They can burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic reaction in your today, which can speed up your metabolism. (WooHoo!) More than just eating them, they can make you feel better, too: Capsaicinoids, the chemical that makes chile peppers hot, are used in patches for sore muscles.Tastes great and makes you feel better. What's not to like?

We celebrated Labor Day last night with a few friends that I knew would be up for a chile pepper feast. I started with the pile of Hatch Chiles, below.

Then I sautéed a bunch of onions and small sweet peppers with olive oil, cumin, turmeric, chile powder, sea salt and black pepper, a dash of red pepper flakes and then added some grated garlic cloves. Check out this pan of lusciousness! ( I added a little fresh cilantro in as well - I thought it would be much prettier in the picture:)

Once I had the veggies sautéed to a gorgeous golden and I started working on the casserole. I have a BIG dish that I used - but you can use a couple of smaller ones.  I started with black beans and then spread a layer of the veggies, topped with the chopped Hatch Chiles, then a sprinkle of shredded manchego and parmesan. A big plop of nonfat greek yogurt followed and then I repeated. Easy peasy, tasted wonderful! So good that when I put it down - this is what immediately happened - before I could take a picture! Just goes to show you how yummy this dish really is. Leftovers tonight - can't wait!

The recipe follows - and if you are interested in not only cooking - but eating Hatch Chiles, check out this link:
Hatch Chile Celebrations in Georgia

Green Chile and Black Bean Casserole

2 Large Red Onions, Chopped
4 Cups Sweet Peppers, Chopped
2 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp Each Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 TB Cumin
1 TB Turmeric
1 TB Chile Powder
1/2 - 1  Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
6 Garlic Cloves, Grated
3 Cups Roasted Hatch Green Chiles, (can't find Hatch? Use canned green chilies or ones you roast yourself)
4 (15 1/2 OZ) Cans Black Beans rinsed and drained, divided
2 Cups Grated Manchego Cheese, divided
1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
3 Cups Nonfat Greek Yogurt, divided

Step One
Sauté the onions and peppers in the olive oil with the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, chile powder and red pepper flakes until the veggies wilt and the onions become translucent. Add the garlic and cook and stir until fragrant.

Step Two
While the veggies are sautéing, chop the Hatch chiles.

Step Three
Spray a large casserole dish - or two smaller ones with olive oil spray. Layer half of the beans, cooked veggies and chilies. Sprinkle with half of the grated cheeses and spread half of the yogurt on top. Repeat using the remainder of the beans, veggies, chilies, cheeses and yogurt. Slide, uncovered, into a 375F oven and let cook until hot and burbling around the edges. Serve with fresh salsa, sliced avocados and some warm corn tortillas. Oh! and invite me over, please:)