Fettuccine with Poblano Alfredo

October17

Fettuccine with Poblano Alfredo

 

Step up your Meatless Monday game with this delicious Fettuccine with Poblano Alfredo dish.

I’m sure you’ve tried poblano peppers at some point, either in a mild salsa or roasted and stuffed with cheese. But the sauce in this Fettuccine with Poblano Alfredo will really make you reconsider this incredibly versatile pepper.

The sauce is lighter in calories because I’ve substituted olive oil for the butter and got rid of the cream and used milk instead. The poblano peppers add an interesting depth of flavor and help thicken the sauce.

Don’t worry, this Fettuccine with Poblano Alfredo still has the Parmesan cheese.  I mean, it’s an Alfredo after all… you’ve gotta have the cheese!

I originally developed this recipe for Mom.me, the one and only parenting and lifestyle brand for moms at every life stage, from pregnancy to empty nest!

Nashville Style Hot Chicken

November17

If you love spicy food, I mean, really, really LOVE all things fiery and flavorful, then you’re ready for Nashville Style Hot Chicken.

What makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so unique is the “sauce” that is brushed, dipped or poured over the chicken just before serving.

I’m telling you, this atomic fried chicken is guaranteed to burn your face off. Ah, the eye-watering pain. The mouth-burning agony. It hurts (and tastes) so good.

Yes, there are a lot of spicy fried chicken recipes out there. But what makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so unique is the “sauce” that is brushed, dipped or poured over the chicken just before serving. That sauce is so delicious; you have to serve it with a slice or two of good old-fashioned white bread to soak up all the drippy goodness.

Oh, and you definitely need some good pickles to gussy-up the plate. That’s part of the presentation. You don’t want to go to all the trouble of making Nashville Style Hot Chicken and leave off a traditional garnish!

Several (now famous) places in Nashville have been serving Hot Chicken for decades. But as we all know, it only takes one hip website or famous food show star to get the rest of the country clamoring for the next BIG THING RIGHT NOW.

But what in the world is Nashville Style Hot Chicken anyway? How it came into being is absolutely fascinating, but, then again, I love food history and how it defines our culture, and in this case, a city.

Give a read to Dr. Rachel Martin’s post on the website The Bitter Southerner to understand how Nashville’s so-called signature dish stayed hidden in plain sight for so long before exploding into the mainstream.

What makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so unique is the “sauce” that is brushed, dipped or poured over the chicken just before serving.

Hattie B’s in Nashville, which offers five heat levels, including “Shut the Cluck Up”, inspired my Nashville Style Hot Chicken recipe. I’ve changed it a bit by adding some spices to the flour. Like Hattie B’s recipe, I dredge the chicken pieces (breasts, thighs and legs only) twice in the flour before frying.

But I don’t add quite as much cayenne pepper as Hattie B’s because, well, I may be a little high strung, but I’m not crazy.

Read this recipe all the way through before you begin. I just heard you gasp. That’s right, one of the ingredients in the secret sauce is one cup of the hot oil from the skillet where the chicken is fried.

But, like I always say, you don’t eat like this every day, and I know how much you love fried chicken!

What makes Nashville Style Hot Chicken so unique is the “sauce” that is brushed, dipped or poured over the chicken just before serving.


Hatch Chile Cornbread Waffles

August24

It’s Hatch Chile season!Hatch Chile Cornbread Waffles

 

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about my favorite pepper, which is grown only in southern New Mexico’s fertile Mesilla Valley, where perfect conditions allow the chile to develop an intense earthy flavor.

Hatch Chiles are only available in August and September, so time is running out! Melissa’s Produce is roasting the chiles at select locations around the country. Click here to see if there is a roasting event near you.

I doubled down on the Hatch Chiles in this recipe for Hatch Chile Cornbread Waffles with Watermelon & Hatch Chile Salsa. This savory cornbread waffle is also a great base for meat or fish. I served it with grilled chicken for a twist on traditional Chicken and Waffles.

I wanted gluten-free Hatch Chile Cornbread Waffles, so I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour, but you can also use regular flour along with the corn meal. I also used fish sauce in the Watermelon and Hatch Chile Salsa to add some umami saltiness, but you can add salt to taste.


Here’s how they do the roasting:

5 Delicious Dips

May20

Without any research or fact-finding, I can state categorically: Everyone loves dips.

5 Delicious Dips... perfect for whatever you have on the table: chips, chicken strips, veggies, fruit...

And what does everyone like to dip? Everything.

I’ve come up with 5 Delicious Dips that take minutes to prepare and are perfect for anything you want to submerge in deliciousness. Most are healthy. One is particularly decadent, but c’mon… it’s a dip… not a meal.

Ready to take the plunge? Let’s go…

5 Delicious Dips

 

5 Delicious Dips... perfect for whatever you have on the table: chips, chicken strips, veggies, fruit...

 


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Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com