Chile Rellenos

For our second guest poster, I am honored to introduce you to Jen from Juanita’s Cocina. This is one of the first bloggers I came across and I fell in love with her site. Jen is fast becoming a major power house in the blogger world. She has a very large and loyal following that absolutely adore her and the food she whips up.  She does it all. Comfort food, tasty desserts (including ice cream), bakes bread, grills and smokes and makes the most incredible looking Tex-Mex food, not to mention she is ALWAYS having wonderful giveaways. The first two things I remember looking at were her Home-made Tortillas and Sweet Italian Sausage with Fennel. How can you not respect somebody who makes their own tortillas and sausage?

Jen is one of those few bloggers I feel like I have developed a relationship with and communicate with on a weekly basis. She’s smart, creative, funny, sassy, a bit  of a smart alec(more like a lot). I picture her as a little sister who you’d want to protect, not that she would need it. Easily loveable even though for some reason she thinks Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce is good and she can’t stand to eat meat on a bone. Really Jen? What is wrong with you?

Although Jen is not from Texas, you wouldn’t guess it. She comes across as a fellow Texan and loves all things Texas, so we can cut her some slack. 😉 Regardless of where she hails from, this little senorita can cook up a storm. So read on about these amazing chile rellenos she cooked up for me and if you like what you see, take a stroll over to Juanita’s Cocina and see what else she is cooking up. And don’t forget to let her know I sent ya. 😉

 

Hi, y’all!  I’m Jen from Juanita’s Cocina!

I am so excited to be guest posting here in Jason’s kitchen while he is on the trip of a lifetime!  I’ve been following him here at Griffin’s Grub almost since the day he began his blog.  Yes, I follow him around like a lost puppy dog because he makes amazing food that I’d love to be grubbin’ on.

But, I also follow him because I have “grill envy”.

I want to be able to grill a steak or smoke a butt like Jay does.

After the “Smoked Salmon Jerky Incident of 2012” in which I turned a salmon fillet into jerky so chewy not even an aligator could gnaw through it, I stick around to maybe learn a thing or two as well.

When Jason and I began discussing what I could make to share in his kitchen, we settled on something that would be the best reflection of my Cocina.  If you know me, you know that I try to keep my Cocina full of Mexican food…because life, in general, is better with Mexican food.  So, Mexican food it was!

It took me all of 10 seconds of brainstorming before I settled on Chile Rellenos.  It’s chile season which always leaves me salivating for and craving rellenos.

This recipe was taught to me by my father…who taught me that the hotter the chile, the better.  So, keep that in mind.  The hotter the chile, the better, y’all.  If your ears melt to your head and your eyes begin to tear, you know you’re doing it right.

Chile Rellenos

Ingredients

• 12 Hatch or Anaheim Chile Peppers
• Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack Cheese, sliced small for stuffing peppers
• 4 eggs, divided
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup flour
• Prepared tomatillo salsa (or salsa verde)
• Shredded Monterrey Jack
• Oil for frying

Instructions

Roast chile peppers under the broiler of the oven (on both sides) until pepper skins blacken.

Once roasted, remove the peppers from the oven, place them in a bowl with a lid and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the skins of the peppers (carefully) and with a knife, cut a small slit up the side of the pepper to allow you to stuff it with cheese. Leave the stems on the peppers.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until they come to soft peaks.

Whisk the egg yolks together in an alternative bowl. Fold the egg yolks into the egg whites, being careful not to deflate the whites. Season the egg mixture with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet with enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Also, preheat the oven to 375.

Place flour in a shallow bowl.

Stuff each pepper with enough cheese to fill the pepper while still allowing yourself enough room to close the seam of the pepper.

Dredge each stuffed pepper with flour.

Immediately dredge the floured peppers in the egg mixture and place in the heated oil. Fry each pepper on both sides for approximately 1 1/2-2 minutes, or until the egg coating has browned and begun to crisp.

Once peppers have fried and browned on both sides, place them into a 9×13 pan.

Top the peppers with a layer of salsa and shredded cheese.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and everthing is warmed through.

Chile rellenos are definitely a family favorite around here.

I think lots of folks have the misconception that they’re difficult to prepare, when nothing could be farther from the truth!

Thanks to Jason for allowing me to share a bit of my food here in his kitchen while he’s away.

I hope he finds a way to make these on his BGE…and that he blogs it.  Until then, my grill envy continues!