Meal out of the blue - blue corn meal - Recipe

Sunset, June, 2001 by Jerry Anne Di Vecchio

In Arizona and New Mexico, corn is grown in many colors, including red, white, and blue. The blue variety, finely ground into meal, is a ubiquitous ingredient in Southwest native foods. Blue cornmeal is put to work in tortillas and chips, plus a host of other intriguing, lesser-known dishes, such as Hopi paper bread,

With its pleasant parched flavor and slightly crunchy texture, blue cornmeal has also gained popularity in recent years in everyday non-native foods like pancakes and waffles. Near Santa Fe, where I often visit for the cultural contrasts of opera and rodeo, I came across these thick, platter-size blue cornmeal pancakes, as light and tender as any I've eaten. You can find blue cornmeal in natural-food stores and most well-stocked supermarkets throughout the West.

Blue Corn Pancakes

PREP AND COOK TIME: 15 to 20 minutes

NOTES: Serve these pancakes with butter and warm maple syrup.

MAKES: 6 pancakes; 6 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup blue cornmeal

11/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Butter or salad oil

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, blue cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

2. Add egg and buttermilk. Whisk until batter is well moistened and there are no lumps.

3. Place a nonstick griddle or a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat (350[degrees]). When griddle is hot, adjust heat to maintain temperature; coat griddle lightly with butter and spoon batter in 1/2-cup portions onto it. Cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes; turn with a wide spatula and brown other sides, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer.

4. Serve pancakes as cooked, or arrange in a single layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets (12 by 15 in. each) and keep warm in a 150 [degrees] oven up to 15 minutes.

Per serving: 213 cal., 14% (29 cal.) from fat; 7.2 g protein; 3.2 g fat (1.5 g sat.); 38 g carbo (1.8 g fiber); 541 mg sodium; 41 mg chol.

Recycled, refurbished, and refueled

* According to the Barbecue Industry Association, 85 percent of households in this country have barbecues, and 60 percent of them are fueled by propane gas. But not only do propane gas tanks need refilling now and then at qualified service facilities, they also tend to get rusty and worn out by the elements. Blue Rhino now offers a fresh solution to both problems. At any of its 26,000 locations nationwide (including major home-supply chains like Home Depot and Orchard Supply Hardware), you can swap your empty, worn, even old gas tank for a full, clean, refurnished, safety-inspected one, for just $2 to $3 more than a standard refill costs. What's more, Blue Rhino tanks have a simple label device that shows when they contain less than enough fuel for two hours of grilling (the absence of an indicator is known to lead to major crises, when the flames die out under half-cooked steaks), To locate a Blue Rhino tank exchange near you, go to www.bluerhino.com and enter your zip code, or call (800) 258-7466. Be sure t o specify whether you need a threaded or quick-coupling valve (gas grills vary).

Surefire success with chicken

* Ask a food professional what he or she cooks at home to elicit rave reviews, and the answer is both predictable and surprising--rarely is the recipe complicated, although it may have professional flair. Christine Keff, chef-owner of Seattle's Flying Fish and Fandango restaurants, confirms these patterns with her favorite home recipe for chicken thighs. She applies her Flying Fish know-how to Southeast Asian ingredients (all of which are readily available in the supermarket), marinating the meat and making a chili glaze well ahead of time. The thighs, boned so they soak up more flavor from the coconut marinade and cook more quickly, sizzle away on the grill at the last minute, then are finished off with the tangy, sticky glaze.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 30 minutes, plus at least 1 hour to marinate

MAKES: 6 to 8 servings

6 to 8 boned, skinned chicken thighs (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. total)

3/4 cup canned coconut milk (stir before measuring)

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper

1 teaspoon hot chili flakes

Chili glaze (recipe follows)

4 or 5 green onions, ends trimmed, cut lengthwise into thin slivers (including tops)

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a large bowl, mix coconut milk, ginger, pepper, and hot chili flakes. Add chicken and mix; cover airtight and chill at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

2. Lift chicken from bowl, reserving marinade; pull thighs open and lay flat on a lightly oiled barbecue grill over a solid bed of hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook, turning thighs as needed to brown on both sides, until meat is no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), 10 to 12 minutes, basting frequently with remaining marinade (use it all).

3. Transfer thighs to a warm platter and pour the chili glaze evenly over meat; garnish platter with green onions.