Posted By Greg on September 17, 2008

I’m in the midst of a break up, well, the aftermath really. To add insult to injury, I am the break-up-ee not the break-up-er.

In the midst of the sleepless nights, crying outbursts and one hundred rotations of Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye, the familiar feelings of uncertainty and sadness filled me. I found immersing myself into work and exhaustion to be the only cure, because it made me forget. It made me forget the good times, the special times, and the just plain awkward times.

My band gave me the boot.

It’s no different breaking up with a band than it is to break up with a girlfriend/ boyfriend. You pour your heart and soul, blood and sweat into a relationship that ends up squashed like a dirty roach at a scuzzy Dale Mabry Ave diner.

Sure, there was the curt phone call that said, “it’s not you man, you’re just too busy, it’s us” (always is, isn’t it?) and “maybe when you get some time we could start a new thing”. Yeah, a “new” thing.

The inevitable period of revenge plotting settled in along with ravenous hunger. You know, you’ve been there; perhaps you’re even going through it right now. Staring at a mirror rehearsing every line you WILL say when the offender crosses your path ensuring every weakness of the offender is brutalized, (when, in actuality, you’ll probably just awkwardly avoid eye contact, and therefore ANY confrontation at all) all the while eating everything and anything in your path.

I decided to make a feast to mark the occasion. A good riddance feast - a last goodbye. Something so decadent that is normally only reserved for company but still easy enough to prepare through tear filled eyes. Slightly spicy chile rellanos stuffed with pillowing goat cheese, bits of chorizo, supple shrimp, and toasted walnuts; so good it hurts.

Farewell Flat Stanley.

This is our last goodbye
I hate to feel the love between us die.
But it’s over
Just hear this and then I’ll go:
…..SUCK IT!
~Jeff Buckley, Last Goodbye (Jeff Buckley did not say suck it, that would be Greg)

ENTER THE TOP CHEF COOKBOOK GIVE-AWAY HERE!

Goat Cheese, Shrimp, and Chorizo Chile Rellenos
Serves 2, but can easily be scaled to 1

4 large Poblano Chiles
½ pound shrimp; peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped
2 dried Chorizo sausages; diced
2 oz. Chevre cheese
2 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup walnuts; toasted and chopped
4 large tomatoes; chopped
1 small onion; diced
2 garlic cloves; minced
½ cup chicken stock
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. canola oil
2 tsp. olive oil
sea or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:
Sautee the onion and garlic with 1 tsp of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until translucent.

Add the diced tomatoes, cumin, and cocoa powder and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft.

Add the chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth.

For the chiles:
Coat the chiles well with the canola oil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the skins are brown and lifting away from the flesh of the chiles.

Remove the chiles from the oven and place in a bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tsp of oil in a sautee pan over medium heat and sautee the chorizo for 3-4 minutes to extract the fats.

Add the shrimp to the chorizo, season with salt and pepper, and sautee for 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp are just translucent.

Place the shrimp and chorizo in a bowl, add the Chevre, cream cheese and walnuts, and mix well.

When the chiles are cool, gently remove the skins and open one side of the chile to remove the seeds, leaving the stem on and trying not to rip the rest of the chile.

Gently place ¼ of the shrimp and cheese mixture inside each of the chiles through the slit that you removed the seeds from.

Place the chiles on a baking sheet, cover each with a couple of spoons full of the sauce, and place in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, just until the cheese is nice and creamy.

Serve hot with a nice, cold glass of revenge – the more bitter, the better.

Categories: Main Course, Mexican Cuisine, Our Comfort Food, Seafood, Uncategorized
Tags: chile rellanos, chorizo, culinary sherpas, flat stanley, goat cheese, jeff buckley, shrimp, stuffed rellanos, toasted walnuts