High Desert Table

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Molten Chocolate Chile Cakes

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When it comes to dessert making, I have one thing on my mind: ease. Many variables are at play so let’s be honest, a lot can go wrong. There’s time, temperature, humidity, elevation, not to mention texture and stability to keep in mind. I think the key is to make desserts you love, make them often enough so it doesn’t feel like an invasive species has descended upon your kitchen, and try to do as much preparation in advance as you’re able. 

Of course, it’s fun to try new things. I am reminded of this every year when my boys announce their birthday cake requests. At some point very early on in parenthood (I think we thought it was cute?) I’d ask the kids what kind of cake they wanted. Then we started getting their answers and by then it was too late to turn back. “An ocean with fish”, “a volcano with lava”, “a 3-D droid”, etc. We have tried, and we have failed, but by some miracle, according to their delighted faces we have always managed to succeed. There is a time and place for all of that. But this isn’t it.

Here is one of the simplest desserts to make. This isn’t one of those dessert recipes that cuts a bunch of corners so regular folks can do it. This is a true pastry triumph. Not only is it easy to make, but it’s perfection lies in its simplicity. For chocolate lovers and valentine lovers, you can’t go wrong. My favorite thing about this recipe is that you can make the batter in the morning, and pull it out of the fridge an hour before you want to bake it. Then when everyone is finishing dinner, you throw them in the oven for 12 minutes or so, and voila! You’re suddenly transported to a French bistro for dessert.

This recipe launches off the sturdy foundation of the classic molten cake recipe from world-renowned French Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The story goes that his wife fell for him when she tasted his Molten Chocolate Cake. The only variation here is the addition of cinnamon and red chile to give it that Southwestern high desert touch.

Cochinita Pibil Chile Tacos

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This is a taco recipe that comes from our constant craving for the unequivocal Cochinita Pibil sandwich and our never-ending love for tacos. Cochinita Pibil is a traditional slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. Its genius lies in the marinade highs and lows; earthy achiote paste or annatto seed, bright orange and/or grapefruit juice, and rich and roasted flavors from roasted garlic. This taco recipe takes into account the spirit of the Pibil and travels to another galaxy in the form of tacos, made with New Mexican chile of course. 

These can be made vegetarian using all beans, cauliflower or potatoes in place of the meat. The last time I made these I used elk, but any meat you have a hankering for will work. Pork shoulder is wonderful, it just takes more time than a vegetable, ground beef or a picked cooked rotisserie chicken.

This would be a fabulous dish to put in the slow cooker overnight. If you cook it this way, you could easily use dry beans instead of cooked ones. This “taco” filling is just as tasty over nachos, in burritos, over rice, and yes, even salad.

Everyday Southwest Stew

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It’s no accident that our kitchens have long been considered the heart of our homes. They can — and should — be a place of comfort and relaxation. With many of us doing a lot more cooking and a lot more staying at home, I’m fairly sure the heartbeat of our home kitchens has never been louder, or more important than now. Even as a chef with two small kids, I’ll be the first to admit it can be a challenge. But cooking for ourselves and our families can also be grounding and deeply satisfying. 

With our high desert nights still cool and trips to the grocery store unpredictable, I can’t think of a better time to share one of my favorite recipes of all time — Everyday Southwest Stew.

You can follow this recipe exactly and you will undoubtedly notice smiles around your table, although I have to admit I never actually measure anything when making a stew, but offer the amounts more as a guide. You can also tinker with this recipe and make it work for the ingredients you have on hand. Who knows? Maybe your new version will become a family heirloom, passed to children, grandchildren, and neighbors, a culinary snapshot from this historic moment in time.  

Here’s the secret. You don’t have to go to the store for the perfect ingredient, because there are no specific ingredients that are going to make or break this stew. The only requirement is that you trust yourself and let the rest go. I’m considering this a time of invention and innovation in our home kitchens. To start, let’s take a big-picture look at this simple recipe which allows for almost endless variations: 

FAT

First, start with a big, heavy-bottomed pot. Add a splash of oil or other fat to the pan. This is a great way to use bacon fat (aka bacon butter) leftover from breakfast. In this recipe, I render bacon, remove it when it’s crispy and use the leftover fat to sear the meat. You could also use ghee. The only oil I would recommend not using is extra virgin olive oil, which is best used for salads and finishing dishes.

MEAT

Once the pan is hot, sear the meat. My favorite stew meat is local buffalo, but you could use almost any meat you have on hand; beef shoulder (aka chuck), beef round, ground beef, pork shoulder, pork tenderloin, sausage, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, and even bone-in chicken if you’re careful to remove the bones before adding the meat back to the pot after cooking. You could also leave out the meat altogether, use beans or grains instead, and skip to the next step.

