First, what are poblanos? Poblanos are versatile, flavorful peppers. They can be used in any dish that calls for a bell pepper. Their flavor is more complex than that of a bell pepper, though, and some are slightly spicy. They also make their way into salsas, are delicious roasted, and are the stuffed pepper in classic chiles rellenos.
To prep them, first cut off the top just below the stem. This will pave the way for you to open the pepper up like a book and remove the core.
Cut off the bottom, too.
Stand the pepper up on its end, and slice it open from top to bottom (or bottom to top).
Spread the pepper open, and pull out and discard the core and seeds.
Lay the pepper flat on the cutting board and cut it into a couple of sections to make it easier to work with.
Next, remove the white ribs, which can be bitter. Hold the knife parallel to the cutting board and slice them away.
Now cut the clean pieces into any shape you like. Rotate the square pieces back and forth as you slice to make irregular or triangular pieces. This cut is good for stir-frys.
Regular cuts are good for soups and salsas. Cut the sections into strips of any thickness you like.
To make a dice, rotate the strips 90 degrees, and slice them crosswise.
Cornmeal is ground sweet corn that is available in varying textures and colors depending on the type of corn used.
In general, choose fine flour-like cornmeal when baking cakes and pastries; fine or medium grinds for crumbly cornbreads; and coarse grinds to make polenta (yellow cornmeal) or grits (white cornmeal).
Steel-ground cornmeal is the most widely available in the United States. It is processed to remove the husk and germ of the maize kernel and has less nutritional value than stone- or water-ground cornmeal, which retains some of the husk and germ. Note that stone-ground cornmeal has natural oils that can go rancid and should be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 months; steel-ground cornmeal has a long shelflife if kept in an airtight container in a dark place.
Steel-ground cornmeal, which is most commonly found on American shelves, is processed to remove the husk and germ of the maize kernel and stays fresh for as long as you need it if kept in a tightly sealed or air-tight container out of direct sunlight.
Stone- or water-ground cornmeal -- which is processed using millstones -- retains some of the husk and germ, making it more nutritious and also more perishable. Keep stone-ground cornmeal in the refrigerator to prevent its natural oils from going rancid; it will last up to 4 months.
