Chile Rellenos and Karen

Not long after I moved to Sacramento, my boss, Karen Hamilton told me about the most amazing chile rellenos that she makes. She told me that she used to go to the best Mexican restaurant and when they closed down, she was lucky enough to get the recipe. She kept telling me, "You HAVE to try them." She would make them on holidays and would invite me to drop by and have some, but she lived downtown and I lived in Folsom, and I never managed to get into the car and get the peppers.

Last year between Christmas and New Year's Eve, Karen let me know that she would be making the rellenos again, probably for New Year's Day. I pleaded with her to bring me one so I could try it. She really didn't want to bring me one because she said that leftover, it can be not as good- soggy, greasy, etc. I told her I would not hold it against her- I realized the implications of eating a leftover chile. The best thing about Karen is that she never forgets anything- and she brought a plate of chile rellenos for everyone in the office to share. After living in New Mexico, I have to say that I have heard so many people tell me they have the best recipe for something Mexican or New Mexican. Usually these people live in random places like Nebraska, Texas or Ohio. I am always disappointed because their recipe never ends up tasting that good and usually is not authentic. I knew Karen would not disappoint me, but there is always the thought in the back of my mind that someone may have a different view of what good food is or what good Mexican food is.

When I bit into Karen's chile relleno, I was in heaven. The flavor of the coating around the peppers was slightly sweetened, but not too much- and the texture was perfect- not too soggy and not too crispy- enough that you could hold the pepper on its own. The filling was perfectly smooth, melted and worked perfectly with the spice of the pepper. I was dumbfounded and thought the recipe must be so complicated, that I could never duplicate her work. Wrong! Karen gave me a recipe that I will never forget. She said, "I will tell you, but maybe you will change your mind about liking them. It's the easiest recipe in the world." I begged her to write down the recipe and she told me she thought that I could remember it because it is only two ingredients: Krusteaz pancake mix and Velveeta cheese. Are you kidding me?

It's true. And they are still the best chile rellenos I have ever had. I'm sure neither of those ingredients exists in a Mexican cookbook anywhere. But I am here to tell you they are delicious. I will never forget them. I will won't have Miss Karen bringing them into work on January 2nd again this year. I will have to settle for an Albuquerque substitute unless I can manage to reserve enough energy to make my own using Karen's recipe.