Episode 2: Chile en Nogada

"Hello everybody and welcome to a new episode of cooking with Astrid and Hiccup. I'm Hiccup and this is my co-host Astrid." Hiccup introduces as he and Astrid come out on the stage.

"Hello everybody. Today we will be showing you how to make Chile en Nogada." Astrid stated while she and Hiccup took their places behind the counter.

"Traditionally made in Puebla to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day on September 16, these chilies have a minced pork filling enhanced with chopped fruit, and a creamy walnut sauce." Hiccup said as he began laying out the ingredients.

"We will be needing 6 poblano peppers." Hiccup stated and searched under the counter for the peppers.

"Astrid, where are the peppers?" Hiccup asked coming up empty.

Then suddenly crashes and curses could be heard behind stage and out came a frantic Chicken who was being chased by their stagehand Ruffnut.

"COME BACK HERE YOU BLASTED CHICKEN!!" Ruffnut yelled. "How dare you touch my peppers!!" she then lunged at Chicken who was flying directly at Fishlegs, their sound effects technician.

Hiccup, Astrid, and the entire audience winced at the following impact. Ruffnut had landed in a compromising position on top of Fishlegs but was shouting in glee as she had captured Chicken.

"Oh my Thor is Chicken alright?" Tuffnut exclaimed to which he received a well placed punch to the gut by Ruffnut.

"I'm hurt. I'm very much hurt." Tuffnut wheezed out and then doubled over.

Ruffnut then casually held a squirming Chicken under her arm and told Hiccup and Astrid that a new batch of peppers would be out momentarily.

"Let's just continue." Astrid stated giving a nervous laugh. "For the Nogada sauce we'll need 1/2 cup goat cheese, 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup small diced white bread, 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1/2 teaspoon salt."

"For the filling we'll need 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, 1 medium ripe tomato, finely chopped, 1 tablespoon freshly minced cilantro leaves, 1 pound ground beef, Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 cup cooked diced potato, 2 tablespoons dried black currants, 2 tablespoons toasted sliced blanched almonds" Astrid summed up as she saw a stagehand hand Hiccup a new bowl of peppers.

"And finally for the garnish we will be using 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds and 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley leaves." Hiccup said while placing a skillet in front of Astrid.

"We prepare the poblano peppers by heating a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact." Hiccup explained as he watched Astrid work. Astrid then proceeds to carefully let one droplet of water fall onto the skillet.

"Astrid I didn't mean exactly one droplet." Hiccup stated facepalming.

"Don't give me that!" Astrid stated taking a jab at him while forgetting she still had the hot skillet in her hands.

"Eek!" Hiccup yelled and ducked, dodging the skillet just in the nick of time.

"Let's just continue." Hiccup said cautiously while inching back a few steps from Astrid.

"Add the poblanos, and cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until the skin is blackened and blistered on all sides, this takes about 5 to 7 minutes depending of the size of the poblanos." Hiccup said to the audience as Astrid demonstrated.

"How black do these things have to become?" Astrid asked as one of the peppers began crumbling as she grabbed them with the tongs.

"ASTRID!!" Hiccup shouted and quickly turned the heat down. "I said blackened and blistered not turned to ash. You still need to watch how much heat you use."

Astrid was eyeing Hiccup with a glare. "Well then you try it." She stated.

Hiccup who was not comfortable being in a room with a volatile Astrid nervously said. "We'll return after these words from our sponsors."

The show resumed after the short commercial break ended and we can see Hiccup preparing a new batch of peppers. "See Astrid. Not ash." Hiccup said smugly getting a bit of his confidence back.

Astrid simply huffed and took over once more.

"Now remove the peppers from the griddle when they are done and place them in a plastic bag, let sit for 5 minutes, until the skins are soft enough to be easily removed." Hiccup resumed explaining.

"Then we remove the poblanos from the bag, and using your fingers and small sharp knife, peel and scrape off as much of the blackened skin as possible." As Hiccup said this Astrid began working on the peppers with an extremely sharp knife.

"A few black specks won't matter." Hiccup stated and Astrid let out a frustrated growl.

"Now you tell me." She says. "And I've been trying to get everything off this pepper."

"Now Astrid........." Hiccup backed away as Astrid still had the very sharp knife in her hand. "W.........Why don't we just continue."

"Leave the tops on and cut small (2 to 3-inch) lengthwise slits in the polios and carefully pull out the seeds without tearing the flesh." Hiccup states and then demonstrates with a pepper. Astrid tried to copy this but she ended up dicing the pepper.

"Remember to not use too much force when making the slits." Hiccup stated which caused Astrid to twitch with irritation. She still had a knife in her hand and Hiccup wisely backed away gulping nervously.

"Why don't we take another quick break." He said and gestured for Snotlout to cut the camera feed.

After the commercial the show returned with a much calmer Hiccup. The counter was now surprisingly devoid of any sharp pointy objects.

"Welcome back everybody. Now it is time to make the sauce and filling for this recipe. Nogada is a walnut sauce and it is very easily made." Hiccup told the audience while gesturing to the blender by Astrid. "We simply add all the sauce ingredients to a blender and process it until thoroughly pureed."

Astrid dumped all the ingredients in the blender, closed it, and then pressed start. Everything was going well until the blender lid popped off and the contents splattered over the crew and some of the audience.

"Hmmmm tasty." Snotlout said as he licked a finger.

"Be sure to make sure that the blender lid is placed properly on the blender." Hiccup stated peeking over the counter as he and Astrid had managed to duck in time. Astrid was looking at the blender like she wanted to dismember it, and Hiccup was just glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of that glare this time.

"The sauce is then set aside at room temperature or kept in refrigerator until ready to serve." Hiccup stated as he produced some sauce that he had premade.

"Now as for the filling." Hiccup explained as Astrid took out another skillet. "In a medium-size skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato, cilantro and cook for another minute. Add the meat and cook stirring, until the meat is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Add the potatoes, cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the black currants and the almonds. Remove from the heat." As Hiccup explained this Astrid went to work. The crew and the audience let out a collective breath of relief as this part went off without a hitch.

"Now carefully stuff the mixture into the chilies through the slit, taking care not to rip the chilies." Hiccup explained while Astrid let out a frustrated growl. The stuffing was not going well.

"Astrid......" Hiccup said taking her hand in his. "Let's try doing this carefully." He said and then just realized he still had Astrid's hand in his.

Both quickly pulled away and blushed. It went a lot smoother once Hiccup had demonstrated how to 'carefully' stuff the pepper.

"All that's left is to transfer the stuffed poblanos to a serving platter. Cover the peppers with the walnut sauce and garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley." Astrid explained as Hiccup finished the plate and presented it to the audience.

"Well that's all for this episode." Hiccup said. "A big applause to the reviews which allowed us to do a second episode. New episodes may follow depending on how the reviews are."

"We hope to see you all again soon." Astrid and Hiccup waved at the audience.

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Producer's note: The producer is seriously thinking of removing all sharp objects from Astrid's vicinity for the mental and physical welfare of her co-host if new episodes are made.