use real butter

[Go to the updated posole post.]
I’m not sure where I got my recipe for posole, but I know who introduced me to it. Jeremy is a native son of New Mexico (which is one of the 50 states and not a separate country as some US citizens might think). Despite being a white boy, he is particular about New Mexican food and scoffs at what Coloradoans try to pass off as Mexican food. I love Colorado, but damn it if these people don’t know how to cook…

Okay, so with the cooling temperatures and changing aspens comes my appetite for hot soups and stews – things I generally avoid during our warm months. Posole is incredibly simple and yet it produces such a satisfying and hearty meal. It is named for the star ingredient: hominy or posole. I use whole dried red New Mexican chile pods for this stew. I’ve substituted with other dried chiles before and I didn’t like them so much. So if you can get your hands on some New Mexican reds or bribe a friend in the state to send you some, it’s worth the trouble. I also like to add roasted Hatch green chiles (of New Mexico – see a pattern here?) at the end of the cooking.

Recipe: triple fudge kahlua torte

Jeremy’s birthday was over a week ago, but he was away at two meetings and I was visiting my nephew for his eighth birthday. Since Jeremy and my birthdays are nine days apart, we decided we would celebrate later, when we weren’t so short on time and money. We both tend to be fairly unsentimental about these things, so that worked out fine.

But… I did promise I would at least make him a special dessert. I asked what he would like and as usual, Jeremy couldn’t make up his mind. He’s so easy going that it is downright frustrating at times. I found a recipe in an old issue of Chocolatier which I modified somewhat, but it contains several of Jeremy’s favorite components such as chocolate cake, booze, espresso, and chocolate.

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: potato galette

I had always considered galettes to be of the sweet persuasion. Being a person who prefers to eat savory food over sweets any day, I was pretty excited when I found a recipe for potato galette in an issue of Fine Cooking five years ago. I pulled that out recently and gave it another try. Last time I made the galette, I had not yet begun my affair with the Yukon gold potato. It is my favorite. It tastes even better if you can get your grubby little hands on some organic Yukon golds. The flavor is nutty, rich, and slightly sweet to my taste buds. It’s a great all around potato and excellent for roasting. Obviously, I wanted to try it in this galette.

**Jump for more butter**