Ahhhh, Snow Day!!!

Actually, make that 3.  In a row.  So the title should be more like, "Arrrrrgghhh, Snow Day".  I mean, one is really good.  Exciting.  Fun.  Necessary.  Restful.  Relaxing.  Recharging.

By the time we hit two, the walls start to close in.  The snow starts to get a little too white and a little too cold.  Shoveling gets a bit more strenuous. The world starts to feel very far away.

But today is day 3.  I have run out of "things I've been waiting for a snow day to cook".  I actually do have that category, by the way.  I start saving those recipes up when fall hits.  They are often more time consuming than a simple dinner usually allows.  Maybe more ambitious, maybe more risky.  Sometimes they even involve...... gasp.......YEAST.  ***Shhhhhh.......if truth be told, I'm still saving a yeast recipe, even after 3 snow days in a row and major cabin fever.  I even have collected all of the ingredients just in case I decide to brave it.  But I haven't gotten there yet.  


However, yesterday did involve making bread.  A flat bread, otherwise known as a Tortilla!!!  It was an exciting snow day for sure.  I've never done this before, and really, it wasn't all that complicated.  The end result felt a bit luxurious and indulgent.  Definitely worth the extra effort, but I can guarantee that will likely wait for another snow day (not that I'm asking for one at this point).   It is a little labor intensive for this gringo.   (By the way, I used the recipe I found on this site).

The other recipe I'd been waiting to make is a New Mexican Chile Verde.  Homemade, sultry, spicy - but with a low, smooth heat that warms your toes very nicely.  Just perfect on a cold, snowy day.  I can thank my Uncle Ralph for inspiring this dish.  Although it is a modified version than he provided me with, it was his suggestion that got it started.  What made it really come together was a stash of roasted poblano peppers that I had secreted away in the freezer after a glut of them arrived at the local farmer's market in the fall.  My mom and I bought a big basket of them, roasted them on the grill, then peeled away the charred skin and froze them in little bags.  A couple of those bags went right in this lovely stew, and the rest is photographic history.  Now to put another log on the fire.....

New Mexican Chile Verde


3 T rendered bacon fat  (from about 3 slices of bacon)
1 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ancho chile powder
2 T cornmeal
1 tsp salt
2 lbs boneless pork, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3-4 cups chicken stock (start with 3, add more as needed)
approx. 2 cups of chopped roasted poblano (from 10 fresh poblano peppers)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin


Fry onion and garlic in bacon fat over medium high heat, until onion starts to brown in spots.  Mix chile powder, cornmeal and salt in separate bowl and toss pork cubes with this mixture.  Push aside onions in pan and add pork.  Saute, turning every few minutes, until pork is browned on all sides.  Add chicken stock and stir, scraping bottom of pan to release browned bits.  Stir in poblano peppers.  Lower heat to simmer, put on lid, and cook over low heat for about 2 hours, until pork is very tender.  Salt, pepper and cumin can be added to taste at end.  Serve with hot tortillas, cheese and sour cream.