On Mon, 25 Apr 2005 13:37:22 -0700, Mark Lipton >
wrote:
>Ed Rasimus wrote:
>
>> The cheese could have been mozzarella, but more often in SW cuisine
>> (New Mexican or Tex-Mex), the cheese is jack. There is an authentic
>> Mexican cheese, but the name escapes me at the moment. It's a bit more
>> tart than jack, but the same consistency as mozzarella (except for the
>> fresh curd style of mozz.)
>
>Ed,
> Since Jalapeņo poppers are an item unknown in Mexico (aside from
>swanky bars in Mexico City probably), one can speculate endelessly on
>what or might not be appropriate (apropos of another thread, poppers
>would almost certainly qualify -- arguably with the burrito -- as
>another quintessentially American dish). Taking our cue from chile
>rellenos, though, the cheese would be asadero (aka "Chihuahua"), a white
>cows' milk cheese very similar to unaged Monterey jack.
Ahh, the asadero might be the name that was eluding my semi-senile
memory. We've got a number of excellent Mexican mercados in Colorado
Springs and when we still lived in New Mexico there was never a
problem finding the traditional ingredients.
>
>Mark Lipton
>
>p.s. Not to start another food-related argument, but I actually find
>the chile selection in the SW to be a bit limited: in New Mexico, the
>New Mexico chile, both fresh and dried, is ubiquitous IME. It's not so
>easy to find the "holy trinity" of dried chiles (for a good mole,
>f'rinstance): ancho, mulato y pasilla. Perhaps I just haven't shopped
>in the right places, though...
I think your final phrase is the key. Finding the "right places" can
be problematic. But, at this moment, I've got a stock in the basement
of ancho, chipotle, serrano, poblano, mulato, cascabel and a couple of
others--all in dried, whole format. The local Whole Foods now offers
the spectrum in powdered format so you don't get into the
reconstitution drill before use. In the fall, we even get fresh green
chiles from Hatch and they roast for you.
If all else fails, Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe offers telephone and web
site ordering. If you need something for a recipe, give them a
call--odds are they've got it.
Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com