I can’t shut up about this cake. First, I am no not a baker, nor am I a “chocolate cake guy”, especially not in the sense that our favorite Polish-American roommate is (let me stress the Polish here…the dude keeps a jar of nutella under his pillow). That said, take a Chinese-American who dedicated a childhood to obsessively studying cake decorating and let her go sick on a pound of chocolate and you start to understand my obsession.

About all I can say for my contribution here is the outstanding coffee ( Alegra Sumatra medium-roast), Uta takes the cake here. Enjoy the pictures, and remember I got to eat this beauty.

It’s a pretty simple idea, really, just some chicken, sausage, and grilled peppers in a RFCS base.

The process that really takes it to the next level is brining the chicken. T. Keller specified the basics, and we went from there:

• Almost a cup of salt per gallon of water (a few)
• A half-dozen or so halved lemons (some oranges too, if you happen to have a tree)
• Parsley stems and leaves
• A dozen bay leaves
• Black peppercorns

Next-Level Chicken!

Bring these to a boil and let them cool before soaking the meat in them for 12-18 hours. Since then, we’ve experimented with it, and it’s a great idea to brine any white (as opposed to red) meat. So far, it’s worked wonders on chicken, goose, duck, and pig.

After brining the meat, fry it in some butter. Don’t cook it completely in this step, just give it a nice texture. Separately, fry up some chopped onions and celery. Once they’re golden, pour in some RFCS, lots of grilled red peppers (some crushed, some sliced), crushed artichoke hearts, and a few jalapeños (grilled, peeled, de-veined, and sliced). Let that come up to temperature, and simmer for a few minutes.

Toss in the chicken (or duck! yes!), and let this simmer for a while until you can’t stand to wait any longer, and serve with some poached eggs (another story altogether), grilled asparagus, and some crusty fresh-baked bread.

Oh, and invite some friends over! This is the meal that made us decide – never cook white meat without brining it.

I like to serve the eggs “fluffy scrambled” (that means I add whole milk or even heavy cream mmmm.) accompanied by a crustee french baguette, and let’s be honest the eggs are really a vehicle for delivering your favorite hot sauce (ours being The Blue Sky Cafe’s very own blend of peppers) so enjoy your Sunday with what Uta has proclaimed as her Best Western Breakee.

Number 1: Green Chile

Fall is the season for scoring your Green Chiles, and if you are anything like me it can be hard to ration your Green Chile supply so it lasts through the winter, but stay strong my friends and tuck those chiles in the back of the freezer so you can rediscover them later in the year. This year I need to make a special shout out to Dan’s Uncle for shipping us a bushel of the Green magic all the way from New Mexico. Thanks man!

To make this dish you really only need 4 ingredients, but spicy Anaheims are the most important one. I am talking about New Mexico green chiles that pack some serious heat. Cuidado! Tony makes a pilgrimage every fall to the South-West corner of Colorado to score enough chiles for some 10 families. Then he regales us of stories of freshly roasted green chiles on a drive-thru burger with “a cold one”, (that should be an underground order at “In and Out” call it “Tony & Matt” style). Here is to the green chile pusher man.

• 3 Quarts of Roasted Green Chile (chopped)
• 8 Tomatoes
• 1 Whole Globe of Garlic
• Pork. 2lbs of Pork Loin (diced)

OK, so there are a few more ingredients…

• 2 Tablespoons of Bacon Grease (Pork part 2)
• 3 Tbl of flour
• 8 cups H2O (Variation can use RFCS)
• Salt to taste

Fry the pork in a pan until brown. In a big stock pot, brown the flour in bacon grease (use your favorite whisk and don’t burn the flour!) keep stirring it. Add water  and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add chile, tomatoes, pork, garlic, and salt. Bring it all to a boil and then back off the heat to a slow simmer for about an hour. I like to rock a bag of tortilla chips nearby so I can sample the chile throughout its transformation. This makes a shit-ton of Green Chile, so be prepared with all of your tupperware on hand (with matching lids).

Number 2: Enchiladas

We here at the Mesa house have come up with a really nice pipeline dedicated to Real Fucking Chicken Stock and Chicken enchiladas are the corner stone to that pipeline. We like to buy an entire chicken and process every part of it. If you aren’t in the RFCS spirit then just score some Chicken breasts for this recipe.

• 1 whole Chicken
• Lots (~1 cup) of Red New Mexico Chile powder
• Couple Tbl of flour
• Couple Tbl of Bacon Grease
• Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder
• Bundle of Green Onions (diced. including the green section)
• 4 cups Sharp Chedder cheese (shredded)
• 2-4 cups of H2O (Variation: use RFCS or RFDS!)
• Bag of MASECA or ~15 pre-made corn tortillas

After walking down the street in Isla Mujeres to the “tortilla kitchen” in our barrio it is hard to shake the craving for fresh handmade corn tortillas. If you are an addict like me, then earn  your “yellow belt” by finishing your first bag of MASECA. Otherwise pay the $1 for a stack of corn tortillas at your local Mexi-Grocer.

Boil the chicken as you would to make RFCS (lots of carrots, lots of celery, etc.). Set the chicken aside to cool. I like to do this step early on a Saturday, or a day in advance. ‘Splinter’ the chicken. This is a laborious step, so convince your roommate to help you out.

Make up a “dry-rub”. It should include (but is not limited to) New Mexico Red Chile Powder, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Cayenne, and a touch of Cumin.

Throw the shredded chicken a big ziplock bag with the dry-rub and shake it up. Set aside.

Make your corn tortillas. We like to fry ours in Coconut Oil, makes a mean-seasoned cast-iron. Make enough to cover your casserole pan. My favorite variation on this recipe is the Enchiada (Enchilada-meets-Tostada), where I make a crispy corn tortilla-seasoned shredded chicken-cheese-onion-crisy corn tortilla stack up with lost of sauce and more cheese on top.Killer!

Or take the corn tortillas you bought and fry them to soften’em up a bit.

For the sauce:

Brown the flour (just like you learned to do above). Add water (or RFCS) to obtain a gravy consistency. Keep Stirring. Add chile powder & garlic powder (to taste). Keep Stirring. Once you have your sauce tasting mmmmm…then set the burner to low and keep some water around in case you need to thin the sauce a bit.

Here we come to a crossroads, you can choose to make individual enchiladas by laying the ingredients in individual corn tortillas and rolling them up, or if you are down with left overs (nod your head)and want to help keep the workplace microwave smelling like enchiladas go for the casserole style…Here is the stack up. Line the bottom of your casserole dish with corn tortillas. Add chicken, cheese, onions, and pour some of that delicious sauce all over shit. Cheese will melt mmmm. Cover that layer with another set of corn tortillas and repeat stack up. Set the oven to 325 and bake for ~15 minutes or until cheese is all melty.

Number 3: Pulled Pork

This recipe debuted at the Mesa for the Best Fucking Thanksgiving Ever (BFTE)  with both a vinegar sauce and a persimmon chutney. Pulled P has become a real crowd pleaser for large get togethers.

• ~5+ lbs Pork Shoulder or Butt (makes like 10-12 servings)

The Rub: Apply a day in advance

• Paprika
• Brown sugar
• Chili Powder
• Cumin
• Sugar
• S & P

Center the Butt on the grill, NO DIRECT FLAME! Grill on medium heat for 4-5 hours (~an hour per pound) Or until the inner heat regiters T=180 deg F. Serve on Kaiser Bun. Check back later if you need a chutney recipe…