Photo by Christopher Holden.Dish of the Week: Green chiles
This weekend, Hatch, New Mexico is holding their annual Hatch Valley Chile Festival. Of the varieties of long green chile, the Hatch might be the most familiar — many of them make their way East into stores such as Whole Foods.
In sauce and fresh form, green chiles top Tex Mex food and burgers, fill out pork-laden soups, and are sliced and deep fried as a snack. Roasted, they make delicious salsa verde. Most people tend to stick to the mild forms, which have a slight sweetness. However, many chileheads will visit markets where they will be able to select a bag of the chiles that they want with heat levels ranging from mild to nearly nuclear. After that, customers often can take their loot to a large roaster on premises — a rotating metal basket propped over propane. The results are black and blistered chiles that can then be peeled and put in to salsa verde and numerous other dishes.
Now is the time to get the chiles in season and put them in many delicious applications. The Washington Post has a handy list of locations where they can be purchased, and in some cases, roasted.
Small Bites
Oh Sherry
Estadio is celebrating sherry during the month of September. Three half pours of sherry are serving in tasting flights for $16. On September 24, Bar Manager Adam Bernbach and Wine Director Max Kuller will host a seminar from 2:30-4 p.m. that pairs three sherries and two sherry cocktails with a variety of tapas and pinxtos. The event is $50, and reservations can be made to virginia@estadio-dc.com.
Living high on the hog
Restaurant 3 is hosting a pig roast on September 4 from 4-9 p.m. with special on New Belgium 22 ounce bombers. Along with $5 pulled pork sliders, they will be offering discounts on NB brews Ranger IPA, Clutch, Hoptober and Fat Tire.
Where’s the beef
BLT Steak’s Victor Albisu will break down a whole cow in a snout to tail cooking class on September 24 from 12:30-3 p.m. Learn about the different cuts of beef as well as the offal bits. In addition the demonstration, you’ll be served cheek, oxtail, short rib served with gnocchi; grilled beef heart with horseradish and red beet salad; pan roasted sweetbreads and lobster surf n’ turf; and grilled hanger steak and kidneys. The class cost $100, and reservations can be made by calling Erica Frank at 202-689-8989.
Ole!
Diana Kennedy, the Julia Child of Mexican cuisine, will join José Andrés on September 15 at 7 p.m. to discuss Mexican influence on American cuisine at the National Archives William G. McGowan Theater. Tickets are free, but will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis with distribution starting at 6 p.m. If you miss the lecture, you can check out dishes from Kennedy’s cookbook “A Week in Oaxaca” at Oyamel from September 12-18, or check out a screening of Tortilla Soup at noon on September 22.
