Indian Summer

Autumn arrives on my calendar boasting the harvest of sweet corn, brightly colored squash and rotund pumpkins. As I am surrounded with summer warmth, an array of recipe cards fall onto the kitchen table. I want to celebrate "Altweibersommer" meaning "old ladies summer: with a special group of old gals, my best friends. My german roots offer many choices for the menu tonight. The gentle breeze blowing through my home takes the recipe cards and the menu in a new direction. Often when I have a bit of free time, I jot down various ideas and ingredients for a new food experiment. My latest ramblings on several sticky notes will bring summer into fall with color and flavor. My gals will arrive in just a few hours so my journey begins to amaze them with my newest concoction.

In keeping with what is in the now for fall, I choose fresh corn in healthy green husks for the base of my newest food adventure. Roasting the corn will be a great way to test the weather on my patio while sampling one of the wine choices I made for the menu. Two juicy chickens are turning a delicious brown while roasting along with the corn. Already the smell of chicken sprinkled with various spices, fills the patio and drifts into the house. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of my beloved girlfriends, I am reworking a very crucial element in my menu, sauce. Sauces rock my world. I love the way a great sauce can bring out more flavors in a dish. The sauce needs something special to just kick it up a notch. A roasting theme is enveloping me so I grab some roasted red chipotle peppers. The dark red peppers mix into a white creme sauce of table cream and milk seasoned with salt, black pepper and garlic. Sauce so easy yet so tasty with just that kick of spice. The girls will be so proud of me!

A beautiful evening is unfolding outside as well as in the kitchen. Mild temperatures afford a relaxing setting on the patio surrounded with pots of vibrant yellow and dark red mums. The geraniums are no longer flowering but the greenery remains as a nice backdrop for the other blooms. My guests have arrived ready to dive into a big bowl of guacamole with just enough onion and garlic. Avocadoes offer an autumn green fitting in quite nicely with my food color palette. While savoring not only the gorgeous sunset of brilliant orange and the wine selection, the greatly anticipated tasting of the food is upon us. The crowd goes wild, remember these are hungry females engaging in animated gossip and tell-all stories.

An Indian summer evening is fading away on a gentle wind, the last smells of fresh cut grass and full stomachs. Truly, a social gathering of friends to be remembered for quite some time. I cherish small tidbits of time like this evening shared with special people. The newest addition to the recipe card file is requested by the guests as a "must have" in their own kitchens. Keep you friends close to you. As the season is changing and the warm breezes must be traded for cooler winds, keep your best girlfriends closer with a new recipe.

Two roasted chickens, shredded

Red cabbage
Cilantro
Onion
Roasted corn
Juice of 1-2 limes
Queso fresca

Shred or cut cabbage. Mix to taste: red cabbage, roasted corn, chopped cilantro, chopped onion with crumbled queso fresca. Squeeze lime juice over mixture. Season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic.

Sauce: Equal parts table cream and milk. Add roasted chipotle peppers to creme in a blender or food processor. Season with salt, black pepper and garlic. Add chipotle peppers gradually to get perfect amount of spice.

Serve shredded chicken in warm corn tortillas, top with salsa and creme sauce. Enjoy!
(Salsa and creme sauce taste fabulous on fish instead of chicken as well.)