MIREPOIX

Now it’s time to add the flavor bomb veggies, roots, and spices that are going to add loads of flavor to your stew, also referred to as mirepoix (meer-pwaa). What does this mean? This is where you choose what direction you want your stew adventure to go. In France, the classic mirepoix is a combination of celery, carrots, and onion. In Italy, cooks will often start with the French mirepoix and add parsley and garlic. Chinese mirepoix consists of green onions, ginger and garlic. If you have a hankering for Thai, try a combo of ginger, lemongrass, basil, and lime zest or leaves. In my house, we often go the Indian route and in addition to the carrots, celery and onion, add red chile, fresh ginger and turmeric, and curry powder or paste. This is the time to look around in your fridge, pantry or produce section of the market and get creative. What looks good, sounds good, and what do you have access to? Do you have any fire-roasted New Mexican chiles hiding in the freezer? I can promise you there has never been a better time to find them. In this recipe, I use herbes de provence because even though the blend originates in the southeastern region of France, it often includes New Mexico herbs like lavender, thyme, and oregano.  

DEGLAZE

After your mirepoix has been hanging out in your pot for a while, now is the time to deglaze! This means add a bit of liquid to get all the caramelly goodness off the bottom of the pot and into the stew. You could add a few glugs of wine. You could add a can of coconut milk or some crushed tomatoes or broth. Scrape the pot with a wooden spoon. 

HEFTY VEGETABLES & LIQUID

Now add your hefty vegetables to add texture and substance to the strew. You can add things like potato, cabbage, celery root, beet, squash, fennel, mushroom, radish, turnip, collard greens, daikon, etc. Then add more liquid to cover. This could be more broth or even water.

FINAL SEASONING & DELICATE GREENS

Depending on the meat and/or vegetables you’re using, you will want to simmer over low heat until everything is tender. This could be 40 minutes or four hours. Check the seasoning and see if you want to add salt, pepper, or other spices. For instance, sometimes when I go the Thai route, this is when I add juice from a lime or a splash of fish sauce. Just a bit to brighten it up. This is where tasting and trusting will get you where you want to go. Once everything is cooked and tender, now is the time to add greens and green vegetables. I like to add greens a few minutes (but not more) before ladling them into bowls.  You can add greens like spinach, kale, broccoli, peas, rapini, chard, asparagus, etc.

My hope is that by making this stew, you’ll create new scent memories of lavender and roasted chiles.

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

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Is it frivolous to spend a morning cooking or baking when the world seems to be falling apart? Not one bit. One of my favorite things about cooking is its ability to ground us — to home, to people around us, to ourselves, to gratitude, to our senses. It gets us away from the computer and into the kitchen. It quiets our minds, even for a bit. Normally, cinnamon rolls in our house are reserved for holidays or birthdays. But these days, I’m looking for every excuse to celebrate. A couple of weeks ago we made Thanksgiving dinner just for fun (and of course to eat leftovers throughout the week). I knew cinnamon rolls for breakfast would be the perfect way to kick things off. Starting the day with a batch of these beauties is sure to turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one.

Variations to consider if you want to get creative: Sometimes I poke a hole in the dough before baking and fill them with spiced pastry cream, or add finely chopped almonds or pecans to the filling to add more texture. I would suggest making the dough and shaping them the night before you want to bake them. Then all you have to do is wake up in the morning, let them warm up a bit, and throw them in the oven.

High Desert Everything Marinade

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This is a marinade that celebrates flavors of New Mexico and at the same time is highly versatile and can be used on all kinds of foods with equally delightful results: asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant, tofu, shrimp, salmon, chicken, beef flank steak, hanger steak, skirt steak, sirloin steak, brisket, pork chops, buffalo, elk, etc.

The technique of marinating is twofold. At the end of the day, it’s about tenderizing and adding flavor. Each food falls on a spectrum of absorbability and toughness, some foods benefiting more from tenderizing like a tough skirt steak, and others from the addition of flavor like vegetables.

Marinating times depend on the acidity of the marinade itself and the burliness of the food you’re marinating. Some kind of acid is important, especially if you’re wanting your marinade to do some heavy lifting in the tenderizing department. As the acidity of your marinade increases, the time required decreases otherwise your fish could be at risk for turning into ceviche. Here’s a general guide for marinating times:

  • Vegetables: 20-30 minutes
  • Tofu: 20 minutes – 24 hours
  • Fish & Shellfish: 20 minutes – 1 hour
  • Chicken pieces: 30 minutes – 3 hours
  • Whole Chicken: 24 hours
  • Pork, Beef, Wild Game: 30 minutes – 24 hours

This recipe is so versatile because it’s medium acidity (from the yogurt) and loaded with flavor. After the marinating time is over, what you do next is up to you. You can grill, bake, roast or saute. My only suggestion? Call it a party, just because you can.