A Good Fire In Your Kitchen

Habanero peppers sometimes  receive a bad rap. Yet they're perfect for creating sauces and heating up ordinary ingredients. The knack is knowing how toharness the fire so that ti works for your recipes.

Contributor and celebrity chef Patti Jinich wrote about the zingy pepper in yesterday's New York Times Food section.The habanero is a main and particular ingredient of the Yucatan Peninsula 9it's famous for Cancun and Mayan pyramids.Surprisingly it came from the Amazon Basin in South America and migrated up to the area during colonial times.It became a major export to Cuba and recieved its' name from one of the island's provinces La Habana.Its' consumption was largely confined to the Yucatan peninsula until about a decade ago.There it was used for salsas. American discovered it and put it into everything from rice to potato chips and even chile crisp.Home chefs can have a field day with it.It does not only have a fiery taste but can also taste fruity, citrusy and flowery before it gets the mouth on fire. Kep in mind it's least ripe when its' green and can have a bitter and acidiic taste. Look for ones that are yellow, orange and red and have waxy skins.The pepper's heat is concentrated at the top and dissapates along its' length.

Unlike most hot peppers, they're easy to chop. There's no residual fieriness left on hands and fingers after cutting.(unless you;re chopping up a lot,. Then just wash hands with soapy water).Chef Jinich suggests having them chopped  after de-stemming and deseeding. Add  a sliced raw onion, a bit of lime juice and some salt for an easy salsa.It makes for a spicy pico di gallo or a perfect condiment for tacos, tortas and tostadas.it can also be puree dto be used in sauces , soups ,stews or marinades. She includes three recipes  that include habaneros.  You could try her tomato -habanero salsa which is a blend of Roma tomatoes, white onions and vegetable oil. A different weeknight dinner is habanero chicken and broccoli. The chicken is  a simpleroast while the florets get a kicky sweet and fiery habanero sauce that's also mixed with honey, lemon and lime juices.A nice side is her tangy romaine salad with a habanero-avocado dressing.It's the peppers roasted and deseeeded mixed with avocado, brown sugar,vinegar, salt peppr and water. The romaiine laos has oranges added for brightness and sweetness.

Use the habanero to give a kick to any dish on a cold winter's day.It's easy to cook with and add to any recipe. It brightens up any dish and dinner.

Beef Stew Different Ways

One of the most comforting and delicious late winter dishes is beef stew.It's a bowl of rich goodness with a heady mix of a variety of parts, veggies and spices. What's great about it is that there isn't just one recipe,. There are ones from all over the world.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this classic and its' variations in today's New York Times Food section.This is a great article for novice chefs because Ms/ Moskin include basics musts. Yes you have to use beef stock, The meat won't make its' own. The stew should always be covered when simmering,There's also a question of is any stew the same as soup, a braise or a pot roast? Not meaningfully. They're more or less all the same. What about the cuts? Start with a leaner meat . Look with cuts that feature cartilige, tendons and even a few bones.You can pick up beef labeled stew beef. Most grocery stores sell these in two inch chunks and smaller. Keep in mind that beef goes with all alliums, These are onions, leeks, garlic and scallions.Of course you can be brave and add potatoes for thickening and carrots for color and sweetness.The writer Laurie Colwin throws in bright green peppers while Manhattan cookbook store owner Nach Waxman did the outrageous  and tossedSin tomato paste. As far as other add in,s try red wine for an Italian spin or brown sugar for a south Asian or Caribbean vibe.Pork can be added too for more flavor . This is a staple in Mexican stews.

For those that are still undecided , there are four recipes to try out. You can try the absolute classic by The former Times food critic Mimi Sheraton. Generations of home chefs have used her recipes with great success. sShe uses brisket but you can use bomeless chuck or short ribs. Cheeks cna be used too. She adds tomato paste and paprika along with onions and carrots. It's served over potatoes or egg noodles. A different spin is braised short ribs with anchovies and peanuts adapted from the late Indian chef and entrpreneur Floyd Cardoz.It's not the usual mix but's still packed with  flavor. there are onions and short ribs along with Savoy cabbage and fresh ginger.It would be a nice chage up on a weekend night.Another Indian stew is Nihari taken from "Masala :Recipes from India _The Land of Spices  (Tenspeed Press) by Anita Jaisingham. GHee is used in this along with chickpea flour and garam masala. There is also turmeric for kick and color . Patti JInich gives it a Mexican twist by adding ancho and pasila chiles. There are also tomatillos cooked with Roma tomatoes . The veggies serve with reflect it's heritage. There is zucchini , corn, green beans and chayote squash(if you can find it right now.) Squeezes of lime are added for some zing and brightness.

Beef stew on a cold night is always the best. Try any of these whether a classic , Mexican or Indian one. The're all rib sticking good .

Patti Jinich's Chalupa Moment

Would it surprise anyone that famed Mexican chef, Patti Jinich , has never been to a Taco Bell, She hasn't - and with good reason. Why settle for mediocre fast food when you can create the authentic , tastier version at home.Yet, as the intrepid food authority she is , she went

Kim Severson wrote about Ms. Jinich's first trip ever to the Taco Bell near her home in Chevy Chase,Maryland.It did not go well. She, Ms. Severson and two of her three sons made  a visit to this staple of American fast food.Like Chinese- American and Italian -American dishes, Taco Bell's offering are a pale version of what is actually cooked in Mexico.It's kind of like how we overly  celebrate Cinco de Mayo,which is  just a small holiday there. Ms. Jinich ordered nineteen (!) items to try,all suggestions from her fans. The first was a  ground beef taco in a soft tortilla.Maybe it needed salsa. She tried all four of Taco Bell's salsas  on it and that didn't help.Then there was the chicken chalupa which Ms Jinich declared to be only marginally better. She could see being super hungry and eating it then. The one that finally got her approval was the Dorito Locos Taco Supreme. You have to wonder if she got the Mexican pizza sauce and red strips - the last questionable. (it could be dyed red taco strips). She briefly wondered why is it would called supreme which  is nothing more than an upgrade of sour cream and chopped tomatoes. In the end , her youngest son, Julian or Juju got sick from the food.

It's no wonder. As he told Ms. Severson. he has the best Mexican food at home. Why should he go to Taco Bell. He is right. His mom was beneficial in bringing , true Mexican food from the many different regions to American kitchens. Cooking is in her blood, thanks to her family, especially from her father who ran two restaurants in Mexico City. It did take her a while to grow into it, being a serious and studious child who grew up to receive her master's in Latin American studies at Georgetown University. She wrote policy papers for Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. From there she realized she was more interested in food research than policies.Ms. Jinich enrolled at  night school the L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda Maryland and  new career opened up for her.After creating a culinary program on Mexican cuisine at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC. After conquering crippling stage fright it was onto TV. She went first to the Food Channel, which was not for her and switched over to the more serious PBS station. There she could not only introduce Americans to true Mexican cuisine but also the history of such classics as flan and dulce de leche. Her cookbooks, a must for any cooking enthusiast, show the real side. rich with chorizo and native chiles.It is certainly not the garishly colored, intensely flavored Taco Bell offerings.

Ms. Jinich hopes Americans discover real Mexican cooking. It is one flled with ancho chiles and mole sauce. It's not one loaded with cheese and strange ingredients.