The pepper conundrum: easy differences between Poblano, Pasilla, and Ancho peppers

Poblano peppers

I made tamales about a month ago and I realized something was seriously awry in local grocery stores. It seems that the names Poblano, Ancho, and Pasilla are used interchangeably except they are all very different peppers and shouldn't be. I realize that if chilies were being mislabeled in Arizona then they most likely were being mislabeled in less Southwestern areas and perhaps I should write a blog about it.

Here are some easy ways to tell the peppers apart:

1. Poblano peppers are most frequently mislabeled as Pasilla. They will have a wide top and a narrow base; they will be about the size of a small female's hand. They are often dark green but can be lighter green. They are less spicy than a jalapeno and when you cut them will smell very similar to a green pepper. Even though they are low spice the seeds will still burn so wear gloves when you cut them!

2. Ancho peppers are just dried Poblano peppers. To add to the confusion they look nothing like Poblano peppers; when they are dried they are red and will need to be deseeded. The easiest way to deseed them is by taking a pair of kitchen shears and cutting off the top then removing the seeds.

3. Pasilla peppers are also dried but they are dried Chilaca chilies not Poblano; they will be a dark brown or a black and are spicy so you don't want to confuse Anchos and Pasillas!

Poblanos


Ancho

Lemon Marmalade

About a month and a half ago I began to be gifted lots of lemons by a mysterious benefactor. I am just kidding about the mysterious benefactor but it sounds way cooler than neighbor. Anyways my lovely neighbor (the one I gave ginger cookies to in December) began dropping off bags of home grown citrus at our door. Lemons, grapefruits and tangelos all began piling up in our kitchen, we must have had 15 lbs of citrus sitting on our counters and I began hunting for things to do with them. I juiced about half of them and froze the juice in ice cube trays for future use but I didn't know what to do with the rest.

I found this recipe for Meyer Lemon Marmalade at www.simplyrecipes.com the only problem was that I didn't have Meyer lemons but I didn't let that deter me. I decided to attempt a half and half version of the marmalade, I purchased some Meyer lemons and I used around six regular lemons. I wasn't sure how it would work but It made some really delicious, sweet and sour marmalade. The neighbor was given several jars and he tells me that he likes the marmalade on Peanut Butter sandwiches!

I am not going to go over how to prepare the lemons and can the marmalade because Elise at simply recipes did a wonderful tutorial that I couldn't beat so go check her website out for details!

Here is the basic recipe that I used:

Meyer/Regular Lemon Marmalade

4 Meyer Lemons
6 regular Lemons
6 cups sugar
6 cups water

Follow the recipe here except when preparing the regular lemons cut off most of the peel and the pith, then cut into segments. Because most of the bitter pith and peel is removed you won't get as much peel in your marmalade as simply recipe's marmalade but it will still be tasty.

I managed to get about nine jars of marmalade out of the mixture.

We have a winner!!

The winner of the Kitrics Kitchen Scale is Darian Moone!

Thank you all for entering!

A Le Creuset or Kitchen Scale giveaway!

I have a special surprise for one lucky reader's mailbox!

Their are only a few simple things you need to do to be entered, leave a comment on this entry with a few pieces of information:

1. Your first name
2. An email that I can contact you with (if you don't want to leave your email publicly in a comment you can email me it privately)
3. Which item you choose if you win

On February 22nd I will enter all of the names using a list randomizer and the reader who is number one will be chosen as the winner! Because of shipping costs this giveaway is only available for residents of the U.S. and Canada.

Here are the items to choose from:

A LeCreuset 9" casserole dish with a bonus 5" dish in Caribbean blue


or A Kitrics Stainless Steel digital kitchen scale
P.S. The kind folks from www.cookware.com have made this giveaway possible so go check their website out. They have all kinds of brand name cookware at good prices.

Arabic Cucumber Yogurt Salad

I like this dip just by itself, with pita or drizzled over veggies. It's also heavenly with hamburgers, kabobs or lamb. My Egyptian Mother in Law showed me how to make this so it's relatively authentic.

1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup finely diced english cucumber (or regular cucumber with the seeds removed)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1/8 tsp. salt
1.5 Tbsn. water
1 Tbsn. parsley for garnish

Optional:
2 Tbsn. Mint finely chopped*

Mix together the first four ingredients until well combined. Add the water and mix well. The water is added to the yogurt because traditionally this is made with Leban, a thin Middle Eastern yogurt. The water helps to thin out the regular, American style yogurt to a more authentic texture. For all the calorie conscious eaters, I've made this with fat free yogurt before and it worked out well.

