Chiles en Nogadas with Rice

This is, hands down, one of Curtis's and my favorite late summer meals. I usually start making this around the time the poblano peppers on my plant start getting nice and big (in the summer they are smaller because of the heat). The chicken is incredible. If you don't want to go to the work of stuffing peppers or making the sauce, the chicken is still worthwhile making, whether you just serve it with rice or use it for some of the best quesadillas you'll ever have. Having cooked chicken on hand makes this recipe a lot quicker (than having to cook some chicken before starting the recipe). I start rice cooking when I start the peppers roasting. I also start the chicken mixture at the same time the peppers roast as well.

For the poblano peppers themselves, start by roasting four of them. I do this by putting them on the grill and turning them occasionally until the peppers are charred on all sides. Once they are charred, immediately put them in a plastic bag and let them steam for 5 minutes or so. When they are cool enough to handle, carefully take the blackened skin off. As tempting as it may seem, don't rinse the peppers off, if a little skin is left, that's ok. Cut a slit in each pepper along one side, lengthwise, so that they can be reconstructed after they are stuffed.

For the chicken (the best part!!), saute 1 small chopped onion and 1 clove minced garlic in little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until they are soft. Then add 2 c cooked, chopped chicken, a scant 1/4 c raisins, 3 T brown sugar, 1/4 c chopped pecans, a dash of ground black pepper, and 1 bay leaf. Mix together and cook 3 - 5 minutes. Stir in 1 t white vinegar, 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro, 1 T tomato paste, and about 1/2 c water. Reduce heat to low and let all simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool so you can stuff the peppers. Stuff each pepper with cooled chicken mixture. Put rice on a serving platter and then the chiles on top. I always keep some chicken separate for the kids, since they don't like spicy foods. I arrange that on the plate as well and then put the plate in 250 degrees oven to keep the peppers warm until the sauce is made.

For the sauce, combine 4 oz cream cheese, 3 T goat cheese, 3 T sour cream, 3 T chopped pecans, a pinch of nutmeg, and 2 T sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring for 5 - 7 minutes. To serve, pour sauce over warm chile peppers and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

I was my own sous chef tonight. I cut the onions and garlic while the kids slept and combined the raisins, brown sugar, pepper, pecans, and bay leaf. I knew we would get home late from some errands and didn't want a repeat of last night's supper (being ready at 6:45). It made cooking a lot easier and made me feel a little like I was on one of those cooking shows where they never measure and just dump cute little containers of ingredients in. Curtis and I loved it (and I ate way too much). M decided she didn't like chicken tonight so she ate the rice and picked out the raisins. J ate some chicken, rice, and some sauce (in fact, he loved the sauce and would have eaten just that if we would have let him).