Hatch chile festival...in my kitchen

The Green Chile Festival at Chuy's runs from August 24 through September 13.  Central Market has the chile roasters out in full force, accompanied by a bevy of recipes to make the most of the hot, smoky chile deliciousness.  The late summer bounty of hatch chiles, available for only a short period of time, is making its way into culinary concoctions across the southwestern U.S.

And where am I?  The East Coast.  Not exactly hatch chile land.  But what did I find at Harris Teeter last week?  Piles and piles of hatch chiles!!  There wasn't exactly a giant roaster set up in the underground parking garage in the Arlington, Virginia Harris Teeter, which is a striking difference from the vast pavement surrounding Central Market this time of year, but I decided that since I had come across hatch chiles, I'd better snatch them up and try to make the most of them.

So what did I do tonight?  That's right, I cranked up the broiler in my gas oven and roasted those bad boys.  Stuck them in a Ziploc bag to steam, peeled the skins off, chopped them up, and...well, for the moment they're hanging out in the fridge because I didn't have the patience for them to magically turn into dinner after all that roasting, peeling, and chopping.  But I have big plans.  Big plans along the line of queso and chilaquiles (say it enthusiastically!  so much more fun - I can't go to Café Brazil and order these without smiling) and just adding them to whatever I happen to be making because they are so good.

Oh, and you know what?  There was a fall chill in the air this morning as I walked to work.  Probably just a freakishly cool day at the very end of August, and while weather.com anticipates low 80s for the rest of the week, I'm really, really excited about tomorrow night's expected low of 59 degrees.  I'm a pretty big fan of fall.