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- Discover Hatch, NM - and its annual Chile Festival
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- Discover Hatch, NM - and its annual Chile Festival
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- Dona Ana County
- Hatch, New Mexico
- Discover Hatch, NM - and its annual Chile Festival
Discover Hatch, NM - and its annual Chile Festival
- By Sunny Conley
- Published 01/8/2003
- Southwest New Mexico , Dona Ana County , Hatch, New Mexico
- Unrated
Sunny Conley
Sunny Conley holds a Master of Arts in Professional and Technical Writing from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. She is author of Cafe Hopping in the Southwest: 100 Charming Places to Eat, Plus Tips for Tourists [May 1996, June 1997, Arroyo Press]. The book received a 1997 New Mexico Press Women's Book Award.
Sunny has penned over 600 columns and articles for a variety of media. Her column, "Chile Knights: Chile Lore, Tales & Tidbits" and the accompanying photograph, are featured Fridays in the Las Cruces Sun-News. Her work has also appeared in the Journal for the Society for Technical Communication, Independent Business95, New Mexico Magazine, Southern New Mexico Business Journal, and elsewhere.
Sunny edited Mesilla Valley ROTARIANS HOT ON CHILE! cookbook [1997], a collection of chile-inspired recipes donated by members of the Mesilla Valley Rotary Club of Las Cruces and members of the Las Cruces community. All proceeds benefit non-profit organizations. Her work has received more than 20 state awards (ten for first place) in the past 5 years for her book, food columns, travel and business features, and desktop publications.
Sunny's restaurant commentaries can be heard monthly on KRWG-FM, southern New Mexico, West Texas and northern Mexico public radio. The reviews also appear on-line at http://SouthernNewMexico.com.
She is active in the community. Sunny is president of the Las Cruces Mesilla Valley Rotary Club and serves on the boards of Southern New Mexico Press Club, the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History, and on the Hugh Downs Media Awareness Council. Sunny is also a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce.
She is a frequent lecturer at New Mexico State University, the Las Cruces Public Schools and for civic organizations. Sunny's upbeat and fun Café Hopping in the Southwest slide show, and "My Love Affair with the Chile Pod" presentation is especially popular.
View all articles by Sunny Conley
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Hatch, known as the Chile Capital of the World, lies in the fertile Rio Grande valley, some 30 mostly-arid miles northwest of Las Cruces. The tiny town is the heart of New Mexico's chile land; over 30,000 acres of the succulent pods are cultivated annually.
Chile pepper is Land of Enchanters' mysterious and highly addictive vegetable that - depending on its heat level - may cause brows to sweat, noses to run, eyes to tear, and alas, guttural hiccups upon overdose. It's a painfully pleasant experience New Mexicans welcome many times daily. Chefs use the chile both fresh and roasted - whole to stuff with cheese for rellenos, sliced to anoint burgers and steaks, and diced for sauces, salsa, stews, and other dishes that demand a pungent punch.
To usher in the chile season, Hatch hosts the Labor Day Ch
The main purchase item is, of course, fresh picked chile portioned out in 40-pound burlap bags. Shuffling along with the big sacks, New Mexicans form queues at the roasting stations where the fleshy pods are toasted in giant metal baskets that rotate over a hissing propane flame. Sweet and delicious, a smoky aroma sweeps through the valley whetting appetites that beg for a chile fix - "now." Chile maniacs flock to the food carrels to devour pudgy burritos, two-fisted gorditas, cheese-laden rellenos or full to bursting sopaipillas . . . it's a culinary adventure that both permanent and fleeting New Mexicans anticipate each harvest.
The Hatch Chile Festival is, indeed, a hot item on Labor Day weekend. And when the first batch of chile rolls off the roaster, celebrate the occasion by preparing Misty Weathers' award winning green enchiladas (recipe below) for which she placed second in the 1988 Hatch Chile Cookoff.
Green Enchiladas
2 cans of creamy chicken mushroom soup
1 can water
2 dozen tortillas
1 pound grated cheese
Chopped onion
Garlic powder to taste
3 chopped roasted green chilesMix soup, water, garlic and chile. Cook soup for a few minutes. Warm tortillas. Roll small amounts of cheese and onions in tortillas and place in pan. Pour soup mix over tortillas and bake for 30-40 minutes.