The Small Town Chef

Garden jalapeños stuffed with Mexican chorizo, goat cheese, Fontina, roasted garlic, and fresh jalapeño, then finished with a little wood smoke. There comes a point every year when the jalapeños in the garden seem to go from a few peppers ready to pick to what in the world am I going to do with all of these? That means it’s popper time. I’ve made plenty of jalapeño poppers over the years, but my version has wandered pretty far from the familiar cream-cheese-and-bacon formula. Nothing wrong with those, but when I’ve got fresh peppers coming out of the garden, I want the jalapeño to remain part of the flavor rather than simply being a container for cream cheese. So these get stuffed with Mexican chorizo, goat cheese, Fontina, roasted garlic, and finely diced fresh jalapeño , then smoked upright on the grill until the peppers soften, the cheese melts, and everything picks up just enough wood smoke. The result is rich without being ridiculously heavy, spicy without blowing ...

Poached shrimp, garden tomatoes, jalapeños, and sweet mandarins, piled onto crisp, Tajín-seasoned toasted corn tortillas. Some afternoons make you want to pull up another chair and stay awhile. This was one of them. Out-of-town family was over, we were catching up, and the day couldn’t have been better. The garden was still giving me tomatoes and jalapeños, and the afternoon sun had enough warmth to make you forget fall had officially arrived. Summer was clearly keeping a few things on the calendar. It was one of those days when you feel completely at ease. Good company, plenty to talk about, and nowhere else you’d rather be. The conversation wanders into “what if we…” territory, and suddenly a few new possibilities sound pretty good. Naturally, I started thinking about something to eat. With tomatoes and jalapeños ready to go, pico de gallo was an easy starting point. Then came the shrimp, avocado, and mandarins, and things got a little more interesting. Sw...

The cozy, football-weekend way to turn leftover turkey into something you actually look forward to If you’re anything like me, football weekends mean two things: a pot of something simmering on the stove and a fridge full of odds and ends from whatever food project happened earlier in the week. This recipe was born straight out of that moment—using the meat from turkey wings I simmered for stock, a couple of pantry staples, and a handful of chiles I always seem to have tucked away. The result? A ridiculously comforting pan of creamy, cheesy enchiladas layered with dried California and guajillo chiles, caramelized onions, and green chiles. It’s the kind of dish that feels like it took all afternoon, but honestly… it’s a total pantry win. Moist, flavorful, and exactly what you want when the game’s on and you need something that basically cooks itself. Ingredients (Makes about 10 enchiladas) For the sauce: 3 dried California chiles 2 dried guajillo chiles 1 cup turkey stock (plus a littl...