1 Package of your favorite brand of dark chocolate cake mix, the kind with pudding in it.

1 Can cherry pie filling, the real kind not the light type

Several (you determine the heat level) pickled or canned habs, rinsed of vinegar and processed into a fine paste in the food processor.  The pickled habs are soft and mush up better to spread the flavor and heat more evenly throughout the cake batter.  Fresh habs can be used if you can chop them finely enough but I do prefer the pickled/canned variety.  You won't taste any vinegary flavor with the sugar in both the cake mix and the pie filling.

Prepare the cake mix as indicated on the package except reduce the water by half.  After the batter is well mixed and ready to put into the greased pan (I use a 9x13 glass) stir in the cherry pie filling and the processed habs.  Mix well and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake the cake as directed on the box but keep watch because this is a moist cake and you don't want the edges to get hard and crusty while the center is still raw.  Keep testing and if the edges test done you can cover them with aluminum foil while the center gets a little more time.

Frost with deep chocolate fudgy frosting.  I like the canned variety; it's as smooth as I can make myself and a heck of a lot easier. 

    Ok, here's the recipe for my porketta roast. Since I generally just sprinkle stuff on until it *looks* about right, I cooked another roast after the Ames Hotluck to actually try to measure each item. The quantities shown are *about right*; add or subtract from the amount indicated as you like.

    Porketta is a tradition of northern Minnesota Italians on the Iron Range; and everyone up there has a secret recipe... it's highly seasoned, rolled pork shoulder roast.

    My introduction to Porketta was as a dinner roast served hot. Leftovers got stuck between two pieces of bread, reheated and consumed unadorned because tomato sauces get lost in all the seasoning. I was later re-introduced to porketta as cold sandwich meat served with plain old, yellow ball park mustard. Porketta is tasty hot or cold, mustard or not. Please, do let me if you come up with any other suitable condiment.

    Have fun with pan drippings, too. Spice up mashed or boiled potato, steamed rice, pasta, crusty bread. . .

    Prepare a 3-4 pound boneless pork shoulder roast(#) as for a rolled roast. Trim out large pockets of fat but not all the fat on the inside of the roll and leave a thin layer of fat on the outside of the roll.

Filling:

Sprinkle the inside the roll with (more or less):
- - About 1/3 cup Italian herb seasoning blend(*)--NO SALT ADDED!!!
- - About 1/4 cup hot pepper flakes
- - About ½ cup parsley fresh (use less if dried)
- - About 1.5-2 teaspoon granular garlic
- - About 1.5-2 teaspoon fennel seed.
- - About 1.5 paprika
- - About 1.5 teaspoon salt
- - (Optional: try a little dillweed dried or fresh)

Roll the roast and secure with cotton string.

Crust:
If dry, moisten the outside of the roll with water then sprinkle with (more or less as needed to coat & to taste):

- - About 1 teaspoon granular garlic
- - About 1 teaspoon salt
- - About 1/8-1/4 cup hot pepper flakes
- - About 1/8 cup Italian seasoning blend

    Bake at 325 degrees until internal temperature is 170-180 degrees. Let stand about 15 minutes then remove the string. Slice. Serve hot or cold--mustard optional.

(#) Using a leaner cut of pork will NOT produce the same flavor and will be dry.-- A rolled turkey breast roast will be great if prepared with raw bacon inside and outside the roll. -- Roasted turkey drumsticks are good with this seasoning combination, no fat added but leave the skin on.

(*) Store-bought Italian herb seasoning is fine. If it has sage in it, use it IF sage is at the bottom of the list of ingredients. I buy herbs in bulk at co-ops & mix my own blends. My basic Italian seasoning is:

1 cup dried oregano leaves
½ cup each dried marjoram & thyme leaves
1/4 cup each rosemary & savory leaves
1/4 cup fennel seed

6-8 fresh long green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeds removed and cut into coarse chunks
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 to 5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon each oregano and cumin
Juice of ½ lime
1 lb lean pork, cut into 1" cubes
Up to 1-1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt, black pepper, and hot green chiles to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

