For busy cooks looking for savory dishes with a little adventure, it’s easy to create distinct southwestern fare by featuring a hot new trend – Chile-fired sauces.

“We took some common dishes including nachos and rellenos and developed wholesome entrees that feature Chile peppers including jalapeno, chipotle and pablano varieties,” says Chef Joe Cottage, Mrs. Wages test kitchens. “Everywhere you look, Chile peppers and sauces are becoming a popular menu and ingredient item because you can be adventurous and still control their heat.” Flavor & the Menu Magazine named Chile-fired sauces a top food trend for 2010.

Nacho Chicken & Penne, Chipotle Cheddar Creamy Polenta, and Chicken and Corn Stuffed Pablano Peppers also owe their flavors to Mrs. WagesTM all natural pre-mixed and measured salsa blends that not only feature classic salsa, chipotle and garlic or jalapeño spices, but some of America’s favorite peppers.

• The Nacho Normal Chicken & Penne a flavorful hot dish that tastes like chicken nachos, but is served on penne pasta instead of corn chips. It features Mrs. Wages Classic Salsa mix along with pickled jalapeno slices, olives and white wine.

 

• The Chipotle Cheddar Creamy Polenta and Pork Tenderloin each share the same southwestern seasoning. Says Chef Joe Cottage: “We crusted the tenderloin and seasoned the polenta with Mrs. Wages Chipotle and Garlic Salsa for a southwestern bridge that brings your side and the pork together. The result is a creamy cheesy side dish that complements the bitterness of the seared pork seasonings.”

 

• The Chicken and Corn Stuffed Pablano Peppers is a baked version of the popular stuffed pepper usually served breaded and fried. “We blend the Mrs. Wages Jalapeno Salsa mix with corn, chicken and pepper jack cheese and then stuff the mixture into the milder pablano pepper,” adds Chef Cottage.

Photography and Images
Hi-resolution stock photography of a variety of peppers, entrees and pasta images are available from the Mrs. Wages Online Press Room. Hi-resolution .jpg files of the Mrs. Wages logo can be found in the Images section of the Mrs. Wages Online Press Room.

Additional pepper images (hi-rez) can be acquired by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Additional Digital Resources/Story Angles
We’ve found a number of additional information and resources to help you with any of a number of angles should you choose to read about this hot new food trend. Helpful links include the following:

• Is it “chile,” “chili” or “chilli”? In fact, it can even be “chillie” (among six or seven different spellings) – here’s the answer on About.com.
• Here’s a link to more on the entymology of the word “chili” (no matter how you spell it), as well as its history as the first known spice used by humans.
• If you must know more about chile peppers, there’s one source you must visit … The Chile Pepper Institute at new Mexico State University.   It’s an educational institution that offers a degree you can sink your teeth into (as well as a gift catalog full of books, plants and more).
• Just how “hot” does a pepper get? That question was answered in 1912 by Wilbur Scoville, a chemist working for Parke-Davis pharmaceuitcal. The “Scoville Organoleptic Test” now ranks peppers from a score of 0 (for the Sweet Bell) to over 1,000,000 (for the Naga Jolokia a.k.a. the “Gost Pepper”). Pepper spray ranks in the 2-3,000,000 range.
• We see it on menus all the time – but we hear it pronounced differently depending on where we are in the country. Just how do you say the word “chipotle?” (There IS a correct answer.)
• While Flavor & the Menu Magazine’s web site isn’t online yet, there is a good summary review of their hottest food trends for 2010 in this post by Valerie Phillips of the Deseret News.  Among other hot trends: Blue-plate specials and signature sausages.
• Eating chili peppers really is good for you. The ingredient that makes the “hot” is called Capsaicin – a substance that is currently being studied for its affect on arthritis.