If you are a chile lover, especially a green chile lover--make Green Chile Stew for St. Patrick's Day made easier by using canned or frozen green chile.  (My award winning recipe follows) This is much easier than parching and peeling fresh green chiles, though I must admit not  quite as flavorful.  

The Green Chile Stew recipe I am giving you won the Capitol Cook-off several years when Senator Joe Montoya of New Mexico cooked it in the Chili  Cook-off traditionally conducted the week between Christmas and New Years in Washington D.C.

You may freeze this stew for up to 6 months and enjoy  wonderful lunches or light dinners. 

We like to serve it with  freshly made flour tortillas oozing with butter or  warmed purchased tortillas.  If you are making your own tortillas, I am giving you my favorite recipe for them.  To get the thinnest, best tortillas, use regular super market flour, not high gluten flour.  And when making them, add all the warm water at once to the well mixed dry ingredients and knead until the dough is firm and shiny and a small  piece of dough will make thin threads when stretched between your fingers.

Plan to come cook with us this spring.  We have two weekend classes scheduled.  Both  continue  to be on special until  March 22 at $150.00 off..  The March weekend class is set for March 24 - 26 and the April class is set for April14 - 16.

Our week long class is se for the end of April at April 24 - 28 and is $200 off this week until March 22.

Here's the Green Chile Stew and Flour Tortilla  recipes--

NAVAJO GREEN CHILE STEW

Beware, chile novices—you may be too green for this green chili. It is a favorite of the Navajos and they like it hot. Go light on the chiles when starting out—you can always add more. Serve this with  generously buttered hot flour tortillas.

Yield: 8 to 12 servings

3 pounds pork shoulder, fat and bone removed (reserve the fat), cut into ½ inch cubes

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons salt

3 medium-size onions, coarsely chopped

4 medium-size cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (14 ½ ounces each) whole tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved

20 fresh green chiles, parched, peeled, and cut crosswise into 1 inch wide strips

   or 2,  large cans whole green chilies or 2, 16 oz. frozen green chile 9see note)

(to equal about 4 cups; see Note)

½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1. Melt the pork fat in a heavy straight-sided 5-quart pot over medium high heat.

1. Combine the flour and salt in a paper bag. Add the pork cubes and shake bag to coat them with flour. Shake the excess flour off the pork cubes. Add the pork to the pot, a third at a time, and cook, stirring, until the cubes are evenly browned on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. As they are browned, transfer the pork cubes to a bowl and set aside.

1. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

1. Return the pork to the pot, stir in the tomatoes, their liquid, and 3 cups water, and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes.

1. Uncover the pot, add the chiles and oregano, and cook for another 30 minutes. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Notes: If you can’t find fresh chiles, use 2 cans (16 ounces each) whole green chiles. Drain them seed them, and cut them crosswise into 1-inch slices.

Reprinted with permission from Chili Madness by Jane Butel

WHITE FLOUR TORTILLAS

These taste best when they’re fresh, however they freeze well for up to three months (only half as long as the corn tortillas).

Yield:  8-12 (6-inch) tortillas

4 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup lard, butter or margarine

1-1/2 cups warm water

1. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add the shortening, preferably lard and mix until the lard is evenly distributed and resembles corn meal.  Add water all at once, and stir  to form a rather soft dough; then turn out onto a board and knead until the dough is smooth, working in the least flour possible. Test for well developed gluten by stretching a bit of dough between your fingers.  When gluten is developed, the dough will develop strings.   Allow to it rest 10 minutes, covered with the inverted bowl.  

2. When the dough is relaxed and an inserted finger will sink easily to the bottom of the dough, divide dough into 12 equal portions and stretching dough and form each portion into a smooth ball. Pat to flatten.  Cover the balls of dough with a moist towel.  

3. Preheat a well seasoned* cast-iron comal or griddle over medium heat. Then, working with one ball of dough at a time, roll into a round, thin disk, using a small rolling pin, known as a bolillo or if unavailable, use the smallest diameter rolling pin available.  Each disk should be about 1/8” thick.  When it is hot, bake the tortillas about 45 seconds on the first side, or until small brownish spots appear on the cooked surface.  Turn with a spatula and cook for just a few seconds on the other side. 

VARIATION:

Whole-Wheat Flour Tortillas:  To make whole-wheat flour tortillas, substitute whole-wheat flour for one-half of the unbleached flour.  Follow directions above.