* I substituted boneless country-style pork ribs for the lean pork. Apply dry rub the night before, cover, refrigerate. ( I made a simple dry rub of ancho powder, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, just a dash of cayenne powder and half a dash of cumin. ) Then I smoked the pork over pecan wood for approx. 2 hours. I also cut the meat into ½ inch cubes instead of 1 inch. *

* * I cut the amount of cumin in half * *
* * * I omitted the hot green chiles to keep it on the mild side. * * *

    Heat Dutch oven or medium saucepan over high. Sauté onion, garlic, oregano and cumin until onion is clear. Add green chiles, sauté and stir. Add pork cubes and stir to seize all sides of the pork; add lime juice and mix.

    Now add chicken stock, stopping when most of the pork cubes are covered with liquid. Stir well, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and set the timer for 30 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure the stuff isn't scorching on the bottom. When the timer goes off, check the consistency and either add more stock if it's gotten thicker/drier than you like it, or raise the heat and cook uncovered to thicken if it's too runny. Add salt and black pepper now.

1 jar queen size olives (pitted, pimento stuffed)
3 - 5 garlic cloves, minced (approx 2 tablespoons)
3 - 5 habanero peppers, cored, cut into 1/4 inch rings

This makes approx. 25 olives.

    Drain liquid from olives, reserve. Remove pimentos from olives. The blunt end of a bamboo skewer poked through the small opening works OK. Stuff a piece of habanero into the olive cavity. Mash the pimentos and the garlic together. Pack the olives back into the jar, alternating with a layer of the garlic/pimento mix. Pour in the reserved liquid. Seal and refrigerate for 7 days (if you can wait that long, if not they have good flavor after 5 days).

    Some will be hotter than others, ranging from "That's an interesting flavor." to "Whooo-Weee!". This depends on how big a slice of hab, which end of the hab, hab type etc...

1 medium-sized chicken, smoked, skinned & shredded
About 1/4 cup Butter
1 small white onion (or half of a large onion), diced
2 Habaneros (finely chopped)
Approximately 15-20 New Mexico Red or Green Chiles (I use New Mexico Extra Hots), roasted and peeled
1 cup cilantro leaves, whole (chopped, if desired)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
Monterey Jack Cheese (shredded)
Corn, vegetable or safflower oil
Corn Tortillas
1 can Hatch® Brand Red or Green Enchilada Sauce or enchilada sauce of your choice

    Rinse and smoke chicken over your favorite wood(s) (I use Mesquite and Hickory). Sauté onions in butter until clear. Add onions, habs, green chile and cilantro to meat and mix well (wear gloves if doing this by hand). (For the hotluck, I also added a little smoked hab powder to the meat mixture - optional, of course). Using comal or small pan, heat just enough oil to cover bottom over medium-low heat. Place tortillas in oil about 15 seconds for each side, adding more oil as necessary. Drain on paper towels. Cover center of tortillas with meat mixture, tablespoon of enchilada sauce, and small amounts of each kind of cheese. Roll tightly and place in pan. When pan is full, spoon more sauce over top of enchiladas (but don't drench them), then sprinkle with both kinds of cheese. Bake covered at 350 for approximately 45 minutes. Serve hot. Makes about 40 enchiladas. Enchiladas freeze well both before or after baking.

2 jalapeno or 4 Serrano chiles, chopped.
1 12 oz. can tomatoes (drained) or 8 fresh tomatillos, cooked and drained.
2 cloves garlic, chopped.
3 tablespoons finely minced white onion (or 2 green onions).
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water

    Put everything except water in blender or food processor and puree. Slowly add water, blending to desired consistency. To increase temperature, add jalapeños or habaneros as desired.

Have fun experimenting with this recipe. The batch I made for the hotluck generally doubled the chiles, garlic and onion. Also, I used fresh roma tomatoes from the garden rather than canned tomatoes. I usually just hand chop the onions and mix them in last, so give the salsa a little more texture.  Go easy if you decide to add more cilantro. It can overpower the salsa and make it taste like soap. Buy a lot of tortilla chips!

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