*The optional mint gives the salad a refreshing taste just mix it in during the first step.

What do 7 dozen gingerbread men look like?

I used the cook's illustrated gingerbread cookie. They are really delicious and if you make them like drop cookies they are fluffy and soft. If you roll and cut them out thin then they are good as ornaments to hang from a tree.

My friend Karen and I spent five hours making these cookies. Our work is doing a benefit where we auction off trees that have been pre-decorated, the proceeds are going towards breast cancer screening. The theme for our unit's tree is "an old fashioned Christmas" so the organizer's knowing that I and Karen both like to bake asked us to make seven dozen gingerbread men for them.

It was messy and tiring but quite fun.




I quadrupled the recipe and I had a batch left so I made drop cookies and they were delicious! The neighbor who got the container of cookies below chased me down the next day and raved about how tasty they were.



Best Gingerbread Cookies from the November 1999 issue of Cook's Illustrated

THICK AND CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES

For about twenty 5-inch gingerbread people or thirty 3-inch cookies

If you plan to decorate your gingerbread cookies and make ornaments out of them, follow the directions for Thin, Crisp Gingerbread Cookies. Because flour is not added during rolling, dough scraps can be rolled and cut as many times as necessary Don't overbake the cookies or they will be dry. Store soft gingerbread in a wide, shallow airtight container or tin with a sheet of parchment or waxed paper between each cookie layer. These cookies are best eaten within one week.

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened slightly
3/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons milk

1. In food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade, process flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is sandy and resembles very fine meal, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moistened and forms soft mass, about 10 seconds. Alternatively, in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add butter pieces; mix at medium-low speed until mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, gradually add molasses and milk; mix until dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.

2. Scrape dough onto work surface; divide in half. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll 1/4-inch thick between two large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving dough sandwiched between parchment layers, stack on cookie sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.)

3. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

4. Remove one dough sheet from freezer; place on work surface. Peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. Cut dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring shapes to parchment-lined cookie sheets with wide metal spatula, spacing them 3/4 inch apart; set scraps aside. Repeat with remaining dough until cookie sheets are full. Bake cookies until set in centers and dough barely retains imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes, rotating cookie sheets front to back and switching positions top to bottom halfway through baking time. Do not overbake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.

5. Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and baking in steps 2 and 4. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is used.

THIN, CRISP GINGERBREAD COOKIES

For 2 1/2 to 3 dozen gingerbread people
or 4 to 5 dozen cookies

These gingersnap-like cookies are sturdy and therefore suitable for making ornaments. If you wish to thread the cookies, snip wooden skewers to 1/2-inch lengths and press them into the cookies just before they go into the oven; remove skewers immediately after baking. Or, use a drinking straw to punch holes in the cookies when they're just out of the oven and still soft. Store in an airtight container. In dry climates, the cookies should keep about a month.

Follow recipe for Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies, quartering rather than halving the dough, rolling each dough quarter 1/8-inch thick, reducing oven temperature to 325 degrees, and baking cookies until slightly darkened and firm in center when pressed with finger, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Note: The easiest way to poke a hole in the gingerbread men is to use a straw and pop a hole out near the top. Poking a hole after baking was difficult and the first method gave us the most professional look.

Icing Recipe

1 egg white beaten until peaks form
1 tsp cream of tartar
3 cups powdered sugar

Beat the egg white until it is stiff. Add the powdered sugar and cream of tartar to the egg white. Mix well, you may have to add less or more powdered sugar to get the consistency you want for the icing. If the icing is too thick add 1 tbsn. of water. I used a #2 piping tip and a bag.



Outtakes from our gingerbread baking:

Not all gingerbread men are happy...


Some are downright special looking!


Happy Holidays Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!

I've been up since 5 a.m. cooking and baking. It's me and my dear husband's first thanksgiving together so I am trying extra hard to make everything perfect. Our families are in Michigan so we are having a few friends over to enjoy the feast with us!

On the Menu:

Fattoush
Chipotle scalloped sweet potatoes
Parmesan Garlic mashed potatoes
Corn sliced fresh off the cob
lamb chops
Turkey brined and baked using Alton Brown's recipe
Stuffing using The Pioneer Woman's recipe
Fresh cranberry relish
homemade rolls

Here's to hoping your thanksgiving day is wonderful and filled with love and tasty things to eat!