The Thanksgiving Special with ChefsLine  

Cornmeal Fried Poblano Peppers, Crawfish & Queso Blanco Stuffing, Pineapple Salsa Chef: Richard Velazquez Food Mood: Elegant Cuisine: Latin American Servings: 4 Ingredients 3 cups Yellow Cornmeal 2 cups All Purpose Flour 3 each Eggs, Beaten 8 each Poblano Peppers, Roasted and seeded Toothpicks 1 lb Crawfish Tail Meat, cooked 1 cup Queso Blanco, cut into small cubes 2 Tbsp Lemon juice, freshly squeezed 1/2 cup Cilantro, fresh, chopped fine To taste Kosher Salt & Pepper 1 each Pineapple, fresh, small dice 1 each Red Bell Pepper, small dice 1/2 each Red Onion, small dice 1/2 cup Cilantro, minced 1/4 cup Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed To taste Kosher Salt & Pepper Method Do-Ahead For the Peppers: Preheat the broiler to your oven. Coat each pepper with vegetable oil and arrange on a baking sheet, place on the highest rack in your oven. Keep a watchful eye on the peppers to ensure that they don’t become too scorched. When dark splotches appear, turn over to get the other side dark as well. Once the peppers are dark and the skin is blistered, remove from the oven and place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. The peppers will steam in the bowl to loosen the skins. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and pull the stems out, leaving the pepper fully intact. For the Crawfish & Queso Blanco Stuffing: Add the crawfish, queso blanco, lemon juice, and cilantro together in a large non-reactive bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Then refrigerate for 15-20 minutes to let the flavors blend together. For the Pineapple Salsa: Mix all of the ingredients together in a non-reactive bowl and set aside. Adjust the seasonings. Preparation: In a large saucepot or deep fat fryer, heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees for frying. Using a teaspoon, spoon the crawfish-queso mixture into the cavity of each poblano pepper making sure not tear the skin, once the peppers are filled a little more than 3/4 of the way, pinch the tops of the peppers close and secure with toothpicks. Next dredge the peppers, being careful not to split them, into the flour, then eggs, then the cornmeal. Drop the peppers into the fryer and cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the oil to drain, then season immediately with salt. Serve: To serve, place the peppers on a large plate and spoon the pineapple salsa on top. Garnish with Cilantro sprigs!